Whaler Resto - pt xvii - trailer okey doke

After reading this post,

you're gonna think my iphone

Is glued to my hand,

and I'm constantly sifting through craigslist,

day and night.

Well it may seem like that,

but really it's all about timing,

as well as extremely coincidental luck.

More importantly it's fun to write about.

If I wrote every time I used the toilet,

you'd think I sat on the pot all day!

A couple weeks ago this ad popped up.

See how it was posted for 2 hrs already?

That means I didn't have time to scour yet!

The first thing to catch my eye,

besides the cheap price,

was a 70 HP johnson outboard,

and a galvanized trailer with a folding hitch.

Hmmm...

I diverted my morning to check out this gem,

and drove up to a typical hack tweaker boat,

ditched by an ex-boyfriend.

The seized engine helped to lower the price,

after which I realized the trailer jack was busted.

Super fun levering the waterlogged hull

onto the hitch.

The whole boat reeked of misplaced money.

A stainless prop on a sadly dead outboard,

mounted on a trick CMC trim/tilt unit...

...bolted to the craziest transom repair

I've ever seen.

The 200lb engine was bobbling 

the whole drive home.

They probably spent $100 on aluminum,

3M 5200, bolts and beer.

This made it easy to strip the carcass 

of anything of value.

Tight steering, smooth controls...

...gauges, a good battery, 9 gallon tank!

We call this plunder obtanium.

A few parts will upgrade the whaler,

a few parts will make it more than free!

The big score was the galvanized trailer,

even with galvanized rims.

We had fixed up our original trailer 

with a new hitch, fenders, winch, tires, bearings...

But it was never set up correctly.

The whaler wouldn't float off without a heave,

cause the bunks were triple stacked 2x4's,

needed to avoid the flat crossbars,

that have been scratching the keel.

The other issue was the hubs

would not fit bearing buddies,

and I knew the new bearings weren't going to last.

I was prepared to cave in and buy new channel,

and build angled crosspieces to weld in.

Instead Jaxon learned how to back up a trailer,

and we did an intricate trailer dance,

which I had sketched out the night before.

I think this made the kids more confused!

We did go for a very short cruise...

Over the Thanksgiving break,

the poor bass boat graced the neighborhood,

lowering the property values for a few days.

Nobody wanted a free metal flake 1977 Elite hull,

with a $200 trailer.

Darn.

One evening I matched up the adjustable bunks

to the whaler bottom.

Typically I'd cut and weld brackets.

This was just moving rusty u-bolts,

of course to the 34 watt bulb...

A few hours later,

the new trailer was a bitchin fit.

Hard to tell from the first top pic,

but now the hull is below the tire,

which is also a 14' not a 15'.

This should make it much easier to launch.

The folding hitch is probably made 

for garage storage,

while also making it more difficult to steal.

Over the weekend the Johnson 70 left,

and so did the bass boat.

My idea of making a brick hauling trailer dashed,

in trade much needed space around the yard.

Hopefully George will send pics 

of the finished boat.

All in all we scored big time!

TP

Hot Rod Alchemy

So there's this 1930 ford pickup back in the shop.

Ya may remember it from a summertime post.

t's a compilation of 2nds and 3rds,

the parts that are borderline castaways,

usually needing extra time to massage into place.

The end result is coming out pretty cool.

Another builder Tony did a good chop, some cool pipes,

and a slew of mechanical feats.

 I got it and have been trying to get it 

on the road for James,

balancing efficient time with the parts at hand.

More of a form follows function build.

As long as it doesn't break.

The clutch linkage was also reworked.

Much better.

James had scored a deal on an early mallory distributor,

and we found out why it was cheap.

The advance assembly is attached to this oval plate,

which had loosened up over time.

The quick fix was making a D slot,

matching the shaft to a welded up hole.

Please work...

After some grease monkey magic,

we got the flathead running smoothly.

Hopefully it will make Mooneyes in 2 weeks!

TP

11 month Mercury challenge

As the shop progressed into a working space,

there was one huge thorn in my side,

waiting to be pulled.

In the past 11 months,

you may have noticed this giant 

black hole of a sled in various spots

in the yards of our house and shop.

Like a car version of "Where's Waldo?"

As soon as the doors opened up,

this 1963 mercury filled the void.

The owner had been extremely patient,

and it was fine time to pounce on it.

I had more stress reparking this thing

around the neighborhood,

then the actual repair needed.

Way back in February I had cut out the rust,

and welded in the secondary panels,

starting outside under the canopy.

This project stimulated the shop renovation,

as working in the dirt wasn't as fun as I thought.

This was before the wood chips.

While the restart to the patch panels

started off slow,

once I got into the groove,

the work was actually soothing.

Probably cause it's mainly tin snips,

hammering,

then tig welding.

Quality time spent on tight fitting patches

cuts hack time welding bad gaps.

It is rewarding to cut out cancerous rust,

and know the new metal will last another 50 years.

The toughest spot was this corner,

somehow eaten away over the years.

There was nothing saveable.

Fortunately a Ford corner patch panel was made,

which was a close enough match,

needing only a little massaging.

The rest was basic templates,

filling in the gaps with sheet metal.

There were a couple more patches,

but I'm sure you get the idea.

Weirdly enough,

most of the repairs are covered with fat trim.

The main reason moisture had

accumulated to such an extent.

And another reason to not need perfect bodywork!

The rolled epoxy would be enough protection 

until a proper paint job.

When Hans picked it up,

he acted like I had it for a couple weeks.

Whew...

I felt like 2 tons was off my back!

TP

shop life - episode 6 - winterize

One thing that can change the course of a day,

is an ad for free bricks.

This was a good load!

By 1145 the bricks were at the shop.

Thanks Theo!

By 5pm a few were laid out,

not perfectly even,

just a quick lay.

Way nicer than the rocks.

Over the weekend the kids busted butt.

The idea was to flatten out the area.

A slow start gained momentum.

The ground isn't level,

and a 1-3" plate of asphalt like dirt 

made things difficult to pick and shovel.

Once the challenge was understood,

hammering, prying, leveling and laying,

this tough section was almost conquered.

There's still a fat stack of bricks left,

but the rains stalled progress.

The next day the wind whipping the tarps off.

Holey chit!

It looks naked without the canopies!

The big box was floating in the stiff breeze.

So much it moved the two 50 LB weights,

and ripped the stakes out of the ground!

Time to winterize...

TP