# The War Pig Got Us Home



## k0xxx (Oct 27, 2011)

I made a run down to the New Orleans area Saturday, to pick up my son and a load of his "stuff" that was going to be staged at our home. We had planned to leave very early Sunday morning in an attempt to beat the winter weather that was forecast up here. Unfortunately, I broke a connector off at the manifold, where the hot water takes off for the heater, and we spent the entire morning try to find another one or a temporary fix. Our efforts failed and we just plugged up the hose and the manifold take-off, and hit the road about midday.

We got to Memphis, the trees were covered in a glaze of ice, but the road was still warm enough to be OK. Several miles before we got to our turn off from I-55 onto Hwy 63, the ice was forming quickly on the roadway. When we got to the exit it was time for 4wd, and we still had 120 miles to go. In just a few miles with sleet and ice were several inches deep on the road, and we were experiencing the joy of freezing rain. I have a little 150w 12v heater that my son kept trained on the windshield in front of me, in a valiant (if not futile) attempt to keep my view of the road clear.

We stopped several times to help those that had prematurely departed the roadway. I was amazed at the number of people that didn't feel it necessary to slowdown, and then paid the price.

All in all it was 120 miles of mostly 25 mph travel, while plowing through up to 5 inches of sleet and ice on the road, and most of the time not being able to tell where the road and the shoulders met. (not to mention some of the the drop-offs on the sides of the roads). While not anything that those of you up north would call severe, for this little southern boy it was an epic struggle.









Driving through Imboden, Ar. We lucky here as the road must have been plowed not long before we arrived.


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## camo2460 (Feb 10, 2013)

Glad you made it home okay, we just stayed home. My wife did try to go out this morning, but turned around and came back, the ice is so thick and it's so cold that it's not melting.


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## Geek999 (Jul 9, 2013)

Glad you made it home safely. Blizzards are on my list of "high probability" events. After this winter I think a lot of people should be considering blizzards as common scenarios.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

Glad everything worked for you. We've been changing our route a bit to avoid the weather and one day we stayed an extra day at the hotel to avoid the roads. Our car is great in the snow and ice but we had no interest in dealing with the drivers you ran across.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

Year, make and model of War Pig?

Heater fitting in the intake sounds like a GM product

I was wondering about those little heaters that plug into the lighter socket...


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

Blizzards are common enough around here. 

Keep the head-lights on low-beam, use fog-lights (instead of driving lights) and if you can snag some yellow-tinted glasses (like for shooting) it will help keep your eyes focused through the blowing snow and help keep them from getting tired quickly.

Good to hear that the ol' warpig got ya there 'n back again!


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## OldCootHillbilly (Jul 9, 2010)

Weather like that make the hair on yer butt itch don't it! Glad yall did well.


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## k0xxx (Oct 27, 2011)

LincTex said:


> Year, make and model of War Pig?
> 
> Heater fitting in the intake sounds like a GM product
> 
> I was wondering about those little heaters that plug into the lighter socket...


Yep, '97 Chevy 'burban 2500 (4wd and 6.5L Diesel). Darn pot metal parts! We just screwed a bolt into the manifold to block it off. Found the part on eBay and it "should" be here tomorrow.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

k0xxx said:


> Darn pot metal parts! We just screwed a bolt into the manifold to block it off. Found the part on eBay and it "should" be here tomorrow.


You can buy replacement fittings made of zinc-plated steel.

Why GM ever did that I'll never know.....


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## Geek999 (Jul 9, 2013)

LincTex said:


> You can buy replacement fittings made of zinc-plated steel.
> 
> Why GM ever did that I'll never know.....


Source for parts?

The reason did what they did was lack of interest in producing a quality product. They lagged everyone else in quality during that period. Some vehicles sold well due to lack of competitive models, e.g. Suburban.

I'm restoring an old Suburban but if someone else had been making something equivalent back in the 70s-90s I'd be restoring one of those instead.

Fortunately, lots of quality aftermarket parts exist.


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## HamiltonFelix (Oct 11, 2011)

I will consider this a heads up. I have a 1996 K2500 Suburban that has been sitting since the transfer case failed at 261,000 miles. I will put these fittings on my list of items to check, should I get the rig back on the road. It always was a good winter rig, dual heaters and 454 engine. 

As to "something equivalent," the Ford Excursion was only made for a few years, and I believe the International Travelall vanished in 1975 along with their other passenger vehicles and light trucks. 'Burban it is.:dunno:


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

when you are ready to take the stub out:

http://www.chevytalk.org/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/153399

The better replacement:
http://www.amazon.com/Dorman-800-40...bs_auto_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=0F31V3HVMJ562SRJ0EX1


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## HamiltonFelix (Oct 11, 2011)

Interesting. My first thought was a small pipe easy-out, but cutting it in thirds might well be necessary. I wonder if doing it under a good shop-vac hose would prevent pieces going down into the manifold.


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## Geek999 (Jul 9, 2013)

HamiltonFelix said:


> I will consider this a heads up. I have a 1996 K2500 Suburban that has been sitting since the transfer case failed at 261,000 miles. I will put these fittings on my list of items to check, should I get the rig back on the road. It always was a good winter rig, dual heaters and 454 engine.
> 
> As to "something equivalent," the Ford Excursion was only made for a few years, and I believe the International Travelall vanished in 1975 along with their other passenger vehicles and light trucks. 'Burban it is.:dunno:


Good luck finding an International Travelall. The Excursion is a late model competitor and already off the market. I wanted a large SUV from the 70s or 80s with a diesel engine for my project and eventual BOV. The list of choices is pretty short.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

Geek999 said:


> I wanted a large SUV from the 70s or 80s with a diesel engine for my project and eventual BOV. The list of choices is pretty short.


Make one.

A Cummins diesel swap is pretty straight forward, I did mine over 4 days.

However, It needs to be a "one ton" if you chose the 5.9 liter... that engine is heavy.


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## Geek999 (Jul 9, 2013)

LincTex said:


> Make one.
> 
> A Cummins diesel swap is pretty straight forward, I did mine over 4 days.
> 
> However, It needs to be a "one ton" if you chose the 5.9 liter... that engine is heavy.


I found a diesel, so why bother? I've got plenty to do without taking on a conversion from one diesel to another.

In case someone thinks I am hijacking the thread, this vehicle will be a lot like the Warpig when done, a bit older and fully restored though.


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