Hey Dave,
Congrats on your sale. Just wish it got 10mpg as we would have been able to swing it. Maybe next time around.

Terry

DAMN!!! After dinking around yeaterday looking at all manner of MH and trailers, my wife finally said. "We really should get a motorhome and the mileage isn't THAT important!!! I would have bought yours, Dave if only she hadn't been so concerned about mileage. We looked at a bunch of what I would call junk and I think she now appreciates the difference. So, if anybody else in our vicinity has a Barth for sale that is in good shape, we can spend up to $12,000 but that's all we can afford at this time.

Thanks,
Terry
Lanesboro, MN
507 467-2154

I'm confused,no big voyage to get there, is the B'mobile sold or not? If so, Congratulations all the way around, if not maybe it is a sign for you, Dave, that maybe it can't be replaced in your life and heart. As has been stated by others about many other things, "They aren't making any more of them."
Tim

C'mon Terry, Get yer feet wet! It's a heck of a deal.

I talked to Dave on Thursday. He will call me Monday if it's still available. Guess the buyer might still take it. If it doesn't work out, We're still look'in. The F.r.e.d. unit is still available in Ohio. Long trip for me though this time of year. Hard to get away from the Inn. Also another 33 that was just on eBay. Looks real clean and has a Ford 460 in it.
High bid was only $9000.00 and didn't meet his reserve. He told me he would let it go for 11-12. I wouldn't want a gasser that long though. Looks like another great deal. Until I hear from Dave, if there are any others out there in our range and within a day's round trip, I'd like to hear about them.

Terry

I know this isn't the right forum for this but in doing some research, putting fuel injection on the 454 will improve mileage around 15 to 20 % and also found that another site had several people who installed MSD ignition systems and inproved their mileage noticably. One guy went from 7 to 9.5mpg. Have any of you tried this? Gearhead here!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Haoleman:
also found that another site had several people who installed MSD ignition systems and inproved their mileage noticably. One guy went from 7 to 9.5mpg. Have any of you tried this? Gearhead here!!!

I use the MSD 6A with its spark control. Don't check mileage, but I am a real believer in the MSD. They need the MSD wires and rotor button to work best. Carry a spare coil. Keep the MSD cool.

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Bowers:
The Barthmobile is sold...

To one of our hero from Minnesota who is returning from 17 months in a Iraq. No not a 22 year old PFC but a 58 year old Minnesot lawyer SFC. He has been in that God forsaken place for 17 months straight.

My Air Force son and I will have this baby sparkling for him when he picks it up around the 20 of the month.. Things couldn't have worked out better.

I'm sorry, but since the buyer is a lawyer, his word should be trusted (a mere 98% of lawyers give the remainder a bad reputation), and he should also know putting stop payment on a check under certain circumstances can be as severe as a felony in some states. Dave, he's bought the coach.

He can post it for sale here, but expectations of a transaction with an attorney are subject to higher standards, so he's its new owner. You can bet he'd sue for specific performance if the roles were reversed.

Let him know we welcome him to Barthmobile.com as the forum's newest Barth owner!

Oh, thanks Rusty because I failed to update the story here. I received a call from the buyer just a day or s after arriving in the US from Iraq. It was the person who wrote the check who panicked when confronted with the cost of gas. He has since assured me that when he finally gets home he will consummate the deal. I have talked with him twice and I am confident that this will work out.

I am sorry that I didn't update this sooner. I would hate for anyone to have a negative thought about one of our soldiers because of me.

I didn't have a possible lower assessment of a "soldier" - I had a lower opinion of a "lawyer".

quote:

Originally posted by bill h:
I use the MSD 6A with its spark control. Don't check mileage, but I am a real believer in the MSD. They need the MSD wires and rotor button to work best. Carry a spare coil. Keep the MSD cool.

My SOB has (well had) a similar product I believe, a Jacobs Electronics Powerpak ignition upgrade. Supposed to advance/retard the spark timing as needed depending on your driving and towing conditions to maximize efficiency. A good idea in theory, but it burned out the day after we bought our motorhome and left us stranded. I'm sure this probability is the reason bill h says to carry a spare coil with you, but they are several hundred dollars each (at least the Jacobs ones are). Luckily their tech support was very good at walking me through disabling the system to activate the original ignition, and we got back on the road. But I will likely not be replacing the parts because it's one more part to fail when you're on the road.

Now that I've veered WAY off topic, I'll attempt to return... Dave, glad the coach is still tentatively sold and it sounds like things will work out for the Barthmobile.

A MSD coil is about $35-$40. It is a multiple spark discharge (MSD) computer. It provides several sparks at low rpm's and burns fuel more completely than the original HEI ignition.

quote:

Originally posted by scottydl:

My SOB has (well had) a similar product I believe, a Jacobs Electronics Powerpak ignition upgrade. Supposed to advance/retard the spark timing as needed depending on your driving and towing conditions to maximize efficiency. A good idea in theory, but it burned out the day after we bought our motorhome and left us stranded.

My two-year degree is in electronics, so I am not academically qualified to dispute the the theory behind the Jacobs unit. However, as Churchill said, "The primary value of education is to recognise rubbish when one sees it." I would not call the Jacobs theory rubbish, but some of the advertising copy raises my hype alarms. I even checked Dr Jacobs' credentials to see if his PhD was in marketing. He does give lectures such as "Converting Your Ideas and Concepts into Personal Income: The Step by Step Process", and is described as an "inventor and entrepreneur." I will not dispute the entrepreneur description.

I have been very happy with the MSD units on several engines, as have a number of my performance-oriented friends. I am always gleaning knowledge from my contacts, and I know of far more happy MSD users than Jacobs users. I actually do know one credible person who reports mileage improvement with the Jacobs system, though. I will say that the benefits of the MSD are more noticeable on a high performance engine than a stock on. My ski boat engine barely runs at the max legal speeds in some controlled waterways without the MSD. Cam overlap and manifold puddling, etc.

quote:

I'm sure this probability is the reason bill h says to carry a spare coil with you, but they are several hundred dollars each (at least the Jacobs ones are).

My recommendation was to carry a spare coil, not the whole electronics unit. I have had two coil failures. One was an aftermarket coil the previous owner's shop put in to make it pass smog. If failed a couple of years later, and I stuck in a spare Summit coil I had with me. It failed and I stuck in another spare I carried, origin unknown. It was replaced with a lifetime warranty coil from Kragen, (I think), and is back in the spare bin. I suspect that the MSD units high current draw in general might be related to some MSD-caused overloading of the HEI coil, but have not actually measured. Additionally, both coils that failed were aftermarket, so that could be a factor as well. It often is, particularly with ignition parts. I have used MSD units on other engines in other applications without a problem, so perhaps the high heat of RV application is a contributing factor.

So, my mention of keeping the MSD cool and carrying a spare coil is just precautionary. I have learned that even without complete failure analysis, if a part fails once, it can do it again.

quote:

But I will likely not be replacing the parts because it's one more part to fail when you're on the road.

Yep. Always a good rule. My gadget-itis at times leadeth me from the path of reliabilityness.

quote:

Originally posted by bill h:

quote:

Originally posted by scottydl:
But I will likely not be replacing the parts because it's one more part to fail when you're on the road.

Yep. Always a good rule. My gadget-itis will at times leadeth me from the path of reliabilityness.

Hehe, nice use of wording there. I appreciate the in-depth analysis (seriously) from someone who knows. My experiential data would say that the Jacobs system will fail about 24 hours after it is installed... okay, okay, that MIGHT be a little inaccurate. But what I do know is that I don't want a roadside failure repeat, which would probably happen eventually. Even the service tech I called indirectly suggested I not replace the unit when it failed, since it is out of warranty.