A trip on the '73 Ski Doo in central Minnesota on a sunny February day

I made a pilgrimage to visit the folks in Minnesota. Though I reside in coastal Georgia and have spent nearly 27 years between Florida and Georgia, I still love to make a trip back in the Minnesota winter.  I grew up around snowmobiles, tinkering and riding when I could keep the 50 and 100 dollar well worn machines I had running.   Now I'm better at tinkering! Well, maybe......

I have a 1973 Ski Doo Olympique 340cc machine, 23 horsepower I believe, maybe 2 or 3" of suspension travel. Modern machines have well over 100 horsepower, and suspension travel in the 12" range.  But I like the simplicity of the older machines, and as seldom as I can ride, can afford them. I bought this Ski Doo for $175 in 2006, and have maybe $300 maximum in it.  In preparation for a long vintage machine poker run the next day (I'll blog that too) I felt I should do a shakedown. After all I last rode the machine in 2011, two years ago!

I left mom and dads, who's property borders on a groomed, marked snowmobile trail maintained by the Swanville sno drifters (apologies if I did not get the name correct) snowmobile club.  The trail runs through sections of woods, frozen swamp, over fields and on old railroad bed in places.

I stopped off the trail a tad to get some shots of ice fishing houses on Long Lake. My family used to go swimming in this lake when I was a pup.

No need to get out of your warm truck until you are right at your door! The lake has about 20" of solid ice and is very safe to drive on as I compose this.

I arrived in Swanville, 10 miles by my GPS, which cost more than I paid for the sled :)  To the left, Pepin Lake. To the right, Swanville.  Not sure the population, around 400 or so. Arch rivals to Grey Eagle, just ten miles down the road. I went to Grey Eagle. 

Here I am, at the back door of Red's Irish Pub.  Too much bare asphalt to park in front for me! I had a quick draft beer, and went back out. Had to be home by 3 to run some errands with my Dad. Well, didn't have to, but I wanted to!  Oh, the yellow bungee cord is holding the console door shut. The latch does not work well, it flops open over rough terrain and then the noise level from the open throated Tillotson carb going WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH gets to ya!

When I came back out, I looked the machine over to see how things were. Not good! the front bogie wheel assembly had the screws/nuts come out that hold the rubber idler wheel to the flange, and the flange was digging in to the rubber of the track.  I had a 1/2" wrench in my pocket, tipped the machine on it's side, and pulled out the assembly.  However, I really needed a 9/16" to tighten the track up more to compensate for not having an assembly in there. I did not, so I took it really easy going home on the acceleration and braking as the drive cogs would slip and "ratchet". 

BELOW:  To the left is Burtrum, to the right, back to Grey Eagle.

 

Not another soul on the trail this Friday afternoon!

On the way back, I saw this rig in the parking lot of the Bruno's Hub Supperclub (great food and drink specials folks, overlooking scenic Long Lake!) and thought I'd get a pic to put the differences between modern snowmobiles and my '73 in perspective.  Look at the suspension travel on those things! But I bet I don't have the payments they do!

Look at this old bus! I started elementary school in 1973, and the busses were orange. I do not know at what point yellow became the standard color. This may well have been a bus I rode, I recall the first couple years driver Walt Baird at the wheel,  a 48 passenger "THOMAS" bus. F700 Ford, two speed rear axle. And the inside was always that sky blue color. The windows all rattled, we had more miles of washboarded gravel in our township than paved for sure.  This one was clearly taken from bus duty long ago, and appears to have some sort of a hunting camper type conversion done to it.  Did not see a license plate, but she looks to have not seen the road in years.

Home again! I went 19.43 miles, and hit a top of 44.6 mph along the way. 

The rest of my collectibles (har har) a 1976 John Deere "300" in the green and a 1971 Moto Ski "Capri 338" in orange. The Moto Ski came to me missing it's original "Hirth" single and had a single cylinder Rotax 10 horse, 247cc in it. Ran great but topped out at about 17mph!  I bolted in a 335cc Rotax, 20 rated HP.

The camper is an old 12 foot "Mallard" brand. Has some water damage inside, may fix 'er up one day.

Haulin' off the scrap metals on a Saturday mornin'

  Time to clean out the stash. I crush all the beer cans drained in Jethroland throughout the year (well a few sodapops too, have to mix the booze with somethin'...) and sooner or later they have to be hauled off.

I also pick up old marine batteries I find left on the docks at the marinas I end up working at, and whatever other odds and ends I have. In this case, the remnants of the old gas grill from last April's post, a rusty file cabinet and the like.

Now it's not like the yard is a giant scrapyard, I have an "area" behind my shed and fence unseen by others, well unless they crawl over a fence.  So I loaded up the S10 and off we went.

There was a line!

 

There goes a year of beer up the conveyor!  I think I had more than 23# of cans though, there was another guy unloading at the same time as me and I think there was a mixup. However, I wasn't going to make a big deal over a few bucks, especially since I had 615# of batteries that cost me nothing but time to pick up.  The receipt is down below, I scanned it.  They didn't take the old catalytic converter from my wife's car as I needed to cut the steel pipes from the inlet/outlet, nor would they take my heavy aluminum storm door as it still had glass in it.

As bugs said, that's all folks!

Scrap receipt
 

Free Small utility trailer- near FINISHED!

After a couple hours with a wire wheel on a grinder (wear saftey glasses folks!) knocking loose rust off and giving it a good coat of "Ospho"  to convert the rust (iron oxide) to iron phosphate, treating the metal to prevent moisture and oxygen from reaching it (this is from Ospho literature), I sprayed some paint on.

Ideally I'd have flipped the trailer over and done some grinding on the bottom side, and had the expanded metal tailgate sandblasted, but time and budget ruled that out.   

I used an industrial enamel from NAPA stores, sold under the Martin Senour brand in a dark machinery grey color.  The first coat was sprayed late on a Sunday afternoon, and before the paint dried the temp dropped from 65* to about 50* and heavy dew settled. The next day I came home from work and looked at it, the paint had dried totally flat.  So the next Saturday here on the west side of Savannah we had unseasonably warm temps for early December. 76*, and I sprayed on a second coat. This came out nice and shiny.

      
I also welded up some guards from 1/8" flat steel to keep the tail lights (hopefully) from getting broken off.  I then installed new LED tail lights. The kit was about 25 bucks from Harbor Frieght tools, I didn't keep really close records.  I however did not use the cheesy "scotch lok" wire connectors, they pierce the wire and don't seal it.  I used butt connectors and shrink wrapped 'em.

Yes, that is a shitty weld on the top of the guard. I know. My Hobart 135 MIG machine was giving me fits, and it normally about welds itself. I'd strike an arc, the arc would cut out, and back in, like a machine gun.  I later found the problem- the small leads from the trigger contact go through the main cable with the liner and wire for the feed, then come out in a small loop right outside the body of the machine. In my moving the machine around or putting things down on the bench it sits on, the small leads had gotten nearly cut through. So each time I struck an arc, the amperage would build (it was only contacting on one or two strands) and then it would loose the connection, and effectively cut off the weld. 

All fixed now.  Here it is with the new lights on. Still to do are some longer, heavier saftey chains, and put some plywood on the sides. Oh, and fill out the form and get it registered! Until then, I'll hang my boat trailer tag on it if I need to use it. 

 

 

 

Here's a couple "befores!"

 

 

 

 

   

Free utility trailer revamp part II

Now that it's November and the summer is gone, I have finally gotten back to updating the blog on this project that I started last June.

In early August, I finally got over to Steve's (the donor of the rusted relic) place with the replacement axle, and mocked it up in place.


My pal Phil gave me a pair of 15" rims with good Continental tires on them from a Ford Ranger pickup. These have the same 5 lug on a 4 1/2" pattern as the trailer  axle hubs. I slid the axle in over the springs and put one wheel on, positioned it where I wanted it.

  
Then I "C" clamped the axle to the springs, and made a measurement from the center of the leaf spring to the end of the axle on the side with the wheel where I wanted it. I then went to the other side, and marked it for the spring center-

Then I went home and several more weeks later (try October!) I narrowed the axle 7 1/4".  I used a pipe cutter, made quick work of it.

Just sheer concentration on that face.....

And once cut, I had to get it dead straight to weld it back together.

The axle, as purchased, had some camber to it. I took it out and made it straight. As narrow as it is now and considering it will likely never be loaded close to it's 3000lb rating, she'll be fine. In any case better than the home cobbled truck axle that was in there before.

Now where was I? Oh, I took the piece I cut out, cut it in half endwise, flattened it somewhat with a hammer, and used it for reinforcement of the splice. Came out nice I think-

On a Saturday in mid November I made it back over, clamped it all together, swept out the leaves and towed it home.

I spent some time trying to hammer the fenders into some type of less mangled shape than they were, as well as cutting the brackets and moving them in to better cover the tires and not stick out so far.
See below, before shot-

And an after-

  
Did not get any pics, but I cut the 1 7/8" coupler off the tounge and welded on a 2 incher so I do not have to swap the ball on my  tow rigs, as the boat we also tow uses a 2 incher.

I then pressure washed it, let it dry, and started to use a wire wheel on a grinder to knock the loose, flaking rust off. I treated the rusty metal with OSPHO, a chemical that converts iron oxide (rust) to iron phosphate before attempting any kind of paint. I think it is going to be dark grey in some industrial satin finish enamel. Then to put some plywood on the sides, fill out the GA DMV form for a home built trailer. 

That's all I have now, hope to get it finished and wired with new lights in a week or two.

   

Jethros first garage

 My first garage. The folks sold the place in '87 and moved across the road to other property they owned and built a smaller house, the current owners don't really use it except to store some lumber.

 In 1982 when I was about 15, dad helped me a bit (free material) and I supplied the labor to build the place. Oddly enough, I recall things like the first time I had a hangover or the licence plate number of my first car (DTW 879) but I remember little of the actual construction.  

To the left and behind it, you see another shed with a low roof, I recall building that one for firewood storage. We also had our boiler for maple sap in there. That got moved when mom and dad moved. Behind my shop and leaned against the wood shed was the chassis and parts of a 1967 Ski Doo I parted out, along with some bicycles, lawnmowers and such. All is long gone and hauled for scrap. I left home in late May of '85 and ended up in first Florida and now coastal Georgia.       

I do remember mixing the cement one mixer load at a time, shoveling in sand, adding the water, dumping bags of Portland cement in, then dumping it in to a wheelbarrow and wheeling it in to the form. I know I did not do it all in one shot. I believe the walls were pole construction and the slab floor poured afterwords.

As one can see it was built of rough sawn boards. If you look closer on the left, you can see a recycled door for entry. There was a potbellied wood stove for heat in the left rear corner. Due to the lack of insulation and paper thin fiberglass panels in the doors, it never really got warm in there on a cold Minnesota night while working on something on the workbench (still there!) along the back wall.  "CLASS OF 85" is spraypainted on one of the inside walls. Kinda makes me feel old and rediculous at this point. :)

It was about 12" x 24'. At one time there was about 24' more of open pole shed to the right we used to store hay for the critters we had on the place at the time. I guess dad tore it down along with the small barn (constructed about the same, quickly thrown up with rough sawn boards and lots of recycled doors and windows)   

My Forney 180 arc welder was wired up with enough cable to reach outside the big doors to do some repair on our various 1940's farm machinery used on our hobby farm (this was the 80's) and it always needed some sort of repair.

That's not a pic of the actual welder, mine was not as nice. Paid $45 for it from a local junk man and with the replacement of a few of the jacks (plugs) it worked great. In fact, it is in the garage (or was) of the current owners of the place. Maybe one day I'll bug him to sell it back to me!  I really wish I had more pics from back in the day of the construction or possibly some of the door flung open and tools scattered about, but I had no camera at the time and this was loooong before handheld smart phones could record all.

Hopefully I'll get back that way in November for some deer hunting and get a few more pics.

Free small utility trailer revamp

A while back a friend got this trailer along with a Honda quad in exchange for a debt. Now Steve, whom I will call Steve because it's his name, is not one to check things over. As long as it hooked over the ball and the tires not totally flat, he'd use it.

All was fine,and for several uses he did not get pulled over for no license plate or the broken lights, but coming back from the hunting club he belongs to he felt a vibration and the left wheel was about to come off...he got it off the road until I could come assist him with a larger trailer he had borrowed from his work, and we were able to winch it aboard. It was dumped in his yard for about a year. .And the yard taketh over....

..

Steve asked about getting rid of it and said he was thinking of cutting it up for scrap.......the scrounge in me knew with a new axle and some elbow grease with a grinder, some paint put on, I'd have a decent trailer. Georgia is pretty easy to register a homebuilt and does not title small trailers so the lack of paperwork won't be an issue here. Just fill out a form from the DMV, provide reciepts for materials and get it inspected by a cop (and signed off on) ane you are good to go
Now this 4x8' rig was likely home built or done by a pretty good welder. Steel floor and made with what looks like 1/4"x2" angle framing under the floor, and well braced. A nice, crank up swing away jack on the tounge.  But the axle setup is a bit funky. It appears to use floating hubs from a truck, though I can't think of what manufacturer used five lug hubs (most are 8) on this setup. I think they took a rearend from a truck, pulled out the actual axle shafts, and cut the axle tubes to eliminate the pumkin with the ring/pinion under there, and used more angle to splice the two together.

When the bearing failed, it chewed the hub and spindle up.

.
I went over last Sunday and managed to drag it from it's Kudzu prison, jack it up and get the old stuff mostly cut off before the rain came.

  Those nice, heavy springs are likely from the truck the setup came from.
I priced 1 1/4" spindles, hubs and bearings from Northern Tool, which is about the most inexpensive place to get stuff, but once I added shipping I was over 100 bucks. Then I was at Tractor Supply getting some gardening stuff and saw they had a complete, 3000lb assembly with hubs etc for $159, and I had found a $25 TSC gift card from two Christmases back in my night stand. Game on!

I will have to narrow the axle to fit, it's 72" to the bolt flange for the wheels. I have a pipe cutter to do a nice cut and section out what's needed. I will put a wheel/tire on, get the wheel centered in the fender on one side, "C" clamp the axle to the spring, and measure from the outside edge of the spring to the end of the axle, see what is sticking out on the other side and measure the difference. Of course I will have to cut the spring perches off and transfer them.

   Of course, I told a guy I know about it who automatically said "Why don't you just buy a new trailer...."  I don't know why I even talk to some folk!

  I have been given a pair of chrome Ford Ranger 15" rims with decent tires for this as it has a pretty standard 5 lug on 4 1/2" bolt pattern. I figure that I have $134 in the axle as is, I will need some U bolts, some lights, plywood and paint, and estimate $300-350 max in this when it's all done. And I will have a nice, heavy capacity rig for it's size.

TO BE CONTINUED!!!!

Time to re-grill!

It was time. The Char Broil gas grill I got for Christmas in about 1993 had finally outlived itself. Oh, I am sure it could have won some awards.

"Most patched with tin and pop rivets" or "Most burner replacements" over the years. But about 10 months ago, the fourth burner fell through the third bottom patch. At the time, I just left it alone. I'd brought home an "Aussie" brand charcoal grill, left by the dumpster in a marina I was working at one day.

But back to the gas job. Here is an overexposed pic. I guess I need to look in to a new camera too!

The side burner was about to fall in.

The replacement was found at a local Lowe's store. A Char Griller "Grillin' Pro" 3001.  Just $169,  and it was assembled!

Much sturdier built than it's predecessor, this uses three ceramic burners and there is an optional firebox that goes on under the shelf to the right for use as a smoker.

Now I love my charcoal grilled meats, but we use this gas job like an oven. Our house has no shade over the kitchen, and on those brutally hot south east Georgia days that room is easily 5-8* hotter than the rest of the house, so firing up the gas stove just adds to the situation.

This is where the gas grill comes in. We use it as an oven. Last night? Tossed a frozen pizza on a pizza stone, tonight, stouffer's lasagna! Two burners on low made 360* on the gauge.

And here it is!

I also grilled some venison chops on it the other night. Mmmmmm!  The side burner works great for making a pot of boiled peanuts too. :)

That's all I have for right now.