More bike work

I’ve been working on the Harley project this past week. I started getting ready to send the forks out to have them rebushed and had a minor/ major catastrophe! I set the tubes on the workbench and started looking for the rest of the parts and one of them rolled off the bench and hit the floor. It put a small dent in the bottom and now it won’t slide in the lower leg. I’m going to run it up to “Shop Teacher Bob’s” place this morning and see if he can help me straighten it out. Keep your fingers crossed!

I started stripping the sidecar frame down. I have one of the leaf springs apart and mostly cleaned up. I ordered some rust remover to get the rust out of the pits. Then I’ll paint them, probably black.

As you can see in the lower picture, over the years , moisture and dirt have gotten in between the leaves and started spreading them out. That’s why I took them apart. I broke a couple of the clamps when I was taking them apart so I have to see if I can make new ones, plus see if I can come up with new rivets.

The wife and I took another overnighter and spent some time near Wabash again. We spent the morning by a nice little waterfall, and it was very relaxing.

I got the seat swivel put in the passenger side seat in the van and it’s working out very well. This was the first time we set up the awning too. Those two additions make a huge difference in the “ space” of the van.

I’m still waiting for some more parts for the trailer wiring and the charge ports. Hopefully they’ll be here this week.

Well, I think that’s all for now.

Talk to you soon, 

TVI

Trying to be busy

 Hello everyone,

After a lot of messing around I finally got tanks attached to my hoses and gauges. After that I heated up the turnbuckle and got it sort of free, it turns but with a pipe wrench. I might try some valve lapping compound and see if I can loosen up the threads a little. The tight side is the left hand thread side, so I don’t have a tap or a die nut to chase the threads.

I managed to get the trailer hitch mounted on the van, without any problems. 

I believe I got the Harley frame cut and bent to clear the motor. It ended up being a lot more than a 1/4 of an inch, almost 3/4”. The seat post does go up and down but it drags a little bit. I think if I polish everything up and grease it good it will work fine.

In the last picture you can hardly tell it’s bent back, which is what I was hoping for. Now, next week, another friend is going to weld it up for me and I should have it back in a week or so. I’ll probably sandblast the rest of the paint off it and start seeing if I can get it to a rolling chassis by summer’s end. 

I went to the auto parts store and bought a new belt for the air compressor. It was starting to slip pretty badly, so I got that changed today too!

I need to make a hook of some kind to roll the torch hose up and I need to wash the van. It’s almost time to mow again and there is still more weeds to pull.

Well, I think that’s all for now.

Talk to you soon, 

TVI

P.S. I also have to wire the trailer plug this coming week. Man, all that sounds like I’ll be busy again this week too!

Concert and more

 Hello everyone,

Well we went to the Allman- Betts band concert this past week and it was excellent! They’re sons of the Greg Allman and Dickie Betts, and they can play! We saw them at an old drive in converted to a music venue and it was pretty cool.

Spent the night in the van and then went the next day to winery and caught a comedy show, also pretty good. Met some really nice people from Connecticut.

Came home and found the trailer hitch had been delivered.

Should get that installed today. I also have to mow the lawn this afternoon when it dries up some.

Did some horse trading with a friend of mine and got a set of gauges and 50’ of torch hose. I’ll go this week and get some tanks so I can get the frame fixed and a couple of other projects done.

I ordered a seat swivel for the passenger seat of the van, I’m hoping that shows up this week and then I’m going to order a few remote USB charger ports and install them in the van and then that project should be complete.

Well, I think that’s all for now.

Talk to you soon, 

TVI

Always something

 Hello everyone,

Things just keep going and going, kind of like the battery bunny!

I put new anti scarfing wheels on the tractor and the first time I tried to cut the lawn it was like I was plowing a field! After several tries and a careful inspection, I discovered exactly how badly or crooked I welded the wheels on! So, I cut them off again, this time with the deck on the tractor and made up some gussets and got them way more straight and welded them back on again.

Not a great welding job but they’re pretty straight and should be strong. I bought a tool from John Deere to level the deck out.

So I leveled the deck out( it was pretty far out!), and put it all back together. The grass isn’t long enough to mow yet and it’s actually snowing here today! It’ll be a few days before I’ll be able to test it out.

We bought a new awning for the van, I set it up on Saturday, and it’s actually pretty cool!

It’s held on the roof with strong magnets and folds up like a tent. We found a spot to store it and maybe this week we’ll be able to test it out. We’re going over to a new venue in Wabash, they converted an old drive in movie theatre to a outdoor music venue that you bring your car in! Should be kind of cool!

I cleaned the shop up spic and span yesterday and today I started cutting the frame on the Harley! Don’t faint over, really did!

I bought the frame a lifetime ago, when I didn’t know much, and discovered later that it’s from a Knucklehead, and I have a Panhead engine. I remember asking the guy I bought it from if a Panhead engine would fit and he said he one in this frame. After cleaning it all up and can see some modifications done for it to fit but, it never sat down flat on the engine mounts. So, after much head scratching and a few meetings with “Shop Teacher Bob” I came up with the solution to cut the frame at the seat post and bend it back about 1/4”. I have to make a plate up to hold the bottom half in place, plus I’ll bolt the engine in place also. Then I’ll heat the tube just above where the oil tank bolts to and bend it back. If it works like I think it will, you’ll probably never be able to tell the difference. At least, that’s the plan. Don’t know how soon but maybe next week. I need to get a torch so I can heat it up. Been wanting one anyway so this is as good of an excuse as any!!

Well, I think that’s it for now.

Talk to you soon,

TVI

Back in the work groove

 Hello everyone, 

I got finished polishing the pickup. Washed it, clay barred it, and completely waxed it. Cleaned the inside, and Armor- alled it. Chrome polished the bumpers and Armor- alled the tires. All that’s left is replacing the ABS sensors and she should be ready to sell.

Picked up all the parts for the tractor and changed all the oils and changed the blades, installed new anti scalping wheels and greases everything up, so it’s ready for lawn mowing season. I will have to order new bolts for the anti scalping wheels, they’re pretty worn but should be ok this season.

My wife bought a little canvas type greenhouse to keep all the plants she bought safe for a couple of more weeks.

Plus, we’ve really been working on cleaning up winter’s destruction. A lot of small limbs down and the big pine trees out in front took a real beating! But, we’re slowly getting there.

Well, I think that’s all for now.

Talk to you soon, 

TVI

Back and ready to move forward!

 Hello everyone,

Had a really nice vacation, got to spend some more time with my youngest son on the way down and on the way back. Also had a great time with the oldest son and his family in between.

The van performed almost flawlessly on the trip. Blew one fuse or had a bad fuse in the isolator system. Replaced the fuse and all seems well.

Now, back to reality! Found the problem in the pickup and ordered parts for it. Need a couple of more parts for the van in the 12 volt system side. Need to order parts for the tractor. The list seems endless!!

One of the things I got to do on the trip was go here. If you’re into drag racing or antique cars this is definitely a spot worth stopping at. Missed “Big Daddy” by just a few minutes the day we were there but I had met him a few years ago. Even my wife liked the antique car side!!

Today I’m washing and polishing up the pickup truck so I can pedal her off in a few weeks. It’s been a really good truck after a rough start.

I have to say here that with all the “cooties” ( COVID-19) talk, I never felt uncomfortable at all on our trip. The wife and I wore masks, as did most of the people we came across. I don’t know how this thing is going to end ( if ever!) but, I say go ahead and do your own thing as safely as you can.

Well, I think that’s all for now.

Talk to you soon,

TVI

A little vacationing

 Hello everyone,

Last week the youngest son came to visit and we had a really good time. He brought all his guns and we shot quite a few rounds .

During his stay, we got some very sad news, one of my wife’s nephews passed away suddenly while on vacation. 41 years old, leaves  a wife and three kids. 

After my son went home, we started packing for our vacation. Packed the van to the gills, made a few minor adjustments and we left.

The first night’s stop was the youngest one’s apartment. We slept in the van in the parking lot. Everything was smooth. Left the next morning and drove through Alabama all the way to Tallahassee, Florida.

Spent the night in a Cracker Barrel parking lot, which was nice. Got up the next morning and had breakfast, and drove to Clearwater.

This is the view from our hotel room. We normally ( ever!) get rooms like this, so it’s very nice. Having coffee on the balcony is my thing!

When we get ready to leave I’m going to go to “Big Daddy” Don Garlits drag racing museum in Ocala. After that, it’ll be an adventure for the ride home.

Well, I think that’s all for now.

Talk to you soon,

TVI