I am driving my 69 dodge a108 down hwy 1 , heres a blog

Welcome to VV!!!!

Welcome to VV. Excellent road trip. Great looking van.

looks fun! like the scooter too. no skate shots?

have a safe trip , welcome to vintage vans

You got guts man, doing a mobile restoration! Post up your shots of other vans in the "I Seen A Van" thread, liked that green Chevy with the bolt stripe.

welcome to v v road trip looks like a lot of fun i miss doing road trips this getting old shit sucks

Welcome!!!! Very cool Blog!!!

good stuff. welcome

Cool to see the van at the RR in Twin Peaks!! Nice Honda Cub too. If you ever have any weird issues with your van, this forum is a treasure trove of information and can be very helpful. Let us know when you make it to San Diego!

Good luck on your journey!

sounds like a cool trip,enjoy

love the blog, will add it to my rss feeder/reader. and all the fisheye lens pics.

"escape from Seattle"

I lived in Bremerton for about 2 years when i was in the USN, I can sympathize with your plight. Best of luck moving to Cali.

eta: looks like you are having major heat problems, is the belly pan in your van? Got an overflow bottle on it? You wouldn't make it out of the driveway in that thing down in GA, its' 90-100 regularly now.

heh, your blog reminds me of the 80's, btdt

yup, the scoop is in there, though i dont have a over flow tank, i just keep topping it off every few days

I had the same constant cooling issues, until I bit the bullet and sprung for an aluminum radiator. I just did a 1000+ mile round trip to the outer banks last week and it never got above 190 degrees: 90+ degree weather, in stop and go traffic, or 80+ mph down the interstate for hours. Interior temps were lower too, compared to when the thing ran at 220+. It is a sizeable investment, but definately the best one I've made to date, and just makes driving the thing much more enjoyable. You sould get an overflow tank kit at the very least, from any chain auto parts store, there is a basic plastic one (a waste of money) and a bigger heavy duty plastic version with heavy wire mounting cage. I tried the basic version with the old rad. and the heat in the doghouse melted the cap, and distorted the tank, then replaced it with the hd one, and it's still holding up. What psi radiator cap and thermostat are you using?

Old school = no overflow tank means the coolant level 'normalizes' to about an inch below the neck. Heat expands matter, so the coolant expands to fill the top tank, then out the hose. When it cools, the coolant shrinks and drops to this level.
New school = overflow bottle means the fluid expands out, then when the coolant cools, a vacuum is created, drawing the coolant in the bottle back into the radiator. This requires the correct cap.

Once you have the concept down, you can see that a cup or so of coolant when warming up is the only difference. Once hot, the amount of coolant is the same. It WILL keep the cooling system topped up and will prevent peeing when hot, but it will not drop the engine operating temperatures.

The overflow tank can be mounted under the seat away from the heat of the engine. Insulate it so it doesnt heat your seat though.

Later,
Rip

Very interesting blog and pictures. Have a great trip !

i have a 7lb cap on it now..started with a 7lb..went to a 13..started springing leaks( thermo housing, hose ends) and it didnt help my temp at all so i tightened everything up and went back to the 7lb..185 thermostat..it will idle all day at 190..stopped in traffic on a hot day and everything..it only gets 220+ when im climbing hills or holding at 60+mph on a hot day..i have 2 pusher fans..the scoop is on it.. 70percent coolent.. thought about getting a 3 row rad. made for it but figured after this trip i would have it figured out..where would i get an aluminium rad..? and how much are those?....

as for 80mph..i haven't even driven that thing over 65 yet

a little research , told me this rad. would fit

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-3-ROW-ALL-ALUMINUM-RADIATOR-32-FORD-HIGH-BOY-CHEVY-ENGINE-CHOPPED-3-/290711384268?_trksid=p3284.m263&_trkparms=algo%3DSI%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BUA%252BFICS%26otn%3D21%26pmod%3D130733420051%26ps%3D54#vi-ilComp

not a bad price?

core wanderer wrote:i have a 7lb cap on it now..started with a 7lb..went to a 13..started springing leaks( thermo housing, hose ends) and it didnt help my temp at all so i tightened everything up and went back to the 7lb..185 thermostat..it will idle all day at 190..stopped in traffic on a hot day and everything..it only gets 220+ when im climbing hills or holding at 60+mph on a hot day..i have 2 pusher fans..the scoop is on it.. 70percent coolent.. thought about getting a 3 row rad. made for it but figured after this trip i would have it figured out..where would i get an aluminium rad..? and how much are those?....

as for 80mph..i haven't even driven that thing over 65 yet

I run a 160 therm in my van but I live in a sauna. When your van overheats exactly what does it do? Just blow fluid out the overflow (with the 7lb cap) or does it vapor lock or what? Apologies if you mentioned it before and I missed it.

For me a 180 was to close to the danger zone of 220+, a 160 gives me a wider temp arc to work with but ymmv. My typical "hot" day is over 90 degrees, iirc you only see that in western WA very rarely (if at all).

Assuming your radiator isn't sopped up anywhere have you thought about a high flow water pump and high flow tstat?

eta:
The doorman coolant tank (Dorman 603-001 Coolant Reservoir Bottle) I put in my van is here. You'll need to order a cap with it.

I mounted mine in the dog house as shown using 1/4x20 bolts, there is a nut/washer holding the bolt in place and a nut/washer holing the tank on so its mounted "stand off" of the dog house. When its full of hot water my leg would get hot so I put an air gap behind it

You're blog is awesome! Looked like a great trip too, if you get to San Diego hit me up! Hopefully my van is on the road by then.
Brent

Hey, no updates on the blog since July 8th!
What, are you soaking up the laid back Cali lifestyle and can't be bothered to document any more?

haha,,ok sorry about the lag on the update.. we made it to cali, i got called out for a tour gig, then got back moved in the new house and have been looking for jobs or at the beach..
but i did update it,,and will probably keep posting random cali van pics and camping trips

http://corewanderer.blogspot.com/