This was not a pretty merge, not like the other one (Which also wasn't 'gram-worthy rainbow stacked dimes and all, but at least the gaps were reasonably close). I didn't have a lot of space to make this work, and had to do a lot of gap-filling; worse still, I screwed up the order of welding to the point that I ended up having to weld down into the centre of the merge which was not possible with the TIG torch. What I resorted to was... leaving the welder in TIG mode, with the gas turned off, and hooking up the electrode holder; and using the TIG remote so I could light off the welding rod easier, and instantly cut off the arc without drawing a big arc-trail up the tubing. HF-start
Managed to pick myself up off the floor long enough to get some stuff done, despite my legs' complaints after a couple of days walking round London. - Got more welding gas. It's gotten about 50% more expensive since last time! Ow. - Got the 1/2" UNC bolts for the gearbox, and bolted that up solid. - Re-resealed the PTO blanking plate on the gearbox, and re-refilled it with oil. It appears to be holding, this time. - Adjust the clutch linkage rod so that I can actually press the clutch, now that the gearbox is in place and the clutch disk won't fall out of alignment.
## :3 ## General Update Clutch is (mostly) in, just waiting on allen keys turning up so I can finish tightening all the bolts for definite.
Read more…Oil warning light turned out to be a stuck pressure switch. It's started working again now that I've taken it off and given it a crack on a solid surface, but I don't trust it; I'll get a replacement, they're not expensive. Alternator warning light works when it's connected (imagine that!). And I've cut my manifolds down just so I can bolt them up and not be firing hot exhaust directly at all the stuff I've just painted. When
Read more…h'Okay, then! With the engine fitted into the truck, and now with all the mounting bolts tightened (Other than the front ones, anyway.), I decided to stick the various manifold bits on just for a laugh. They fit better than I expected! Now, admittedly, my expectations were "not at all", what with me having forgotten about the existence of the front axle while building them, so there's that...
Read more…## Friday ##
Pedals drilled and tapped for grease nipples, at the pivot shaft. The brake pedal appears to have some sort of fibrous bushing in it, but the clutch pedal is just the plain cast-iron bore on the shaft. There are oil-holes drilled into the pedals already -- I just reused those
Righti-o then! I managed to, with the assistance of the torch and the vice, crank the wiper arm the other way. That sorts that, then! And -- thanks to lots of experimentation, measuring, maffs, and whatnot -- it appears that a 3/4" arm on the spindles should get me about a 90 degree sweep; which, with those arms and 13" wiper-blades, covers as much as the windscreen as can be covered without using
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