Little bits at a time

 Hello everyone,

Well, I got the chimney for the wood burner fixed and I think I found out why it had the creosote problem in the first place. It has a rain cap on it and during the summers the birds would build nests in it and I would have to clean it out every year, so, I decided to put a type of wire fencing around it to keep them out. That was probably 10 or 12 years ago, haven’t been up there since. When we took it down that fencing was almost plugged by creosote! Don’t really know why, but it damn sure was. Cleaned it all out and sandblasted it and vacuumed it and put it all back together and in the roof again. All cozy again!

Still working on the golf cart, trying to come up with a way to mount the new micro switch that’s easy to remove the switch if it goes bad. Haven’t completed that task just yet.

Our youngest son came up to Lafayette to see his girlfriend and we drove down and went out to lunch, it was nice. We’ll be going to Nashville in a few weeks to visit and get the stink blowed of us as our first trip this year.

Went to our spot last night and saw the Jaywalkers play music, what a fun good band.

Back to the grind this week, I’ve got to get the golf cart going this week or else my wife is going to kick my butt!

Well, I think that’s all for now.

Talk to you soon,

TVI 

Catching up and do overs

 Hello everyone,

I passed on the gator engine swap for a little bit and did some small other projects that needed catching up.

I was running my wood burner and noticed creosote running down the pipe, that hasn’t happened ever in twenty plus years. So, I let the fire die down over night and went to take the pipe off to inspect it and the pass through adapter for the ceiling broke off! I couldn’t repair it so I ordered parts. I also ordered new seal for the door and did some sanding and painting on the stove body and door. At least it’s a little more presentable and should be a little more efficient.

The original problem with the golf cart reared its ugly head again. I ordered a new solenoid and installed it, it ran a little longer, then it appeared again. After a little while of running it just stops, no solenoid engagement. Let it sit a few minutes and it’ll go again. It seems like something is getting hot and breaking down. The only thing left I can think of is a micro switch on the throttle. I ordered some new ones and will run new wires for it. I took the resistors out of it and cleaned all the contacts up and tightened all the pass through bolts up. Now I’m just doing some painting to a few things. I found the original battery hold down s for it I sandblasted and am painting them to install.

The black cover goes over the resistors, like a heat shield. I also had to repair my little portable air tank. It’s probably 35 years old and the little filler valve just broke off the top, so I ordered a whole new assembly and got it all plumbed up.

Well, the parts just arrived for the chimney, and my middle son said he go up on the roof and pull it out so I can change the adapter piece. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow.

Well, I think that’s all for now.

Talk to you soon,

TVI 

Maybe the next project

 Hello everyone,

I finished up the golf cart, got both speakers put in and tied all the wiring for everything tucked safely away. 

Right before I retired I grabbed a 22 horse, vtwin Briggs engine out of a Miller welder they were scrapping out. I wrapped it up and brought it home and stuck it in my barn. I’ve been pondering putting it in my old Gator.

The biggest problem I face is having to turn down the output side of the crankshaft so the old torque converter will fit. The shaft is 1 1/2” and I’ll probably have to go down to an inch. I contacted “Shop Teacher Bob” and he thinks he might be able to turn it down. It means I’d have to tear the engine down but, I think I’m capable of that. We’ll see still pondering.

I also think I might have picked myself up a part time gig working at a place here in town that sells lawnmowers. Maybe 2-3 days a week. That might put a little jingle in my pocket to support some of my other projects(ie: the old motorcycle!).

We’ll see, I think that’s all for now.

Talk to you soon,

TVI 

Almost done

 Hello everyone,

Got all the wiring done on the golf cart. Light, horn amplifier, speaker wiring run, USB port is in and working, accessory port is working. All that’s left is mount the speakers!

I changed my mind where I was going to put the switches on decided to put them in the dash board. The little amplifier I bought came with a headphone jack and a volume control, I thought they looked better over the drink holder. I haven’t quite decided where I’m going to mount the speakers but, I’ll figure that out tomorrow.

Well, I think that’s all for now.

Talk to you soon, TVI

A quick golf cart update

 Hello everyone,

Just like it says, and what I wanted it to look like 4 years ago.

The battery meter is on the left of the steering column and next to the cup holders are a usb double charging port and a 12 volt power outlet for a hand held spotlight. In the space above the cup holders will be where the switches will go and I’m trying to figure out where the fuse block will mount. I’d like it some place convenient.

That’s all for now I think.

Talk to you soon, 

TVI

P.S. Switches, etc. will be here tomorrow, hopefully be done with it the first part of next week.

Getting caught up

 Hello everyone,

After much checking and talking with as many auto mechanics as I could talk to, I finally figured out what was wrong with the car. It’s a long winded reason but basically it was out of time. There’s a mechanism on the cams that change the cam timing by computer control and when the timing belt broke the mechanism couldn’t reset, so I had to pull the cams back out and reset it by hand. All good now and runs like a dream. So, it’s finally out of my shop and up for sale.

I brought my old Gator in and did some much needed maintenance on it, and now I have the golf cart in the shop and finally have time to complete it. I never really finished it after I got it working, and that’s been probably three years ago! I’ve gotten the glovebox sandblasted and the new dashboard housing that “Shop Teacher Bob” made me back then finally fitted and a new aluminum dash fitted. The dash need a few more holes drilled in it but, at least it’s progress.

I also have a very bright light to put on the front so we can go out in the woods at night, plus a horn and some speakers so we can have some tunes!

Oh, and some cup holders for our beverages of choice!

I also had to repair my tamper, I accidentally ran over it with the tractor! I’m not a great welder by any stretch but I’ll do in a pinch.

I had to cut all the gussets off so I could remove the broken piece and then cut off the handle and reweld everything back in place. I also had a couple of small plumbing projects to do, so I’ve been pretty busy the last couple of weeks.

I need to order up some switches and the little amplifier for the tunes and then hopefully get the golf cart project finished.

Well, I think that’s all for now. 

Talk to you soon,

TVI 

End of the old year and in with the new

 Hello everyone,

This year has been amazing for my wife and I as far as concerts and traveling goes. Logged over 21,000 miles on Diego. Saw a ton of cool places and things, and met a ton of new people.

Finished up some projects, got all the wood cut, finished the car port, getting ready to start on my wife’s she shed. Got my son’s car back together but have run into an issue that I haven’t quite figured out yet. I believe I have an idea of what’s wrong but been pretty busy with the holidays and my youngest son was visiting. Managed to put a trailer hitch and wiring on his new truck before he left for home.

We’re going to celebrate New Years out at our new found place for music, Austin’s. Should be fun. Then back to the grind next week.

Hope all who read this a Happy and Healthy New Year!

Think that’s all for now.

Talk to you soon, 

TVI