No, dad passed away, and we found someone who is working to get it back on the water. Here’s hoping.
I wonder why it was pulled, it didn’t bother me, I appreciate the interest.
We used it to take trips, you could put in one place, cruise down the river or lake, then pull out somewhere else and keep going. Not something you can do with a boat and trailer.
I’m a tire engineer for a major tire manufacturer - over 30 years. I’ve work in manufacturing, design, been a technical liason to Ford, and am currently working the warranty end of the business. In particular I asnswer questions from consimers and dealers - very similar to the type of questions posted here. I won’t tell you which tire manufacturer I work for because my management is a little concerned about all the internet posting I do. But it doesn’t matter WHO I work for as much as what I post is applicable to ALL tires.
Hey guys since we are showing neat old inventions…CHECK THIS OUT… I just uploaded it to You Tube… I think others may have beaten me to it…but I posted it also.
A great option to check off for your Land Yacht
Well, some more about me I guess. Maybe some insight about what makes me tick.
In high school I wanted to be an artist (won several art contests), a musician, or an electrical engineer; in no particular order. Reality set in and I determined that only 1 out of a million or so could actually make a living in those fields. Nuts and bolts took over my interest in elec. engineering so even that got weeded out.
Over the years I took some tech school courses on my own time and dime for no other reason than I wanted to know more about certain subjects; usually relating to electronics.
Many years ago during a spell when the economy here tanked (and it tanked in a week’s time) I lost my job and a number of car dealers went under. I went to work for a few months for a friend’s dad who owned the local overhead door franchise so I spent several months doing mostly commercial overhead door/elec. operator work while doing some door work on the side. One door I did on the side for a John Deere dealer was 100 feet long and 16 feet tall with 6 operators. That one took a full week to do and paid VERY well.
I do some minor lathe and mill work although I will never have enough lifetimes to be as good as a retired friend who does machine work. From large and apparently totally trashed farm equipment parts to aircraft parts to guns, he can do it all. He even spent a few years building those 10-20k dollars shotguns and rifles for a well known high end gun maker. He’s the most analytical guy I’ve ever known and other than the springs he builds guns totally from scratch and can make any part needed to repair any firearm. I can only aspire to that level but I’ll never reach it. Here’s a simple sample of some of my junk…uh, work.
It’s a brake cooling ring for an antique Harley and used way back when as an accessory item by cops to help fight brake fade due to heat caused by brake use in traffic. The originals clamped on the drum (ugly) so I have 2 hidden Allen set screws on this one to lock it to a pair of dimples on the drum. The bike itself is a 1950 Harley panhead that was a cop bike when delivered from the factory. It’s even got the foot operated siren and a speedometer lock to nail those pesky speeders.
And installed.
Honda Blackbird, since you’re into bikes you might like this rolling abortion. One week two friends of mine and myself were sitting around got to thinking about putting a bike together for one of the guys who did not have one at the time as he had sold it. Here she is, followed by the technical specs, shaky as they may be. (That’s his niece on it for contrast)
Frame steering head from early 50s AJS, rest of frame homemade in the yard out of scrap pipe with a Lincoln welder and no jig. Strictly an eyeball thing.
Motor is a 67 Triumph Bonneville from a scrap yard. It was a fire job with melted carbs. Popped the head and it looked good on the top end so it was slapped back together.
Front fork and wheel is 60s era Triumph.
Oil tank is homemade out of 1/8" plate.
Gas tanks and speedometer are WWII Harley military issue.
Seat is early Sportster.
Taillamp is early 50s Harley Tombstone.
Rear fender is a bobbed horse trailer fender.
Exhaust pipes are Triumph, exhaust tips are VW Beetle.
Rear wheel is early 50s AJS hub laced to a Harley 16" rim. (I also laced the front wheel)
Everything else is what could be dredged out of the scrap bin.
The electrical system was made to run sans battery and was made by me out of some Chevy alternator parts, a Zener diode from Radio Shack, etc. and in a professional manner, was wrapped in an entire roll of electrical tape and stuck to the frame rail.
This thing was put together in one weekend and after a case of beer the decision had to be made about paint. (note this is AFTER the assembly)
It was decided that since it was 10 at night we would just use some old socks and swab it down with tire black. In the pic the bike has a shine. In reality it was flat as could be.
Now you’re wondering how well this heap could run or ride. It would always start 1st or 2nd kick, ran like a bat out of hxxx, and got near 50 MPG while tracking arrow straight down the road.
It even stunned all of us and it turned out to be one sweet, reliable ride. (Even outran a couple of stock Harley Sportsters with it and it’s seen over a 100 MPH to boot.)
Total cash outlay for the entire bike? 35 bucks! Let’s see those Orange County boys do this… 
(Just adding that the ignition switch is from an Allis Chalmers N Series combine.)
That bike still around? Looks GREAT. That kind of bike is really big now, kind of a ‘rat rod’ on 2 wheels.
The Dodge was the second car he used. The first was a '51 Packard that he put a Buick V8 in for power:
I have no idea if it’s still around or not. The guy in our trio that we put it together for kept it around for several years before selling it to his brother. I think that eventually the brother got a trade offer of some sort on it on another bike and I lost track of it.
As hokey as that thing was it turned out to be very reliable.
It was also the world’s first stealth bike as the cops were looking for it one night and from 30 or 40 feet away they could not see it even after passing the spotlight directly over it a number of times. (story behind that incident)
It was hard to see from half a block away when parked under a shade tree at high noon and it got a lot of “what in the hxxx is that” comments.
I likey…
Probably started my career of rounding off nuts with the acquisition of my first “10-speed” road bike at age 12-ish. Continued to work on all my bicycles (mainly because I was too cheap to pay repairmen). I still volunteer at a local bike co-op that takes donated bikes (mostly unrideable as is) cobbles them together, then sells them/gives them away in exchange for labor.
Bought my first car ('85 Camry) at 18. After a year, decided I’d try my hand at auto repair. Self-taught, and basically botched that car to hell and back (always learn on a cheap car!) With the purchase of my '98 Contour in 2005, I got into DIY auto repair in a big way (one necessarily implies the other).
A little perusing of the internet revealed how easy small-engine repair is, so I make a fair bit of money now fixing mowers and such that don’t run, and selling them online after they do. Also do the same thing with discarded bikes, so basically my “job” is in direct competition with my “volunteer work.” (Worth it, though, for the access to inexpensive second-hand components it provides.)
I couldnt possibly count how much money I have made in my lifetime…(beginning when I was about 12-13yrs old) from lawnmowers and weedwackers and such on the curb… I have repaired literally hundreds and sell them cheap to neighbors or strangers…ONE TIME the guy who threw his mower out the other day asked how much I wanted for “that” mower…I laughed and after a moment I simply told him that he could “have it”…he tried and tried to pay me and I wouldnt take his money…he really didnt understand…he had no idea it was HIS mower! I told him that he was lucky customer number 7…LOL I dont know how he didnt recognize his own machine! He thanked and thanked me and gave several lookbacks while he was walking the mower back up the street…I really threw him for a loop.
Shows how much he knew about mowers or paid attention to his own mower and why he was looking to buy one from my lawn I guess LOL. People throw away equpment, esp gas powered lawn equip sometimes after ONE YEAR…or however long it takes for the fuel to go stale. Unreal…
I’m currently a software support rep, but went to school for engineering - so I know a lot of how stuff worked. I was interested, in (1) making sure the current ****box I drive it High School and later college was running, and if (1) was accomplised, then (2) make it go faster. Then, I got into motorcycles, and with those, self-wrenching is a little more common, especially when your first bike gets to be 25 years old…
Credentials? More like a life story, but you might as well know where I’m coming from.
I started working on all things mechanical so long ago I can’t even remember. I hear stories about it from my mom - who’s thankfully alive and well. Like changing the tire on her old Ford station wagon when I was 8. Really? She’s told that one many times to many people, so I guess I did. Yes, toasters and everything else were on my horizon.
As I got older, I realize (looking back) that I was fascinated by all the metal and gears and such. I remember working on my parents car in England after my dad changed the oil idiot light to a gauge, and didn’t tell my mom what it meant, which turned out to be a new engine, that time. It was a tiny Fiat 128…we had 2, one manual, and somehow managed to land an automatic.
I also learned to RTFM back then by changing the front wheel bearings on a Dodge Tradesman van and having the wheel seize on the highway a scant 20 miles later. I think I was about 17 at the time. I learned a lot from the old man, and when I screwed up, he was very patient with me and helped me learn the right way to do it. I’m the one teaching him now, and that feels pretty cool.
I did the whole music thing, for a while. I played the drums for a bit, never very well, really, and ended up fixing the instruments my friends all played far better than I could.
I worked in a yard for a while as my first foray into “paid mechanical work” and got really good with a torch. I could cut the nut off of on a motor mount, and everything was still usable including the washer. I also put on a bunch of muscle, and was known to “grab” a V8 or a couple of rear-ends and carry them to a customers car. I guess that was the beginnings of my back issues.
Worked for Toyota for a while, where I was “certified” to work on certain vehicle systems. I specialized in brakes and wheels/drivetrain. Can’t stand transmissions, so I steer from those whenever I can. Sorry, transman. There’s a place for you in my future, I’m sure.
I married later, went into the military myself and learned I really wasn’t paid diddly for the things they expected me to do (ever been asked to take live fire from an enemy??). Consequently, I learned to repair and maintain any- and every-thing on the cars I had. I was pretty good at it, since I did have some training, and I worked on cars for my friends and co-workers, too. They came to me with the most bizarre questions, and I could normally solve them or fabricate some version of the factory original…that would outlive the original, btw.
My current field is IT, where I actually hold a couple of degrees and a few certifications. I’ve been everything from a server administrator to network engineer, to now an infrastructure engineer…I design the hardware all this stuff works on. It’s a lot of fun and I enjoy it, but it’s not what I really like. It is far better money, though.
I’m also a biker at heart, and I still have an old '75 Yamaha (bought second hand, of course) and a '55 Triumph (that I got for free!) that take a lot of work to keep running. I enjoy that to no end. Both the riding, and the working on parts. I bought my first motorcycle in pieces (including the engine), and brought it home IN a Mini, and I wasn’t driving. I had it together and inspected and on the road in about 4 months. My Mom was pissed. She only “let” me keep it as she thought I’d never get it together.
I’ve been taking care of vehicles of all sorts most of my life. I do it for friends, co-workers (a 6-pack will buy you an afternoon in my garage with my help) and family. I’ve owned, maintained and sold over 50 vehicles so far, and I don’t plan to stop as long as I have the strength of mind and body to turn a wrench.
SO…with all that (I DID say life’s story, don’t forget), you can either take the information I provide and accept it as is, or ignore me. Personally, I don’t really care which - I’m trying to give you whatever I can to help. I won’t spout crap (well, not on purpose, anyway), I’ll only chime in when I think I have a possible cure. I’ve been wrong before, and I’ll be wrong again, as we all will. I like to help out, and learn as I go. You guys have a wealth of knowledge, and I learn more every day. I can just hope to use that information to better my self and my abilities, and by default, those I interact with. I firmly believe in experience - I’d rather have one old crusty PITA dude with 45 years of experience than a dozen young guys with all their certificates of training in this or that.
I do have a few pet peeves. Don’t beat the horse after he’s dead - there’s no point, and it’s irritating. If I’m wrong, fine, it happens, I can take it, but don’t belittle me in the process of correcting me.
Chase
WOW…This thread is still alive and kickin? I really enjoyed your post Chaissos…You remind me a lot of myself. People come to me with EVERYTHING…under the sun. Questions from left field man…I dont know if it is my ability to BS or that I can actually work these problems to fruition…perhaps both that keeps these questions coming to me. I have always been the curious type…Dont understand something? Learn about it…LOOK IT UP… I guess that is why I can cook as well as rebuild and engine with precision. I am good at everything I do…or I dont DO IT… LOL…maybe thats it. Who knows…mechanical people are all similar…YOu could throw us into a building and we come up with something like the A-Team for getting us out…when we couldve just used the door. I’ve always gotten along with mechanical souls and we seem to seek each other out…and no problem is too silly or wierd to “solve” or make a part for… I guess its a way of life- No? I have enjoyed very much reading all of these posts and you all seem like people I would hang out with.
Thanks. My best friend isn’t what we’d call mechanically inclined. He’s a computer nut, though, and we work well together. He also presented me with some of my more interesting challenges…like somehow repairing the seatbelt mechanism in a 92 Lumina (the roll mechanism is in the door). We were in Europe and parts aren’t readily available there. I rebuilt it, fabricated a new metal housing, and it’s still there today, works better than the other side, original part.
I cut it down a lot, actually. Just grabbed a beer and started typing. That led to all kinds of crap, and now we have that post above. I’m just gonna leave it and not edit it, either. I also wanted to kind of give it a “bump” so it didn’t die. Took a long time to read everyone else’s posts, too. You guys sure are entertaining.
My hats off for being a Triumph fan. While I haven’t owned one in several decades I’ve owned 4 of them in the past. About 30 years ago a guy could buy a stock running Triumph for 300 bucks but they’re collectible now and the prices are in the 4 digits. The last one I bought was a stock, good running '67 Bonneville for a 125 dollars! Wished I still had it as the '67 Bonnie was considered the Cadillac year for them.
Just for chuckles here’s one I built from the ground up. The pic was taken at a buddy’s house one yucky day and yes I rode it in all types of weather.
Specs on that one are:
1950 Triumph Thunderbird engine lower end.
1967 Triumph Bonneville cylinder head w/dual carburetors.
Cylinders are an 800 CC Sonny Routt conversion with pop-up pistons and 12:1 compression.
TT camshafts, Lucas magneto, etc.
Frame is a '62 Triumph double downtube with a welded on hardtail and has been completely molded with a lot of Bondo and women’s pantyhose. (The hose is mixed with the Bondo and prevents cracking.)
Front fork is a WWII issue military Harley 45 flathead and has been extended with old Ford Model A radius rods and then chromed. (27" over stock length)
Rear fender is a horse trailer part that has been modified and everything else is a collection of customer and aftermarket widgets.
Paint is black with candy purple flames and pinstripes.
Rear wheel in the pic is a Harley 16" I laced to the Triumph hub. Later on I acquired a Triumph Mark 1 sprung hub and laced that up. (If you’re not familiar with the sprung hub it was a fat hub with internal springs that allowed about 1" of travel for the rear axle and provided at least a bit of cushion on a rigid frame. Lacing this was an absolute nightmare as the spokes were only about 3 or 4 inches long.)
With the 800 kit this thing would flat pull once rolling and in answer to the obvious question of how do you steer that thing the answer is that it handled great.
Making a U-turn in an alley involved walking it slowly with both feet on the ground but normal cornering was fine and once over 10 MPH the bike tracked arrow straight and worked really well on the open highway.
I like that Black Monstrosity…Its funny you guys just cobbled up what you had and made a nice bike…I am certain that you didnt know that the parts you used would one day be collectible. LOL
I’ve got various passionate interests but you might get a chuckle out of this one. This is my home built cigar box guitar to go along with my store bought stuff. These became very popular back during the Depression era when people had little money and there was no Guitar Center in every metro area.
Really want to know what this thing was built out of?
OMG THATS AWESOME…My friends who play would love to see this… Yes…DO TELL.