[Amc-list] back from Burning Man...

[Tom Jennings <tomj@xxxxxxx>]

In the '63 Rambler Classic wagon, of course, as we do every year... 650 
miles each way, from Los Angeles to 10 mi north of Gerlach NV. I5, to 
14, to 395, to Reno; thence to I80, 445 to Gerlach.

OK, I nailed the cooling system DOWN! Dumb and simple -- same 
13-year-old two-row radiator, but before I left I made two changes: Mr. 
Gasket "high flow" thermostat (195 degrees) and water only, no 
antifreeze, plus "water wetter".

Three people, camping gear for all, plus two common structures (PVC 
quonset huts) on the roof, a greywater processing system and wash 
station, for our camp of 12. Towing a small trailer. I guesstimate the 
trailer at 500 lbs total trailer plus load, and an easy 600 in the car 
itself.

It ran cool-normal the entire time, temperature over 90 during the day. 
It used to get hot-ish ("hot normal") climbing hills (40 - 45 mph in 2nd 
up the heavy stuff) but no more.

I also put a mechanical water temp gauge on the transmission oil pan. I 
epoxied an aluminum adapter onto the front of the pan nearest the torque 
converter outlet and insulated it with silicone foam. I reads within 5 
degrees of actual temperature.

I was worrying about overheating this transmission -- needlessly. This 
is the little air cooled M35, no coolant lines. The only time it went 
over 190 degrees was up a monster grade north of Bishop CA on US395, it 
got to 210. That's it! It got up to the 200's idling in traffic.

OK, with lots of HP you could break the little thing, but within it's 
design range, it's a rugged little beast. Keep in mind this transmission 
is pushing 300,000 miles, on it's second full rebuild (last year). I 
used to worry about it -- no more.

Last, and hardly least -- the Howell TBI worked flawlessly, even though 
the fuel maps are all wrong. I was getting 15mpg before I left, not very 
good, and the plugs were chocolatey (rich). It's mapped for a 258 in a 
Jeep. So at Frank's suggestion I made up a nice MAP sensor adjustable 
voltage regulator, set it to 4.8V, and mileage jumped to 17mpg for the 
trip, and plugs lightened up nicely. The adjustable MAP business is a 
crock, but was an improvement for my limited use (I will soon fix the 
mapping).

I will do photos of the Howell setup this weekend.

My only problem was a slightly squealing A/C v-belt.

Now I gotta get all that corrosive salt out of the car!

Once again, I probably had the oldest passenger car there, other than 
one car spotted from a tower by a camp mate -- another 63 or 64 Classic 
wagon!! Weird. There were some 1970's trucks, but no old passenger cars.

(OK, that DROVE there, there were some steam tractors and some 30's 
sedan, but they were trailered.)
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