Hey Reed,
At this point, Lorrie is functional, and am in the process of putting together all the stuff that goes in her Storage Area.

Have stripped, cleaned, and painted her 8 Ton Barrel Jack, and her Lug Wrench.

Have a Tow Chain that is all rusty, and would be impossible to clean, so am going to put a piece of Nylon Cord on one end of it, and put the Nylon Cord over a nail on a branch of the Weeping Willow Tree so that it can be pulled up and hung. Then am going to put the Tow Chain in a bucket of Ospho and let it soak for a bit and then pull it up so that it will drip dry. Will do this two or three times and the chain should come out pretty nicely.

Am just contenting myself doing little detail stuff like this, along with cleaning up all the tools, materials, and stuff in the house.

Started Ms. American this morning. She started right up. Brought her up to operating temperature and let her run for about five minutes varying the Engine speed.

Am going to have to get her some more gas so that she doesn't sit for more than a couple of days without running the Engine.

Anyway, things seem to be settling down here. Am not going to have to get out until next Tuesday.

Am going to get rested up and when the weather turns a bit cooler (hopefully in a month or so) will start doing all the maintenance stuff on the 3.14 which was the reason for fixing Lorrie up. Will need transportation while Ms. American is being worked on.

Hope you have a GREAT holiday weekend.

Hang in there.

JC

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Lorrie Van Haul - 1967 Dodge - P200 Post Office Vehicle - 225 Slant Six - Torqueflite A727 Automatic Transmission - Right Hand Drive Steering - Big Three HEI System - Frantz Oil Cleaner System - Bendix Stromberg Model W Carburetor

Sounds reminiscent of an old Mazda rotary commercial, from back when the Mazda's were all rotaries and "new"

Swiping free wifi from the neiborhood watering hole this weekend.....

Hope YOU have a very restful Labor Day....

_________________
MRO....

Cheap, Fast, Reliable.... Pick 2...

Hey Dusty,
Did you know that originally the Wankle Rotary Engine was a supercharger used on motorcycles?



"Swiping"?



Already this morning have completely cleaned the Parquet Flooring in front of the Sliding Glass Doors. Then waxed it all with Meguire's Car Cleaner&Wax. It came out looking REALLY good.

Next will come the spiffing up of the Therapy Tub area.

Anyway, hope YOU too have a GREAT Labor Day. Now if it would just rain!

JC

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Lorrie Van Haul - 1967 Dodge - P200 Post Office Vehicle - 225 Slant Six - Torqueflite A727 Automatic Transmission - Right Hand Drive Steering - Big Three HEI System - Frantz Oil Cleaner System - Bendix Stromberg Model W Carburetor

Hey All,
Wednesday Morning Update:

Got the Aluminum assembled on the Dash Panel Baffle Cap.

Here is a JPG of the Baffle Cap with the Aluminum Strap and Angle attached with Sheet Metal Screws:



And here is a JPG of the unit installed in Lorrie Van Haul.



Do you think that looks "industrial" enough to match Lorrie's already hyper-industrial image?

Notice where the Wires come through that there are Aluminum Angles in that area?

Am thinking that as soon as we all are satisfied that Lorrie is going to settle down to being constant and reliable, that there can be some "DumDum" applied to that area.

DumDum is the East Texas term for a 3M Product: Part Number: 051135-08578, and is called by 3M "Strip Caulk".

It comes in strips, and is like a water-proof "putty".

It can be molded into the "channel" formed by the Aluminum Angle, and will conform not only to the Aluminum Channel but will also fill in around the wires.

It NEVER hardens so should the Baffle Cap need to ever be removed, it will not hinder the removal.

Then when everything is replaced, it can be re-applied.

That would seal the Dash Panel Interior from any hot air leaking into it.

Yesterday, while Lorrie and I were Out&About, the amount of hot air getting into the interior of the Dash Panel was negligible.

This Baffle Cap should work GREAT, and last a LONG TIME.

Anyway, it's onward through the fog.

Hope you all are well.

JC

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Lorrie Van Haul - 1967 Dodge - P200 Post Office Vehicle - 225 Slant Six - Torqueflite A727 Automatic Transmission - Right Hand Drive Steering - Big Three HEI System - Frantz Oil Cleaner System - Bendix Stromberg Model W Carburetor

Doing good, thanks. Great progress on Lorrie. I like your solution for the gap.

Hey Reed,
Well, take note of what you've been doing, and just to MORE of it!



The Dash Panel Baffle Cap DID come out looking suitably industrial, didn't it?

One last "necessary" thing left to do BEFORE everything else is "Frosting", and that is: Figure out a way to set Lorrie's Spare Tire up on edge on the Starboard Rear Wheel Well where it can be gotten to and easily taken out in case Lorrie ever has a flat tire.

Right now the Spare is lying on the floor behind the Seat and in front of the Starboard Rear Wheel Well.

Then under the heading of "Frosting On The Cake":

Lorrie needs an over-head Storage Bin, where stuff like the Mail that is picked up from the Post Office could go so that it doesn't blow all over the place. Where the Insurance Papers could be kept. Where the Sun Glasses could be put.

Am thinking that it could be just a box fastened to the Ceiling just to the Port of the Driver's Seat.

Or maybe it could be a shelf that goes from the Starboard Wall to the Port Wall just above the Windshield.

And then there's doing the graphics on Lorrie.

There's also some amount of Sheet Metal work that needs to be done to cover up the holes rusted in Lorrie's Front End, and in the Reinforcing Channels on each side of Lorrie's Exterior starting behind the Doors.

Much of this will probably NEVER get done, but it has been thought about.

Nonetheless, the problem of the Gauges getting HOT AIR from the Engine has been pretty much solved.

So as things get done, they'll get reported here.

BTW, I have a feeling that I'm going to win the LOTTO tonight. $10,800,000.00!!!

Wouldn't THAT be something?



Especially since it wouldn't be readily noticeable since it would be UNDER the Engine Cabinetry Lids.

Anyway, am ready for lunch and maybe a nap.

Will check with you later.

JC

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Lorrie Van Haul - 1967 Dodge - P200 Post Office Vehicle - 225 Slant Six - Torqueflite A727 Automatic Transmission - Right Hand Drive Steering - Big Three HEI System - Frantz Oil Cleaner System - Bendix Stromberg Model W Carburetor

Since Lorrie is basically a cube, building an overhead console would be a snap. The hard part would be finding a way to mount the unit without drilling through the outside skin. I don't know what the body contours are like on Lorrie, but on B series vans there are runs of boxed in body panels sections around the windshield and the roof that provide perfect areas to sink self tapping screws into and have the threads not visible from the outside of the vehicle. I don't know if Lorrie has that.

As far as mounting the spare tire goes, I would think that that could be done by running some kind of metal bar between two of the frame channels on the side of the van and running a long bolt through a hole in the bar. That is basically what Dodge did on the vans.

Also, your website http://msamericanpi.bravehost.com/dodge.htm comes up as being expired.

Hey Reed,
That would not be a problem. Starting at the Ceiling, which is FRP Paneling. Above that is a 1" layer of Cellotex Insulation. Above that is Lorrie's ORIGINAL Roof. Above that is a 1" Layer of Rubber Crane Insulation. And finally, there is a layer of 14 Gauge Sheet Metal.

The Cellotex Insulation is fitted between Roof Formers, to which the FRP Paneling is attached. Mounting the unit could be done with Brackets screwed into the Roof Formers like the FRP Paneling, and the overhead console would be hung from the Brackets.



Lorrie Doesn't have anything like that.



A Metal Plate with a long Bolt welded to it is on hand, but am reticent to install it just yet. This situation needs a bit more thought.



Yes. Was appraised of that some weeks ago by Bravehost. They are going to a BLOG format, and want to charge for FTP service.

Anyway, am starting to have Computer problems. If all of a sudden there are no more post from me, it's going to be because the Computer is fritzed. BTW, simultaneous with the Computer problem, had had to spend the day dealing with a leaking Hot Water Heater.

"It's always something!" (Roseanna Danna Danna)

Hope you are well.

JC

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Lorrie Van Haul - 1967 Dodge - P200 Post Office Vehicle - 225 Slant Six - Torqueflite A727 Automatic Transmission - Right Hand Drive Steering - Big Three HEI System - Frantz Oil Cleaner System - Bendix Stromberg Model W Carburetor

"It's always something." Isn;t that the truth. Hope you get your problems sorted!

Hey Reed,
Here is the Friday Noon Update:

Just returned from a four-hour long jaunt to Livingston.

Lorrie ran flawlessly!

Temperature never got above 150 degrees.

Had her up to 54 MPH at one point. She seems to be more comfy at THAT speed than am I. She does just fine for my taste between 45 and 50 MPH. What a "CRUISER" she is.

Took the MultiTester to Radio Shack where a lady named Tammy (the store manager) messed with it a bit, put in a NEW Fuse, and three NEW batteries, and VOILA' it started functioning properly again.

Got a bottle of Ospho at Lowe's.

Got a rattle can of Primer from AutoZone, and the manager congratulated me on having Lorrie Van Haul Up&Running, and GAVE me (free of charge) three rolls of Masking Tape!

On the way home, stopped at Bubba's Sheet Metal Shop and had him fabricate a Sheet Metal "Channel" to fit over the Channel on Lorrie's Port Side which has MANY holes rusted in it. The NEW Channel IS already painted White on the inside, and DARK/DARK Grey on the outside. It's going to take just a few Pop Rivets to attach it.

Lorrie just keeps getting BETTER&BETTER!

Anyway, am dead tired. Was up till 10:30 p.m. (regular bedtime is 8:30 p.m.) last night doing the computer back-up and was up at 4:30 a.m., which is my usual awakening time.

Am going to have something to eat and take a nappie.

Hope you all are well.

JC

_________________
Lorrie Van Haul - 1967 Dodge - P200 Post Office Vehicle - 225 Slant Six - Torqueflite A727 Automatic Transmission - Right Hand Drive Steering - Big Three HEI System - Frantz Oil Cleaner System - Bendix Stromberg Model W Carburetor

I bought a conversion system from Mancini and it was toast out of the box. Chased a high rpm mis for weeks. It is not what you think it is.