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unimogjohn

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Everything posted by unimogjohn

  1. unimogjohn
    I just knew that "retirement" would not last, but just not this quick. You are moving up to a "big" car so to speak. What are your plans? And more importantly, where will you be posting?
  2. unimogjohn
    It is Wednesday, August 2nd. I have not written for a bit, but we have been busy with farm chores and getting ready for Fall and Winter. We now have 3 tons of wood pellets on the back deck, 200 bales of hay in the barn, and on the hunt for a supply of twenty round bales. But I did get the Trailblazer's shifter fixed. It took two different fix systems and about a week waiting for some little plastic parts. The first fix from HELP just did not work. It would not latch onto the shift post, so it just fell off. Then I found Bushingsfix.com They had a designed plastic kit. It worked great and it clicked into place on the shift post. So that is behind me. Normally I do not post non-auto related stuff, but thought that this should be posted so we all remember. On the weekend we were up in PA and happened to go by the National Memorial for United Flight 93. This was the fourth plane that was high-jacked on 9/11. I certainly learned more of the events on the plane. The passengers and crew were true heroes for bringing the plane down knowing that it would probably end their lives. They are my heroes, may they all rest in peace. Here are a few pictures that I took. The rock is where the plane crashed into the field. The debris field was small as the plane went in nose first. They found the last bit of the plane at 25 feet.
  3. unimogjohn
    Bernie, I for one will miss you and your adventures. Keep us up to date on your Lagonda tours and maintenance. All the best, and you never know, another "simple" restoration project may come your way. John in Virginia
  4. unimogjohn
    Thursday, July 20th. So hot outside your skin prickles. But this morning I did get the Trailblazer up on the lift to see what was happening to the transmission shift cable. Was not hard to spot with all the tape on it. At least it held until I got home yesterday. Looks like the push-on bushing that goes on the post and holds on the cable to the shift mechanism failed. No place for the cable to hold on so it just fell off. The new push-on plastic bushings will arrive tomorrow. I am ready for them. Installation should take five minutes or so.
  5. unimogjohn
    David, and I picked up 5 tons of wood pellets for the winter. Three for the neighbors and two for us. Now I just have to unload them. Will probably get another ton in case we have a hard winter. I can haul two pallets of one ton each in the dump trailer so we had to make three trips. We used a huge tractor with forks to unload two, but had to unload and stack one ton. Three of us made quick, but hot work.
  6. unimogjohn
    It is Wednesday, July 19. Hotter than a barrel of burning oil...... actually, the heat index says it is 110 degrees. Of course Alice headed into town with the 2002 Trailblazer to pick up llama food for the next couple of weeks. About 500 lbs worth. On the way home she stopped for some books at the library and when she came out the truck would not come out of park. So I headed down, and decided that a tow truck was in order as it was totally locked up and would not start. Fuses where good. Well, about an hour later the tow truck driver showed up and said he knew what the problem was. A broken shift cable connection to the transmission. So he got some tape, crawled under the truck and in a couple of minutes it was fixed for the ride home. I gave him a good tip and thanked him. So I have ordered a bushing repair kit. While I have the truck up in the air I am going to do a little PM. Going to replace the transmission coolant lines; the variable timing unit, which tends to clog up; the cam position sensor; and a serpentine belt kit with new pulleys. I hope the valve and cam sensor will help the clanking of the valves. It sounds like a diesel motor. In a couple of days all the parts will arrive and then will start on the project.
  7. unimogjohn
    Chris, the little tractor weighs 620 lbs (actual), the deck weighs about 140 lbs (my estimate). Everything is cast or plate steel. So it is close to the 800 lbs mark. One beefy little rig. How is the Avanti? Using it much?
  8. unimogjohn
    It is Friday, July 14th. I wish I could say that I have been doing a lot on the old cars. Sadly not. It is just too hot to enjoy the work. Yesterday, the humidity was over the top so the heat index said that it was 107 degrees. Today will not be much better, 105 degrees with big storm in the PM. But I did get the old Cub Cadet into the garage to replace the melted throw-out button. I opted for the fibre one versus the brass aftermarket one. Why, less wear on the pressure plate button. The CC forum warned against forcing the button post into the clutch arm. Lots try and most break the button post. So I took their advice and used the Dremel tool to grind off a bit of the post and then pressed it on. Worked great. I did receive an email from the PO. He congratulated me on my purchase, and said that he owned the tractor for 22 years.
  9. unimogjohn
    Bernie, wow, you are moving right along as usual. It looks like someone had started with the restoration a long time ago. Most of the mechanical, sans engine, look to be clean. What are your expectations for the mechanical bits? Do you have specs on the engine? Any history on the car?
  10. unimogjohn
    It is Saturday, July 8th. Been busy doing farm stuff. Today we hauled and stacked in the barn 100 bales of hay. Tomorrow we do the same thing. This hay is used for emergency if we cannot get the llamas to the big rounds due to snow or ice in the pastures. Each bale weighs about 60 lbs, and I get to stack them six high. Oh, and it was 90 degrees too. And I got the 1967 International Harvester Cub Cadet back to mowing again. I put on all new belts and have everything adjusted. The mower is engaged via a PTO, which is actuated by a mechanical clutch. The clutch is engaged via a metal arm, which presses against a small pressure plate. The metal arm has a throw out bearing called a button. It presses against the fingers of the pressure plate. Well, mine has melted so I ordered one today and will put it on. But the mower still works as is, and it cuts great. The button is a wear item and is a fibre and plastic composition.
  11. unimogjohn
    It looks like I may have another project with the Suburban. Owner's are reporting the transfer case is being eaten up by an internal rub. Only solution is to pull it and put in a spacer, which protects the case. Here is a link to a write-up. Going to put the truck on the lift next week and see what model I have to make sure. Looks like a "when" problem rather than an "if" problem. http://www.silveradosierra.com/transmission/transfer-case-pump-rub-statistics-t71033.html and here is a video of what is involved. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOyZI3KNOV0&feature=youtu.be#t=23.311927
  12. unimogjohn
    Pacerman, I asked Greg the same question. Here is what he said. As for our OX-5 power figures, I have to be careful about spilling any any proprietary beans. My boss has a lot invested in testing and evaluation. I will say however that the -5 as installed in the Jenny with the standard propeller the engine should turn up 1450 RPM on takeoff ("If it won't do 1450 don't go.") so I have the dyno operator take power samples from 1200 and limited to 1600 RPM range and I find that these engines are still consistently making horsepower as the revs increase. Factory rated at 90 , our engines are delivering in the range of about 105 horse power and torque peaks about 375 ft.lb. (I find it interesting that when observing the testing of a tri power 421 Pontiac it also netted 375 at who knows how many thousand rpm). I'm also finding that these fresh engines deliver incrementally more power the more they run. The honing of the cylinder bores, the limbering of frictional surfaces and the sealing of the piston rings was all working. The last one I tested was subjected to adjustments and experimenting with carburetor and mixture to deliver max power. This one was tested without adjustments of any kind. The results were both close.
  13. unimogjohn
    It is Friday, June 6th. Been doing farm chores, but did manage to take the BMW to the dealer to order a new key, ca-ching $200. I have to wait a couple of days for the key to come in from Germany. I have also ordered more belts for the Cub Cadet mower to make it functional. The tractor itself is running great. And I stopped the leak in one of the rear tires, it was the valve stem mechanism. The tires are about shot, but I think I can get another year out of them. And as luck would have it, Greg has sent us a report. John, I've been pushing hard here at work, another OX-5 Curtiss engine to finish and test. I'd run it on my test stand to check for function and any obvious problems and with five minutes time on it, Nate and I took it for dynamometer evaluation. That took most of this past week out of our schedule. It performed well and with more documentation to add to our growing OX file, it is now being readied for shipment to the customer. It is really quite remarkable to have the opportunity to study a hundred year old engine and also compare them against each other. I was really fortunate that Nathan could take time off work to help me with this, and we were also joined by my good friend Glenn Miller who with his son Dan traveled from Detroit to assist. Glenn not only has a lifetime of experience with all manner of antique machinery, but made a career with Ford's Power Train development doing some unbelievable projects. Some photos enclosed.
  14. unimogjohn
    It is Tuesday, June 27th. The BMW Z4 came without a binder and all the manuals that come with a new car. So I have been on the hunt for one, looking on Ebay every morning. They have been going for in between $250 and $500. Too high for this kid. Then one came up for $90 and I grabbed it. It is correct for 2007. Alice and I spent a couple of hours at the DMV this morning with all of Dexter's paperwork. The little Morris Traveller now has 1966 Virginia truck plates. Alice worked her magic and convinced them that it was an English delivery truck. They bought it.
  15. unimogjohn
    June 26th, Monday, PM. Five Hours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is what it took to change out the xenon headlights in the VW Passat W8, and I knew how to do it. Now I hope it will pass the lighting inspector. Sometimes I just hate German Engineering. Who ever thought you had to take off the entire front end to do it, what a great idea, NOT. And I fould a seep in the oil cooler connection. I will have to do some research and see what I need to seal it back up. Oh, the little mag tray held most of the bolts and screws that had to come out.
  16. unimogjohn
    Chris, glad you are back on it before it get too hot. Missed your posts.
  17. unimogjohn
    Frank, there is no vibration with the screen off so I think I am good. Paul, I like it also. I only wish the PO would have not painted over all the decals. I really have no way to tell what model it really is. As a result I am unsure of the mower and PTO belts I need. I have joined the Cub forum so maybe than can help with the limited information I have.
  18. unimogjohn
    Still Friday, out mowing with the little John Deere 325 tractor. KAPOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The debris screen on top of the flywheel broke apart and tore up the starter cable and throttle control, and put a huge hole through the side of the engine cover. You can see a piece of the screen hung up on the outside of the hood. Thank goodness for Ebay, I have a new one coming. Sure glad that the cover part went thru the hood and not me. I would have probably been seriously hurt or ............ It also blew off the plastic cover that was over the screen and ripped it from it mount on the engine cover. I tried running it with half of the screen, but the vibration was too harsh as the engine is out of balance. So I was able to remove the old one. Hopefully, I will be mowing again in a couple of days.
  19. unimogjohn
    It is Friday, June 23rd. Well, finally back from a great Yellowstone Park two week vacation. In total we went a bit over 2,300 RT from Seattle, WA. Now back on the homestead the U.S. Mail delivered a few International Harvester Cub Cadet parts; starter generator belt and a spark plug. I put them on yesterday, to include changing the oil. Runs great, and starts much better with the new belt. The old belt had a couple of chunks out of it. And I have determined that it is a model 106, produced in 1965, and it has the 42 inch mowing deck. Tomorrow I am going to see if I have the right mower deck belt. The drive belt looks to be in good shape so I will reuse it for now, but will order a spare. I also got a grill from Ebay, of course I bought the wrong one. The one for this tractor is a mesh, but installed this one anyway. I also attempted to adjust the rear disc brakes. They are better, but I think I will pull them apart and see what the pads look like.
  20. unimogjohn
    It is Tuesday, June 20th. Heading home, back to the farm, tomorrow. Cannot wait. But it has been a great little vacation. We drove about 2,300 miles to Yellowstone and back. And in the meantime Greg has been busy. Here is his latest report. I think that the original tires for the REO are not available. I know that he has been running on some worn out crusty stuff. So he is putting on new tires that are available. Trying to fit an 875 x 105 Dunlop clincher tire to the REO. I've been able to stretch one onto the rim. Wasn't too bad and didn't take too long. Then the fun (?) began. I spent most of a day trying various ways to get the side ring on. Clamps, jacks, nothing I tried would let the side ring go on, let alone the lock ring. Gave up. The latest brainstorm . The side ring problem of not going on due to the tire being too wide where it contacts the rim. The bead seats are too wide. What I'm trying now is to trim away some of the inner edge of the bead (thinnest part) so that it won't be quite as wide. Modified a milling machine arbor and slitting saw to be used in a die grinder. Slow going, advance 1/16" at a time and 85" around X 2 ( Both edges). Now cutting on the second side and about 1/3 to go. Better go finish up and probably try mounting it on the rim tomorrow night.
  21. unimogjohn
    Thursday, June 15th. We spent three full days in Yellowstone, heading back to Seattle tomorrow. But here are a few pics from today. We saw several large herds of Bison, a couple of deer and chipmunks, but no bears. We came upon a new, old lookalike, sightseeing truck. Pretty neat to see it in the park.
  22. unimogjohn
    Lots and lots of people around Old Faithful, but less so off the beaten track. But a few pictures of Yellowstone. A truly magical place.
  23. unimogjohn
    It should be noted that we are with Joe (packick) and Kathy on the trip from Seattle to Yellowstone and back. It snowed most of the day yesterday and temp was a steady 33 degrees all day. Today should be around 60 and no rain or snow. Hope to see some animals today as they were hunkered down during the storms. Will post a couple of pics tonight. A beautiful place. If not on your bucket list, it should be.
  24. unimogjohn
    On our way to Yellowstone, we stopped for an hour or so at a auto museum in Idaho. Here are some of the pics I took. I think that there were over 160 cars on display from the early teens to the 70s. All were nicely kept and certainly loved by the staff and volunteers. Some were remnants of the Towe Museum that was sold off for back taxes.
  25. unimogjohn
    It is Tuesday June 13th. It is snowing and 34 degrees. Guess we must be in West Yellowstone, Montana this morning. Decided to get out of Virginia with 95 degree heat. I think we went to far. Heading into the park today.
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