The Resurrection of Mr. Hanky

Crawling Around

2012-01-02T21:42:00.002-05:00

Finally got Hanky out to where I could test the Aussie at least a little. Went up to my mother's place and crawled around on the rocks in her paddock. Climbed up a little incline strewn with rocks, over some fallen timber, over some other rock piles. Performed great. Got the front right spring hanger hung up on a rock and had to jack it up to get off of it. Rolled another rock under the driver's frame that lifted the tire on that side about 6" off the ground.

One of the front hubs made a nasty clang/pop sound when I was done then the opposite one did the same when backing out of a parking space at a store on the way home. Hmmm. Need to pull the hubs apart and inspect, lube them anyway. Hope I didn't break anything.

Also swapped my spare radiator into Tony's Scout. Had to clean a mouse nest out of it, but it seems to be working well. Now to put the new pump motor on the plow pump and get that hooked up.

Back in Black

2011-12-15T08:34:00.000-05:00

33" Dunlop Mud Rovers on flat black spokes. I think these will work, though I might eventually paint the rims.

A Glut of Rubber

2011-12-14T18:33:00.000-05:00

OK, so I must be obsessed or something. Well, no, not really. That cut in the sidewall of one of my 32s has been bothering me, so I've been on the look out for a new set of tires, or at least two to swap.

Well, the other day I noticed a set of 33" Dunlop Mud Rovers on wagon wheels on CL. Thought about it. Thought about it some more. Finally emailed the guy last night and he still had them. Went to look at them tonight and wouldn't you know it, they followed me home and are now on Hanky.

Yes, this probably puts the 35" debate to rest. Will probably look to move them on to someone who can use them, or possibly trade for ??? These suckers are worth about $1200 new, but I won't be asking anywhere near that...

Will post pics tomorrow when it's light.

If They Don't Want It, Is it Stealing?

2011-12-13T16:58:00.000-05:00

So there is this small utility trailer abandoned on Rt 175 at Tamar Dr., like a mile and a half from my house. Been there for like a month. When I first saw it, the tongue was leaning up against it, like it had broken off. After it sitting there for three weeks, I finally stopped to check it out. Not bad. Lots of surface rust, but solid. New wheels. All the wiring and the tongue is gone. But, it's just a straight tongue that bolts on. Easy fix. So, I'm thinking I can just take this thing home and fix it. Check the MVA site to see what kind of hoops they would put me through to tag a salvaged trailer. Lots if I don't have a title. So I figure I ought to call the Police to see what they say. Nope, can't just take it, even if it's been sitting there forever. They have to run a VIN check (good luck finding one). If they can't find one or the owner doesn't claim it after they run a check, they tow it away and auction it off somewhere, some time. The duty officer even said that it would be a whole lot easier if I just took it, but can't let me. Bah. Phooey.

Decisions, Decisions

2011-12-11T16:43:00.000-05:00

These new wheels won't fit on the rear passenger side as-is, but since I've already trimmed a section out of the driver's quarter, I figured I'll put them on that side to see how they look with the truck sitting on it's weight. Pretty damned good.

Then, since I can't drive it around with 3 35s and a 32, I put the rest of the 32s back on. For comparison, here's how it looks:

Mind you, the rear does sag just a bit, but is clear that there will need to be more than just a little trimming to make these bad boys fit. Given that I planned on cutting off the ds quarter anyway, doesn't seem like I have a lot to lose. Might have to put those add-a-leaf's I have on the rear to kick it up another inch or so.

I still have to repair the floor and mid mount on the driver's side, so I have some time to think about what I really want to do. SOA, 4.09 sounds pretty good. :-)

Free Like a Baby, not a Beer

2011-12-01T20:46:00.000-05:00

So, like I said, these bargain tires I got are gonna cost me a fair bit more if I'm going to be able to use them. Tried putting them on today just for kicks to see how they would look just sitting still. Fronts fit great and look really good. The rears are, well, tight. I jacked from the bumper, so even with the axle unsprung, there was only about 1/2" clearance between the tire and the front edge of the quarter. If I lowered it, it would have pinched the tire. Looks pretty cool though. It actually looks like it would interfere even with a significant amount of additional lift. Check out the pics. The last one is the 32" tire next to the new 35". By the way, the front tires are Dick Cepek MTS and the rears are BFG Mud Terrains. The look darned near new, but are definitely used a bit.

Now I've gone and done it.

2011-11-30T22:01:00.000-05:00

Just couldn't resist these wheels/tires. 35" and cheap on eBay. Picking them up tomorrow. Now I wonder how much it will cost me to lift Hanky enough to be able to run them. I don't think the 6" I have now is enough. We'll see tomorrow!

Scoutco Products. Mustang Style rocker stripes

2011-11-28T19:52:00.000-05:00

OK, thinkin' about this stripe for Hanky. The paint that I have for it is about this color too (hopefully it is still good after sitting on the shelf for um, like 10 years.).

Scoutco Products. Mustang Style rocker stripes

Workin' Down Under

2011-11-28T19:19:00.000-05:00

Whoo hoo! Got the Aussie in this weekend. Started on Friday and with Brian's help, it wasn't too bad. In about 4 hours, we got it out, the Aussie pieces installed and the carrier back in. On Sunday I put the axles back in, tested it and took it for a short spin. Seems to work perfectly. Can't wait to test it off road!

Cool, man.

2011-11-06T09:19:00.000-05:00

The preponderance of evidence pointed to a thermostat malfuntion as the cause of my ruptured hose, boil over problem at Pinelands. So, yesterday I set about testing it. Pulled it out and did the kitchen pot method, along side a new one and sure enough, the old one didn't budge. There you have it. New one is now installed and we should be good to go.

Also gave Hanky a bath, since the rain washed most of the mud off anyway. Anyone have a good way to turn my now-gray tire sidewalls back to black?

A New JL IH Truck is coming

2011-11-04T13:12:00.000-04:00

Pay attention kiddees, a new IH pickup is on the way from Johnny Lightning.

More details on the JL blog.

Forever and a Day

2011-10-25T21:11:00.000-04:00

Man, it's been a long time since I've posted. You probably were wondering where I went. Or not. It's been one of those summers. One that hasn't involved a lot of time with the trucks. Made it to Carlisle this year, Didn't make Nats or Hershey, but did make Pinelands. Oh, I did manage to swap the doors, finish welding the driver's side firewall and front floor. Took a rattle can to the top and windshield frame just prior to Pinelands, so it's all basic black now. Well basic black and mud. Here are some pics to catch you up:

Cross one off, add another

2011-06-04T19:02:00.001-04:00

Had some time to kill today while the masses perused my wares at our neighborhood yard sale today, so I took the opportunity to rebuild the thermoquad. Made a run down to Harbor freight last night to pick up some soda. Used that to clean up the carb and it worked great. Clean as a whistle, buttoned back up and on the Scout. works great. Need to do a little fine tuning on it and general tune up stuff. timed it to 8* and took it for a run. Not bad, but isn't giving quite the power I would expect. Worlds better than it was though.

Of course, with the good comes the bad. Not only is the steering box leaking like a seive, the alternator seems to be going and I spotted what looks like oils seeping from the crank in front.

One of these days I'll just be able to drive and enjoy.

A Truck Named Spot

2011-05-25T18:26:00.000-04:00

I think I recently said "It's nice having a Scout that doesn't leak all over for once." No knock on wood. No salt over the shoulder. No rabbit's foot or four leaf clover in my pocket. My bad, 'cuz now Hanky is leaking PS fluid all over my driveway. Add it to the list

On the plus side, I got a rebuild kit for the thermoquad. Took the carb off and cracked it open. It is amazingly clean in side. There is a little sediment in there, which I think is my problem. I'm tempted just to clean it out and put it back together to see how it does. The other half of my brain says go ahead and rebuild it while it's apart. Of course, that logic led me to replace the bushing and seal in my last transmission and you saw what that got me.

The Devastation

2011-05-07T08:23:00.000-04:00

Squirrels suck.

Doing What Trucks Do

2011-05-02T20:47:00.000-04:00

Just to see if I have all the bugs worked out with both the engine and transmission, I decided to use Hanky on a little mission this weekend (OK, that and the radiator for Heavy D is still at the shop). On Saturday I took Hanky for a ride over to a Rebuilding Together job site. We were working on the townhouse of a really mother and daughter daughter (Dad wasn't home). While other folks were working on paint, electrical and plumbing inside, I was tasked with leading the demolition of the shed out back and general clean up of the back yard. It didn't take more than a few whacks to topple the thing it was rotted so bad. It probably took longer to load the debris up in the truck.

Hanky handled the load admirably. Nary a hiccup when I pulled away. Although, I must say that with 620 lbs. of wood in the bad, the steering does get a little flighty. How do I know it was 620# you ask? Well, I had to pay to dump it at the county landfill. 5020 going in, 4400 coming out = $20.15. And that's without a top, back seat, spare tire or jack. Fully dressed, I'm putting Hanky at about 4600+. Not light trucks, these Scouts.

All Flushed

2011-04-25T20:47:00.001-04:00

While the tranny seemed to shift fine, this trans hasn't been a daily driver for some time, so I flushed the fluid and put in a new filter. Now it shifts really well. No, I didn't bother to adjust the bands. Didn't feel it needed it. After driving it after the flush, I still don't think it needs it.

Just a little bit of sludge in the bottom of the pan, nothing that wasn't expected. Judging by the gasket, this was the first time that the pan was dropped.

It's kinda nice not having Hanky mark its territory on my concrete driveway when I park it outside.

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner

2011-04-24T14:14:00.000-04:00

Alan dropped off the 'new' transmission and t-case yesterday and after a brief sojourn to Three Brothers, the organ transplant got underway. With a lot of help from my trusty assistant Igor (er, Brian), we got it under the truck and lined up before he had to make a hasty retreat to go celebrate his wife's new job (congrats Kathy!).

The hard part was done, so all I needed to do was hook everything up. The front hard line was a b**** to get on. Took at least 20 minutes to get the threads started. Ugh. Also had to swap off the shifter cable that was on the trans (it was stuck solid).

Once all in and buttoned up, I took it for a run a block down to Brian's place. Runs like a champ, but really wasn't far enough to tell how it performs. Checked the fluid and it's a pint low and looks like there is a little bit of water in there, so I'll need to flush it out. This morning, I took it for a run to the beer store and it shifted nice and smooth. No signs of any leakage (hallelujah!).

We might just have a winner here! Can't wait to get the top back off and cruise topless.

p.s. while waiting for Alan to make the delivery, I started cutting what I though was a credit card area of rust under the gas pedal. Well, you know how that goes. It'll need to be twice that size by the time I get it all out.

Out with the Old, In With the New - redux

2011-04-16T16:16:00.000-04:00

Pulled the transmission and transfer case today in anticipation of a 'new' one arriving from Alan. Pulled the converted to see if it was obvious from where this one was leaking. It wasn't. I don't know where it's leaking. Must be from the input shaft seal, but the thing looks perfect. Whatever.

Note to self. Place the tranny jack as far aft as possible when moving both the trans and t-case. It got a wee bit tipsy on the way out. But I got it down and out from under the truck without having to separate the two. A little creative tilt and spin to get that shifter lever cleared is all it took. Now it's a giant paper weight in the middle of my garage floor.

I'm thinking that while it's out, I should put in that dual exhaust and take the sawzall to a couple of rusty spots. It will be a lot easier now while I have extra clearance.

Left or Right?

2011-04-14T20:12:00.000-04:00

Here's a question for ya: should I wrench with the left hand that has torn ligaments or with the right, which has severe tendonitis in the elbow?

That's right - BOTH! No pain, no gain.

Got in to the garage tonight and undid everything that's bolding the tranny and transfer case in the truck, save for the bellhousing and crossmember. If I can escape the office early, I'll see about dropping them out in anticipation of hooking up with Alan this weekend so I can put the 'new' one back in.

Keeping all my sore fingers crossed that I won't F&%$ this one up.

Good Days and Bad Days

2011-04-10T16:37:00.000-04:00

This weekend was decidedly two of the latter. Well, it started out well enough. Bill D and I made a jaunt out to Crazy Ray's to see what's what. I scored a radiator for Heavy D and Bill scored a washer bottle, a speedo out of an old wreck and a dome light for his Saturn. Then back to Bill's place to install my spare starter in Peer Pressure. Voila, that did the trick and she started right up. Bill's problem solved.

Then the tide turned. Hanky dripped a little trans fluid at Bill's place and at Duesenbergs when we went to lunch. But when I got home the whole bottom of the truck was covered in trans fluid. It was dripping from EVERYWHERE. Ugh. So, the only thing that I think it could be is the input shaft seal. The one that I just changed and had given me so many headaches. I must have f***ed it up after all. OK, so trans has to come back out again. Deal with it.

Bright and early this morning, I put the 'new' radiator in Heavy D, filled it up and...

... it leaks. #)($#&%)*$%&$%$*$%*^!!!!!!

But, always hopeful, I'm thinking tha maybe, just maybe that water (yes, only water) is left over from having hosed off the engine bay before fiting it up (yeah, I know, why did I decide to hose off the engine bay before I tested this read? Hey, I was confident). So anyway, I let it sit a while, go hear my brother sing some opera, whip up a pot of chili, then go back out to fire it up. Hmmm, idling nicely and no sign of a leak. Might be lucky. Maybe it's just not hot enough yet, so I do for a 4 mile loop around the neighborhood. It's running good, sounding nice... until I get about half way. Something isn't right. Look at the temp guage and it's climbing fast towards 250. %&$@$&%&!!!

Get it to a place where I can pull over and stop and already I can see it's leaking. Pop the hood and see it's thrown the fan belt - again! What the f***? OK, it wasn't the mandatory two belts, but that one belt was as tight as I could get it. Of course, I didn't put any tools in the truck, so I couldn't get it back on. So I waited until the temp dropped back down below 190 and limped it home. When I get there I walk around front and can see clearly one of the leaks, shooting right out through the grill.

So, I'm back to 0 Internationals that are road worthy. Time to take my original radiator to the shop and just have a pro fix it.

Then some time this week I'll start unbuttoning Hanky's transmission.

Frustration is setting in...

When it rains, it pours

2011-03-26T15:29:00.000-04:00

Well, in this case, when the sun shines, it pours. Hanky has had a bit of a trans drip ever since I put it back together. Today, Brian H and I went to look at a 79 Scout. I noticed that it left a little puddle in the driveway there, did the same when we stopped at my nephew's movie shoot on the way back. Then when I got home, I looked under the truck and it was pouring out. grabbed a drip pan that I happened to have handy (doesn't every Scout owner) and slid it under to catch the deluge. This isn't a drip, it's a pour and I can see my trail leading back towards Brian's house. This ain't good. Looks like I am going to have to pull that tranny again. Maybe I'll just put in my spare for the moment and hope that is one is good. That new tranny jack might get a good workout this weekend.

What a royal pain. I'm getting tired of chasing leaks in a trans and tranfser case that didn't leak a drop before I took them out.

Oh, and I still need to fix the radiator in Heavy D.

Can't Live Without Water

2011-03-22T16:12:00.000-04:00

OK, so I think that I fixed the leaky transfer case. Seems I forgot to put one of the bolts back in. Doh! Yeah, how did I manage to do that?

Anyway, took it for a ride to the bank over the weekend and when I get home I see that I'm leaving a trail of water wherever I go. Seems that the water pump didn't survive the 2 year hiatus as well as the rest of the engine. Good thin I have spares. Took the opportunity to wire brush and repaint the pulleys, since I needed to swap them anyway. Now hanky is tightened back up. The only drip now is a little drip from the transmission (why did I listen when the BP intelligencia said replace the input seal?). I think I can live with it.

It's still a bit finicky. I might need to put a kit in that carb after all. At least it's out of the garage now.

Drip Drip

2011-02-28T18:16:00.000-05:00

After driving it on fumes to fill it up with gas (who knew you could put 18.8 gallons in an 18 gallon tank) and having it perform horribly, I decided maybe I should check the timing. It was about 4* advanced. Set it back to ~10* and it seems much happier.

Also put on the tailgate hinge pin that Alan borrowed (thanks Alan and Cami!). Now almost all of it's panels are back on. All that's left is the flywheel cover. But, woudn't you know it, that's exactly where a leak is dripping. So help me, if it's that inut shaft seal that's leaking, I'm going to have a fit (that thing gave me a fit putting it in). The transfer case is still leaking. Mostly because I haven't done anything about it. I did crawl under there to look and it does seem like it's coming from the gasket, so off it needs to come. I knew I should have put in new valve cover gaskets while I was regasketing everything else on that engine. definitely needs to be done now. Might need to redo the pan gasket too. I had to cut my own (was in a rush, don't ask).

In lieu of actually working on the truck on Sunday, Brian H and I decided to make a run over to Crazy Ray's in Hanky. Here's a tip: Get there early on nice days. There was a line out the door when we left. Didn't find any hydroboosts (for heavy D), but I did pick up a set of seat belts from a Suburban that look like they will fit better than the Ranger belts I have in there now. They had a PT Cruiser with a nice set of seats too. Tempting, but I didn't get them.

It was nice to ride in the Scout again. I do need to get those doors aligned a little better, though.

Closer to Home

2011-02-13T16:40:00.003-05:00

Well, kids, I think that we're in the final stretch - close to getting Hanky back on the road. Well, technically I guess you could say we crossed that hurdle yesterday. Brian H stopped by to help again and we the radiator out of Big Red (since it's bad anyway) and took the new belts and but them on Hanky. Also found the right size for the A/C pump and put that one on and tightened down the pump.

Pulled it out of the garage for the first time under it's own power and it felt so good, we put the fenders, grill and hood on and took it for a spin around the block sans doors, top and windshield.

The wind was cold enough to blow tears out of my eyes (or maybe it was the dust), but it was cool. Gonna have to work on that carb though. Didn't like being given the gas and we pretty much idled around the block, but then when I did get it to take some gas, the throttle stuck near full open. Managed to turn around and get it back to the driveway without crushing anything. Tinkered with it a bit and got it to idle nicely again, but will have to give it some more attention.

We put it back in the garage so it wouldn't get sunburn. You have to ease into sun exposure you know.

Today I welded up the rust hole in the windshield frame and put that on. Dropped the top back on and bolted it to the windshield frame. Tip to all those who replace windshield frames, make sure you bolt it to the top before you tighten down the windshield frame bolts, then tighten the adjusting bolt, then the two on the inner/firewall side.

Also reattached the emergency brake and dimmer switch to the floor.

Wow, when you write it out, it doesn't sound like I did much, but I spent a good 8 hours in the garage this weekend. I think that I spent half that time looking for tools that were scattered about.

Would You Like Some Water?

2011-02-07T18:58:00.000-05:00

BH came over to get some help with his u-joints yesterday. We knocked them out in about a half an hour.

Then we turned our attention to Hanky. On saturday I had spent about 4 hours in the garage, putting in the passenger side inner, the radiator, header panel and cutting, grinding and treating the rust in the replacement windshield frame. Sunday, BH and I put in the heater unit and plumbed it, the water bottle, the radiator overflow bottle, ran the headlight wires...

Then we decided to fire it up. With a little spritz of ether, it fired right up. Sounds pretty darned good. Need to tune the carb a little, but it doesn't sound like it needs a rebuild, lucky me (fingers crossed). However, when we filled the radiator with water, the water pump started leaking. Looks like from the bearing. Never fear, I have a few more laying around.

...and this is why I now fill with water first. I can always drain half of it out and replace with antifreeze once I'm certain it doesn't leak. Besides, water cools better than antifreeze, you just can't let it, well, freeze.

Speaking Too Soon

2011-01-19T18:18:00.000-05:00

Did I say the radiator looked like it survived the trip? Yeah, well when I filled it with juice it promptly puked it back out from not one, not two, but three places in the core. Now, whether this happened in transit or I was sold a defective radiator, I'll never know. Caveat Emptor. Back to square one. Might just have to take the original radiator up to Courtney's Radiator to have him fix it right.

After that disappointment, I turned my attention back to Hanky. I got the passenger side inner fender hung with a little persuasion. Also cut some metal to scab into the firewall/floor seam on the passenger side. Once that is done, I can put the other inner back on.

The only other bodywork to do is to clean up the windshield frame and the grill and put it all back together. Then I'm ready to roll.

Well almost. I still need to get a tailgate hinge pin from Allan to replace the one that I gave him to go with the tailgate he sold.

...and I need to trace and fix that leak from the transfer case. Something tells me I am going to have to put it apart again.

Out With the Old, In With the New

2011-01-12T21:37:00.000-05:00

The 'new' radiator for Heavy D arrived via the FedEx map today. Despite the FRAGILE marks on the box, they beat it up pretty good. Looks like the rad held up though. We'll find out when I put it in this weekend!

Filling the Void in Your Inner... Fender

2011-01-03T17:42:00.000-05:00

Did some more trimming and welding yesterday. Not getting any better at it. The grinder is my best friend these days. But, I think that the welds are strong. I'm not going for beauty anyway. I cut out the rusty bits of the flange between the firewall and the floor on the engine side. I simply butt-welded the panels together on the driver's side where I cut out the flange. The passenger side will have to wait until I can move the Scout and get to that side (or until it's a warm enough day to work with the garage door open).

I also cut out the rust (well, what parts I felt like cutting out anyway) and welded in new metal in the inner fender. It was rusted out towards the front of the battery tray. Came out pretty decent. I'l be spraying over it with undercoating anyway, so it doesn't have to look pretty. Going to go do that now and hopefully be able to hang it before I go to bed.

It Lives!

2010-12-31T15:48:00.002-05:00

Today I welded in the kick panel patch and put seam sealer over my crappy welds and it doesn't look half bad. Once the sealer sets up, I'll give it a coat of undercoating. Still need to cut out some rust in the floor/firewall seams on both sides, but this is major progress. Still need to do some work on the A pillar and kick/floor in the interior, but that can wait for the moment.

To compare to what I started with, refer back to the pics in the Slice and Dice post. I actually cut a bit more from it that that. The square under the inner fender flange was ultimately cut out as well (seen above as the square of seam sealer).

While the sealer and primer was drying, I decided it was time to give the engine a go. I fashioned a oil priming rod out of a piece of all-thread and ran it with the drill for about 5 minutes (about long enough to make the drill smoke). Put the dizzy back in, hooked up the battery, sprayed some ether and hit the key...

vrrrrrroooooooooommmmmmm. How sweet it is! On the first crank it fired off. Now that I know it wants to run, I filled the carb with gas. It fired right up and settled into a nice little idle. Sweeeet!

Didn't run it too long since there is no radiator and didn't want to totally gas out the garage. I asked Diane if she heard me start it and she said she not so much heard it as she felt it - it shook the whole house. Nice.

No big clouds of smoke, no belching of fluids. But, after it was shut down, I did notice that the transfer case is dripping oil. What's up with that? I also noticed that the passenger side exhaust is touching the frame just south of the manifold. Nothing a bfh can't fix.

If the rain holds off tomorrow, I might just have to roll it out into the driveway and let it run a while longer.

Woohoo!

Putting Up a Wall

2010-12-30T10:13:00.000-05:00

Finally got some tie in the garage the other day. Welded in the patches for the firewall. Hopefully today I'll get in the patch for the kick panel then can turn my attention to the inners and we'll be in business.

My welds are still pretty crummy, but I'm starting to lay down decent beads once in a while. Nothing a little grinding and seam sealer won't pretty up. At least it's strong.

Once I get this welding done, I'll turn my attention back to the engine and see if I can't get the bugger started (finally!). Keep your finger crossed that Hanky will be making fire this weekend.

Mr. Stinky Pants

2010-12-19T08:14:00.000-05:00

...oh and I forgot to mention that the truck has a very noticeable stench of gear oil. Looks like the rear diff is leaking.

Add that to the list too.

Incontinent

2010-12-19T07:27:00.000-05:00

Well, so it seems that I wasn't so lucky with the recent fan belt incident as I thought. Went over to bro's house last weekend to help him get his Scout started, which we did - although his starter acted up a bit and his steering box is a little wonky, but that's another story.

Topped off Heavy D with antifreeze and ran it a bit, then moved it to the front of bro's house and it didn't drip nary a drop. So, I figure it's good. Wrong-o Batman.

Drove it home and upon parking it out front, I notice that it's puking antifreeze all over the street. This ain't good. Hopefully it's just the hose, right? Nah. Finally took a look at it this weekend and it seems that it's leaking from the seam in the driver's side tank.

So, here is a little recap of the events that took place under the hood, near as I can figure. While my bro was driving it two weeks ago, one of the fan belts grenaded (confirmed by the several pieces of belt found strewn around the engine bay). That belt coming apart knocked off the other fan belt, which was found hanging from the alternator. It also got pieces in the PS belt pulley, because that one was rotated around in the pulley, but still on.

Anyway, so without the fan belt, no water pump and it boiled over. The higher pressure in the tank caused it to bloat just a bit and split the seam. Sound plausible? Sounds like a headache to me. Now I have to get a new radiator or replace this one.

What's the deal with me and truck radiators? I had rad trouble with the gold Travelette too.

Add it to the list.

Four Wheeling in Miniature

2010-12-11T18:35:00.002-05:00

I saw a little micro r/c car at the store today and thought to myself "hmmm, that looks about the right size for one of the JL bodies." After just a little work, voila. Now I just need some AAA batteries...

Location : Address not available

Location : Address not available

See What Happens?

2010-12-07T17:35:00.000-05:00

So, my bro needed to haul a load of firewood on Sunday. Seems I have this bid red truck sitting out front perfectly suited for such things. So, I says "yeah, go ahead, just don't break it."

A couple hours later he calls and says it's leaking antifreeze all over the place - and he can't get the hood open to check it out. oofdah!

So, I go over after work on Monday to have a look-see. Mind you, it's about 32 degrees with a 20 mph wind. Maybe I'll take some gloves. Anyway, have a look around. It doesn't look like it was leaking from the lower hose, which was my first guess. Pop the hood and voila, there's the problem. Seems one of the fan belts is gone and the other is dangling off the alternator. The ps pump belt is spun around 180 degrees, but still on the pump. Hmmm. Near as I can figure, one of the fan belts broke and in doing so, knocked off the other one and a shard of it got in the pulley just enough to spin the ps belt. With no belt on the water pump, it quickly boiled over. My bro said the temp never got to the redline and just let loose when he pulled up to the house, so that's good anyway.

So, I loosened up the alternator and got that one belt back on and then loosened up the ps pump and spun that belt back around. Tightened 'em back up and we should be good to go.

Fired it up and let it idle a while. No leaks, but I don't know how much antifreeze is left in there anyway. Need to fill it up and see, but I don't think there will be an issue. He'll pick me up on his way home from work one of these nights and I'll top it off and drive it home.

Funny how things just seem to happen when you lend out your vehicles - even if they are not fault of the driver.

new Johnny Lightnings

2010-11-29T18:49:00.000-05:00

I went looking for the new R10 JL Scout - the turquoise one and found that there is already an R11 version out - silver with no top and black wheels. Didn't find any while out and about at the stores, but I scored 4 of the former and two of the latter from online dealers - at retail price not the eBay collector price. Now if I find 'em at the stores, I'll just pick 'em up to share with the crew.

Speaking of the crew, if anyone is looking for the four pack with the yellow rallye, I have 4 extras and the local Toys-R-Us is stocked with plenty more.

A Little Ether, A Little Air

2010-11-18T07:59:00.000-05:00

So, haven't done much of anything with Hanky since Pinelands. I did, however get the two mud tires mounted on the steel spokes that Jon brought me. Figured I'd try my hand at it. I mean, after watching a few YouTube videos, I'm like an expert, right?

Took a little effort, but I got 'em on. Decided to try the redneck ether trick to set the bead. Determined that you can't go too light on the ether or it won't pop. Though when I did get it to work, it blew the core right out of the valve stems on both wheels. Dang. Off to the car store to get two more and try it again. This time it worked like a charm.

Also had to break the bead on Heavy D's tire that started leaking at Pinelands. Boy, there was a lot of sand way down deep in that bead. Had to reseat it twice before I go it all out. My mistake was trying to only unseat and clean part of it where it was leaking, which just made it leak somewhere else. Had to do the whole thing. Worked fine though. Glad to have that tire back on the truck and the spare off.

Pinelands Hangover

2010-10-29T17:29:00.000-04:00

No, not from drinking, from having so much fun! It's taken me almost a week to get myself together to write up a post. Pics are getting posted to the TDFW Facebook page and I have both Neil and Dennis' video, so I'm actually prepared to make up a new movie. It'll be done before the Fall '09 and Spring '10 videos for sure.

But, I have to share one as a sneak preview. I spent a good part of our time at Mt. Misery pit rumbling around in Heavy D just letting it idle in 4 low and first gear. Never stalled, even going up Driveshaft Hill. Much torque in that beast. I might have to put it on the dyno at Carlisle one of these years.

Anyway, at the next pit, I decided to put Heavy D on auto-pilot. I'll let the video speak for itself:

Resignation and Preparedness

2010-10-21T08:30:00.000-04:00

Didn't even touch Hanky yesterday. I figure, why bother. No, I never did try to start it the other day. Again, why bother. No need to rush it at this point.

Instead, I turned my attention to Heavy D. Took it for a ride up to the shop to pick up the Traveler top for Jon and the tires for him to mount for me and topped off the gas while I was out. Also checked and filled the oil and the front diff fluid. Coolant is good. Loaded up all my supplies, so am just about ready to roll. That one tire with the cut in still worries me, but it's lasted ok so far. I do have a spare in case it lets loose. Fingers crossed. Saw some BFG 35" MTs on Craigslist the other day. I should call about those.

This time tomorrow, I'll be in Jersey.

No Fire, No Life

2010-10-19T17:49:00.000-04:00

For those of you who took place in our poll. No one voted with the correct answer, which is:

Are you kidding? There's more to do than time to do it.

Seeing as how I haven't even attempted to start the beast, I think it very unlikely that Hanky will make it to Pinelands. Again. It's ready to start, mind you. I could give it a whirl tonight... and still might. But there is also the small issue of closing up that hole in the firewall and reassembling the truck (if you recall, the tailgate is the only piece of sheet metal still attached to the tub).

I had thoughts of massive amounts of duct tape to make due, but even if I do get it back together, I have no time to shake out the cobwebs and really make sure it's running well. Not a pleasant prospect when I have a 3 hour drive to Pinelands. Stress I don't need.

So, looks like Heavy D will get pressed into service again. Limits some of what I'll do with it. Not going to thrash it as hard as I would Hanky and it won't fit some of the places the Scout can go. It'll cost me about 50% more in gas and take 45 minutes longer in Heavy D too, but oh well, ce la vie. At least that will make getting the Traveler top to Jon easier.

Which reminds me, I need to make a run to the shop to pick that sucker up, along with my mud tires, so Jon can mount 'em for me. Need to put on a new header gasket too. Maybe I'll do that tonight.

Hanky will have to have it's new plant debut in the spring. That will give me time to put the locker in anyway.

Life Intervenes

2010-10-14T22:39:00.000-04:00

As usually happens, life has a way of letting you know that you aren't in total control. Earlier in the week, I did manage to get the transfer case in, even fabbed up some bushings on the linkage to silence the rattling shifter. Hopefully it will last. Got all the wiring wired. Got the transmission linkages installed.

But between work and other events, I haven't touched it since Monday and I'll not be able to lay hand to wrench again until Sunday. That's not leaving me much time to tinker.

I still need to put the shifter back in, check the vacuum hose configuration, fill engine trans and transfer case with fluids and install the exhaust. I'm pretty well resigned to putting the single back on, but have to patch the passenger side pipe. I'll get the duals on eventually. I'm just not going to have time to mess with it before Pinelands.

...and that's just the drive train related stuff. Also have to blast, paint and install the inners, windshield frame and grill, not to mention the radiator and the rest of the sheet metal: doors, fenders, hood, etc. If I get it running and that's all I need to do, I'll put 'em on as-is and take ]em back off afterwards to blast and paint.

Oh, and before that, there is the slight issue of welding metal in that big hole I cut out of the firewall.

The big question mark for me, though, is the carb. I need to pull the top of it off to clean out the mud dawber nests in the vent tubes and check the bowl. Keep your fingers crossed that it doesn't need a rebuild. If so, you'll see me dropping all this stuff where it is and start putting the new header gasket in Heavy D and going to the bank for more gas money, so I can drive that to Pinelands.

7 Days to Pinelands and counting down...

Say Goodnight Grace

2010-10-14T22:25:00.000-04:00

With a heavy heart, we will be heading to NJ this weekend to say a final farewell to Diane's great aunt Grace Brown. She was one of the nicest, sweetest ladies I have ever met. She always greeted with a kiss and a smile and always wanted to know how my family was doing. She will be missed, but is rejoining her beloved Raymond. Two peas in a pod, they were - and are again.

Home Sweet Home

2010-10-09T20:39:00.000-04:00

After a good afternoon of work, the engine is now sitting pretty in the engine bay, just where it should be.

Started the day by heading over to Lowes to get some hardware and Advance to get a brake line to fashion up a new trans cooler line. Once on the garage, I put on the passenger side exhaust manifold, oil pressure sender, fuel pump and A/C/Alternator bracket. Then Brian H came over and we lifted the engine and dropped the pan to fix the leaky gasket. Had to make a run to Advance again, but we got it cleaned out and put back on.

We then bolted the trans to the engine. Did you know that torque converter bolts aren't symmetrical? I do now. They aren't off by much, but enough to make you have to do it twice if you aren't paying attention. We then eased the engine back into place and bolted it down. Also cut the ear off the PS pump bracket (the one that holds the now-gone air pump and keeps you from removing the valve cover) and installed it and the PS pump.

We also laid out my exhaust pieces and separated the muffler from the head pipe on the driver's side and decided that I could get it in after the engine is in. This is an exhaust that is nearly new, but scavenged from a parts truck, so will need to be welded back together and I need to cut and weld up the passenger side headpipe from the old exhaust. Depending on how things go, I might end up taking it to Meineke and having them just install a new exhaust. I don't want that to be the bit to keep Hanky from Pinelands.

Still have to wire it up and bend and install the trans lines before I try to start it.

After writing this out, it doesn't sound like we got much done today, but we were at it for a good five hours. Maybe if we (I) didn't misplace the wrenches every five minutes, it would have gone faster. There is always tomorrow. I'll be back at it bright and early.

One in the Trans, Two in the Bush

2010-10-07T20:47:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I picked up the new bushing(s) for the trans. I figured I ought to get two since I boogered up the first. Threw 'em in the freezer and got my grip together while they chilled.

After fussing around with it and making a run to Home Despot and AutoStone, I finally came up with a way to get the thing in. The bushing is the same size as a 1 7/8" exhaust pipe and fits neatly inside a 2" OD/2 1/4" ID adapter. Slipped it on and banged it in. Then tapped in the oil seal. So, I have an extra pump bushing if anyone needs one.

Tonight I swapped in a transfer mount that's marginally better than the old one, put the starter on and reinstalled the flex plate.

Little by little.

Location : 6228 Dawn Day Dr, Columbia, MD 21045,

All Shiny and Bright

2010-10-03T21:23:00.000-04:00

Today was a light day. The Skins were playing after all. Oh yeah, and the Ravens too. I guess they count.

Painted the exhaust manifold with POR15 manifold paint. Only did one, cuz it's the only one that I've taken off - swapped out actually. Looks pretty darned good with this nice cast iron gray. Maybe I'll do the other one some day.

Also installed the AC/Alternator bracket that had previously been blasted and painted with black POR15. No, I'm not running A/C, I'm going to run on-board air. Yeah baby.

So that's two nice shiny bits on an otherwise rusty, crusty engine. Kinda fits with the rest of Hanky.

Whack-a-Mole

2010-10-02T19:10:00.001-04:00

Got a fair amount done in the garage today, even despite two visitors - Brian T and his son dropping off the engine hoist and Brian H on his way back from Alan's (not that I don't mind visitors!).

So, let's run down what I got done...

Went to Lowes and got new bolts for the exhaust manifold and plugs for the air manifold. Got the plugs installed, along with a new stud for the alternator bracket.

Then installed the rear main seal. Wanted to try the 2 liter bottle trick, but I didn't have one, so I used a cereal box instead. Worked slick as you please.

Next up was flushing out the block. Lots of brown yuck came out, so despite the old freeze plugs looking like new, I'm glad I pulled 'em. Once done that I put in the new plugs. and used the compressor to blow off the residual crap that was on the engine - leaves, sticks, dirt, etc.

Then I pulled the exhaust manifold out of the Evapo-Rust bath and washed it down.

Put that up to dry and set about changing out the u-joints. The whack-a-mole method of u-joint removal worked great for three of 'em, but the rear-most one doesn't have enough yoke to smack, so I pressed that one out. Snip, snap, their in and back on the truck.

The list is getting smaller...

Just Call Me Righty

2010-10-01T20:40:00.000-04:00

...'cuz I seem to want to get rid of my left hand real bad. Dinged up my ring finger this time at the climbing gym last night. It's a good bit larger than it should be and doesn't move quite like it should.

But does that keep me out of the garage? heck no. Just put a glove over it and move on.

This afternoon I went to order a replacement bushing for the transmission. Ordered two in case I bung up another one. All of eight bucks for the two, I think I can afford it. What I can't afford is having to wait until next Wednesday to get them. Apparently NAPA has to send them to the local shop from Indianapolis via UPS. Now how they make any money on a $4 part shipping by UPS I don't know. Don't really care either, I just need the part.

Anyway, since I can't button up the transmission, I figure I need to get the engine squared away. So, tonight was stuff removal night. Started with the freeze plugs. Judging by the pain on them, I think that they may be original, but darned if they don't look almost new, aside from a little grunge. Popped 'em all out. Had to remove the fuel pump, starter and alternator bracket to get to 'em all. I might need a fair number of those gaskets I got at Nats after all.

While popping out the plugs, I notice that one of the air rails is cracked. That's all I the incentive I needed to trash those buggers. Pulled them out. I'll run over to Home Depot and get some plugs to fill 'em back up again.

Then I turned my attention to cleaning up the manifold from Hanky that will replace the broken on that was on the engine. Took a while to chip off the layer of Pinelands mud that was baked on, but it's now resting in a bath of Evapo-Rust for the night. Tomorrow morning, flip and repeat.

Tomorrow I'll see about flushing all the sludge out of the engine. And there is plenty of it. behind the front plugs was enough mud to fill a baby's diaper and then some. This could take a while. If I am diligent and don't get distracted by the swap meet at the climbing gym or the tent sale at Harbor Freight, I might get the plugs back in tomorrow. Maybe even the rear main.

Oh, did I mention that the engine is leaking oil all over my garage floor. Must be a Scout engine. Seems that in it's current nose-down attitude, the oil in the pan is enough to meet the pan gasket. Pan gasket, meet oil. "Why oil, pleased to meet you, come on through."

Time to ice my sprained finger with a nice cold Yuengling.

For Better or Worse

2010-09-29T19:53:00.000-04:00

Today started out ok. Went to NAPA to pick up the valve stem seals for the Stude and low and behold, he found the freeze plugs for the 345 too. Nice.

Brian T. stopped by this afternoon to borrow the engine crane to move his space 304 out of his Dad's garage. That went off without a hitch. He even brought his enclosed trailer, so no worries about it getting soaked.

Then after work, I decided to tackle the transmission pump seal and bushing replacement. Mike Mayben makes it looks so easy. I didn't have a hook tool that was small enough to get around the seal to pop it out. After much trial and tribulation, I ended up bending the flange out enough to squeeze in the head of one of my puller tools and popped it out. Fine, that only took 20 minutes. Then for the bushing. Didn't have anything small enough to hook around that to use the slide hammer either. MM says no problem, just use a punch and collapse it in on itself and take it out that way. Well, I still had to get something around behind it to pull the bugger out. Ended up grinding half the head off a nail and using that. Another half an hour gone.

Once out I see that my dinging on the bushing knocked off some little shards. Gotta clean them out so they don't get down in the pump. That was another 15 minutes just trying to get it clean, but now I'm ready to put it back together. Hmmm. Looks like a tight fit, but putting the bushing up to the pump by hand gets it pretty snug. Mind you I am sure that there is an appropriate tool for this, one that I don't have. Tried tapping it around the edges to get it started. No dice. Got 6" pieces of wood to tap opposite sides at the same time. No dice. Put the bushing in the freezer for about 10 minutes to shrink it a bit, then tried again using a piece of exhaust pipe the same diameter to push it in evenly, or so I thought. Got it started, success. Well, until I noticed that the bottom edge had caught on the lip and deformed the bushing. Crap. Time to go back to NAPA and get another one and try again. This is certainly one of those times that having the right tool would make life so much easier.

On the bright side, at least I didn't mangle another finger.

A Chunk at a Time

2010-09-27T18:55:00.002-04:00

I'm starting to think that I am trying to remove my left index finger one bit at a time. Attacked it again yesterday with the grinder, this time taking a nice chunk out of my knuckle. What the doctors call a full thickness skin avulsion (in layman's terms it means 'you dumb a$$, you ground off all the skin and then some"). Not that I went to the doctor or anything, but I did consult with my PA friend. Anyway, sure filled my glove up with blood fast. Good thing I'm not squeamish. Put a bandaid on it and went back to work.

Brian H came over to help me get the 345 off Heavy D and into the garage. His timing was perfect, arriving just as I was hooking it up to the hoist. We go it off and onto a dolly, then proceeded to do a little maintenance before stowing it in the garage. Took off the broken exhaust manifold (and while grinding off two bolt heads, did the aforementioned damage to my finger). Three of the bolts came out fine. Thankfully, the two that were stuck are the two that you can access between the head and the manifold. So, we cut 'em and the manifold came off and the studs backed out of the head with our fingers.

We also took off the TC and flexplate, piece of cake. Engine turned easily so we could get to all the bolts. That's always a good sign. Took off the air pump/ps bracket and lower rad hose to access the freeze plug. Popped out the rear main. I figure, while I'm at it, I'll swap it out. Picked up a gasket kit at Nats for $5, so I've all the bits.

Also popped out a few of the freeze plugs. Doesn't look too bad in there, but will have to flush it out good. The engine is listing to the front on the cart and when I popped the middle block plug, it belched nice green antifreeze. Another good sign. Just need to pop out the rest and go order some replacements. Might have a go at putting the rear main in tonight, but I'm pretty beat, so it will probably wait until tomorrow.

Little By Little

2010-09-23T22:47:00.001-04:00

Spent, oh, about a half an hour in the garage this evening. Changed the filter and buttoned up the pan on the trans. Fitted my easy-vent and got that sealed. We'll see how that works. I just couldn't bring myself to tear into the trans. I need to get this thing back on the road. I'll rebuild the spare for when this one goes bad. But really, why should it? Have a new pump seal and bushing on order. Won't be in until Monday. Also ordered a mess of other crap from RockAuto, including u-joints. Gonna swap out all four. Need to make a run to the car store again to get freeze plugs for the 345. That might be this weekend's project.

Oh, and I found out today that JL made two versions of the yellow scout with no top. Found a guy who has two of the kind I don't have, so they will be on their way soon. With that I'll have two of every one out so far. Word has it that the new one will be out on Oct 4. There will be a White Lightning version with a white engine and WL logo under the hood. But, they are being sneaky and packaging it with the hood closed, so you can't see without opening it. You betcha I'll have my magnifying glass out trying to see when I run across one. :-)

Stanley Steamer

2010-09-18T21:20:00.001-04:00

Spent today cleaning up the transmission. Oy, what a mess that thing was after years of collecting oil and mud. Got it pretty darned clean, tho. Not all is perfect in binderland, however. When I tipped up the tail end of the tranny, it leaked fluid out the front shaft. Also did it when I racked it upside down so I could get to the pan and innerds easier. I'm thinking it's not supposed to do that (or would that be just because the torque converter isn't there?). Then, when I pulled the pan, I see a nice little collection of metal shavings in the bottom. I'm thinking that they aren't supposed to be there either. The question is where did they come from and am I going to need to tear into this thing. I had planned to vent it, but I really don't want to attempt a rebuild. The thing worked fine when I took it out, but I'm not liking the looks of things. Maybe I'll put in the spare and rebuild this one later.

Seek and Ye Shall Find

2010-09-17T21:04:00.000-04:00

hit up a couple of Rite Aids today with no luck, but hit the Toys R Us on Rt. 40 on the way home and eureka, three of the new Scouts in the 4-pack (the yellow Scout in the previous post). Needless to say, they are all sitting on my desk right now.

Maybe tomorrow I'll get some work done on a real Scout.

Go Johnny Go

2010-09-16T17:21:00.002-04:00

Another Nats is in the books. Had to leave early, again. One of these years, I'll get to stay for the duration. Hey, at least I got to go and see some great people.

Saw a few vendors with a new Johnny Lightning Scout. It's a nice yellow Scout Rallye, but it only comes in a four pack with a Corvette, a Pinto and a Mystery car. Of course it was pricey at the show at 2x the retail price of $9.95. The car by itself was $10. Gonna have to hit up the local stores to see if I can find it.

Looks like JL has another one in the works. Check it out here and here.

345 on Board

2010-09-04T18:21:00.002-04:00

Bill D and I took a ride up to Sweet-T's place this morning to check out Dirt Devil's engine. It was safely ensconced inside a collapsed shed, tucked behind a dolly with two transmissions on. We disgorged the shed and hooked a chain to the dolly that the engine was on and dragged it out far enough to get the crane behind it. It was all going smoothly until the crane decided it wanted to sit a little deeper in the soil on one side and take some paint off the left end cap. After some creative use of tie downs, we got it straightened out and on board Heavy D for the ride home. I must say that with the engine and crane positioned slightly behind the axle, it does make a difference in how Heavy D rides, even though it didn't squat the springs much. Decidedly lighter in the front, but still solid as a rock driving down the road.

Took a little tour of Dan's place while we were there. Pale Rider still sits almost complete in the garage. The yellow 800 sits up front without a top. What's left of Ugly Whitey still sits next to an old foundation and out back is the rest of the herd: nearly 20 IH and cars of various vintages. Several of 'em are mostly grown over with honeysuckle. All of them are eventually going to rot away sitting out in the open.

In the afternoon, I decided to drop the transfer case, since everything else was out. I think that I'll change all the u-joints too, since well, I can.

Tomorrow, I think I'll start cleaning up the frame and firewall to prep for the engine going in. Need to do some more slicing and dicing on the rust in the driver's foot well too.

Slice and Dice

2010-08-29T20:31:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, I tore down the engine. Didn't look nearly as bad as I expected. All cylinders have a noticeable lip at the top of the stroke. #7 also has a fairly prominent score and #6 has a very subtle one. I'll hold onto all the peripheral bits and let the rest go to the scrapper.

This morning I picked up Hanky's old top to trade with Alan. Rusty bugger, but it adds weight for the scrapper, too.

Later, I broke out the sawzall, air cutter, and grinder. Cut out the majority of the cancer in the driver's side firewall. Someone needs to remind me to keep my fingers away from a spinning grinder blade. Bought a brand new pair of mechanic's gloves and promptly ran it across my finger, right through the glove and into my finger. Doh! Merely a flesh wound!

More cutting to do and a sheetmetal bender on order from Harbor Freight, then a-welding we will go!

Rolling on the Floor

2010-08-18T18:19:00.001-04:00

I couldn't stand it any longer. I just had to pull the engine. This was Saturday morning. The intent was to get it out of the truck. Check. Take the tranny off. Check. Put the engine in the back of Heavy D. Houston, we have a problem. OK, so it seems that I managed to sheer off three of the four bolts that hold one of the casters on the engine crane while performing this task. Happened once before and clearly the bolts I used were cheapo crappo. So I tucked the engine up against the front of the frame, which gave me plenty of room to close the garage door. At least a half an inch to spare. I figured I'd go to Lowes and pick up a few grade 8 bolts to fix the caster, which I did on Sunday morning. But then it decided to rain. Not fun loading an engine in the truck in the rain, so there it sits, on the floor of my garage.

Since it was raining, I decided to take a closer look at the driver's firewall/floor. Pulled the last of the carpet that was still stuck to the kick panel and firewall, revealing - that's right - more rust than I thought was there. It doesn't really change my plans at all, just a little more metal to cut out.

Sunday we're hosting a getaway luncheon for Diane's family reunion that is this weekend, so nothing is going to get done before next week. Oh well.

Loosey Goosey

2010-08-01T19:03:00.002-04:00

Well, the engine and transmission are free of their moorings. Now I just need to find a time to pull 'em, which likely won't happen until the weekend after next.

The Cavalry Arrived

2010-07-31T21:02:00.000-04:00

Well, this is actually old news, but I took the old sheetmetal to the shop and picked up the replacements - doors, inners and windshield frames (2 because I couldn't decide which I want to use). Also got the engine crane.

Today I got all the rest of the wiring undone (and labeled). Tomorrow I may run down to Harbor Freight and pick up a load leveler and see about pulling the engine and tranny. If I need extra hands, I may be making some calls. :-) If I could plan my work schedule, I'd get help in advance (thanks for all the offers), but I've not had that luxury lately.

I'll be in CA next weekend, so will have to give my regards to Carlisle from afar. Working on the brochures tonight. Hopefully I can get the printer to cooperate (it isn't thus far).

A Picture Says It All

2010-07-19T18:02:00.001-04:00

Down to the Studs

2010-07-18T19:18:00.002-04:00

Spent a little time in the garage this morning and got the rest of the front clip off. Now there's nothing on the tub but the tailgate.

I had pulled it into the garage too tight on the passenger side so had to pull it out of the garage to get the passenger side door, inner and windshield frame.

I'm sure the neighbors wondered what was Going on when I fired up the Scout with no sheetmetal, doors, radiator, top and the battery sitting on top of the air cleaner.

The cowl and firewall is is better shape than I expected, but there is some work to do.

Now on to unwiring the engine.

Take it all off...

2010-07-13T16:28:00.000-04:00

So, now that I've decided to swap out the engine (thank you Dennis for offering up the 345 from Dirt Devil - that will reunite it with the axles), I decided it was also a good time to swap out all the front sheet metal, windshield frame and doors. In for a penny, in for a pound, as they say.

So last night I had a few moments while dinner was simmering, so I pulled the hood grill and bumper to get the ball rolling. Next comes the radiator, then inner and outer fenders. Then the top and windshield frame. Should be quite a sight when it's apart. Can't wait to see what surprises await me.

Hayfever

2010-06-06T21:31:00.000-04:00

I believe that I've confirmed that Hanky's oil allergy is a permanent condition, but only seems to manifest itself at highway speeds. Puttering around town, it seems fine. But when I get out on the road, sure as shooting, it's blowing oil. Not too much today, but it was a short drive to my mother's place. On the way back I decided to unhook the hose from the flame arrestor on the valve cover. Sure enough, there was oil all over the valve cover when I got home, in addition to all over and around the dipstick. Isn't that flame arrestor supposed to suck air from the air cleaner into the engine (to counter the PCV)? And wouldn't you think that having it unhooked would reduce the crankcase pressure enough that it wouldn't blow out the dipstick? Anyway, not sure what to do about it other than find a new engine to put in...

The funny thing is...

2010-06-02T18:55:00.001-04:00

Brian T (Chewie's Dad) was over this afternoon, so of course we couldn't resist popping the hood on Hanky. Hadn't looked at it since I drove it this weekend, after doing the compression test. The thing purrs like a kitten. No sign of blowing oil from the last drive. No drips. Once it started to warm, there was definitely blow by, but enough to blow all the oil out? Doesn't seem like it. I'm stumped. Hanky is an enigma. A puzzle. A haunting personality that I just haven't quite figured out. OK, maybe it's just a finicky, leaky old Scout. Still, not sure what's up with this intermittent oil leaking business. But, with those compression numbers, it's hard not to argue that it's time for a transplant no matter how well it seems to run every other day. Add it to the list...

Feeling a Little Low

2010-05-29T18:30:00.001-04:00

...on compression, that is.

Did a compression test this morning and the results were less than encouraging. Here is what we have (dry/wet):
1: 89/109
2: 125
3: 92/110
4: 90/100
5: 107
6: 120
7: 111
8: 93

Cylinders 2 and 6 seem to be the only ones holding up. The lifters are still making quite a racket, especially in the vicinity of #8.

On the bright side, if there is such a thing at this point, is that the plugs are burning nice and clean and it still starts right up.

But with half my cylinders below 95, and 3 of 4 on one bank, it looks like a transplant is in my future.

Allergy Test, Part 1

2010-05-19T19:51:00.000-04:00

Put oil back into Hanky to see if it would be rejected or have any other adverse reactions. Started right up. Lifters clacking away. Pulled it out of the garage, so as not to fumigate the whole house through the garage door. Let it idle up to temp. Ran it above idle for a bit. Lifters quieted down and it sounds good. It's not puking oil on the ground. So far, so good. It does have a good bit of blow by as seen through the unhooked PCV. And there was oil in the air cleaner and on top of the carb. Not from this run, but from the ride home. So clearly it is blowing oil. But running it tonight, it didn't seem like there was that much crankcase pressure. No sign of water in the oil - yet. Didn't check for bubbles in the radiator. Next step will be to do a compression test to see where we stand.

Another One for the Books

2010-05-17T19:05:00.002-04:00

Back from another great weekend in the Pinelands with the Triple Diamond Crew. We had a record turnout with, I think, 19 trucks on the trail on Saturday. Hanky did well. Got the carb a bit wet and it was a little finicky after that, but not bad.

Got stuck once, but came out easily. If I had that Aussie locker in, it wouldn't have happened. Next time...

John J brought the replacement for the Junkyard Dog. After he put the fan into the new aluminum radiator on Friday, it was dubbed 'Fanny'. Pretty girly name for such an awesome truck (a 6.9l diesel stuffed into a Terra and it looks factory original). He had it fixed and back out on the trail Saturday.

Not much damage this time. The only trail injuries were to John's Terra. Chris lost a wheel bearing on his F250 out on the road between pits, John B fried a U-joint and to top it off Carl lost an axle shaft on the way back to the lodge, then had his Scout try to unload by itself when they got it back to camp on the trailer - a real life case for always chaining down a vehicle like you are driving 100 miles, no matter how short the trip. Luckily, no further damage was done, te axle was replaced in the morning and he was good to go.

Had some Jeepers out with us and they did a fine job of getting muddy. They were good sports and hope they come back in the fall.

Hanky decided to blow all it's oil out on the way home. There was enough to maintain some pressure, but the valves started tapping pretty good. I'm starting to think that Hanky has an allergy to motor oil. Looked like it was puking it out the dipstick tube, so am going to have to do a compression test to see if it's not blow by. Still, I can't imagine that blow by would force out that much oil (we're talking many quarts).

Hopefully a heart transplant isn't in Hanky's future. More diagnosis to come...

Ready for Launch

2010-05-12T18:48:00.000-04:00

Almost ready to head out to Pinelands. Didn't get anything done this weekend, with Mother's Day festivities taking up both days, then off to Santa Barbara on Monday and back this morning via the redeye. I *think* that I have all the truck stuff packed. Just need to get my gear together. Note to self: remember the sleeping bag. The plan is to head out Thursday night, but if I haven't recovered enough sleep, I may opt to roll out early Friday morning. In any case, plagues of locust won't keep me away...

Pic a peck

2010-05-06T20:48:00.002-04:00

Folks are requesting pics and who am I to dissappoint. Total lift is now about 6.5" with body (2" lift plus new bushings) and spring lifts (4" springs and extended shackles). I am liking this stance.

Who Knew?

2010-05-05T20:33:00.000-04:00

So, who knew that the front hubs on a '71 1100 4x4 are smaller than those on a '78 Scout? I sure didn't. Went to swap out tires and daggone it, the things don't fit on the hub. I'll be darned. So much for having mud tires on Hanky for Pinelands. I think that I'll still put a pair in the back as spares in case that cut in the sidewall of one of the AT's decided to give out. I should at least be able to put them on the rear and have a matched pair on each axle.

So, on to the next thing on the list. Flipping the roll bar bolts. Not thinking when I put them on that they would tear up my tires, I dropped them in from the top. So, before I subject my 32s to the business end of the bolt shank, I flipped 'em the way they should be. While I was at it I relocated the fire extinguisher from the roll bar to the driver's seat base. Much easier access should I have another dash fire (fingers firmly crossed, hoping that extinguisher never gets used).

I did get to drive it today. Took it to the gym this morning. Behaved pretty well. Even at highway speed on US 29, I could drive it with one hand. Now, if I was on a road that was rutted, I'm sure it would have been more of a hand full. Still, I think that I'm driving with a little negative caster, so really should get those shims in before I hit the highway next weekend. Gotta swap out those heater hoses though. And it has a little bit of an oil leak. Looks like from the passenger valve cover.

Up, Up and Away!

2010-05-03T20:34:00.001-04:00

The rear shackles arrived today, just like UPS said they would. Yesterday I got the rear shocks in and the old shackles off in preparation, so it took all of about 15 minutes to get the new ones on. Sweet! Me likes!

Took it for a drive and it is a wee bit more squirrely than it had been, so I will put in those 4* caster shims and see if that doesn't correct it. Might put on the steering stabilizer too. If I can find it. It's around here somewhere.

Retrieved the mud tires from old #3 yesterday too. I'lll put them on when the sun comes out next. Might have to drive 'em a little to get them back to round after sitting for so long.

Four and a Quarter

2010-05-01T21:02:00.000-04:00

Got the front shackles in (5") today, along with the front shocks, front bumper and push bar and rear bumper. With the extended shackles, my total lift from stock is 4.25" (plus the 2"+ from the body lift and bushings done previously). Put new bushings in the upper shackle mount. Didn't do the springs, I'll come back to that later.

The extended shackles from IH Only North are awesome. Well worth the expense (although shipping was a bit steep at $30+). The rear shackles should be here Monday, so tomorrow I'll get everything ready.

With only two weeks until Pinelands, and weekend obligations and work travel during the week, it's not looking like the Aussie is going to get installed in time. :-(

Staying on the Straight and Narrow

2010-04-25T17:43:00.002-04:00

Got some garage time today. Installed the Steer Straight brace. That was like 15 minutes, so had to find something else to use up my day. Ended up adjusting the alignment of the driver's side door. Much better now, although it still sounds like a tin can when you shut it. Will have to sound deaden the new doors before they go on. Also wire brushed the front and rear frame crossmembers so the hitch and bumpers can go on. I ended up POR-15-ing the rear and primed and painted the front with Krylon Rust Tough. Just because I could.

Also bought two gallons of Evap-o-Rust and put 'em both in a 5 gallon pale and dropped in the AC/Alternator bracketry, a R-series radio delete, and a few other small pieces. I'll leave 'em in 'til tomorrow and see how they look.

Pulled off the front shocks, too. The new ones and the shackles should be here tomorrow. If I had been thinking, I would have asked Jeff to put a couple of thrust washers in with my order. Doh! [editor's note: He didn't have them anyway.]

Despite this progress, my to-do list stands at 56 (and that's not including the paint prep 'cuz it's so far off). My 'Gotta get done before Pinelands' list is at 19. Tick, tick, tick.

Shocking

2010-04-20T22:23:00.002-04:00

This weekend I got all my lights working properly. No more getting the bird flown at me by people who don't understand old school hand signals when I am turning. I also determined that the intermittent wiper module that I have won't work on my set up. Apparently Scouts used two different types of motors and mine is the wrong one for this aftermarket piece. Good thing it was free.

Yesterday I got my shocks, shackles and springs ordered. Should be here next week.

Now I am debating whether to move up the Aussie installation or concentrated on some of the other little things that need doin before Pinelands. Methinks that best bet is to get all mechanical and maintenance things taken care of first. Better to have a good, safe running Scout with an open rear on the trail than a locker that breaks down.

And the color is...

2010-04-12T22:40:00.000-04:00

My color choice for Hanky has been decided the easy way. I had paint ready for my mother's horse trailer, a Ford gun metal gray. But, she went and sold the trailer, so now I have a gallon of paint and no trailer to put it on. Looks like hanky is going to be gray. Eventually. Maybe with black rockers and stripes.

Have You Grown?

2010-04-12T21:52:00.000-04:00

Why yes, I have. 3.5" to be exact since Friday.

Got that pesky spring cut off on Sunday morning and finished up putting the lift springs on and rolled her out of the shop. Put in brake line extensions in the front. Found that a section of heater hose with a bit cut out of the diameter works very sell as a bushing for the line going through the original mounting point. Snug as a bug in a rug.

Didn't do a good job of bleeding the brakes, kinda ran out of fluid. No worries, ran down to Advance and picked up some new stuff and did a total flush/bleed. Now the brakes are nice and tight. Now just need to get and install some extended shackles in the front and get some shocks installed. I hear that Rancho has a nice rebate going. Ran it around yesterday and today without the shocks to see how it feels and it rides pretty darned nice. The springs are pretty stiff, but that's ok with me. I don't think I'll need a lot of shock to dampen them.

Once I got the springs done, I put on the new bikini. Wasn't sure how I'd like the white, but I think it's growing on me. We'll see how color fast it is vs. Pinelands mud.

3, 2, 1, Lifto... Aw Crap

2010-04-10T21:09:00.001-04:00

Had some free time on Friday, so figured I'd see if I couldn't get the lift springs installed, or at least well on their way (4" Rough Country). Got the rears in and the extended brake hose hooked up. Piece of cake.

So this morning, once I rolled out of bed when the sun was high and warm, I got back at it. The driver's side front went on no problem. The passenger side went fine until... what is it they say about that last bolt? Yeah, well the rear spring bolt is frozen to the bushing sleeve. To make matters worse, the bushing spins in the spring eye. Tried every fashion of removal I could think of to no avail. So, tomorrow morning, I'll cut the bolt out. Should be enough clearance to get the glade of the circular air cut off tool in there.

Hopefully tomorrow, I'll be riding high(er). 4" to be exact.

Doin' What It Was Made To Do

2010-04-03T18:17:00.001-04:00

Heavy D got to go out and play today, taking a load of yard waste to the dump and bringing home a load of mulch. A ton of the stuff in the back and it rides like a dream, just as I would expect.

After bringing home the load, I piled into Hanky and headed down the street to Brian H's place to join he and Alan and help tear down his Scout to swap out the inner fenders. Of course, once we got it apart (after fighting with tacky repairs by a PO), we found that there is actually more to fix than just putting on new inners. Not surprised you say? Right, not surprised.

Got it down to the studs, then put it all back together again (with limited bolt usage) so Brian could cover it up and not incur the wrath of his neighbors.

check, check

2010-03-31T19:52:00.000-04:00

ok, knock two more off the list. Got the plow frame off and the rear bumper stubs off.

Add to the list 'get new hardware for both'.

Now I figure since both the front and rear bumpers are off, I should POR15 the ends of the frame. Add that to the list too.

Dang, back where I started... or worse, since I also found a nice slash in the side wall of one of my tires. ugh. Two trucks with the same problem now. I'll have to keep my eyes open for a good used 32" tire.

6 down, 40 to go

2010-03-21T08:44:00.002-04:00

So I sat down this week to make a list of things to do on Hanky. After 5 minutes, I stopped at 46 things. Boy, I've a lot of work to do.

Yesterday was so nice, I figured I needed to make time to get some stuff done on the trucks. The first order of business was to check out the brakes on Heavy D. Sure enough, the pads were worn right down to the rivets. Took a ride over to Napa, ordered some pads, picked 'em up a while later and voila, good as new. Well, almost, I still need to flush and bleed the lines.

I also helped Brian H put the front skid plate on his Scout. had to do a quick Google search to find a pic of a truck with one installed to see where the mounting points were, but once we had that, a little grinding for clearance and it went on slick as you please.

Did manage to get some of the to-dos done on Hanky. Put away the high lift, re-attached the loose front shock, doubled the heater hose back on itself (until I can replace the core), removed the plow wiring, put on a new distributor cap, and removed the rear bumper.

Of course, in the process, I thought of at least six more things to add to the list, so I'm no closer to finishing the list than when I started (of course, I fully expect that the list will be perpetually self regenerating). I also noticed how bad my driver's side wheel arch and quarter are. A brighter individual would be hunting for a new tub right about now. But, I figure I still need more welding practice and there are some custom mods I want to try on this one.

Another nice day today. Maybe I can knock out a few more in between stints doing yard work...

...and yet I buy more

2010-03-14T14:26:00.000-04:00

Well, in my defense, KB really needed help getting rid of some of his stuff... and he needed help doing some moving and cleaning at his house so he can get it on the market. So I figure, I can help him out and pick up some parts at the same time. Makes perfect sense to me. That is until the wife reminds me that there are plenty of projects to be done around here too. Doh!

Anyway, I picked up a front skid plate for BH and for myself a mid skid plate, drag link, alternator and uh, what else. Oh, right, a step bumper to replace the one that tried to take on a tree last month (and lost). Also too a run out to Mom's place to drop the plow and pick up her recycling.

Gotta remember to bolt up that driver's side front shock - not that I notice a discernible difference when I drive. Might as well make a list of projects to tackle - there are plenty. Hopefully, I can get a lot of them done before Pinelands.

While at Mom's I made a failed attempt at moving the Speester into the barn. It didn't want to go. The rear wheels are locked up. I assume the brake pads are frozen to the drums. I'll tackle that another (sunnier, warmer) day. Poor car has been neglected for far too long. Mice have been in it despite my efforts to thwart them. Hopefully they haven't done too much damage.

You's a Lucky Man Mr. Clean

2010-03-10T18:53:00.000-05:00

While filling up both tanks on Heavy D this weekend, while the guy with the minivan was looking at me crosseyed because I had to move the truck to the other side of the pump to fill the other tank another dude says "wow, haven't seen one of them in a while and it was all rusted out, sitting in a farmer's field."

I says "yup, uh huh, that's the fate of a lot of 'em." Then he says "you need an old Scout to go along with it." To which I say "Got one; a '78. Go wheeling and plowing with it."

He just looks at the ground, shakes his head and says "you's a lucky man," gets in his car and leaves. Indeed I am; a lucky man. :-)

Ready To Go Topless

2010-03-08T21:24:00.000-05:00

Rec'd my new bikini top today. That's right, the price for those white bikinis on eBay was too good to pass up. First trip to Pinelands it will be brown, but we'll see how it holds up.

Took Heavy D on a parts run to take some stuff from the garage up to Mom's shop. That driver's side caliper is dragging big time. I need not drive it until I get a better look at it.

While at KB's fire sale, I couldn't remember what parts I did and didn't have, so I figured I needed to poke around in the barns to remind myself what's there...

four tailgates

three hoods

two each doors

two each fenders

at least one grill

three windshield frames

...ok, I think that I can stop collecting body parts.

Snowmaggedon

2010-02-11T19:12:00.000-05:00

Part Deux.

Rose early this morning and started back to shoveling. It was a total white out yesterday and they say that we got another 19.5". That puts us near 5' of the white stuff in the last 5 days. oofdah!

Hanky got a workout again today. I did a pass yesterday, so the snow on the road wasn't too bad. Was able to get most of the neighborhood down to pavement and as soon as the sun hit it, it melted it down. Had some grateful neighbors make contributions of gas money and one Starbucks gift card. One chai tea coming up!

That gas money will be a down payment on a new hydraulic pump for the plow. Well, that is what's left after we went out for sushi for lunch today. :-)

Snowpocalypse

2010-02-10T15:31:00.000-05:00

Oh the weather outside its frightful...

I got out this morning at about 7 AM, fired up the Scout and plowed the whole neighborhood. There was only about 4" on the road, so it was a piece of cake. Then I fired up the snow blower and cleared the driveway.

Then it started really snowing and blowing. The weather boys now say 20"-30" in the B'more area. Will be hard to measure, it's blowing so much. It's drifting pretty heavily and I'll bet there will be drifts 6'+. Hanky is still pretty clean, though, so I might make another run before dark. They say it's not going to let up until morning.

Ah, winter.

Ah, That's More Like It

2010-02-08T19:38:00.001-05:00

With the help of Brian H, we swapped out the fuel filter, put in new plugs and wires and scraped off some of the slag on the dizzy cap's electrodes. He also spotted what I think was the source for a lot of my trouble. The cap had come off the vacuum port for the A/C on the intake manifold. The cap on the master cylinder reservoir was also open a touch, we think from one of the pressure hoses rubbing on it - could have been the source of much of the fluid on that side of the engine. So we recapped the vacuum port, moved the ps pressure line a tinge and fired it up. Vrrrroooooommmmmm. Now that's more like it!

Just in time for this next storm, which they say is bringing 10-20" of more snow. I haven't touched the Crossfire yet. Need to get that dug out tomorrow.

Working Hard

2010-02-08T08:56:00.001-05:00

Hanky got worked hard yesterday. Maybe too hard. with the help of the neighborhood, we managed to get a single lane plowed out to the main road. By the end of the day, Hanky started smoking, I think blowing oil out the dipstick tube. I had added some oil earlier because it sounded like it was ticking a little. Rechecked the level and it was over full. Doh! I managed to fry one of the plug wires, but never fear, I have an extra set on stand-by.

After letting it sit for a while, it didn't want to idle. Would start and run (albeit not terrible smoothly), but not idle and would die as soon as I put it into gear. At one point it didn't want to start at all. It backfired through the carb big time, so thought it was flooded. The problem didn't really start until I filled it with gas, so thought maybe some water got in there. Put some dry gas in and ultimately got it to run long enough to get it into a newly dug out parking space.

I'm going to have to tinker with it today. I have a new set of plugs I can put in and will swap out all the plug wires and if I can find my spare dizzy cap, I'll put that on. A new fuel filter too. And maybe drain off about half a quart of oil.

But baby it's cooooold out there now. Gonna have to wait until the sun gets a little higher!

Here are a few shots of what we managed to accomplish yesterday:

Did I say that?

2010-02-06T09:38:00.000-05:00

So, did I say bring on the snow? They say 31" and still coming in Elkridge. I believe it, though it's more like 18-20" in the street. My 24" measuring stick on the deck was buried by the time I got up.

Had to dig out the Scout just to see if I could plow (had a drift up over the plow and hood) and promptly got stuck 10' from where I started - and that's without even dropping the plow. Dug it out and raised the plow a few links and got it out, but this here snow is just too much and too heavy for me to plow. Wish I woulda put that Aussie Locker in. :-(

Bring on the Snow

2010-02-05T17:27:00.001-05:00

Got the plow hooked back up to Hanky on Tuesday, ahead of the small storm we had (not needed). Put the new B and C coils on, but no dice. Took the motor off to bench test it and while it was working last time I had it off, it's toast now. It was pretty grungy, so I'm not surprised. Now I'm debating whether to just get a whole rebuilt pump unit or keep buying new bits and hoping that the next one will make it work.

In any case, it's snowing gangbusters out now, with the new predicition of 20"-30" by tomorrow night. I'll do my thing the same as last storm. Drop the plow and run it around, then use the hi-lift to lift it again. If I need to change the angle, I'll just need to run it into a curb or tree. :-)

I've Been Sprung

2010-01-23T14:43:00.000-05:00

Got some good Scout time in today. BH and I went over to BD's place with the intent to then go over to KB's place to check out his liquidation sale. While we killed time before heading from B to K, we got started on replacing the thermostat in Peer Pressure. The old one looked good, but wasn't the Robert Shaw style, so a replacement was in order in any case. We needed RTV, so went and got that, then headed over to K's place. He's more stuff than I thought. Might have to make a return trip, but he offered a set of Rough Country 4" springs and a set of new plug wires for a price I couldn't pass up. Hanky's gonna have a new lift! BD score seat bases and a dash pad for a ridiculous price and BH scored a hitch and a Borgeson joint. Might have to make a return trip!

Once loaded, we headed back to finish putting Peer Pressure back together, which we did in no time flat. Check that one off the to-do list. Now to get that fan shroud mounted up.

Nice to help on other people's truck, but one of these days, I'll have to spend some wench time on Hanky. :-)

Second Christmas

2010-01-22T18:41:00.000-05:00

Well, haven't touched the Scout in a while except to unhook the plow and leave it in the garage. This in anticipation of new solenoids arriving, which they did this week. Three shiny new solenoids for the plow pump. I'll be putting those on this weekend and hopefully that will solve my problems and I'll be back in business for the next snow.

I love UPS. They seem to bring by all kinds of new presents this week. They also dropped off a new snatch strap, a new receiver shackle - you know, so I can pull other people out of the mud holes) and a vintage ERTL 1:64 Scout to add to the collection in the office at home.

As I sat here contemplating where to hang it, I decided it was about time I inventory my collection and make sure that my home owners covers it adequately. So, I've started that now too.

I've long considered it a good idea to inventory my parts too, but those of you who've seen my garage and shop will understand why that hasn't happened.

Gonna have to do some rearranging in the garage here pretty soon, so I can move the Studebaker out and get some electrical work done. That should be fun. Maybe that's a good time to finally do the valve stem seals on it too. Add it to the list...

Spring Pinelands Video

2009-12-28T21:06:00.000-05:00

If you've missed the postings on Binder Planet and the Triple Diamond email list, a new Pinelands Spring 2009 video has been posted. This is the first video I've done with the new iMovie. Seems to work pretty well, but it's a bit harder to do precise editing, especially with soundtracks. I'll start thinking about the Fall video here shortly.

Here is the link.

Small Victories

2009-12-28T21:03:00.000-05:00

Today I took the plow motor off the pump unit to see if I couldn't get it going. Boy was it crappy inside. Clearly water got in at some point. But it actually cleaned up nicely. I had to resolder one of the brushes back on and the brush mounting plate broke, but was able to wedge it back in place. Got it all cleaned up as best I could, put it back together and bench tested it... Voila! it works! Now to take it apart again, lube, reassemble and put back on the pump. Still think that one of the solenoids is bad, but hopefully, this will keep the unit from being a boat anchor.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T23:11:00.000-05:00

Happy Holidays everyone. It's a white Christmas around here for once. I had the pleasure of driving both of my beasties around in the snow last weekend. Got Heavy D off the street and up on the knoll next to the house. Made for a nice picture when the sun came up on Sunday:

Hydraulics, We Don't Need No Stinking Hydraulics

2009-12-20T14:56:00.000-05:00

A fixed plow seems to work just fine is these here parts. I just have to use a Hi-Lift to jack up the blade and the hydraulics will hold it lifted about 6". Then lower as needed (the one servo that works on the unit). No power angle, but a little bump into a tree or curb can be used to make adjustments to the angle. :-)

Did a few passes around the neighborhood and a pretty thorough job in front of my place and my neighbor's. Worked great. How much fun can I have if I get that pump fixed.

We got 23" here in Columbia. I hear that's about the most in the state. My back will surely feel it tomorrow.

Here are some pics.

I Couldn't Help Myself

2009-12-18T23:34:00.000-05:00

I just had to get back out there and try to get this plow working. There is just too much snow coming to not. Brian H happened by while I was tinkering and we took apart the plow motor. What a mess. Might be able to get away with new brushes. Diagnostics also point to a bad solenoid. That part is available for about $25 if it is just the solenoid. Starts to get expensive if it's also the valve, or more than one solenoid. I'm just going to have to make due with no hydraulics.

Let it snow, let it snow...

2009-12-18T18:19:00.000-05:00

Well, I *finally* got the plow on the truck and tried to figure out the wiring. Actually, the wiring was pretty straight forward, but all the ends needed a lot of cleaning. Got it all hooked up. Nothing. Dang. went back and recleaned the terminals. Nothing. Only one switch activated the solenoid and only in one direction and no voltage out the other side. Clean the switch contacts again. No better. Swap on a solenoid from Heavy D. No better. Go to NAPA and buy an Optima Red Top and a new solenoid. OK, now we're getting somewhere. The solenoid clicks in every direction. But still no movement of the plow. And what's that? smoke from the motor every time I activate it. Doh! Check the oil level. It's low, so I top it off. Pull the motor off and sure enough, it's frozen tight. A little PB B'Laster and creative use of a screwdriver as a lever and I broke it free. Put it back on and voila, the motors turns. But still no movement of the plow blade. Nothing. It's not even trying. Hmmm...

Next thing to check is the magnetism of the valve solenoids. I'm sure the system could use a good flush too. But alas, it's now dark out and I might have to wait until morning (by when there is supposed to be a few inches on the ground). :-(

Probably the biggest storm we'll have for a few years and I won't be able to play with my plow. Of course, I seriously doubt that inoperative hydraulics will keep me from trying.

Yes kids a Video is in the works

2009-12-09T15:58:00.000-05:00

Now that I have this shiny new iMac, I'm having to learn a new video package. What better way to learn iMovie that on that Spring Pinelands video I've been neglecting for so long. I built a sound track in GarageBand and have most of the clips and stills in place. Just need a few more hours to finish it up... then on to the Fall video.

Pump It Up

2009-12-09T15:52:00.000-05:00

So, I haven't yet gotten that plow on. Good thing the snow last Saturday didn't require it. I did manage to get my hands dirty on a Scout this past weekend, though. Brian H and I went over to Bill D's place to check out his leaky water pump/overheating problem on Peer Pressure. We pulled the water pump and it looked brand spanking new, but had nary a sign of gasket anywhere. So on with a new gasket and put the pump back in place, along with a fan shroud for good measure. Since PP has a body lift, Bill's gonna need to fab up some mounting points to keep it centered on the fan.

Don't think that the water pump was the source of the overheating issue. Shroud should help, but suspect that the thermostat may be at fault. That will be the next thing to check once he gets the shroud on an runs it around a bit.

They are calling for a chance of snow again on Saturday, so need to get cracking on that plow wiring...

Aussie in the House

2009-12-03T21:48:00.001-05:00

The Aussie Locker arrived today. Man, that was fast. The box is smaller than I thought it would be, but everything looks right. They recommend new thrust washers, so I am goig to hunt down a set. Better safe than sorry. Can't wait to get it in, but I need to get the plow wired and tested first.

Lock Me Up

2009-11-30T18:18:00.000-05:00

Went to the Aussie Locker site today to check them out again and well, I happened to have my credit card in my pocket... and their checkout is so easy... and, well...

Who wants to help me install an Aussie Locker? Should be here in a week or so.

Also, managed to unload the snow plow blade from Heavy D by myself yesterday. Piece of cake. Diane's first comments where:

"What's that piece of machinery in our driveway?"

"Why, that's the snow plow blade. You know, that thing that's been in the back of the pickup for the last month."

"Uh huh, I don't pay attention to what's in that truck... and how long is it going to stay in the driveway?"

"Just until I get it hooked up to the Scout."

:-)