New to Me '84 Allegro

[Jim Stoltz]

Well, I committed to buying an '84 Allegro today I can't tell if it's a 27 or 30 and I forgot to look. I paid $200 (two hundred dollars) so as you might imagine, it needs a bit of work. It's worth a lot more in parts, but it has so much charm that I couldn't let it go.

It's sitting in a tow yard after having broken down on the way to a camping trip in 2008. By "broken down" the engine threw a rod. I'm mechanically inclined enough to R&R the engine (even though it needs to come out the driver's door) so I'm not worried about that.

There's 80 gallons of fuel in the tank. The current owner says he added stabilizer to it, but I'm still a bit worried about it. How do you dispose of 80 gallons of bad fuel? I may mix it with good stuff and run it through my running vehicles.

I showed up to inspect the motorhome with a portable generator. The generator in it now (a 6.5kw GenSet) has "carb problems". The guy seemed really honest, so I believe him when he said it ran a few years ago. Everything worked - microwave, the panel where you check the levels of the water, batteries and propane, water pump (it's winterized but I ran it for a split second), both furnaces, etc. It's only 30 degrees out today so I don't know if the fridge actually works. He said it did, and it lights up, so that's a bit of a risk.

Inside it was nicely maintained. Carpet isn't worn, upholstery is nice. It's vintage cool.

Roof apparently leaks but it doesn't appear to be too bad. I might seal it and forget it or repair it (it leaked around the skylight for the shower).

Body is good with no defects - it's just dirty from sitting for so long.

It needs tires (cha-ching!). The previous owner installed an airbag leveling system that still works.

The main thing is that my 13-year-old son is very excited about it. It could be a fun project for us both to work on, and for the price I paid I can abandon it and make my money back by parting it out any time. But I'd really like to get it on the road. It has 78k miles on it, so it has some life left in it.

I can't wait to dig in, but it's a little scary too. Wish me luck!

[Jim Stoltz]

Yes - there are a bunch on the first page of this thread.

[Jim Stoltz]

I broke my "don't spend a dime on anything other than the engine" rule again.

The 30-year-old power converter was falling behind. Lights were dim and furnace fans were slow. The battery was being discharged even with the converter plugged in. It was a 40-amp unit and was like a cinder block. I replaced it with a 55-amp unit that's 1/2 the size and 1/4 the weight.

So, no mobility yet but I have nice, bright lights and happy furnace fans. Also it seems like the systems monitor (for the fresh water, gray, black and LP levels) is sensitive to voltage. I was getting readings all over the place even though I know everything is empty. With the new converter, everything reads a solid "E" like it should.

With regard to mobility, the local guy won't budge off of his price for that 454. I might have to suck it up and give him what he wants. There's one more with only 30k miles on it about 65 miles from here that I'm haggling on. FedEx guy brought my new 1-ton chain hoist yesterday so I plan to get going on removal soon.

[Jim Stoltz]

Turns out those 15-lb. propane cylinders go fast! I need to use the heat more sparingly. But it's good to have the option anyway.

I got 2 new group 27 deep cycle batteries for it. My brother needed his back (I had "borrowed" it a little while back) so I figured what the heck.

The guy with the engine won the staring contest. I blinked and gave him what he was asking. When looking at the Chevy 454 inventory within a 100-mile radius, his was the best deal even at his asking price. I was just hoping to do a bit better. The bonus is that he's 5 miles from my house which is a bonus considering time, gas and wear and tear on my truck.

The "new" engine only has 47k on it. I hate breaking the seals on good-running engines, but I need to break it down to a short block to fit it through the door. All new gaskets aren't necessarily a bad thing anyway.

So, tripping over the "new" engine every day in my garage will be an incentive to get the project moving again.

[Jim Stoltz]

Yes, taking it down to a short block is a pain but at least I know it will have new gaskets and seals, plus I can take a peek inside to make sure everything is okay. This is not a job I want to do more than once.

I was looking at the radiator and decided not to mess with it. I'm sure it comes out somehow, but even with the engine stripped down to a short block it looks like a pain to remove. Once the engine is out I'll look at it again.

I finally got around to removing the 3-4 feet of snow that accumulated between the limo and the RV. Must have been a wind-tunnel type of affect. We "only" got about 18-20" of snow but it was waist deep or higher the length of the limo and RV. My snow thrower broke so I had to borrow a smaller unit. When I finally got enough snow removed to back the limo out, it wouldn't move. Trans cooler line had popped off and it puked all the fluid out into the snow. Of course the hood was under 4 feet of snow (I had planned to back it out of its snow tomb). After another half hour of digging around the nose of the Caddy I was able to get the hood open and the line fixed. This, by the way, is why I can never find time to work on the RV! There's always something else needing fixed. But anyway, I got some fluid back into it and I was able to back it out. I then cleared the snow from the side of the RV. It was above the bottom of the entry door and had covered the storage doors completely.

It will be nice when I can move this 31-foot paper weight around. I would have put it out of the way ahead of the storm if I could have. The tow truck put it exactly in the middle of my driveway and there it sits!

Anyway, the new engine is out of an '85 motorhome (mine's an '84). It's complete with all accessories and exhaust manifolds. It's worth paying a little extra for one that's complete and from the same vintage vehicle. The others on Craigslist and elsewhere weren't as complete or were from different applications. I'm waiting on the guy to call me to come get it. He's excavating his stuff from the snow, too, and was hopeful to get to it by this weekend.

[Stephen Moss]

From your pictures it is sure looking good. Hard to believe you got it so cheap. Should have a lot more years on it.

[Jim Stoltz]

Thanks! I put it on the road a couple of weeks ago. It's a lot of fun and should have some life left in it.