The Machinist's latest activity

If I can't get my big welder in to weld this I can use my little Miller flux core machine.......I think. No headliner in to burn up at least. Edit: Some rule books say NO flux core welding process allowed. TIG or MIG (solid wire with gas) only.

An initial look with the housing on jacks says the engine needs to come up some, although at this point honestly not as much as I was guessing. I’m sure it will change with the leaf packs and actual suspension cycling.

To run the 5VZ AC compressor and power steering pump I need a crank pulley with a section to drive a 4 rib belt in addition to the 5 rib that drove the original accessories. VW has a part from a BHW engine code Passat that works off the shelf but...

Motor mounts are tacked up, they’ll need more reinforcement eventually but this is good enough for now. Frame plates and frame side mount assemblies. Passenger side. Driver side. I’m using brand new motor mounts and I didn’t account for...

Doors now have mirrors. Started installing the tracks for the runners. Running the door locks in the ultrasonic cleaner. Door latches are in and painted black.

Cleaning up the window regulators. Replaced one of the hinge pins, put in the rearview mirror, and getting ready for morning paint.

I also went ahead and stripped the IFS hubs from the donor truck.

It’s a roller now Slapped some spacers on the front and threw on some 80 series rollers, the donor axle is leaking from the pinion now and the pinion bearing feels bad, it has lots of slop in it.

Axle is out of the donor

Got the bed off it today, many bolts were broken, and I think I lost my 10MM, but it’s off! The bed is in horrible shape, so I cut, hammered, and ripped sections of the floor to get access to the bolts. Old bed Replacement bed The frame is in...

The truck is off the trailer, and my next step will be swapping out the rear axle to make it, at least, a roller. I attached my relay rod so that it can be steered once it rolls. I am almost definitely going to do a Marlink setup like @The...

I have an X15 and a gear duel case from marlin crawler, we have many things the same. My 606 is set for about 325 hp and 5/600 pounds of torque

Just got home after staying an extra week... Kudos to Jeff and his team. While there is certainly room for improvement, I think everyone did a great job considering it was their 1st year. I want to acknowledge Patrick... Jeff's right hand...

We had a late night visitor on the last night.

My Rubithon 2025 scorecard: 17 days away from home. 6180 miles driven from driveway to driveway towing an M416 with my 1997 LX450. She drank an additional 2 quarts of oil for the round trip. I can live with that. Damage: Scratched the...

Same experience with mine that @aztoyman cited. Power with 33's and 4:11's is totally fine, but 5th gear is hardly useable. Not a huge problem unless you are spending all of your time at 70mph, but it would be nice to have more torque lol 22r's...

My coworker that I car pooled with had an 81 with a 22R, stock gears and 33's. It wasn't exactly slow but the only time he could get into 5th gear was down hill with a hurricane force tail wind. Same for my son's 91 with 22RE and only 31's...

No where exciting, but replaced my compressor, condenser, drier, etc in anticipation to recharging my system this upcoming weekend. Looking forward to having AC again. 95+ degree temps while sitting in traffic is a bit less than ideal for the...

Sarah will be in her 80 no matter what I bring.

5985 miles round trip towing.

First test fit looks pretty promising if you ignore the steering (which is all getting changed). It looks like I can probably reuse the frame side motor mounts and 5VZ rubber pucks which is great. The axle is drooped some right now so that’s more...

Well that was pretty straightforward, I buggered up the tacks on the driver side before I realized my gas bottle wasn’t open. I cut the top of the core support first, then tacked mounts in, drilled the holes, then cut the rest.

Horn. Backup lights brake lights. Marker lights and running lights all seem to work. Got the carpet in

I went in on a “renegade run” with some friends from California. We started early Wednesday morning and ran straight through to the springs.

I came in with the "breakfast run".