1978 winnebago winnie

[Bill Corson]

hi all nice forum glad I found this place..reason being I can't find no help anywhere I have called dodge dealers,rv places you name it,,,lol what I am trying to find out is what size motor

and what can I cross reference for it to buy parts at auto stores. the minnie is a model F40 

78 dodge looks like a van in the front I have a owners manual it dodge sportsman / tradesman

but that is no help I did happen to buy the right rotors,brakes and calipers..they was for a  D300 dodge truck. but again no idea what engine is in it I looked all over and can not find a plate stating engine size. hope someone can help thanks in advance

[Jimco_W001]

Hi Bill,welcome to GORV's.In 1978 five engines were offered.A six cylinder,318 and 360 small block with the distributor at the rear of the engine.And a 400 and 440 big block with the distributor at the front of the engine.Some times you can see the engine displacement stamped on the block just below the distributor or on a sticker on the side of the valve cover.

A D model chassis is a van while a A model is a pick up truck.

[Bill Corson]

ty I will take a look the distributor is in the front so I am guessing 400 someone told me it's not a 440 because it has a two barrel carb. not sure if he is right or not,,,lol oh and there is a sticker on the valve cover but of course it list all the engines darn buggers. oh maybe you can help me with this too I installed new plugs and wires had the carb rebuilt (holley carb) it is burning rich black smoke from exhaust and man it burns your eyes and nose whew! I adjusted the screws in to seat backed out one and half as per holley to see if there is any difference and nada.. choke is opening full.

i was wondering maybe it had some bad fuel in it not sure. really trying to get'er going camping in two weeks hoping to take the rv instead of a tent,,,,lol

[Jimco_W001]

Sounds like you have a bad power valve in the carb.Has the motor back fired since you put the rebuilt carb on?Back firing is what cause's the power valve to go bad and leak into the carb.

[Bill Corson]

no back fires at all since the rebuild.that is what the guy told me when he did it he said if you had a back fire it will blow i guess the power valve he pointed to the carb. it starts ok but smokes like a black soot turns the grass black and burns your eyes it smells like it is burning really rich. I filled both tanks to full and put dry gas incase there was water in it.. my one mechanic freind said to add a fuel stabilizer incase it is varnished in there.. wish I could get him up here to take a look but he is darn busy.  I can't find

 any marking for engine size I looked.. really hard to see in there the alternator is right in front of the distributor.

[Jimco_W001]

Might be stuff in the fuel system that is now in your carb.I like to crank the engine and have a hose on the fuel outlet that runs into a catch can before I install a carb.

This way you get the junk out before it gets into the carb.

[Bill Corson]

ty and yep I did that to see what the fuel looked like... it looked good I also changed the filter before I put the carb on. I noticed when it is cold it starts right up before had to crank it a while like the old days pump the heck out of it,,,lol but now it starts right up  but once it's warm gotta hold it to the floor takes a little to start. idk hopefully it makes it to the camp ground it's not far 30 miles away be it first camping trip with me. the wife wants to me to sell it and I said no way,,,lol I bartered to get it I tore a house down with a backhoe did not take long to knock down. so I really don't have much money invested in it except brakes,rotors,calipers,new plugs and wires and of course the rebuild of the carb for $83. she don't understand that is really cheap to own a RV I want to restore it , hope to enjoy for many yrs to come. was buggin my other mechanic freind to bring his vacum gauge over and help me adjust the carb to the right settings and see what he thinks he might try to come over tomm.I was throwing the case of beer lure out there,,,lol I will let ya know how I make out thanks for your help

[Rick & Judy Parry]

  Hi Bill I found a web site for you  www.winnebagoind.com/products/previous-models/1978/pdfs  it has all the specs, yours is either a 20 ft rear couch MW20RG or a 23 ft MW23RB both only came with 360 engines. I hope this helps, I loaned out my owners manual a few years back and it was lost, that pmo as it had all the specs for all 78 minne winnes.I have a C25 on a chev chassic, owned it since 94, great rig. good luck and happy adventures.   Rick            

[Bill Corson]

thanks rick having trouble with the whole link will try to find that pdf I did find one  awhile back that showed my floor plan but with every interior spec except motor specs

from the pdf floor plan I found was 78 WD423RB I have a owners manual but of course they cover lots of engines the front says 78 dodge sportsman than under that

tradesman on my door it says Model F40. it kinda like doing a detective job never thought finding things out would be so hard,,,lol i took it for a test ride today not too far about 20 miles out and back ran good except when i hit stop signd or lights puffin black sooty smoke I know it burning on the rich side I add fuel stabilizer hoping it will help again thanks ....happy motoring

[Bill Corson]

hi rick got my way to the link once i got on the main page that helped alot got more info that I did know before from what I am seeing it is a mw 23RB they all including brave came with a 360 but the darn buggers threw me a curve. in the optional section mw23rb had a 440 option and only one that had cruise mine has cruise but heck someone could of put that on later. I had a few freinds tell me that all 440s had 4 barrels but oine mechanic said there was a 440 with a two so atleast I know it either a 440 or a 360 helps finding parts a little easier thanks alot bud

[Rick & Judy Parry]

 Hi Bill glad it helped, in my experence looking at others like yours i cant say i have ever scene one with a 440.  I was allso surprised that there is no listing for my 78 c25rb on the chev chassis, I even checked other years as i do know my chassis is a 77.

[Mike and Heather Brancich]

Hey Bill. All Mopar engines have the engine size cast into the block. it is just below the head surface. near the bell housing. on the side of the block. good luck

most of the time it is covered in grit.

Small blocks have distributor in rear of engine

Big Blocks have distributor in front of engine

  Mike

[Bill Corson]

ty but I finnally found out it is a 360 i had a guy that was supposed to be good rebuilting carbs pfft!!!! he rebuilt the carb for $100 bucks was burnin real rich so i ended up taking it to a garage that a guys is real good with older vehicles he took one look and said you got a 360 there and he showed me sprayed some degreaser and wala,,,lol but he is also working on it for me. he said the carb is screwed up and dumpin fuel like crazy that is why it burnin so rich. he found me a good used carb for 20 bucks. the first guy lost linkage rods off choke or cold idle. kinda makes ya mad when you trust people and they mess things up and do nothing to make it right. so now for 200 I will get'er going good this time.well I hope crossing fingers it is supposed to be done this monday, this is really a great site with lots of helpful people and useful info. the one post on restore old finishes it awesome made my rv look new with floor wax who would belive it,,,,lo again thanks to all for the help.