The tinworm cometh

Spark6

Well-known member
Oct 31, 2020
127
40
New Hampshire
Been a hot minute. Unfortunately, I got distracted with my other high-maintenance time-suck, a 1986 Pietenpol Aircamper. 3A23EA50-7111-49BE-AE31-0DCF1FB24F8A.jpeg
The goal was to deliver her from Pittsburgh to her new home in NH, some 520 miles away (takes longer than you’d imagine at 60kts) but one day into the three day trip, the weather intervened, so the plane is stuck in limbo for a few weeks. Back to the Disco it is!

Since last update, I’ve gotten the bottom skin stiffeners welded in…
731CB424-8A39-408A-A82B-AD1158D950AA.jpeg

The mount itself drilled, puddle-welded, and then seam-welded onto the bottom of the repaired skin… (fewer pictures of that than I intended)
FADEDD06-54E0-47C5-996F-425822A7E1F5.jpeg

BE34C438-B185-4945-B19F-CDFE97876E15.jpeg



And as of today, the body bolted back to the frame!
2EFB74EF-0E12-4670-A51F-F97F03D9210B.jpegMore photos of that to come, as I’ll hopefully have things cleaned up tomorrow sometime, and finally be putting this particular repair to bed. On to the exhaust replacement, and then hopefully a successful registration/inspection. Old Winston has a long road to getting healthy, but we’ll get there eventually.
 

terryjm1

Well-known member
Jan 23, 2011
1,486
375
Thanks for the detailed post. This gives me confidence in tackling my rear crossmember / body mount repair. It’s almost exactly the same job on mine.
 
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Spark6

Well-known member
Oct 31, 2020
127
40
New Hampshire
Thanks for the detailed post. This gives me confidence in tackling my rear crossmember / body mount repair. It’s almost exactly the same job on mine.
I will note, that once the body was properly supported by a real mount again, I DID have to adjust the rear door to get it to latch. These poor old trucks…

Today, I got the top skin welded back on. Both batteries for the grinder conked out, so I’ll have to finish dressing the repair properly tomorrow morning, assuming work doesn’t call. C7AB963B-4836-4101-9582-D72EDC8D1A9E.jpeg1C6E3328-BA0E-47A7-8DA6-B4A5E3CA0215.jpeg
Then it’s final paint/waterproofing, mount the rear bumper back up, and I can turn my attention back to re-hanging the exhaust. Hopefully there is a NH license plate on the old man before too long!

Forward…
 

Frobisher

Well-known member
Dec 27, 2012
200
68
Pennsylvania
I will note, that once the body was properly supported by a real mount again, I DID have to adjust the rear door to get it to latch. These poor old trucks…

Today, I got the top skin welded back on. Both batteries for the grinder conked out, so I’ll have to finish dressing the repair properly tomorrow morning, assuming work doesn’t call. View attachment 61844View attachment 61845
Then it’s final paint/waterproofing, mount the rear bumper back up, and I can turn my attention back to re-hanging the exhaust. Hopefully there is a NH license plate on the old man before too long!

Forward…
So that's what a body mount should actually look like. Seriously, nice work!
 
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Spark6

Well-known member
Oct 31, 2020
127
40
New Hampshire
So that's what a body mount should actually look like. Seriously, nice work!
Thank you!! It’s been a labor, but I think it’ll be worth it in the end.

In and around dodging rain and finishing up stacking 4 cords of wood, I managed to get the repair dressed down with the flap wheel, and painted.
E3AE2F5B-57EF-4716-BA60-F21E70191C65.jpeg
Also in the picture are fresh bumper mount bolts, which I welded onto the existing brackets, after having to grind the old ones off during removal.
 
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Spark6

Well-known member
Oct 31, 2020
127
40
New Hampshire
Bodymount-bumper-exhaust.jpg

Well... that wasn't so hard now, was it? 🤪

Mounting the exhaust nearly cost me a finger and a head wound (probably wise to support the muffler with something other than your arm while wrestling the exhaust hangars onto their mounts...) but has certainly been documented before so I skipped snapping any photos. Now to rehab the bumper indicator light boxes then it's off to go pay the nice lady in town who does state registrations, and see if I can grease this pig through inspection. Those of you with rust-free Discos... never let them go! (Unless you want to sell them to me... CHEAP please, this one is bleeding me dry! :oops::ROFLMAO:)
 

Blue

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2004
10,043
856
AZ
Funny that once you paint it black it no longer looks like major surgery. Looks good.
 
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Spark6

Well-known member
Oct 31, 2020
127
40
New Hampshire
Got old Winston fired up yesterday for the first time since surgery! Battery was ultra-dead, so I had to call in reinforcements. Thank goodness for jumper boxes. Shockingly more quiet and civilized with a proper exhaust system. Strangest thing though, after starting, the idle speed wouldn't drop down from the 12-1500rpm warm-up range. Figuring that GEMS was in the process of adapting to the increased back pressure in the exhaust system, and needing to recharge the battery, I let the truck warm up, and then took it for a drive up and down our dirt road. Every time I pressed and released the gas, the engine would exhibit an uncommanded surge, sometimes by as much as 1500 rpm. At "0" throttle, in Drive, the truck was holding 1500rpm and accelerating. It actually shifted itself out of 1st and 2nd gear without the gas being pressed. The result was that, in drive, the brakes could barely hold the truck. In fact, on a down-grade, in Drive, they wouldn't. Eerie stuff. After twenty minutes of fighting with the thing, I was over it, and parked in the driveway to hunt down a fix. The various forum solutions to similar problems ranged from IACV cleaning, to throttle cable replacement, to vacuum leaks, to stuck throttle butterfly valves. None completely described my issue, nor the suddenness of its onset. Just as I was about to start pulling parts, I came across a comment on an IACV thread where the commenter described how, when his truck's battery was completely drained, and the truck jumpstarted, that he would experience uncommanded revving and surging for 30 minutes or so while the battery recharged, and then, after shutting the truck for 30 minutes, upon restart, the issues would have cleared up. Perhaps a low-voltage condition interfering with the GEMS ecu controls? It seemed worth a shot, so without touching anything, I fired the old man back up, and wouldn't you know it, the rig settled down to a loping 700 rpm idle. Throttle response was crisp and linear, without any over-rev or surging. I drove the 3 miles down to the gas station, fueled up, and drove back without incident. I'll keep an eye on it, and the darn thing CERTAINLY needs an IACV clean and vacuum system refresh, but for now, we're up and running!
 

Frobisher

Well-known member
Dec 27, 2012
200
68
Pennsylvania
Got old Winston fired up yesterday for the first time since surgery! Battery was ultra-dead, so I had to call in reinforcements. Thank goodness for jumper boxes. Shockingly more quiet and civilized with a proper exhaust system. Strangest thing though, after starting, the idle speed wouldn't drop down from the 12-1500rpm warm-up range. Figuring that GEMS was in the process of adapting to the increased back pressure in the exhaust system, and needing to recharge the battery, I let the truck warm up, and then took it for a drive up and down our dirt road. Every time I pressed and released the gas, the engine would exhibit an uncommanded surge, sometimes by as much as 1500 rpm. At "0" throttle, in Drive, the truck was holding 1500rpm and accelerating. It actually shifted itself out of 1st and 2nd gear without the gas being pressed. The result was that, in drive, the brakes could barely hold the truck. In fact, on a down-grade, in Drive, they wouldn't. Eerie stuff. After twenty minutes of fighting with the thing, I was over it, and parked in the driveway to hunt down a fix. The various forum solutions to similar problems ranged from IACV cleaning, to throttle cable replacement, to vacuum leaks, to stuck throttle butterfly valves. None completely described my issue, nor the suddenness of its onset. Just as I was about to start pulling parts, I came across a comment on an IACV thread where the commenter described how, when his truck's battery was completely drained, and the truck jumpstarted, that he would experience uncommanded revving and surging for 30 minutes or so while the battery recharged, and then, after shutting the truck for 30 minutes, upon restart, the issues would have cleared up. Perhaps a low-voltage condition interfering with the GEMS ecu controls? It seemed worth a shot, so without touching anything, I fired the old man back up, and wouldn't you know it, the rig settled down to a loping 700 rpm idle. Throttle response was crisp and linear, without any over-rev or surging. I drove the 3 miles down to the gas station, fueled up, and drove back without incident. I'll keep an eye on it, and the darn thing CERTAINLY needs an IACV clean and vacuum system refresh, but for now, we're up and running!
Just when you think it can't get any weirder. It's the beauty of driving these old trucks with this kind of community, though. Most all of the problems have been discovered, solved, and shared over the past 25 years. Thanks to all who make that happen - and now you're one as well!
 
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Spark6

Well-known member
Oct 31, 2020
127
40
New Hampshire
Well, we have a set of NH plates! (Inspection still to come - scheduling one has been a challenge.) The new plates bring complications though. PA was a one-plate state, so I never worried about the lack of a front plate mount on Winston. NH is a two-plate state, and now I’m stumped. I’m on the hunt for an aftermarket plate mount that will work with our stock bumper, but in the meantime, I’m considering the old reliable zip-tie to the grill. My only concern is that I’ll inhibit airflow to the radiator and cause the thing to run hot. It’s starting to cool off around here, so as a temporary measure, perhaps it’s alright? Anyone have any preferred plate-mount setups?
 

terryjm1

Well-known member
Jan 23, 2011
1,486
375
Well, we have a set of NH plates! (Inspection still to come - scheduling one has been a challenge.) The new plates bring complications though. PA was a one-plate state, so I never worried about the lack of a front plate mount on Winston. NH is a two-plate state, and now I’m stumped. I’m on the hunt for an aftermarket plate mount that will work with our stock bumper, but in the meantime, I’m considering the old reliable zip-tie to the grill. My only concern is that I’ll inhibit airflow to the radiator and cause the thing to run hot. It’s starting to cool off around here, so as a temporary measure, perhaps it’s alright? Anyone have any preferred plate-mount setups?

I have a stock plate mount you can have for the cost to ship it. I should be able to remove it from the bumper next week.

I went from a 2 plate state to a 1 plate state. You can have the plastic trim too but it will make it more costly to ship. Here is a photo of the one I have.

https://discoweb.org/index.php?attachments/fb6c6091-5b35-42c3-b882-c23f4cd1d22b-jpeg.61623/
 
Last edited:

Spark6

Well-known member
Oct 31, 2020
127
40
New Hampshire
Terry, thank you for the offer! That’s interesting - I have none of those parts on our rig. How does the plastic plynth attach to the bumper?
 

terryjm1

Well-known member
Jan 23, 2011
1,486
375
Terry, thank you for the offer! That’s interesting - I have none of those parts on our rig. How does the plastic plynth attach to the bumper?
When I remove it I will send some photos of it and how it is mounted. You can decide if and what you want of it.. The plastic trim piece is still available new. I know because I recently purchased one as I didn’t want one with holes or that has been trimmed for the bull bar.
 
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