Many thanks to Scottie's employer Rosemount Turf for allowing Scottie to use the big welder!!
The purpose of the welding was to add in some strengthening items - additional bracing to support the gearbox mount (both where the gearbox connects and at the chassis), and the inclusion of some "crush tubes", which actually prevent the box steel from crushing when the bolts are tightened.
Here's a nice close-up of the additional strengthening - look at the quality of those welds!!
In the meantime, Scottie was tidying up the gearbox mount ready for painting and installation...
While it was drying, the boys went on a shopping trip to collect some bits and pieces that they needed...
Once they returned, Scottie got to work fitting the gearbox mount (here it is in all it's painted glory, with Scotties hands)!
Damian got to work installing the newly purchased choke cable, while Scottie decided that sump-thing needed to be done to complete the sieve (as the adjusted sump was now known as).
Once the new choke cable was installed, Damian decided that another picture was in order!! (The new choke cable is the black item on the right hand side.)
Meanwhile, in a last ditch bid to get the sieve to stop weeping (all the actual leaks were welded up, but there were just a few weeping spots), Scottie used the metal repair kit (which looks a lot like blu-tak) to go over the welds...
Would this finally seal it? Only time would tell...
After the liberal application of the metal repair putty, the new sump was finally leak free!! It had even stopped weeping, so it was time to install it in Booger Mobile!!
Of course, the new sump needed to match the rest of the engine, so out came the nice, blue engine enamel!!
While Scottie was doing that, Damian took the opportunity to investigate the clearance that there would be between the tyres and the rear suspension... As you can see, there is plenty of room, and the tyre in this picture is much wider than the actual tyres that the boys are going to be using, so no problems!!
After the paint had dried, the time had finally arrived to install the new sump in Booger Mobile, and resolve the clearance issues the boys had been experiencing... Well, it was the sump of the engine, but either way...
As you can see, the new sump (front) has much greater clearance at the shallow end...
Just in case regular blog followers haven't seen what is inside the sump on a 250 pre-crossflow engine, here it is!!
Scottie carefully applied the new sump gasket, using up the rest of the Stag (aka gasket goo) in the process...
The new sump was finally fitted, and the clearance problems were now are thing of the past!!! Or were they...
This is where sump-thing goes horribly wrong, and the whole sump-creation-project turned into an EPIC FAIL
After installing the new sump, admiring the handiwork and seeing that there were no clearance issues for the cross member, Damian suggested turning the engine over a few times (with the battery, not by actually turning the engine over) to check that nothing was banging, knocking or rattling inappropriately
After doing this, Scottie became very sad
The inside of the engine was hitting the newly adjusted sump... How could this be??????
The boys went back out to the spare engine to ponder what had gone wrong, when Scottie noticed something that made his heart sink, and he felt even sadder
Turns out it wasn't a 250 pre-crossflow, but a 200 cubic inch engine (from the outside they look the same), therefore the bits that sit inside the sump were shorter, hence they didn't hit the adjusted sump when the boys tested it, but the longer ones in the 250 pre-crossflow did...
If you look closely just to the right of the middle of the photo below, you can clearly see 200 stamped (cast, moulded, welded, whatever) into the engine
In fairness to Scottie, this part of the engine was not visible while the sump adjusting was taking place, and since the boys had been advised that the engine was a "spare engine" for their 250 pre-crossflow, they had reasonably assumed it was also a 250 pre-crossflow
Still, everyone knows what happens when you assume!!
The new sump was hastily removed from Booger Mobile, and the boys ceased working for the day... Prior to this happening (while Scottie was fitting the sump originally), Damian painted the drag link... seems anti-climactic now...
Damian painted the inside of the box steel with black, then did the first coat of the green top coat for the gearbox mount... you can't have too much green on Booger Mobile!!
He then moved onto the work that he's more qualified for - wiring! First cab off the rank - hooking up the neutral safety switch. After identifying the correct wires on the plug, Damian was surprised that a test of the wiring failed to work... It did stop the engine from turning over, but it stopped it turning over even when it was in Park or Neutral!!
Damian decided that since the wires on the plug end were so thick, perhaps the thin wire being used to connect them was providing too much resistance, so he replaced it with thicker wire and hey presto - one working neutral safety switch!!
Later in the day, Damian would actually hook it up neatly through the firewall as necessary...
He then moved onto the work that he's more qualified for - wiring! First cab off the rank - hooking up the neutral safety switch. After identifying the correct wires on the plug, Damian was surprised that a test of the wiring failed to work... It did stop the engine from turning over, but it stopped it turning over even when it was in Park or Neutral!!
Damian decided that since the wires on the plug end were so thick, perhaps the thin wire being used to connect them was providing too much resistance, so he replaced it with thicker wire and hey presto - one working neutral safety switch!!
Later in the day, Damian would actually hook it up neatly through the firewall as necessary...
In the meantime, Scottie was tidying up the gearbox mount ready for painting and installation...
While it was drying, the boys went on a shopping trip to collect some bits and pieces that they needed...
Once they returned, Scottie got to work fitting the gearbox mount (here it is in all it's painted glory, with Scotties hands)!
Damian got to work installing the newly purchased choke cable, while Scottie decided that sump-thing needed to be done to complete the sieve (as the adjusted sump was now known as).
Once the new choke cable was installed, Damian decided that another picture was in order!! (The new choke cable is the black item on the right hand side.)
Meanwhile, in a last ditch bid to get the sieve to stop weeping (all the actual leaks were welded up, but there were just a few weeping spots), Scottie used the metal repair kit (which looks a lot like blu-tak) to go over the welds...
Would this finally seal it? Only time would tell...
After the liberal application of the metal repair putty, the new sump was finally leak free!! It had even stopped weeping, so it was time to install it in Booger Mobile!!
Of course, the new sump needed to match the rest of the engine, so out came the nice, blue engine enamel!!
While Scottie was doing that, Damian took the opportunity to investigate the clearance that there would be between the tyres and the rear suspension... As you can see, there is plenty of room, and the tyre in this picture is much wider than the actual tyres that the boys are going to be using, so no problems!!
After the paint had dried, the time had finally arrived to install the new sump in Booger Mobile, and resolve the clearance issues the boys had been experiencing... Well, it was the sump of the engine, but either way...
As you can see, the new sump (front) has much greater clearance at the shallow end...
Just in case regular blog followers haven't seen what is inside the sump on a 250 pre-crossflow engine, here it is!!
Scottie carefully applied the new sump gasket, using up the rest of the Stag (aka gasket goo) in the process...
The new sump was finally fitted, and the clearance problems were now are thing of the past!!! Or were they...
This is where sump-thing goes horribly wrong, and the whole sump-creation-project turned into an EPIC FAIL
After installing the new sump, admiring the handiwork and seeing that there were no clearance issues for the cross member, Damian suggested turning the engine over a few times (with the battery, not by actually turning the engine over) to check that nothing was banging, knocking or rattling inappropriately
After doing this, Scottie became very sad
The inside of the engine was hitting the newly adjusted sump... How could this be??????
The boys went back out to the spare engine to ponder what had gone wrong, when Scottie noticed something that made his heart sink, and he felt even sadder
Turns out it wasn't a 250 pre-crossflow, but a 200 cubic inch engine (from the outside they look the same), therefore the bits that sit inside the sump were shorter, hence they didn't hit the adjusted sump when the boys tested it, but the longer ones in the 250 pre-crossflow did...
If you look closely just to the right of the middle of the photo below, you can clearly see 200 stamped (cast, moulded, welded, whatever) into the engine
In fairness to Scottie, this part of the engine was not visible while the sump adjusting was taking place, and since the boys had been advised that the engine was a "spare engine" for their 250 pre-crossflow, they had reasonably assumed it was also a 250 pre-crossflow
Still, everyone knows what happens when you assume!!
The new sump was hastily removed from Booger Mobile, and the boys ceased working for the day... Prior to this happening (while Scottie was fitting the sump originally), Damian painted the drag link... seems anti-climactic now...
To recap, sump-thing became an epic fail... A wasted effort that caused much sadness in Team Booger Mobile (who not only have wasted three days or so, but have also still got to resolve the engine cross-member clearance issue!!).
Settling in to a quiet drink to reflect on the day's events, Scottie and Damian saw the funny side of the whole sump-thing debacle... They continue to live in hope that sometime, just maybe, something will be easier than expected to complete!!
As if!! :-D
Settling in to a quiet drink to reflect on the day's events, Scottie and Damian saw the funny side of the whole sump-thing debacle... They continue to live in hope that sometime, just maybe, something will be easier than expected to complete!!
As if!! :-D
As always Scottie rocked up early ready and rearing to get on with the tasks set for the days work on that classic called BOOGER MOBILE.After the great cup of coffee, that Im sure Damian had ready and waiting for him so the day could start on a good note.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great job Scottie did on the welding of the gearbox mount, it looks perfect. That Scottie for you,another excellence piece of work there.
Green is a must have on the BOOGER MOBILE with a dash of black here and there it looks fantastic.
With that finished and out of the way for now, Damian started on his favorite task wait for it DA DUM the wiring of the B/M.But much to his surprise, after carefully doing an excellence job on it, something was horribly wrong."Oh No" this can t be happening.Thankfully Damian with a check of the wires soon realized what the problem was, and soon had it solved, no epic fail with the wiring on Damian watch.With a nice neat finish ready to be hooked up through the firewall
With that done the boys thought that it was a good time to hit the shops for some of those little bits and pieces that are always needed to help complete their work on the BOOGER MOBILE.
After all the hard work put into making the sump the right size to have a good clearance.The pain and the frustrations of the, whole sump saga set in, with the realization that the so call spare engine for the pre-crossflow was not a 250 but a 200.
Even my heart sank with despair when I read this, knowing of all the time and effort you had put into it.
Lets not look at it as a waste of time and effort, because all the work that you both have put into getting the B/M this far will pay off in the end when TEAM BOOGER MOBILE and their CLASSICAL BOOGER MOBILE are doing wonderful things at the "CAMP QUALITY" 2010 esCarpade. Think of the great smiles and the laughter of the kids you are helping that what its all about after all.
The BOOGER MOBILE well worth the mighty effort that you have both put into it.
Well done as always Damian and Scottie "THANK YOU"
Allthough Sump-what sad, it was a fun day working on the "BM".... one of the funest there has been so far. I think it was the 2 visitors we had, who brought the atmosphere up a notch.
ReplyDeleteOlga is upon us now with a lot of wet stuff falling... somethig we have not seen a lot of latley. So this little black duck has the day off work, so I might see if I can get down to "BM" HQ and continue the good work.
Like the sump,... we'll just keep plugging away at it till it's done.
Don't get me wrong,.. I love working on the "BM" with it's highs and lows. The sence of achivment when it all works, keeps me going. And the knowing all the hard work will pay off and help those kids, and their families who are less fortunate than us. We will battle on for the battlers and achive good things. And we will remember this : A win without a challange, is a win without vitory...... We will be victorious..