Well we were all well represented once again at the 22nd Annual Toboggan National Championships in Camden Maine this past weekend. This is the fourth time I have taken the truck to the races – and the first time I ended up being towed both ways. I suspect a bad coil – which is funny it only has like 150 miles on it. Oh well something to fix.
In any event the Dodge is always a big hit and is a huge draw in terms of photos and stories, plus all the trophies on the hood doesn't hurt.
As a side note – we once again won a few trophies. First Place in the Two man races and both 2nd and 3rd place in the Four Man Races. Nothing like going down a wooden chute at 40 miles an hour on a custom built wooden toboggan onto a pond full of ice and snow…… Imagine an adult version of the pinewood derby on toboggans and you get a pretty good idea of what is going on. As an example I missed winning first place in the four man division by less then 1/100 of a second.
Yes bit of a pain.
On the way I made it about 10 miles (out of 15 or so).
On the way home I made it about a mile - up the first big hill.
Once the truck was dropped off at the house it ran for 40 feet and then I had to come-along it into the barn, which is no small feat.
On the flip side I got to use my AAA membership which I have not used in almost 8 years, so officially I did not have to pay out of pocket for the flatbed.
I suspect a hot / dead coil. The coil is 5 years old, with maybe 200 miles on it. I know last year according to the registration I only put 30 miles on the truck.
Took fender and such off last night, so maybe tonight I will start to troubleshoot - I think we are going to have a warm spell.
jjefferson wrote:Yes bit of a pain.
On the way I made it about 10 miles (out of 15 or so).
On the way home I made it about a mile - up the first big hill.
Once the truck was dropped off at the house it ran for 40 feet and then I had to come-along it into the barn, which is no small feat.
On the flip side I got to use my AAA membership which I have not used in almost 8 years, so officially I did not have to pay out of pocket for the flatbed.
I suspect a hot / dead coil. The coil is 5 years old, with maybe 200 miles on it. I know last year according to the registration I only put 30 miles on the truck.
Took fender and such off last night, so maybe tonight I will start to troubleshoot - I think we are going to have a warm spell.
Jim
WHY WOULD A COIL WORK, AND THEN STOP WORKING. AND THEN WORK AGAIN AND THEN STOP WORKING. I DO NOT KNOW MUCH ABOUT COILS AS YOU MAY TELL, BUT I WOULD ASSUME THAT ONCE THE COIL SHORTS, ITS OVER. OR NOT? GOOD LUCK WITH THE GREMLINS MY FRIEND. NICE TRUCK. LOOKS NICE EVEN ON THE FLATBED WHAT KIND IS THAT MASSIVE WINCH?
LIFE IS SHORT AND ENDS UNEXPECTEDLY. MAKE EVERY MOMENT WORTH REMEMBERING.
Yes vent lines are all still hooked up, with the exception of the warn winch and maraydyne cab heater all is stock.
I still need to make sure that the lines are not full of crap - just too busy at work, and also waiting for a warm spell.
I think the coil went bad just due to condensation. It was a very wet summer last year, and the truck was outside and never started. (I am on a six on six month off rotation at work.)
Such there was no airflow at all in the engine - which just leads to condensation. The coil and points etc were all new in 2008 or 2009, and when I opened the Distributor everything was showing signs of surface rust or corrosion.
I know in the ship / boat world - an airtight waterproof box, although often required is a maintenance nightmare. A box without an opening to the atmosphere will just sweat. I have opened plenty of watertight J boxes only to find them full of water, and all the wiring terminals covered in moisture and corrosion. Even J boxes that do not see the rain. Opened a J box on a fish packing machine last summer - the box itself was inside a $6,000 vacuum packer system - had never seen a drop of moisture yet half inch of water in the box. The theory was that the moisture had traveled down through the insulation in the wires. Very frustrating.
In any event I have a new coil in headed in my direction from Veteran Vehicles in Massachusetts, so that should solve it. I might just get a second one later on and keep it on the shelf.
Also check to be sure the correct vent line elbows are used at the air cleaner elbow. This is a forced air vent system to the distributor; if fittings are not the correct ones that are special to the application, no air will circulate through the distributor. I've seen many times where the fittings had been replaced with common weatherhead elbows for some reason. If this is the case, they may as well not even be there.
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WHAT KIND IS THAT MASSIVE WINCH?
