Tee Shirt Tuesday #21

 

Might be tough to tell from the photo but the imprint says Houston Police. I got this one as a gift from a former student of mine - I'm not sure where the oil/grease splatters came from. When he was in class, he helped me out on a variety of projects, including working after school. We've stayed in touch over the years after he moved to Houston. He worked a variety of welding jobs after graduating, including running a small business of his own. He finally got hired onto the Houston Police force after years of trying. Last time I saw him he was up this way visiting his mother and needed some help with a repair job he was doing for her. I cut some wood for him on the table saw and chop saw and we had lunch. I really need to call him and see how he's doing.

Since I'm not planning on running a speedometer on the jitney, no need for the speedometer cable. However, the cable has a 2" diameter plastic plug on the end of it that the cable runs through. The cable isn't in the middle but rather is offset with four different spots that are marked with ratio numbers. Depending on the gear you're running, you spin the plug around to give you the proper speed reading. The plug has slots in it and the keeper has a couple of legs with turned down tips that hold it in the trans and keep it from spinning. 

I made the blank-off plug to close up the hole in the trans first as seen in the top photo and then when I was going to push it into the trans I thought, how will I get it back out if need be? The O-ring will keep it in there snugly and the top flange sits down into a recess so you won't be able to get a grip on it. I chucked it back up in the lathe and drilled and tapped it for a 1/4" screw, being careful not to drill all the way through the piece. I put a set screw in the hole and while I was tightening it up got to thinking about unscrewing it later on when it was in the trans. If the setscrew seizes up the whole plug will rotate when trying to remove the setscrew to install a slide hammer or eyebolt. Because of that, I drilled a couple of holes in it that matched one of the wrenches for a small grinder. 

I should have thought the whole thing through better before starting, but it worked out and it's installed. It'll be a while before there's any oil behind it, but if it leaks I should be able to get it back out again without too much fuss.