New Developments

 

From Here

I took a pass on the trip to the fair yesterday. I was planning on going late morning but I read a bunch of upsetting crap on the computer and the main highway south to the fairgrounds recently got a coat of tar and chips - chips as in small pieces of gravel resulting in chips in paint and windshields on vehicles. Anyway, I changed my mind, put in 14 miles on the bicycle, sharpened the mower blades, cut the front and back yards, and did a little more yard work. Not a bad day actually. 

And what was it that pissed me off so much yesterday morning? How 'bout some definitive proof that there is an effective treatment for covid that could have saved many lives and prevented the shut-down of the economy. Here's the lead-in to the story:

Interested in "Following the Science" about Covid? Because here's the science: there is a safe, cheap, effective treatment and preventative that could have prevented millions of Covid deaths and serious infections. Science has known this for over a year but the news has been, and continues to be, suppressed by politicians, "experts," the news media, and social media censors.

We didn't need to shut down (or at least could have re-opened far sooner). We didn't need to be subjected to nonstop panic-stoking from the government and the media. We didn't need to crush the American work ethic, nor did we need to throw election laws to the wind last year because of the "special circumstances." And God knows we don't now need untold trillions of "Covid relief" dollars to come back from this needless (but fully intentional) nightmare.

The truth of this is incontestible. The reason it's happening and who's behind it - still a mystery - is surely one of the most important and urgent issues for which we should all be demanding answers right now.

The rest of the story can be found here. If this is in fact the true story there are a whole lot of people who should be on trial, if not for murder, then manslaughter at least. Maybe tar and feathers for a bunch more.

Thread on Extender

 I picked up my weekly supply of veggies from the CSA yesterday. In addition to the stuff they have inside ready to go, they also had u-pick green beans available. I decided green beans would be a good addition to the summer table so I picked a few. I was only out there about 15 minutes but I started working up a pretty good sweat. The weather the last couple of days have been right around 90 degrees with the humidity about 90 percent. The heat index has been right at 100 or a little above. I've been taking it easier than I needed to but I'm not on the clock any more and I've still been getting out in the shop a couple hours every day. 

Yesterday's time was spent primarily on making the extender for the tie rod. Since nothing is tightened down, I'm not real sure how close I came to getting my length measurement correct. After the hardware order comes in I'll snug everything up and see where I'm at. I'd like to have the minimum amount of thread sticking out on the rod ends. Even if I need to make a longer piece, what I've got now will allow me to mount the steering box and take the next step. The Speedway catalog lists pitman arms of two different lengths. The straight one is 6-5/16" C-C, the offset one is 5-3/4" C-C. After I determine the mounting position of the steering box I can determine which arm I'll need and then be able to get the length dimension on the drag link and order everything I need to complete the steering from the box forward, including shocks and the panhard bar.

The weather is supposed to be much nicer today - temps in the seventies with lower humidity. I'm thinking about running down to the county fairgrounds and checking out the fair. Last years was cancelled, like just damn near everything else I find enjoyable. Our fair is a small event but I like walking around and seeing the animals and the old tractors. I usually break training and get myself a pork burger while I'm there.  Need to  support our local pork producers, plus, they're tasty. 

Maybe mow some grass when I come home, maybe jump back on the Rickati project to finish up the rear brakes. Speaking of which, I haven't heard anything from the USPS about my appeal on the long lost brake shoes. Maybe that's a good sign. 

Up Front

 

I loosely assembled the front end on the jitney yesterday. The kit is complete with everything except the pieces to connect the steering box on the left side of the frame to the steering arm on the right side spindle - pitman arm, drag link and a couple of Heim joints. I need to order some fine thread nuts as well. All the hardware is fine thread grade 8 with lock nuts. Since I'm going to have to put things together and take them apart a couple of times, no since wrestling with the lock nuts, especially since some of them are of the nylon insert type and they're not supposed to be used more than once.

The tie rod is a couple of inches too short but that's no surprise. The kit is designed for a 48' axle and mine's 50". I'm planning on machining an extender that I can screw into the tie rod and screw the rod end into that. I'm also going to get a large nut I'll drill the threads out of, slip it over the tie rod on the end with the left handed rod end and then tack it on. That'll make it easy to adjust the toe-in/toe-out without having to unbolt the rod ends from the steering arms. I'll do the same with the drag link. 

I need to figure out where and how to mount the steering box. I eyeballed it a little yesterday but it would be nice if I could clamp to the frame. Speedway has a couple of different pitman arms. I'd feel better if I could have the steering box clamped solid to give myself more accurate measurements for the pitman arm and the drag link. I can then get those ordered along with a coupler to attach to the steering box to get a start on the steering shaft. 

Books

 

It's rare that I read a book more than once but I decided to tackle this one again. It was a gift from Surly right after it came out in 1997. I read it right after receiving it but it's been on the shelf ever since - long enough I couldn't remember any specifics, only that I recalled it was a good read. The book made a pretty big splash in the motorcycle realm when it came out. I read it while waiting for the Missus during her visits to the doctors of late.

This is my current read. Cuzzin Ricky and I went to the Browning Museum when we took the Amtrak to Salt Lake City two years ago. I knew a bit about Browning before the trip but the museum visit piqued my curiosity and I wanted to know more. Especially since Browning never used blueprints. I'm only a few pages in but it looks like it's going to be a good story.

I got this in the mail the other day - parts and accessories for the Himalayan from Hitchocks. Lots of items to make your Himalayan go faster, look and function better. They've got a big bore kit that adds about 50cc more. With the big bore kit and a gearing change it would make the bike more highway friendly. Of course if you were going to invest in all that, maybe you should have bought a different bike in the first place. I did see a couple of cosmetic items I might be interested in.

I did a little bit on the jitney project yesterday. I loosened up the spring bolts and got it set perpendicular to the frame using a tape measure rather than eyeballing it like it was. I then lined up the radius rods so they're where they should be. I've got the frame brackets clamped on at the right distance from the axle and at the right height to give me the proper caster angle. I started going through the boxes of parts so I can loosely assemble the front end and figure out what goes where. Lots of hardware in the boxes. Going to take me a bit of head scratching. I did try the kingpins in the spindles and I shouldn't have to ream the bushings. Likewise, it looks like the kingpins are going to be a good fit in the axle bosses. The kit has shims to insure a good fit between the axle bosses and the spindles also. I need to get all the parts mounted in the proper location to see where the steering box needs to go and to figure out what I need for a panhard bar.

I've got the hired man coming this morning, so I'll try and get out to the shop in the afternoon. Every day a little something.

Steamboat Ride

 

I went for a steamboat ride yesterday. The only steam powered boat plying the waters of Indiana. The Department of Natural Resources is in charge of all the boats on the waters and they wouldn't allow any wood or coal fired boats, so this one was running on kerosene.

The boat was originally a lifeboat for a ship that worked the Great Lakes. It reminded me of the boat in the movie The African Queen only in much better condition. The ship had a two man crew, the captain and the engineer. The engineer did a real good job of weaving a bit of local history in with the history of the boat and promoting the museum where the boat is stationed for the week. The Missus used to volunteer at the museum many years ago. It's been a long time since I've been there. Nice to see all of the improvements that have happened over the years.

There was a young guy there playing with his traction engine. About the time I was leaving, he had a head of steam up and was driving it around the lot. There was a builder's plate on the front of the boiler. This thing's been around for a while. I really admire the welders and machinists who can put one of these things together. Long ago in a land far away, I started building a small scale locomotive and tender from plans in Live Steam magazine. I had access to a complete machine shop and would stay after work and machine parts. I've still got the plans and a box of parts. I doubt seriously if I ever make any more headway on that project but you never know. It would be a good winter time project for my little workshop down the basement.

The old International is from the local ice business that closed down in 1988. I used to buy block ice there. The owner of the ice business also had a tire business and he drove a school bus back when the buses were owner operated rather than corporation owned. He was my bus driver for a couple of years. Coincidentally, his son was at the museum yesterday. I went to high school with him but hadn't seen him in years. He was walking with difficulty like maybe he had had a stroke - not all that unusual at our ages - but he told me he had gotten hit by a car while riding his bicycle three years ago. Seemed to have a damn fine attitude in spite of it. We reminisced a bit about the old days while I was waiting to board the boat. Nice chat on a beautiful day.

I rode the Himalayan to the museum and stopped at the grocery for a few things on the way home - those saddle bags are handy. I put about 60 miles on the bike cruising the backroads. Finally have more than 1,000 miles on the odometer. I really need to get out on that rig more often. 

Did Some Cipherin' - And The Outcome Looks Good

I did use a bit of trigonometry, however.

I put the jack under the axle and took all of the slack out of the shackles to the point I was starting to raise the support legs off the floor. At that point the center of the spindle is only an 1-1/2" lower than the bottom of the frame rail and I've still got 4" of clearance between the frame and the top of the axle. The tires I'm planning on using have a 25" diameter, so when the car is sitting on the ground the bottom of the frame should be 14" off the ground, giving me 7" of clearance on the bellhousing - more than enough. 

If I lift the motor up in front 2" that will give me a 2-1/4 degree angle on the transmission - that's where the trig came in.  Since the bellhousing is about half way between the front of the motor and the trans mount, raising the front of the motor will raise the bellhousing a bit. If I lower the back of the trans mount a bit I can increase the angle of the trans to about 3 degrees downward and still keep my 7" of clearance. Plus, I'm thinking I want the rear of the car to be slightly higher than the front, giving the car a slight nose down rake. 

I'm about to give up on the idea of making this rig Bonneville compliant. I really don't think it would be worth all the extra work and expense for a one time trip. A motorcycle with a sidecar could still be an option, actually, more in my wheelhouse as far as that goes. 

I changed a couple of bicycle tires yesterday and cleaned up one of the bikes that has been hanging on the wall of the barn. I can keep a bike for two of my compadres here at the shack and take them to the trail for us. That'll make the logistics easier since the other two don't have trucks. Maybe next week we'll ride the trail rather than doing our walkies. We did get three miles in yesterday even though it was about 90 degrees and sunny.

I've seen a big spike in the page views lately. Not sure why but welcome one and all.

That's What I'm Talkin' About

 

A BL2 in the flesh, all painted up and ready to go. Cuzzin Ricky and I did breakfast and then short hopped it to the train museum to check things out. We had a nice chat in the restaurant with a retired Amtrak employee and he mentioned taking the Southwest Chief to Albuquerque, NM and some of the things to see there. I came home and did a quick look-see at the Amtrak site to see what the travel restrictions are these days and what it would cost. Without any senior discount one way coach is $122 with the trip taking about 25-1/2 hours. Masks are required the whole time unless you're eating or drinking and you need to be cleared of covid  but no vaccine passport is required. 

I also recieved an e-mail from Cosmos, a company I've travelled with before, with info on traveling in Canada. I saw a trip that the Missus and I might consider taking since we weren't able to do Hawaii. Might be a while until we feel it's safe to travel but it looks like it would be a nice trip.

I welded the support legs onto the jitney frame rails yesterday. Its a little wiggly side-to-side, so I'm going to weld a diagonal brace from the top of one leg to the bottom of the other. I'm going to put a jack under the axle and lift it enough to take the slack out so I can get a measurement as to the where axle will be in relation to the frame and the ground. The bottom of the bell housing sticks down about seven inches below the frame. Since the engine mounts aren't welded down yet, I might raise the engine and tranny up as well as moving things back the 2" I already planned. I wanted to have the rear of the trans pointing down slightly with the differential pointing up at the same angle. Rather than lowering the rear of the trans and losing some more ground clearance, raising the engine might be the only way to go. I need to get the measurement of where the spindle will be once there's weight on the front end.