Ian

Morning all, time for a long over due RJ update, and unlike my last post this one has a happy ending
 
Monday morning Nigel and I had a visit from Neil, it was good to catch up again mate, it's been a while..
Not only has Neil got a huge amount of Wheel Horse history stashed away in he's head, but he also came with gifts... 2 engines
 
Here's the top half of Neil..
 

 
 
The bottom half of Neil was busy controling the rev's of a very nice looking engine that ran as good as it looks..
The blue engine has carb and spark issues as we found out, so that's a job for another day.
 

 
 
So with a quick pulley swap the new engine went in the RJ.
 

 
 
The shade of engine red is so close to the rest of the RJ we saw no point in repainting it match 100%.. It's looks good as it is.
 

 
 
One slight problem with the new engine is the exhaust port had two studs rather than the port itself having internal threads so swapping the  exaust over wouldn't be a bolt on swap.
 

 
 
Not a problem, take a flat bit of thick-ish steel and drill three holes in the right places... A quick test fit.
 

 
 
Trim a bit of the RJ's exhaust down to size them grind the thread of it so it fit's in the flange leaving plenty of space to weld it up from the inside. (No idea why this photo won't upload the right way up!)
 

 
 
Welded up, cleaned up and trimmed to shape.
 

 

 
 
And a coat of the black stuff to make it look good.
 

 
 
Exhaust on.
 

 
 
You can remove an RJ engine without taking the hood off, but you need to remove the spark plug.
Then once the engine is back in the spark plug has to go back in using a very special tool that won't scratch the paint on the hood
 

 
 
Knowing the engine is a good, the time had come to fire the little fella up and go for a drive..
Knowing the gear shift would need a bit of adjusting to get it to shift right and even though it should of been in netural but possibly wasn't the rear wheels where jacked up before starting..
 

 
 
A running issue was soon soted by putting some petrol in the tank, so I climbed aboard and Dennis lowered the jack, and off I trundled
 

 

 
 
After so long it was nice to finally drive the RJ, but as you will hear in the video (coming soon to a YouTube page near you) the gear selector needs some adjustment so it get's all gears and the selctor bar does not rub against the reverse disc.
Also the engine governor need a tweak to stop the engine from trying to over rev..
 
So not much to do and the RJ will soon done
 
Told you this update would have a happy ending
 

good luck with the sale - whats the plan for the pennies?  whats the next project?

Hope you find a good home for it, Ian.
 
  One well built and fantastic creation. And once driven, never forgotten. Puts a real grin on your face.

No need to Chris.  Nigel just spelt it wrong.  Should be KOALA. 

Some of you may know I work a long way from home, and play the part of call centre for many family tech issues, as well as remote bicycle repair man and occasional mower won't start...
 
Last weeks call was...  'dad, do you think this is fixable?'    the part in question being a 1970 lawn ranger tow hitch. I'll let you guess my reply
 

 
Apparently the trailer rolled with 400lbs of dirt in...

Yes you really did read the title right, I am selling Project Why Not..
 
Why am I selling?
 
Two reasons..  One being to fund my next WH project, the other reason is being riddled in arthritis driving her on anything other than somewhere nice flat and smooth just gives me too much pain.. And there's only so many times I can drive her around the carpark
 
For those who havn't seen this machine yet the full build can be found here..
Project Why Not build thread
 
A few spec's for you..
Custom build chassis/frame.
Honda GL500 water cooled V twin engine with 5 speed trans.
A very narrow Reliant Rialto rear axle with drum brake.
Austin A35 steering box.
Custom build adjustable front end with hand made brake discs
Ford Cardinal red paint, International Harvester white wheels.
Top speed about 85mph with the current rear tires.. (fit 24inch tal tires and it should top 100mph!)
 
She could do with a new seat, the engine has a slight oil leak around the clutch cover, and the paint isn't quite as nice as it once was.
 
£3000 or sensible offers.
 
Here's a few photo's taken Friday, I will get some better ones in the sun tomorrow.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

We shall see what it does when I start using the lathe in anger again
 
Now if something is bugging me I have to sort it out which is why after lot's of measuring this little used filing cabinet was dug out..
 

 
 
Top and tailed, just the strenthening bits and the draw runners to go.
 
.
 
 
Flattened out with the corners marked to be chopped out.
 

 
 
Time to bend the edges up..
 

 
 
First bend, a little at a time.
 

 
 
The last bend..
 

 
 
Until.....
 

 
 
Mounting holes drilled and a "sump" welded in... Yes the tray has warped a bit, but that was to be expected and will pull down alright once the tray and lathe are bolted down.
 

 
 
Some nicely spaced welding, yes I did weld up the hole I had missed
 

 
 
Good penetration as well
 

 
 
A test fit of the new (hopefully) leak and crack free tray..
I did bolt the lathe back on yesterday but forgot to take any photo's..
 

We shall see what it does when I start using the lathe in anger again
 
Now if something is bugging me I have to sort it out which is why after lot's of measuring this little used filing cabinet was dug out..
 

 
 
Top and tailed, just the strenthening bits and the draw runners to go.
 
.
 
 
Flattened out with the corners marked to be chopped out.
 

 
 
Time to bend the edges up..
 

 
 
First bend, a little at a time.
 

 
 
The last bend..
 

 
 
Until.....
 

 
 
Mounting holes drilled and a "sump" welded in... Yes the tray has warped a bit, but that was to be expected and will pull down alright once the tray and lathe are bolted down.
 

 
 
Some nicely spaced welding, yes I did weld up the hole I had missed
 

 
 
Good penetration as well
 

 
 
A test fit of the new (hopefully) leak and crack free tray..
I did bolt the lathe back on yesterday but forgot to take any photo's..
 

We shall see what it does when I start using the lathe in anger again
 
Now if something is bugging me I have to sort it out which is why after lot's of measuring this little used filing cabinet was dug out..
 

 
 
Top and tailed, just the strenthening bits and the draw runners to go.
 
.
 
 
Flattened out with the corners marked to be chopped out.
 

 
 
Time to bend the edges up..
 

 
 
First bend, a little at a time.
 

 
 
The last bend..
 

 
 
Until.....
 

 
 
Mounting holes drilled and a "sump" welded in... Yes the tray has warped a bit, but that was to be expected and will pull down alright once the tray and lathe are bolted down.
 

 
 
Some nicely spaced welding, yes I did weld up the hole I had missed
 

 
 
Good penetration as well
 

 
 
A test fit of the new (hopefully) leak and crack free tray..
I did bolt the lathe back on yesterday but forgot to take any photo's..
 

Rain forecast for tomorrow, so I thought I'd better do a bit of mowing.
 
 
 

 

 

 

 
 

You might find after running the lathe for a long time or under load it trips the DOL starter, unless you turned up the overload?

Happy boirthday Gents, wishing you both a good day

Thanks Norm, it got even better
 
Ta-Daaaa
 

 
 

 
 
A close up of the tool rack/shelf thingy.
 

 
 
Swarf and cooling oil can only be a sign of one thing..
 

 
 
Yep, I've been having a play
 

 
 
Due to the tray being a bit bowed in the middle cooling fluid tend too pool both ends..  A steel plate put each end to raise the "floor" level will sort that, the interesting part will be stopping the cooling fluid from leaking through the bolt holes!
 

 
 
A bit off added signage...   The  80 sign was the lathe splashback for many years and the long-sh vehicle sign used to live on the back of my Saxon trailer and went on many a Wheel Horse adventure
 

 
 
Things left to do...   
 
Stop the tray from leaking..
Fit a one way valve in the coolant pipe so the fluid doesn't drain back to the bottle every time the pump is turned off.
Fit a "damper" to stop the pulley on top of the WH chassis from bouncing around so much..
 
But over all I'm very happy with how the lathe bench has turned out

Thanks Norm, it got even better
 
Ta-Daaaa
 

 
 

 
 
A close up of the tool rack/shelf thingy.
 

 
 
Swarf and cooling oil can only be a sign of one thing..
 

 
 
Yep, I've been having a play
 

 
 
Due to the tray being a bit bowed in the middle cooling fluid tend too pool both ends..  A steel plate put each end to raise the "floor" level will sort that, the interesting part will be stopping the cooling fluid from leaking through the bolt holes!
 

 
 
A bit off added signage...   The  80 sign was the lathe splashback for many years and the long-sh vehicle sign used to live on the back of my Saxon trailer and went on many a Wheel Horse adventure
 

 
 
Things left to do...   
 
Stop the tray from leaking..
Fit a one way valve in the coolant pipe so the fluid doesn't drain back to the bottle every time the pump is turned off.
Fit a "damper" to stop the pulley on top of the WH chassis from bouncing around so much..
 
But over all I'm very happy with how the lathe bench has turned out

Looks like they were about to play a giant game of airborn noughts and crosses
 

Had a happy family having a cooling swim this evening.
 

 

 
   The Mallard family. Dad, Mum and 11 little Mallards.

Thanks Norm, it got even better
 
Ta-Daaaa
 

 
 

 
 
A close up of the tool rack/shelf thingy.
 

 
 
Swarf and cooling oil can only be a sign of one thing..
 

 
 
Yep, I've been having a play
 

 
 
Due to the tray being a bit bowed in the middle cooling fluid tend too pool both ends..  A steel plate put each end to raise the "floor" level will sort that, the interesting part will be stopping the cooling fluid from leaking through the bolt holes!
 

 
 
A bit off added signage...   The  80 sign was the lathe splashback for many years and the long-sh vehicle sign used to live on the back of my Saxon trailer and went on many a Wheel Horse adventure
 

 
 
Things left to do...   
 
Stop the tray from leaking..
Fit a one way valve in the coolant pipe so the fluid doesn't drain back to the bottle every time the pump is turned off.
Fit a "damper" to stop the pulley on top of the WH chassis from bouncing around so much..
 
But over all I'm very happy with how the lathe bench has turned out

A little bit more progress, 50 x 50 box welded into the corners for the removeable sides.
 

 
A few extra bars in the bed to support the floor.
 

 
Everything was then fully welded up.
We came across a bit of a problem, when you put 100kg at the very front of the trailer the ram is struggling to get it lifted. Once its up 100mm its fine but just getting it moving is the problem. At the moment the cylinder is only 50mm so a new 75mm ram is needed. Dont think the HT20 has the oil capacity for anything bigger.

I had to leave for a little while and missed getting a few pictures of the build but this is what he had done when i returned.
 

 
And at half travel.
 

 
Then full height. It goes up to about 58° which should be more than steep enough.
 
 

 
A short video of it in operation.
https://youtu.be/3HaLMsurmGA
 

Give my mate a bit of a hand today to start a new trailer project, well, he done the work and i stood and took photo's. They say that its the thought that counts, so i was thinking about all the work i was watching him do, does that count ?
Anyway, this trailer will be roughly a scaled down version of this,
 

 
Started of with some 3x1 1/2 channel to build the frame.
 

 
 
Lower bracket for ram.
 

 
We are very serious about health and safety, that why we will only ever chance one eye !
 

 
Gary got some wheels and hubs from an old golf cart, so axle making is next.
 

 
Axle all put together.
 

 
And welded in place.
 

 

Turned out well.

A small update for you all..
 
A quick test fit of the new 3hp motor showed that it would fit in the right place and even one of the bolt holes lined up which makes making an adaptor plate easy.
 

 
 
Thank you Nigel for the thick tread plate.
seven holes drilled and two captive threads welded on later...
 

 

 
 
The adaptor bolted bolted on the lathe bench.
 

 
 
The new motor bolted on but not tightened up as it needed to come back off to be re-wired to spin in the oposite direction.
A big thank you to Sandhurst Mark for doing that for me on Friday.
 

 
 
No photo's but yesterday the lathe was fired up for the first time in oh... Too long... I'm a happy chap

A small update for you all..
 
A quick test fit of the new 3hp motor showed that it would fit in the right place and even one of the bolt holes lined up which makes making an adaptor plate easy.
 

 
 
Thank you Nigel for the thick tread plate.
seven holes drilled and two captive threads welded on later...
 

 

 
 
The adaptor bolted bolted on the lathe bench.
 

 
 
The new motor bolted on but not tightened up as it needed to come back off to be re-wired to spin in the oposite direction.
A big thank you to Sandhurst Mark for doing that for me on Friday.
 

 
 
No photo's but yesterday the lathe was fired up for the first time in oh... Too long... I'm a happy chap

I can't wait for the next installment of... "Rusty treasure hunt"
It's amazing what you keep finding buried in the bushes!

A small update for you all..
 
A quick test fit of the new 3hp motor showed that it would fit in the right place and even one of the bolt holes lined up which makes making an adaptor plate easy.
 

 
 
Thank you Nigel for the thick tread plate.
seven holes drilled and two captive threads welded on later...
 

 

 
 
The adaptor bolted bolted on the lathe bench.
 

 
 
The new motor bolted on but not tightened up as it needed to come back off to be re-wired to spin in the oposite direction.
A big thank you to Sandhurst Mark for doing that for me on Friday.
 

 
 
No photo's but yesterday the lathe was fired up for the first time in oh... Too long... I'm a happy chap