47-55.1 55 years ago I was given this USAF 54 3100

[vintovka]

Just when i figured i was finally done with electronics and wiring my 2001 alarm system took a dump. It cost $145 then and bought a similar but supposedly better replacement off Amazon for 37 shipped. Installing it now while i still remember how.

[VWNate1]

The fun never ends.......

It was 104* F today so I was up past my elbows in the dashboard of my 40year old Mercedes taxi .

I'm slowly making progress at reviving the A/C .

[vintovka]

104F !!!! Our old place in El Dorado Co is has hit near 120F recently. Here it barely made 69F at 2pm and was able to wash the 54 and the other car in comfort (if not a little chilly at times) Given all the horrendous stuff going on down there it makes me regret not leaving several decades before we did in 2010. The amount to time spent/lost hiding in the AC instead of working on stuff outside is difficult to think about.

In any case will be finishing the new alarm and may even post pics of the new gauges installed as part of the rewire project. First "show" tomorrow here in Florence after 6 years of toil.

Forgot to add that doing the massive rewire i managed to create a situation in which the led fogs come on with BOTH the pull headlight knob AND/or the control panel rocker. What fun iy will be sorting that one out!!!!

[VWNate1]

I feel your pain .

I never fail to be appalled at all the extra wiring so many add instead of repairing the perfectly good designed for the job wires.....

When my son was 18 or so he kyped my saved pair if vintage HELLA fog lamps for his VW Beetle, told me he was planning to use a relay, I mentioned that if he wired the ground path of the relay to the high beams the fog lamps would automatically go out when he switched to high beams....

He did that and really liked it, slid out in the snow a week later and smashed the lamps I'd been saving for 35 years...... .

Oh well, what's the point of having if you're not going to use, right ? .

The last week the temps have been 104* ~ 111* in the shade, before noon .

At least it's a dry heat and yes, there's a HUGE difference, especially if you're old and fat like I am .

Interestingly, I'm getting acclimated to the heat again, I didn't think that possible .

[vintovka]

First "show" more of a freebee "standaround". Sweltering, wildfire smoky 95F drove many away by noon - myself included. Ash was falling on most, Only lasted 1 day at 95 and back to 65 next. Lucky me. Many nice comments! Meeting with DAV on Monday for possible recruitment for their parades.

[vintovka]

Since being back on road i'm seeing some thing that still need tweaking. Long ago i set up a negative battery disconnect primarily for ease of use when rewiring and long term storage. One issue with that is the use of an alarm system. I like the idea of parking it some public spot and removing the disconnect "key" rendering it "dead". This negates the use of the alarm. Am now converting the alarm to a standalone system being the only thing directly connected to the battery. This requires both positive and negative runs to alarm box, siren, shock sensor and door/hood anti-tampers. Will be using magnetic switchs with rare earth magnets due to steel body. The alarms starter kill function is still an option. Anyone have insight on the use of magnetic switchs in vehicles???

BTW I wound up with two complete alarm systems by mistake so have a cheep spare if anyone needs one. PM me

[joedoh]

you can set the batt disconnect up to keep the alarm alive, many disconnects have this power tap on them for low amperage stuff like radios to keep presets etc.

you an even buy a remote battery disconnect, which is way handier than opening/closing a cutoff.

[vintovka]

Yes except i decided to try an alternate method which isolates power by disconnecting the main ground. Seems to work fine except in this instance. I found some nice NC mag switches and will run low voltage positive and negative to each.

[vintovka]

I think the problem is that the fan shut off point is same as the thermostat (195F). I need to replace the upper hose anyway so its kind of an experiment. Also having been recently "inducted" into the VFW and DAV may be doing low speed parade stuff and overheating is a concern. As you can probably tell i'm an old registered engineer who loves modify and tinker.

[VWNate1]

GOOD ! .

Then you'll want to do it correctly .

Leave that thermostat along and measure the front of the radiator and buy the largest electric fan that will fit, power it via a relay and wire the relay live all the time .

I did this on my old 1949 Chevy 3100 with a 235 and even here in the Desert it never boiled over .

Often when I parked it I'd get 20' away from it and the heat soak would switch the electric fan on (why you need to wire it live) and folks would yell at me " ! Hey ! you left your engine running !" .

Consider putting a tattle tale lamp on the dash somewhere to indicate when the fan is actually running, use this to gauge if you need to install a lower temperature thrmostat .

You won't but it'll give you another fun little thing to do that's dynamic in nature .

[vintovka]

Already have the biggest most powerful fan i could get at the time

Spal 30102113 Puller Fan (16In High Performance Race ; Curved Blade; For Use W/ 40Amp Fuse at 13V),

The kicker is they say not to use it as a full time fan. Not sure why that's the case. Its wired direct and will cool the stopped hot engine fast. Keeps running on the 195F thermostat driving. Only other options include adding a shroud as fan only covers a little more than half radiator surface. Big fan is noisy too. Will add a "fan on" light soon.

[VWNate1]

O.K., if this fan located as high up as it can be or the middle ? .

Sounds like you're well on your way .

40 amperes is a lot of current, I wonder why it draws so much .

Does the engine still have a mechanical fan ? .

[vintovka]

Its a racing fan so lots of draw. Mounted in mid radiator. No mechanical fan (wish it did)

[VWNate1]

Well ;

Two fans can create unwanted turbulence in the air flow through the radiator .

The fan needs to be mounted as far up as possible for maximum effect .

[vintovka]

Thanks wish i knew about fan location before. Will look at moving it up. New upper hose, thermostat and housing should be here today and in soon.

Have given up on replacing mechanical alarm switches with magnetic. The ones they sent off amazon are huge and incompatible with steel doors. I think i can ground the alarm to the chassis and still have it work with the main negative cutoff.

[VWNate1]

Yeah ;

I too wish I knew (or remembered) half of what I know now, back when I was a young pup, eager but clueless .

That's the nature of the beast, some learn as they go along, others refuse to learn anything they don't currently know .

I crave knowledge .

Moving the fan up should be dead easy .

Maybe door jamb contact switches for the alarm ? .

No need to make thinks complicated .

Courtesy lamp switches work well and junkyards are full of them in various types, sizes and so on .

[vintovka]

Most of the parts are here so got started. Drained radiator, Pulled old hose, thermostat and housing. 40+ year old upper Hose was so soft it tore in process. While hose was out moved fan up to radiator top from middle – At least 6”. Seems the new Radiator zip tie mounting kit was missing from box so Made do with parts from old kit. Just drilled holes on old front and rear pads and used regular zip ties to hold them in place. Cut head off new ties to lock them in place. Used 1” section of waste tie thru the inside recycled retaining pad as a safety measure against pull thru. Using a large zip tie to hang fan down from filler neck worked great to hold fan in position while installing ties. Later cut and removed it,

Replaced thermostat with the 180F and drilled a couple 1/16” 'burp” holes as many recommended. Old thermostat was leaking and was installed with only an O ring – no gasket or sealer. New Housing came with just a gasket. Used blue RTV on surfaces just in case. New 22” x 1.5” hose fit fine but forgot the replacement Radiator I installed over 23 years ago had a 1.25 neck, Cut a 2” section from a spare 1 ¼ hose and used it as a sleeve inside the new 1 ½ hose. Fastened both ends with Dual Stainless bands (installed in opposite directions).

Will have to wait a week until things calm down here to refill radiator and test results,

[VWNate1]

Well ;

You're making progress here .

The auxiliary fan mounting kits are sold by NAPA and others, should be easy to find one if you still need it .

The by-pass holes are a good idea, I don't always drill them because in theory a cooling system in good shape shouldn't need them .

You've not yet mentioned overheating and plumes of steam so I'm thinking you just don't like it to run near boiling point .

RTV is bad stuff in a cooling system ~ I hope you simply wiped on a thin coating on each side of the gasket with your finger .

Those blobs that moosh out also moosh in and get caught in the radiator's tubes and cause cold spots in the radiator and also poor engine cooling .

[vintovka]

Originally Posted by VWNate1

Well ;

You're making progress here .

The auxiliary fan mounting kits are sold by NAPA and others, should be easy to find one if you still need it .

The by-pass holes are a good idea, I don't always drill them because in theory a cooling system in good shape shouldn't need them .

You've not yet mentioned overheating and plumes of steam so I'm thinking you just don't like it to run near boiling point .

RTV is bad stuff in a cooling system ~ I hope you simply wiped on a thin coating on each side of the gasket with your finger .
.

Our NAPA sucks and I won't buy a thing from them after 2 of their GOLD Crest Power steering boxes failed. My method works well and provides for second chances (which i didn't need) as zip ties are cheap and plentiful.

The sole issue is the fan running all the time. No overheating issues.

I used just enough to cover the gasket. Auto Zone sells a small packet in what looks like a catsup squeeze pouch. Helps not to use too much.

Just finished reassembling whole front apron cover. Had a metal fatigue break on one side of the upper radiator support frame. Took forever to fab up repair strap as needed to weld on nuts where no one could ever reach.

Funny part is needed a step stool for first time. I have shrunk since last time i pulled front apron some 23 years ago.

[vintovka]

Forgot to add that the tiny "burp" holes in the thermostat allowed me to refill the radiator without running the engine. I'll be testing it next week when schedule clears.

[VWNate1]

Well ;

I'm 6' tall and I now need a thing to stand on occasionally too ~ I usually grab an old spare 1959 Nash Metropolitan wheel & tire I have lying 'round, it's handy and worthless, no point in throwing anything I might one day use, away, amIrite ? .

Too bad I didn't know you needed it, the original radiator bracing had an 'X' welded across it, usually cut off during the first clutch replacement ~ I had a nice one left over from my '49 3100 and tossed it in the scrap pile because no one here wants old Chevy parts .

The 'X' was added due to flexing of the front sheet metal and cracking like you have .

[vintovka]

Yes the break was prolly due to missing "X" section. Ran a bolted strap to replace the broken off section. Shoulda welded it but too old to pull it and too close to radiator. Figure it will last longer than me it this point. Dying (pun) to see results of mods but have other duties to attend to for a week.

FWIW I do recall i did not have the fan running problem with the old ford fan. It was mounted high and not sure what possessed me to mount the replacement Spal where i did. Its now as high as it can get. We shall see. Thanks again.

[vintovka]

Went for a short 15 mile drive today to attend a VFW meeting and sign up for Parade duty. I watched the temp very closely. Seemed to rise to 190F and just stay there. The fan did not come on at any point and think that the cool temps here (60F) and limited idling are big factors. I checked the radiator after it cooled at home and found no additional coolant was required. I think the small holes in the thermostat actually work when refilling and may even help cooling.. The NSS worked perfectly but the brake safety is somewhat hard to remember and is problematic if you need to give it some gas during starting. The real test will come towing the VFW float in the Veterans Day Parade next month - but very happy so far.

[vintovka]

Ok 3 days and 30 miles later its still running cool. Fan has yet to go on cause it gets nowhere near 210 anymore. While the NSS is great the brake "safety" is history. Hated it from the start. Whoever said to skip it was right -- big PITA!

In other events i happened to brush past the plug that goes into the tilt column headlight dimmer. It and the switch instantly disintegrated into little plastic crumbs. It was only 36 years old and feel cheated. Replacements were not available at any local stores so i found one on EBAY for 1/4 the price locals wanted. They had to order them anyway. What i got was an Original Borg Warner switch with picture instructions made in 1994!!!. Original box is so cool its on display in garage!

[vintovka]

While replacing the column dimmer switch my "life clock" reminded me that doing this stuff at my age is coming to a grinding halt very soon. That said i bit the bullet and went for all the hard as heck under dash repairs that could not wait any longer. Pulled both speedo and gauges to work on them. Had to pull headlight and starter switch's to get to them. First replaced the old dim led turn signals. These were add on custom ones between the gauges and were way too dim. New crystal green ones are very bright and came with wires attached. The wires on these are best connected with alarm style "bean" crimp connectors. Also Replaced all the crumbling wiring to the gauges including the illumination sockets, headlight indicator and converted the old turn signal indicator into a alternator light. Had to scrape off the original Green plastic lens and replace it with a red one. I rebuilt all the bulb sockets with new wires except for the alternator light one. I used an all plastic socket as it cannot be grounded. All but the Headlight and alternator bulbs were replaced with LEDs as well. Even reconfigured the vent handle for easier use. I put everything back and will save any instrument conversion for later.

As you know working under the cramped AD dash is tough on arms, back and neck. I use long thick socks with the toes cut off as arm guards to protect my 70+ year paper thin hide. It works. Tylenol and Voltaren works well for neck and body. Jack Daniels helps as well.

Happy with result and may post pics soon as i recover. Hard to think this may be last time for this old man.