LocostUSA.com

After a couple of days of scratching my head over how to get the Big HF engine stand to fit my itty bitty engine, and a trip to the hardware store for a selection of 7/16" bolts, the enginectomy was a success. First thing I did was rotate to see the bottom side. about 4 oz of oil ran out the fuel pump boss (no fuel pump there) and all over the floor.

_________________
Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

I did that with a SBC that I thought was empty about two quarts on the floor of my storage unit.

I'm pretty sure that all engine blocks, transmissions, differentials, radiators, oil coolers, etc, etc have a little hidden pocket somewhere that holds a portion of whatever automotive fluid the device contains until the device is tilted somewhere past 90 degrees and then dumps its contents. I also think they're trained to aim for your shoes, painted bodywork, or any clean spot on the floor...

Peace, Love and "Kitty Litter" --
JDK

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JD, father of Quinn, Son of a... Build Log
Quinn the Slotus:Ford 302 Powered, Mallock-Inspired, Tube Frame, Hillclimb Special
"Gonzo and friends: Last night must have been quite a night. Camelot moments, mechanical marvels, Rustoleum launches, flying squirrels, fru-fru tea cuppers, V8 envy, Ensure catch cans -- and it wasn't even a full moon." -- SeattleTom

Work continues on the disassembly, on and off. I have finally gotten down to the bare frame. Well almost! I still have to remove the brake line and one parking brake link pivot. But I’ll call it done. As I take stuff off, I clean it up and paint so a lot of it is ready to go back on, once the frame is cleaned and painted.


Speaking of which, it seems that I will have some frame repair to do. Cushman created a closed pocket at the front of the frame. I’d guess about 4 inches tall and 10 inches long tapering from 0 to about 3 inches wide. There were some rust holes and it was noticeably very thin in this area. So I took the angle grinder and cut a window into the side to find it was filled with that flakey kind of rust, And I mean filled! Guess I’ll have to get some heavy steel to do some repair work. The pic was taken after about 1/2 of the rust was removed! I'm sorta glad that I took this thing down this far.

When removing the front fork from the frame, I found these ball bearings. I wonder if they were any help?

Some of my time was spent making something for SWMBO. She is starting to make a diorama of her sewing room and wanted a replica of her antique Singer treadle sewing machine. She wasn’t happy with what was available. She bought 2 miniatures and planned to combine parts of the two and asked for my help. I ended up taking the machine head from one and the iron base (now plastic) from the other and made the wood parts from basswood. i'm very happy with the results. More importantly, she is too.

_________________
Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

That is realistic. I didn’t realize it was a miniature at first.

I wonder if there is a grease fitting in the neck. I’ve got a gear reduction box at the top of my fork. I did lift the front and check for play, then grease it through the zerks.

I test fit the civic radiator. It seems much smaller than the festy unit but it is a perfect fit (once I make the brackets) of the core to the duct. I may run it in series. Still waiting on the header tank.

The newer go4 was Florida PD and then was in the North East. I think rust is all that is holding it together.

_________________
Miata UBJ: ES-2074R('70s maz pickup)
Ford IFS viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13225&p=134742
Simple Spring select viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11815
LxWxHt
360LA 442E: 134.5x46x15
Lotus7:115x39x7.25
Tiger Avon:114x40x13.3-12.6
Champion/Book:114x42x11
Gibbs/Haynes:122x42x14
VoDou:113x44x14
McSorley 442:122x46x14
Collins 241:127x46x12

Plenty of grease fittings all around the thing. I also have the gear reduction box and it has grease fittings too. I wonder if I can find close tapered roller bearings to replace the ball bearings and races. The races look better than the balls but not pristine. I'll have to check!
I HATE rust, really, really HATE it. But what's a fellow to do? Just gotta deal with it! Good thing I don't scare easily.

_________________
Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

The races for the bearings have a step and are pressed into the tube. This is not an easy feature to replicate in a tapered bearing. I purchased new .250" BB's on ebay. With new grease, they should last pretty well considering I won't be putting 5,000 mile per year on this thing.

_________________
Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

I'd probably do the same thing. Sounds typical. It'd be a pain to machine race mounts.

_________________
Miata UBJ: ES-2074R('70s maz pickup)
Ford IFS viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13225&p=134742
Simple Spring select viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11815
LxWxHt
360LA 442E: 134.5x46x15
Lotus7:115x39x7.25
Tiger Avon:114x40x13.3-12.6
Champion/Book:114x42x11
Gibbs/Haynes:122x42x14
VoDou:113x44x14
McSorley 442:122x46x14
Collins 241:127x46x12

In preparation for the frame repairs. I needed to dig deeper. The frame has reinforcement plates spot welded to the inside of the side rails. These need to be removed in order get the frame sections replaced and to inspect/repair any rust between them. I suspect there is some due to wavy nature of them both. It was time to put my new spot weld drills that I got last Christmas, to work. I can't imagine the energy that was required to spot weld two 1/8" thick pcs of steel together, but the cutter made quick work of it. It is a Grizzly T10296 Double End Spot Weld Cutter. I can say that after cutting ~50+ spot welds in 1/8" steel, it does a great job. I have only used 1 of the 12 cutting edges and it is still very sharp!


I accidentally found that it even cuts thru flesh very handily. Ooopppsss! In a long standing tradition of this website. I present to you, my application to the garage idiot of the month! The cutter slipped and cut along the thumb nail. It bled like a stuck pig. 2 hours after applying a compression bandage, it was still bleeding. I reapplied the bandage and left it overnight. I was too busy attending to the patient (me) to take pictures last night. After another change of bandages and 18 hours later, things look much better. That is a very thick layer of flesh and the flap of skin has already reattached.

_________________
Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

Obligatory "Oooh, yuckie!" response, followed by admonitions that you should be wearing gloves, a face shield, ear plugs, a welding apron, reservoir tip condom and steel toed boots at all times...

There, now that convention has been honored... OUCH! I bet that hurt!

Ya know, I haven't punctured any body parts lately. I must not be spending enough time in the garage!

Be careful, Bro, workin' in base 9 will throw all your measurements off.*
*Which will cause you to build a Slotus...


JDK

_________________
JD, father of Quinn, Son of a... Build Log
Quinn the Slotus:Ford 302 Powered, Mallock-Inspired, Tube Frame, Hillclimb Special
"Gonzo and friends: Last night must have been quite a night. Camelot moments, mechanical marvels, Rustoleum launches, flying squirrels, fru-fru tea cuppers, V8 envy, Ensure catch cans -- and it wasn't even a full moon." -- SeattleTom

My justification for these kind of things is " you can't call it yours until blood is spilt and flesh lost".......
But ouch, that looks like it hurt. I've hurt my hands so many times over the years, and I always wear leather gloves. Take good care of it, and then back into the fray.
Cheers,
Stewart.

it took a few seconds to catch your reference. Things are progressing well. It will be base 10 for me. At least for the near future.


It is MINE. It IS mine.

I took some time yesterday, not working on the Cushman, but starting the Spring clean up on the Locost. Life is good! Be careful out there guys.

_________________
Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

I bought one of those cutters for sheet metal work. Good to know it will hold up.

Here is the headliner I added (with foam above peeking out), swivel convex mirrors on aluminum sheet mounts attached with double sided 3m tape, and a rear view mirror. I redesigned brake pedal (original was low ratio, in the wrong place, and bent). I found a 14 inch cooling fan to fit the civic radiator, made a new crossbar, cut off the old radiator mounts, cut and brazed the lower water neck for a better angle, and fit a vw header tank that will tie into the heater circuit for a high fill point. Still need to clean up the wiring. Also milled and tapped a steering lock so it can be towed by aligning the steering wheel hole and screwing in a bolt by hand.

_________________
Miata UBJ: ES-2074R('70s maz pickup)
Ford IFS viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13225&p=134742
Simple Spring select viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11815
LxWxHt
360LA 442E: 134.5x46x15
Lotus7:115x39x7.25
Tiger Avon:114x40x13.3-12.6
Champion/Book:114x42x11
Gibbs/Haynes:122x42x14
VoDou:113x44x14
McSorley 442:122x46x14
Collins 241:127x46x12

Yeah, I put it on my list for repairs to the Cushman bed. I had no idea that I'd be using it for this. I was pleasantly surprised how well it stood up to the 1/8 (11ga) steel. Might I warn you to be verrrrry careful when using it?

I can't get over how much your trike pieces look so much like a car/service truck. Mine looks like a golf cart; more plebian in nature:lol:

_________________
Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

I noticed the walking on your frame rail. You have the spring loaded center pin right? Maybe pilot drilling is a good idea also.

Yeah, mine is very industrial where yours has style.

The headliner made a huge difference last summer with the sun beating down.

_________________
Miata UBJ: ES-2074R('70s maz pickup)
Ford IFS viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13225&p=134742
Simple Spring select viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11815
LxWxHt
360LA 442E: 134.5x46x15
Lotus7:115x39x7.25
Tiger Avon:114x40x13.3-12.6
Champion/Book:114x42x11
Gibbs/Haynes:122x42x14
VoDou:113x44x14
McSorley 442:122x46x14
Collins 241:127x46x12