Has it been a year already... Geez

Wholly molly, has it been a year already? Well sorta, since the last post. I guess things got busy. Well no matter, the projects will be flowing soon now. Have lots of things to do, things to build and horsepower to make. Stay tuned for wrench spinning action...

Hint, can you say... Suzuki Sidekick liftin?, VW diesel teardown? Maybe some wrenching video, wait and see 

Keep spinning wrenches,

-SS 

Rain day

It rained... I went fishing, projects can always wait for fishing.

More projects, change of plans...

Well, this is what happens when you get a few projects on the go, other things take their place and fore front stuff becomes the back burners. 


Case in point, I found a great project boat for the summer business. Left last wednesday for a 5 hour one way trip to go see it and get it. Pretty long drive for something that your not sure what shape its in, but needless to say, it was in great shape. So thats pretty much what I have been working on for the past week.

New toy ready to leave for its new home

It was originally from the states so it had a hefty amount of bottom paint on the hull, which was obvious that no one had taken the time to sand it before applying another coat - year after year, after year..... So it was just caked on and looked awful. 

Port side finally all sanded

I just finished the port side and the rear transom area, sanding away all the old bottom paint and bringing the surface back to its original form. Once its all done, I will sand it smooth with some 80-100 grit paper, and clean it with surface prep, mask and roll on some new bottom paint. Try to get it as thick as I can so it will clean off this fall easily when I take it out of the water. 

This will be the first boat I've owned where I have dockage for it all season. I'll feel pretty spoiled not having to trailer a boat all the time. 

Port side comparison to the Starboard

Transom refurbish

The transom was in great shape, it just needed some TLC along the top. To prevent any further cracking along the top edge, I grinded away all the old fiberglass repair someone had done in the past and I'll re-glass it before paint. 

I am also looking for two larger pieces of stainless steel or aluminum to put on the transom for a bit of extra strength and to really finish the look off on it. 

So ya, some projects like the moped, the other 1960's boat, VW diesel rebuild will just have to wait until this beauty is finished. Lot of Trout and Salmon to be had with this thing, so it takes priority. 

Keep spinning wrenches, 

- SS 

Waiting on parts...

Not much going on today around the SS shop. Did some exhaust work, new plugs, oil change and repaired a rocker cover leak on the daily driver - but not that eventful.

Waiting on parts can be a drag. In the mean time, check out this cool vintage Puch Moped commercial from the 1970's. Its wild

Epic mission weekend

Picked up a new project on Saturday and then went back to the old shop to work on some pretty neat things with a buddy. Here is a teaser photo of my new project... more to follow soon

Back at the old shop we spent some time fixing an older tire machine so we could swap tires on a 1940 Ford Pick up. Its a pretty wild machine with a Chevy small block and wide tires. My bud asked if I could come over to help get it going. Pretty standard small block, had a Quadrajet - but it cranked and cranked and not a spit of fire. It had spark, timing was close (no timing light around), but I noticed the accelerator pump wasn't working. Its actually really typical of the Quadrajet to stop pumping when the valving gets stuck. Whacking it with the closed end of a wrench seemed to free it up and it started working. Gotta love carburetors. Anyways it fired up and its LOUD, even with full exhaust. Really exciting to see it run.

Later that night we ran into more carburetor problems when buddy's Suzuki quit on us heading into the city. More or less the same problem, sticking needle and seat and a leaking accelerator pump valve. We fooled around with it until we finally had to call for a bud to give us a tow home. No big deal, a few parts, a little work and its all back together.

These carbs are not so much complicated as they are just silly. Produced in the days when EFI was still kinda a new thing, and auto manufactures were still playing with ways to create emission friendly carbs, it created a lot of excessive vacuum hoses, valves and electronic do-hickies. I won't go into too much detail about it, cause well it will be boring for you.

Next week should be full of projects, as well as a continuation of the Puch moped project.

Keep spinning wrenches,

- SS

1975 50hp Evinrude overhaul

Different plan today,

Buddy brought over a 50hp Evinrude from the mid 70's today that didn't start. Alright for you newbies its pretty simple - complicated but simple. You need three (I actually consider four) things for an engine to run. Fuel, spark and compression. Thats the short version, really you need - the right fuel to air mixture, the correctly timed and powerful spark, and the upmost to spec compression. Who ever tells you otherwise - doesn't know what they are doing.

Anyways, it had spark, it had compression - just no fuel. So when an engine has been sitting forever for who ever knows how long what's the first thing you do? Pull the plugs and fire some brake cleaner directly into the cylinder. Try it then. Ok it fires but doesn't run - perfect you know its in the fuel delivery... in this case twin carberuators.

Tore both of those apart and guess what! Both needles stuck in the seat, who would have guessed! Cleaned it all up and re-installed and now it starts and runs perfectly. Tell ya the truth buddy got lucky that it runs this well considering the age and lack of maintenance.

Oh and here is a "Tool of the day moment". Check out how this license plate is held onto this trailer.... who is the ididot that figured this one out. Check out the washer action on this bolt and lack of the 2nd bolt on the trailer.

Keep spinning wrenches,

- SS

Puch Moped Day 2

Installed some painted parts today. I modified the engine kill switch to mount at the side beside the fuel cut-off valve rather than the handlebars - trying to keep the bike clean as possible from wires and cables. Plus its an added bonus reminder to turn off the fuel when you shut the bike down.

I also installed the engine as well. I didn't have to do anything internal with this engine because to be honest - I already have done everything possible to it a long time ago. I ensured it had spark by hand spinning the magneto flywheel and that the point gap was correct. I have new points to install into it, but I'll save that for another day.

List to do is getting smaller. Rebuild the carburetor, clean the wheels and inspect the brake shoes, install new tires, clean out the fuel tank, clean and install the chains, find a new stem and handle bars, mount the cable hardware, lighting wiring... ya shorter list anyways

Might have to take a break from it for a bit to continue on some other projects kickin' around, but I like how this little bike is coming along.

Keep spinning wrenches

- SS