[Grizz]

Small 4x3 trailer stll for sale.

Clearly I priced this too high in FS&W, or nobody close enough wanting it.

If I put it on the free goods thread it would not find a home either, as nobody needs it.

But for now, price dropped to £120.00 plus a mug of tea and Digestives or Ginger nuts.

Anyone interested, or wand to trade for a chassis that will cary a lawn tractor (small boat trailer can be modded, so also of interest) I need a deck of 6x4 or 1.8m long, by 1.3 wide between the wheels.

PM please if you have something.

Thanks.


Plan B would be to re-engineer this trailer to flatbed and make it longer and if I removed the sides, it could work

 

[Grizz]

Winter prep job No 1 completed.

Used the hedge trimmer to mulch and cut up the branches that were left over after cutting out everything smaller than a broomstick to pack away to dry for next years fireplace wood.

All the chopped up stuff fitted in the wheely bin after I repeatedly jumped on it to compact further.



Leaving the pile of cut back branches all at around 5 foot or 1.5 meter long.

I then used thick string to tie them into 5 large bundles to put out on the sidewalk. Lets hope the recycling guys put them in the truck.



The amount of work it takes to harvest alm of this wood almost does not seem worth doing.
But it needs to be processed so I may as well do it right.



Filled the Chevy up last night for Sundays Mini roadtrip

Current mileage will slip over to 40k miles or 65k km on Sunday.

Really low I guess for a 21 year old pampered truck.



I also took out roadside recovery today.
Not something that I ever do.
But this truck is so under used, you never know when something does go bang.

I expect no trouble but neither did Kennedy

Should be a nice trip.

 

[pedalcarjoe]

have a safe trip

 

[Grizz]

have a safe trip

Thank you buddy.

Hope so.

 

[Grizz]

Looking forward to the trip with Rain forecast for the whole day, but it should all be fun.

Made up.a couple of ramps earlier, including a pair of stops against the tailgate side for when you shove the dead weight of the tractor up there.

Rather than have the ramps run away from me.



Tie down straps are also in the truck and some bits of padding.

I trust it is all good to go.

Off to dinner with friends first, and then hopefully to bead early for an early start.

Headed out just before 06.00

Stopped for a darkness photo.



Then stopped for an expensive motorway coffee.



A fellow motorist pointed out that I have a lovely looking truck, and that my rear foglight was dangling out back.



Carried on driving until I got to this point.



Followed shortly by this……

40k miles.

Only driven it about 1700 miles in two years.

Bit of a waste ehhh?

Pulled over to capture these.



Shortly after the clock turned over I got to my destination.

Passing this landmark.



And then pulled up here……

Not far from the top secret Secret Volcano Lair.



Walking around while waiting for @frankenhealey to get there from where he was hiding in the mountains…….

Parked up and watched farmer Brown drive his tractor and trailer around.

Perfect way to be spending time before 09.00 0n a Sunday morning.

 

[Grizz]

Once @frankenhealey got to the Volcano Lair he brought out the donor and spares or repairs mower.





14 horse power V-Twin.

Missing it’s carburettor a battery and of course not running.

Measuring the cutting deck, it became instantly apparent that it was not going to fit between the wheel arches, 47 inchest do not fit into 37 inches.

So we had to remove it.





Once loaded up the ramps, I pulled it over to the one side, using the wheel arch as a chock for the rear wheel.

Along with 4 corners on the truck strapped to the tractor.



Followed by adding a roller, Suffolk Punch mower with proprietary Chinese 87cc engine,with centrifugal clutch.



Closed up the rear……

Soft, car like suspension shows the load.



Once the truck was packed, we headed to Frankenhealy’s home for coffee, a chat with Mrs F and of course I got to play fetch with the dog….. best part of my day.

Until @Frankenhealey disappeared out of the kitchen for a few minutes, returning with two packs of Mts F’s Amazing, home made Pork sausages.

Seriously humbled, as I always am by these very personal gifts.

A drive around with Frankenhealey followed by being dropped off back at the truck.

After which I headed out homeward in the rain, which had not stopped all,day, except very briefly exactly while we were loading.

First stop was at the service station to fill up the truck again.

The idea was to see what the truck used empty, bit with the bed covered, compared with the load and no aerodynamics.

Return trip report in a bit.


.

 

[Grizz]

After saying our good byes, I headed to the first gas station, having done 160 miles or 260km exactly, at the national speed limit, tonneau cover in place, unloaded, I was interested in seeing what consumption the 4.3 liter V6 would return.

Filled up to the neck as before leaving home.





Expensive fuel.

The return trip was nonstop rain, some idiots on the road, you know, the usual suspects.

Pulled off at J10 of the M25 to make a detour to pick up Kyle at his girlfriends house, then joined the M25 at J9 and carried on home.





The biggest bummer on the trip was the passenger wiper rubber (they were replaced before Christmas last year) disintegrated partially in the rain on the motorway, leaving a nasty gouge on the screen.
I did bend the tip up at one point when I was able to stop safely, but it was too late already.
I am not sure if I can have it repaired or buffed back professionally.
Any advice appreciated.



By 15.10 we stopped outside my place.



Safe load, and made back in one piece.

The truck was an absolute pleasure to drive, except for the bloody wiper blade.



After we got Kyle sorted, he headed off to find fuel, and then headed back to Bath by midnight, by way of his,girlfriend.

Reporting back that the Micra performed faultlessly.

Good news indeed.

I pulled the truck back into my back yard for the night.

Today I went to fill it again, to,the brim.

Same distance and almost the same consumption.

So,themload and lack of aerodynamics seem to make little differnce to its performance.

It certainly carried the load with absolute ease.



Am I happy with the truck and its performance?

Well, yes and no.

No, mainly because I just do not use it enough. Done less than 2000 miles in two years.

That is wasteful.

 

[Grizz]

Remember the tractor I just collected came without a carburettor and some bits….?



@pauly called me this morning.

From a Harley Davidson V-twin golf cart…….

Carburettor .

 

[Grizz]

Due to a train accident, I did not manage to get a train into London today.

Resulting in closing work down earlier than usual.

Also meant I could get this done before dark.



Followed by raising the stakes, well, allof the new V-twin



Front end as well.

Closed up all the holes I could find.



And brought out the pressure cleaner to strip away all the flaked off red paint, as well as the piles of squirrel or rat nest nut residue

Plus I cleaned all the oil/fuel and greasy mess with some amonia based cleaner and a brush.

Much better altogether.




I have to say, I really do prefer to work on a clean machine.

And if the postal service delivers, the carburettor could be here in the next few says.


.

 

[Grizz]

So the Countax V-Twin has a few bits missing, including the cowl and related parts.

I found this boiler/heading unit cover recently, 1.2mm and shaped front looked interesting.

So it went on the pile

I also have a stainless steel oil cooler cover from 20 years ago, that was fitted to my BMW 1150GS.

Could it be part of the front end, including louvres or something similar, covering or replacing the Vaillant name?






Propped up on the front of the tractor, it seems to have the needed width.

Early days though.

Other options may still make their appearance in real life or my mind.







I also ordered a new set of starter gears for the Westwood.

At £24.00 delivered it must be worth a punt on a £100.00 pile of parts.



To replace these.



Last night I connected a battery to the Countax to see if anything moved when you turn the ignition switch.

All I got was a red light come on and off on the dash behind the lightening symbol.

Probably needs closer inspection of fuses etc.

 

[Grizz]

Did absolutely nothing today.

Watched Rat Rods For Africa channel on YouTube for hours this morning and played with Bonnie.

Came home around 3.00pm and made up,a bit of roofing from scrap offcuts I had from when I sealed up the carports last open area.

The rain would race over the gutter from the shed roof and end up inside the carport.

This should make a difference.

I do hope.



Scrap screwed together, two wedges inverted.





I also cleared out a bit of lawn and dirt under the pine tree in the garden to lay a few slabs in order for tractor no 2 to have a half decent and dry spot to park, in front of the firewood shed.

While digging out the lawn and some serious roots, using an sharp hatchet I had some pork shanks and butternut in the oven for dinner.





Came out really well.

Easier to buy at the shop, but none available to buy pre cooked, so I. Just did it myself.







Tomorrow I will get some sand down and then lay the slabs and add the bit of roofing.

This is the downwind and away from the weather side.

 

[Grizz]

Small jobs also take time.

And one leads to another.

Plan was to find parts for making up an engine cowl and grille ……..

Instead I made a parking spot for the Number 2 tractor.

Some sand spread, compacted.



Extra bit laid, grouted and pressure cleaned the lot.



Scruffy overhang roof added, made up from scrap, situated in the leeward side of the shed and pine tree, done the supports so I do not bash my head when pushing the lawnmower through there, it should work pretty well along with some canvas to keep it all dry.

Cut down bits from the plum tree packed away in the firewood shed, they will be dry next season.



And parked up.

Happy with that, sim-le, effective.

I hope.



More later.

.

 

[Mayo]

Good work fella!

 

[Grizz]

Good work fella!

thank you as always for taking the time to reply Mayo.



Got this in the mail yesterday.

The replacement ring and pinion gears ordered Friday.

Quick delivery.

Interesting to see the ring gear is cast ally, and the pinion is nylon/plastic/prayer material.

Three days online training and a London training meeting I am running means probably only getting to it over the weekend.

It would be very cook if that was the only issue with it.

I need to train the oil in the motor as well and refresh oil and filter if it gets to run.




Pretty new parts.

 

[Grizz]

Karma.

Always remember.

Got into a carpark today and a cabbie with a flat battery.

Took about 10 minutes to get him going.

He was surprised that I took the time to get him going.



Life is good, if you let it be.

 

[Grizz]

Three days at home with. Key Account Management training had me climbing the walls.

Only George kept me amused.

He's such a dickhead.



So today we got a full hours lunch break.

And when they closed the Teams meeting down for lunch, my plan was already made.

Down to the garage.

Pull out the Westwood Spears and Reapers tractor and dismantle the top to get to the flywheel.

A multitude of tools needed.





Bit of hammering to release the flywheel from the drive shaft.



Removed the shaft key, known also sometimes as a Woodruf key.

Important not to lose this little guy.



Got the flywheel off.

The ring gear was riveted in four places.

So mr grinder brought into service.



Punched out all four.





Reassembled after cleaning with the screws and nyloc nuts supplied in the service kit.





Reassembly looked decent.

At which point it was time to go back to class.



I would get back after work, just pulled a canvas over it all as the weather forecast was for a lot more rain.

More in a bit for those who like the whole story.

 

[pedalcarjoe]

I'm in

 

[Mayo]

In for the ride

 

[Grizz]

In for the ride

Thanks Ernie and Mayo

It’s almost the weekend.





So after changing the starter and ring gears, failing to get it started, I checked the usual suspects.

Fuel pours out after the pancake filter

Sparkplug cleaned and dry.

Airfilter horrendously dirty, cleaned and removed.

At lunchtime I drove the 6 miles to my nearest Toolstation for some “Easystart” came back and tried it before the next online session started.

Put out a fire. Laughed and tried again.









So I pulled the cup off the bottom of the carburettor to find it pretty bad.

Wire brush and wipe out later, removing 28 years worth of crud and rust.





Reassembled, twice.

BECAUSE.



Then tried starting it again because that is what I do.

Failed again, possibly no fuel getting through.

No further fires.

But also a dry plug.



So I decided to walk away as it was getting dark, despite the lights in the carport.

Once back in the house a quick search showed that complete carburettors can be had for £11.99 delivered.

Seriously, even if I were working for minimum wage, my time and frustration, spent on a possible rebuild, just is not worth the effort.

So after speaking to a human I ordered a replacement part.



Tonight, on the way home I stopped at my local motorfactors to see if they had a battery to replace the very tired on that came with the tractor, in fact, they had two…… priced at £70.00

So I smiled and walked outside, ordered one online for less.

Battery is less than 24 hour delivery.



Unfortunately the spares shop is one down from the Fish and Chip shop.

The smell of freshly fried chips and vinegar permeates the air late afternoon……

So I promptly spent £2.40 of the savings made on the battery on a bag of chips to eat on the way home.



Friday night.

Waiting for the courier to get here with the V-Twin carburettor that @pauly sent over yesterday.

Maybe start to play with it tomorrow.

I know the FRANKENTRACTOR is missing a few bits.

Lets see what we can get done though.

Later.

 

[cbst3]

I'm watching and reading with interest too

I too have a lawn tractor project here - bought from the previous owner of the house. It runs and drives fine, tyres need attention as none hold air for long, but the main issue is that the cutting deck is absolutely knackered and missing a few bits. A new deck is stupidly expensive, so unless one comes up on ebay (they are very very rare for this model as far as I can see) I will be trying to repair the one I have. Mowing an acre and a half with a standard mower takes a long time...