Cheap trailer.

I mow the field on Friday now. I started getting ready and it started to rain as I got to Cozy Corner restrant. and I went back home. I went back to removing the aluminum from the trailer sides and roof. Around 1000 I went to the field again and this time the town garage gate was closed so I went to the usual gate and found it locked wrong and I couldn't get in. I went back to the trailer. The sun came out but the grass was wet so I kept stripping the trailer. I loaded all the aluminum and steel from the trailer onto the Dodge. Then I chain falled the original El Camino engine on board along with all the other junk I had been saving. I went to the scrap yard and found I had to remove all the metal myself. One worker helped me roll the engine off. The iron went in one pile and the aluminum went to a small scale. I ended up with $114.00 for my troubles so the trailer so far cost $22.00. I went to the field as today is dump day and the gate is opened at noon. I got the field mowed and then loaded up all the wood and crap to take to the town re cycle center tomorrow. I was going to take it next Wed. but that is July 4.
  I built a plane for grandson and hope to test fly it tonight. I'll bring the Flite Streak for him to fly and I'll let him fly the new one if it flys good.

Demolition in progress.

The new format has me all messed up. Here is a picture of the Scamper trailer as a kit.

Trailer trash.

I've kept an eye out for something to make a utility trailer out of for quite some time now. The across the street neighbor works at Winco Scrap metal downtown. I mentioned the trailer to him and that a pop up camper would make the best trailer as all the stuff is there. He said there was one and I stopped to look at it. Pretty ratty but very usable. I paid $136. for it and brought it home today. After 4 hours of work I got the camper down to just the floor. I stripped all the aluminum from the wood and have the roof to go then I'll take that back to the scrap yard and sell it back to them. All the wood and cushions will go to the bulky waste site on Wed. The tires are good too and it has springs. Of course I will have to wire the lights. I hope to use what it had with it but I may not be able to.  It had a plastic water tank that can be used as a gas can. It must hold 15 gallons. The plywood floor is screwed to the frame but I can't find the screws. I have the wrecking bar standing by.

Almost back to normal.

Last Thurs. I went to the package store and got a 30 pack of cheap beer. I put it on the floor as the dope in front of me was buying lottery tickets one at a time. When it came to my turn I picked the 30 pack up with my right hand and placed it on the counter. The tendons in my hand felt like banjo strings being plucked. The pain didn't go away as soon as usual and lasted until the next Wed. I called the VA and spoke to a nurse who called me too old to be lifting a 30 pack with one hand and that I had inflamed tendons and to take ibuprofin for a week. An hour after taking the first load of pills my hand felt a lot better. I played horseshoes last night with a splint on and it didn't do a thing for my pitching but we did win one game out of the three.
  I mowed the club field and circle this morning before the heat got too high. It was too hot by the time I finished to get in a flight so I came home. There was no wind either.

Contorversy at MIR.

The way I see it is nascar made Goodyear bring less gripping tires for the left side of the cars  in order to slow them down. Jr. wins by over 5 seconds. I'll bet nascar gave Jr. the good tires just so he could have an advantage over the rest of the field and get a win to excite the fans.

Road test results.

The rain slowed to a very fine mist so I started the El Camino andadjusted the choke for a 1000 rpm idle. I went up the road and turned around at the far end of the cemetery. I gave it some throttle and it went ok until it shifted into 2nd and hit the rev limiter/choke set to 1000rpm. It took a second before I figured out what was going on and pushed the choke open. The next trial went as it should have. This carb seems to have as good or a bit better response than the Holley. The hand choke is more useful.

Even m ore progress.

Plan 'A' was to install the Edelbrock carb. on the El Camino and be done with it. Well Plan 'B' sounded better as there was nothing wrong with the set up on the hot rod. So I removed the 750 Holley from the hot rod and installed the Edelbrock. Then I installed the 750 on the El Camino. The hot rod ran well and the El Camino did not. So back to plan 'A' this morning. I removed the electric choke carb. that I put back on the El Camino last night and removed theEdelbrock from the hot rod. I put the 750 back on the hot rod and the Edelbrock on the El Camino. I already had installed the hand choke cable so it wasn't much of a problem to swap carbs. The El Camino started right up and idled without stalling and I put the high idle screw back where it was in the first place. I'll give it a run if it ever stops raining.

More progress.

The parts for the field mower came in today on schedule. I paid for them and headed for the field to get the mower back in business. After 45 minutes and some re routing of the belts I got the thing back in one piece and operational.
 I put the the 750 holley on the el camino and it don't work well at all. A bog just like the 600 holley had before I put in  the new jets. The hand choke works great though. Tomorrow I'll put the small holley back on and probably get a hand choke conversion for it.

Some progress.

We took the hot rod out Sunday for some ice cream. There was a motorcycle run at the Plainfield VFW and there was lots of bikes on the road and at the ice cream stand on Ekonk Hill. Some of the RUBS looked the car over and when we were driving out Ma heard one say he wanted to "hear It". I eased out on the road and picked up the idle a bit then stomped it at about 5 mph. The engine didn't hesitate and the tire started spinning. I held it for a second or two then let off. Neato.
  I went to Huber's Garage  and ordered the parts for the club's mower. They should be in tomorrow around noon.
  I've been looking at  the Edelbrock carb. and finally figured out what to do with it. I removed the 750 cfm Holley from the hot rod and installed the Edelbrock because there was already a hand choke set up in the hot rod. The engine started right up and a tweak of the idle mixture adjustment screws and idle setting and it worked fine. I went for a short ride and the carb. performed well. I figure it's an AVS Performer 650 cfm carb. The regular Edelbrock carbs don't have Air Valve Secondarys. I need to get some 1/4" threaded rod to make an air cleaner hold down and it's finished. The 750 holley will go on the El Camino as I don't like the electric choke Holley on it now. It takes too long for the choke to open and the engine runs rough during that time. A hand choke conversion would work too but I like the way the Holley works on the hot rod.

More rain and cold.

I volunteered to paint the new storage shed at the Brooklyn field. I've been waiting for the paint for a while. Last week 3 gallons were in the shed and it started to rain. I had figured on a thin, sprayable stain but it was thick latex stain. I would have to use a roller instead of the faster spray gun. The next day the sun was out and I got the first coat on. It took 3 hours as the wood soaked up the paint. Some thinning of the paint was in order as the 3 gallons wouldn't finish the job. It rained the next day. On Sunday the sun was out and I was able to get the second coat on that afternoon. It rained a couple hours later and hasn't stopped in 3 days. Windy too with temps in the 50's.
 The club's riding mower has been showing signs of a worn drive belt lately. I tried to see it but it's up under a skid plate. I felt around and it feels like the belt has twisted and stretched and worn enough to be slipping. No way that I can find to tighten it. As luck would have it the brand is "Scotts" and made by Murray which went bankrupt in '05 and the new owner of the name, Briggs and Stratton, don't provide any support for mowers made before '05. I've checked on line and searched similiar mowers to get an idea of how the belt runs. It won't be an easy fix. A tool store nearby is on the dealer list.
  I picked up a push mower from the transfer station at the field and got it running. Then while putting the air cleaner on I grabbed the hot muffler. Fingers are healing nicely. I got a new blade coming for that mower. All it needed was to fix the pull cord which the owner had tied to the handle.