unimogjohn

Tristan, first, open your wallet a bit and get a factory service manual for the truck. You can find them on Ebay usually. The speedo and odometer are run by a cable from the transmission. The cable inside the sleeve may be broken or just worn out. Held in back of the speedo either by a slip clip or a threaded coupling. May have to pull the cluster to see, that is why you need the manual.

Your first truck is always special, even more so in that it has been in the family. Ask away with questions. Remember, it is better to eat an elephant on bite at a time. Don't tear everything apart all at once only to have it not run again. I always make sure that no matter what I do, the car will run and drive within a week or so. Good luck and keep us posted on your efforts.

Larry, Wow, it looks like you live in the Alps. That is a lot of white stuff. Good luck on the car, remember, cash counts. Keep us posted on the negotiations.

It is Sunday, January 24th. The dig out begins. I promise this will be my last snow report. Eight hours and I finally got a hole out to the road. Not that it does much good. sill two feet of snow on the road. The grader came by and skimmed six inches, could not go deeper cause he would get stuck. Tried to use the snow blower but it was too deep, so used the Kubota, bucket by bucket. Tomorrow I will make the driveway wider to get the Suburban out to the road, and I am sure that the driveway end will be covered with six feet of snow from the plowing the road, will probably have to dig out the entrance five or six times. Oh, and got the Kubota stuck as I was pulling it into the garage. Had to use the Suburban to yank it back onto the hard pack.

We saw the last flake at 11 PM. What a white winter wonderland. We stopped at about 28 inches or so. Lots of big drifts from the wind. I have just got mouse runs done with the snow blower and part of the new garage so I can get the tractor out. Going to have to use the loader to move the snow rather than push it. Goal for today is the long driveway and around the Suburban so we can attempt to get out if we need to. The roads have not been plowed yet so there is no where to go anyway. Have to try to dig out paths to the hay bales for the llamas also. Lot of snow work to do today. Oh, we still have power so that is a good thing.

Ben, we live near Orlean, VA. We are about an hour away from Winchester, VA. Glad that you son is stranded at a rest stop and not on the side of the road in the middle of no where land. It is just after 9 PM and it is still snowing. Radar is still showing lots of the white stuff coming this way. Hopefully, we will be in the clear by the morning and we can start the dig out. Most of the roads around us are impassable. I just hope that they can plow our road on Monday. If not we are still OK. Just got a note that the Governor of Virginia has called at the National Guard to help first responders.

Saturday, January 23rd at 1 PM. Storm report for you all. I made it out to the new garage and fired up the snow blower. What a slog to get to the garage, fell down once and it was tough to get up. Next time the snow blower will be in the old garage. Made mouse runs back to the house and the barns, and of course to the bird feeders. I am done for now. Tried to use the Kubota, but just too much snow to push right now. And we still have seven hours of snow to go! 26 inches to go. We will probably make it to 30 inches or more.

5 AM on Saturday, January 23rd. Just a quick early morning snow report. We are nice and toasty inside and still have power. All the animals are inside. Still snowing here and just measured over 12 inches on the outside front porch railing at 12 inches. Wind is blowing too. Snow expected to stop in another 17 hours and end with over 2 feet of snow on the ground. Pictures when we get some daylight.

Sill a snowy Friday and now 5 PM. We have 2 inches of snow so far. Now coming down really hard and heavy. Overnight we are suppose to get thundersnow. Everyone is afraid that we are going to lose power. We should be fine with our whole house generator. County officials are asking everyone to check on the elderly, funny, we have not gotten a call. Here are some progressive pictures. Also one of me pointing to 24 inches on the stick. All long way to go to 30. My that is going to be some deep snow. On the mechanical side, got our neighbor's Kubota tractor started just as the snow started to fly. It has been sitting out and not started for a couple of months. Easy fix, the pinion gear was froze. Hit the little gear and she started spinning. Odd set up. It is a sub-compact tractor with the engine reversed so the radiator is in the middle of the tractor and the starter and flywheel in the front. Update: I know that others have it much worse so I am not saying that we are getting hit that hard right now. As of 9:30 PM we have a snow total of about 6 inches, and the wind is probably 15 to 20 mph. Lots of blowing snow. Another report tomorrow morning. The weather folks are still saying we are going to get over 30 plus inches, and we are just in the beginning of the storm, another 24 hours to go.

Al, I hope that I can master it. And my snow report. First flakes at noon. Heaviest snow fall will be overnight, 12 inches or more, and then another 15 inches on Saturday. That is what they say anyway.

It is very early Friday morning, like 2 AM. Can't sleep. Thinking of all the snow that is coming I guess. Now they are saying that this could be the number 1 snow for us in recorded history. The current record is 28 inches. Looks like we are ground zero. We are now expecting over three feet by the time it ends early Sunday morning. The snow is suppose to start around noon I kept busy yesterday getting the farm ready for the onslaught of snow and blowing snow. Built enclosed shelters for the llamas so they can get away from the snow and wind. I also moved hay and feed into strategic locations so I do not have to hump food through the snow. I think I am ready for the snow. I did run the air compressor with the new circuit breaker. Worked great, the motor did not trip, so it looks like it was a bad breaker. An easy $2.68 fix. I also lightly assembled the air bead seater, I just wanted to make sure all the fittings went into the tank OK. Today I will put Teflon tape on the fittings and complete assembly.

It is Wednesday, January 20th AM. Looks like we will be heading into town today for a few days of supplies before the snow arrives. We spent a couple of hours in the barns setting up additional tarps to provide better wind and snow protection for the llamas. They need a place to get away from the blowing snow and have a warm and dry place to hang out. Have to do a couple of more today. Also waiting for a hay delivery, but we also have small bales stored for this event. Picked up 12 50lb bags of llama feed, the llamas will not go hungry. They are still predicting over two feet of snow starting mid day Friday until Sunday morning. Blizzard conditions are set for all day Saturday. Going to fuel up and test the snow blower today. The Kubota tractor is all fueled and ready to push snow. The back blade is on also and set up to push snow off to the side. While major clean up will be on Sunday, I am going to get out a few times to keep the totals down where we need to get around. Tough to push two feet of snow. Headed into town and picked up longer bolts to anchor down the tire changer. Hope to drill the holes for the anchor inserts today. I also ordered an air powered tire bead seater. I have been using a small ratchet strap to seat the tire on the rim. Works, but it is a bit dangerous as the ratchet is under pressure and tends to jump when tension is released. Sometimes, if you are not careful, it will jump and hit your hand, now that hurts. I use a long screwdriver to release the tension, but I am always afraid of the force of the release. I saw a shop using this and viewed a few YouTube videos on its application so decided to get it. It arrived yesterday. Will put it together in the next few day. Here is a pic from the catalog. Not much money, less than $60 from Amazon. Will keep you all updated on the snow event.

Tuesday, brrrrrr, it is cold for us. 11 degrees this morning. But on a happier note we got a propane delivery yesterday. Just in time as I was down to 10% for the garage. It took 167 gallons since it first fill in August. I may have to ask for another 120 gallon tank to be installed. And the house tank if full now also, 480 gallons, that will last until next fall unless we have to use the generator. And this January 19th we have a report from Greg. "Since it's cool in the shop, a good time to warm in the office and get up a progress report on something. The '10 Overland hasn't seen much advancement lately. The crankcase and crankshaft are with Kent Machine in Ohio for rebabbitting of the main bearings. They've had it a while and are going to machine bronze shells that will then receive the alloy and all line bored for true and size. Should be done maybe this month. Meanwhile back at the ranch, I've resumed work on the body itself by doing more repair and tightening of the back seat wooden structure. When satisfied, I'll approach old pal and buddy Thetan Ogle to see if he'd apply the sheet metal skin. He'd done the repair and should be familiar with it. And on the R-3 Avanti engine, we've got the heads back from their checkup, inner springs removed, and Nate now has them screwed in place." We're moving, even if it is slower than STP in January.

It is Monday PM and still only 15 degrees. Lots of snow coming on Friday and Saturday. Have been getting ready to get ready. The Kubota tractor has been fueled and the back blade is on. Sitting alongside of the Avanti in the garage, ready to start pushing the white stuff. But until it snows we have a report from Greg. "Enclosed short movie clip of a first start of the in-progress Curtiss OX-5 engine. I'd been avoiding it for some time now knowing that the internal combustion engine can be cantankerous no matter how carefully it has been attended to. And this one, which has had everything apart, handled and un-adjusted had every excuse to be reluctant to light off. And also there's something about the fact that induction systems that have been cleaned and apart for some time seem to dry out and need extra coaxing to allow the engine to come back to life. out of excuses, I decided yesterday was the day. With Nathan in attendance and to stand Fire Guard, we rolled it outside and gave it a try......" https://youtu.be/JP8-cEi1s1c Weather update: The weather folks are now saying to expect a historic snowfall Friday and Saturday, up to two feet of snow!

Sunday, January 17th. We had a dusting of snow this afternoon, the first of the winter season. Going to be really cold for us the next couple of weeks. Measurable snow is expected at the end of the week. Maybe 12 inches or so. Going to put the rear blade on the Kubota tractor to push the snow off the driveway. Better check and fuel up the snow blower too. I did get to Home Depot and picked up the six threaded insert expansion bolts for the garage floor. Now I can mount the tire changer and press to the floor. The total cost was $32. When I do not need the changer or press I will remove the bolts and leave the threaded expansion sleeves flush in the floor.

It's Friday, January 15th. Not much going on at the farm. I did manage to take out the Avanti for a short run of about ten miles. Such fun! I received all four tires for the Craftsman riding mower, and also got the tire changer today. tomorrow I will head into town and get the inserts that will I will drill into the concrete garage floor to mount the changer. Looks to be of good quality, and made in Viet Nam rather than China. Also my 26 gallon Husky air compressor keep tripping the push on breaker every 20 to 30 seconds. It is not that old so figure that the breaker is bad. I got the replacement today and installed it. Hope that this fixes the problem.

Yes, it is a heater. An after-market produced item. Used the exhaust to heat the chamber and radiate heat into the rear passenger area of the car. Good idea, but when the chamber got a hole in it or rusted out, the exhaust was then released into the car. Not a good thing. Usually in early 1920's cars. Nice display piece.

It is Wednesday, January 13th. Another cold day here in northern Virginia. Will not get above freezing today, and the weather folks say it will stay this way for the next couple of weeks. I guess you might say that winter has arrived. Once a month I take a look at YouTube to see if there are any interesting videos. I ran across this one and thought you all might enjoy it. It is on the Jaguar XK120 Coupe. A good production. And the car is painted Pastel Green too. It has some racing bits on it so it might have an interesting history.

So it looks like you will soak it for a few days? Here is the link to the oil and its source. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neatsfoot_oil

It is Sunday morning, December 10th. We have an actual work report from Greg. "Cold, damp, dreary outside so a good day to finish a project begun years ago. 1910 Buick leather faced cone clutch that belongs to a friend. Another check mark on the list of things overdue." And a response from our very own Trimacar, David Coco. "Hey, what lazy lout left this clutch lying on my garage floor? Oh, that's right, now I remember, it's mine! Thanks, Greg!!" It is very good to have old car friends. David, is it a wet or dry clutch?

Will do. I bought mine on Ebay, but I also see that Harbor Freight has them on sale for $44, $10's less than I paid. There are a few videos on YouTube on the changer. I thought about a mini-changer for just the small tires, but it was more than the larger changer. All the four mower tires came yesterday, but will wait until I get the changer installed to mount them, besides I won't be mowing anytime soon.

Friday, January 8th. Not much going on in the old car department. Just been too cold and damp to do much even in the garage. I did take another look at the Craftsman riding mower and started her up a few times to make sure that I had fixed the engine issue. I looked at the tires and all four have side wall rot. So I bought four new tires and they are on their way. I am really tired of taking tires to be mounted to the local tire store at $35 a pop. So I bought a manual tire changer for $53 and will mount it to the floor of the garage and do them myself. It seems like I am always running into town to change tires so I think that this will do the job. Probably not the best quality, but will certainly do the work I need it to do.

It is Tuesday, January 6th. Yesterday it was -5 degrees. Too cold to do much car work even in the garage. But I did take about an hour to mount the headlights on the 1923 McLaughlin Buick. If it warms up a bit I will prime the vacuum fuel tank and start her up and make sure that there are no coolant leaks. And we have a short report from Greg. I believe that Greg restored this vehicle. "My day yesterday was spent on the road , a work trip to Staunton, Va. While there I had time to visit an old acquaintance. Thanks to Lee Stohr for squeezing me into the picture of the 1911 Robinson "Jumbo" series. Sole survivor and doing well."

January 4th, Monday, and we have a report from Greg. "Just an abbreviated report for now. Today Barbara, Nathan and I had a very nice visit and tour of Paul Rose's Vintage Motorcars restoration facility. His day off, he was spending it by reassembling "Old Dave", the ex Dave Plank/Mark Durst 1911 Model T Ford that he had recently purchased. We got there as he was adding oil and water. After a nicely narrated walk through and a quick lunch, we were to witness the old Ford coming to life after he had freshened the engine and transmission. Without much effort it was running and quietly at that. A photo received of it parked outside his shop proves that he had begun some test driving. Congratulations Paul. Nathan also lent me a hand by stopping by to spend some time on the Avanti R-3 engine. Still awaiting return of the cylinder heads, he was able to install the crankshaft power steering and High Output supercharger pulleys. Thanks Nate."

Larry, Just for you.