Coolest Trar Evar!!

Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
You really should pull the fuel tank and clean all the rust out of it.

Keep it original and call it the RAT TRAR

Should have, but didn't. I wanted that instant gratification, so I didn't mess with the tank. I don't know that a 60 yr old gas tank is salvageable if it's rusting out from the inside. I have looked at replacement tanks, but they cost 1/2 of what I paid for the car. I really don't want to do a fuel cell, maybe an old keg or 2 in the bed?


Here is some inspiration for you Greg. Saw this on a Ranchero forum.http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/1581855765.html

:cool: That thing has a lot of work into it!
 

pELYgroso

'Merica
Location
LEHI, UT
just saw this trar in Vegas a couple weeks ago! I love these things now! Not sure exactly what it is but it was sweet! I should have stopped and taken some better pics!
 

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Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
So I just spent the last 30 minutes.... driving the El Combino around Fruita... :greg:

I'm going to take it back out tomorrow and get some pics & videos then.
 

Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
Hell with it... Catherine was making dinner and it was going to be ready in 5 min, but I just had to take the car out again. I drove over to the co-op with the camera for some quick pictures. This thing is just too much fun!


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On the seat, the essentials of a 1st drive... starting fluid and a fire extinguisher. :rofl:-
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Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
Just past midnight and I can't sleep, I think I'm too excited about driving the car. :rofl:

Jeff, I'll bring it up tomorrow if you'll be around. I'll call you again before I head up.

Just some thoughts & info about the El Combino...

It gets attention everywhere I go... people wave, give a thumbs up, or just plain stare as it drives by. Too funny.

I put 4 new tires on the car since the old tires were shot, went with Coopers from Big-O. I tried hard to find a used/junkyard set of tires with a whitewall that I could grind and make into a wide white wall, but they were about impossible to find. So new tires it was... you have any idea how hard it is to find new tires that are still made with a white wall? Pretty hard... :ugh: My investment into the car about doubled after buying new tires. -_- I've decided I'm not going to grind wide-whites into the new tires. It does feel good to have new tires and not having to worry about a blowout.

Driving a car with a 3 on the Tree is interesting... it took all of 5 minutes to get used to it... it's pretty cool. I feel quite nostalgic driving & shifting the thing. The steering wheel is so big, the bottom of the wheel is in my lap while driving. Feels like the damn thing is 3 feet across.

The headlights, tail lights and brake lights all work... I didn't have to do anything! Makes me even more impressed with the quality of cars they built in the '50's. Turn signals don't work, but there is 1 wire under the dash that's disconnected, that may be the issue.

As you can see, I didn't use the keg mentioned previously. I drained the gas out of the tank and while it had a bit of rust & junk, the tank was actually in pretty good shape. Instead I just added 2 fuel filters to take the junk out before it got into the carb again. I pulled the carb apart and sprayed out the junk that had gotten in from the 1st time I got it running on gas.

I don't think the generator is working, I have about 6.3 volts while the car is running. I think I should have at least 7.5, right?

The bearings in the water pump are shot... it makes a helluva lot of noise when running. Not a big deal, a replacement is around $40. I have a new fan belt and will replace the upper & lower radiator hoses while I'm in there.

The engine temp, oil pressure, fuel level and battery instruments all work!!! :eek::cool:

I want to lower it, bad. At least drop the rear end 4". Dropping the front would be nice too, but I'm not sure it can be done cheaply without ruining things. Heating up the springs is an option, but a last resort IMO. I suppose I could cut the coils. We'll see what happens. I'm going to work on fitting the fender skirts tomorrow. :greg:

I'm thinking about taking it to the Moab car show... the big questions is, do I drive it there?! :eek:
 
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