And I have the goodies I need to make the secondary drives new again.. I also bought new master links for the chains.. and some nostalgic looking beehive marker lights.. that I’m thinking would look good for my running lights. Back to the drive line…
Secondary drives
All new axle shafts and the inner bearings too. Looking good.. time to work on the motor mount. I added an extra 1/4 ” of rubber to the motor mounts. and I trimmed the mounting plate, flipped it over and the motor is in the right place. The belt lines up and there’s just that little extra room for the air intake on the carb. Forgot the photo.. Took the motor back off so the chassis is not so heavy.
Chains on
This photo shows the chains for the drives and a stop plate for the levers.. After trying things out and seeing how they work we realized that this was a necessary part. So I made a new one .. When the clutch levers are in the release position, they rest against the stop plate. ( adjusted properly ). To use the brakes you pull back further compressing the two springs you see.. This way you can’t engage the clutch & the brakes at the same time. ( Brilliant ). The one axle is now out getting fixed.. But I can still carry on. Just a few things to do and Dave & I will fit the chassis back into the Bazoo. I don’t know if I should call it a chassis or the frame.. it’s both !
Painting the pieces
In the mean time.. I’m cleaning up stuff and getting the bits ready.. I know your thinking why paint the gears..Well RUST.. I don’t want them to rust.. that’s my answer and I’m sticking to it.. I have gold paint so that’s the color..Those black blobs are the seals & bearings that hold the frame to the body.. and keep the water out at the axles.. They bolt through to the frame on the inside. Four bolts each and a rubber gasket.. it’s all that holds the two together sandwiching the fiberglass body and the frame. I’ve got three different kinds… two are the factory aluminum castings, two are machined aluminum and two are machined steel. Can’t explain that one..
Axle Seals / Bearings
Here you see them again after we put the frame back into the Bazoo. I still need to paint the ends of the axles. Just stuck them in there to see the fit. So yes we got the frame in, and bolted five of the seals in place.. one is with the axle getting fixed.
Frame installed
There is still a lot to do.. but this means more room in the shop 🙂 .. When I get the repaired axle back all the drive gears and chains need to be installed. In the mean time I could do the wiring now.
New dash installed
Even the choke control is in.. After I wired everything up.. I put power to it to see if things work as they should.. I think I blew ( no pun intended) the fuse for the horn.. but the rest works fine.. The red light is to show power on.. It’s kinda over kill because the hour meter has a flashing light. I may just rethink the running light thing.. and hook the tail lights to the head lamps.. and use the other switch for the bilge pump.. Yes a bilge pump.. don’t forget this thing is part boat too. I did not want drain holes in the bottom so a bilge pump is a better choice. I’ve got one kicking around somewhere.. As for the lights.. I have three different sets.. that include those beehive ones, some LEDs and good old trailer side marker lights.. the marker lights are my favorite because they are easy to install and durable.
Tail Lights
Maybe they aren’t the prettiest lights out there but they work for me.. If you break a lens you can get a new one cheep. These now turn on with the head lamps. I’ll be using more of these on the Kubota BX to replace it’s factory tail lights. ( I broke one this winter) and I’m not buying the Kubota one..
Seat Frame
Where your WAZOO goes in the BAZOO
Other than the wheels, the seat was the other only thing to be untouched. I set it aside to be worked on later… Later has come now that I’m waiting for drive train parts. The upholstery on the seats is in remarkable condition for it’s age… presuming it’s the original. However the plywood that it’s stapled to is not. So I’m mulling over what to do. Mean time I set to work on the frame.. Someone had welded extra pieces to the top bar for a gun rack.. I used the grinder to remove those.. One of the cross bars had a broken weld.. and one mount was missing.. Zap Zap with the welder.. fixed. And above you see a new satin black paint job.. As for the cushions I’m thinking that at the least new plywood could be a good thing.. But a part of me would like to send them out for new covers too. However I should just wait and see .. they are easy to remove if I change my mind later.
Seat cover & foam
So when I took the cover off the seat.. I found that the plywood base was only bad where the rusty blind nuts were.. so I got new blind nuts and moved them to a clean part.. basically turned the plywood around front to back.. sanded it all down and painted the bottom.. Re-stapled the cover back on.. and it’s like new.. See for yourself…
The place for your WAZOO
Yup that works.. Ya know I never sat in the seat till today.. I took things apart right away.. It’s actually comfy.. certainly does the job.. Next I cut new plywood sides for the interior..
New sides.. & oldThey fit like thisPlywood sides
There you have it.. They are bolted through with carage bolts… that way the heads are flush. These add a bit of strength to the sides.. And I stained and varnish them too.. I’m jumping back & forth a bit , just trying to take care of loose ends.. & things I can do for now.. The muffler was one of those things.. A while back I cleaned and painted the muffler.. I have now taken the old piece of aluminum they had for a heat shield and re-worked it.. so it attached to the muffler mount and not to the body of the Bazoo..
muffler
This is a much tidier set up.. and it’s all got hi-temp paint on it. I used a rubber gasket between the muffler and the body.. and the best part. Only two mounting bolts. I’m all about having less holes in the fiberglass body.
Welcome to the second page 🙂 But don’t forget the read page 1 first
After the first coat of paint on the tub I thought it would be a good place to start a second page in the restore.. scrolling down to the bottom was getting to be too much.
While I wait for paint to dry.. 🙁 I thought I’d see about the dash board design.
Parts for the dash Ergonomically Correct
I lined them up the way I would like them to be on the dash.. From the right.. 12 volt outlet, Horn button , Key switch / with a power light above, Hour meter, Running lights, Head lights, And the choke will be next to that.. In the back is the relay that will kill the motor when the key is off.. All of this will be on an aluminum panel mounted at a slight angle in front of the control sticks. The only other thing on the rest of the dash will be the original HOLY- SHIT handle in front of the poor passenger. Not considered and not forgotten is a winch control.. later.
Dash
Got the switches and stuff. mounted to the aluminum ( old deactivated road sign). Just need to cut out the shape and make the bends. The fuse panel will be up inside.
Finished Panel
Ya… wood grain .. but it’s a bit more to my liking than naked aluminum. The choke is still missing .. and so are the labels. But we have indicator lights for , power on , running lights and head lamps.
Behind the scenes
This is a far cry from what there originally was on the Bazoo. There was just a key switch , hour meter 12 volt outlet and choke control. The dash panel will easily remove with just four screws for access to the wiring. It took me a whole day to build this.. but I like this kind of stuff. I left the painting of the second coat on the tub till the evening, so I would not be working around wet paint all day.
Second coat
Nice and shiny.. the way we like it.. After a days curing the tub will go right side up on some stands.
Second coat
Tub’s over… and I was trying the interior covers on for size..
Covers
They are now in great shape. I still need to paint the screens satin black. And to figure a way to anchor them down. The seat holds the front one down.. but the motor cover needs a way that makes it easy to lift up. And hopefully no holes in the tub. Got lots of time to figure it out.
Horn Mounting
After trying several different ways .. I settled on this. hope it’s not to loud for the operator 🙂 Also in the photo is the new gas tank fitting.. threaded in there tight .. should not leak. I will test before I mount the top on the bottom..
Gluing the Top & Bottom
I had to work fast before the resin set up.. just got the two together in time.. I used a slim strip of fiber mat and resin as glue. Tomorrow I’ll lift the body up a bit higher for painting.
Sunday February 16 th 2014
First coat of paint
Well another Sunday …and more work on the Bazoo to be done. Last night I got the first coat of paint on the top side of the Bazoo. And because I only have just enough paint to finish.. I only painted the interior parts that will show. The plywood that was bolted to the insides of the sides will be replaced with new plywood. That is why I left those holes along the sides unfilled. I plan on staining & varnishing the wood, not painting it. I feel that the plywood helps give strength to the body. As for the second coat.. I will wait till the evening so I’m not working around wet paint all day .. and I’ll do some other stuff..like cleaning and painting the motor..
Motor Time !
Like new Motor
So yes I did take the motor apart clean and paint the parts.. It took all day.. but the result is worth it.. High heat paint on the exhaust header, Satin black on the starter , cowl and air intake. Will it run better ? don’t know. It ran fine so now it will look good running fine.
Clean MotorSays it all
Second coat of paint coming up..
Second Coat
It’s just ok.. I may need a final coat to touch up some spots.. Thinned down to flow out better. That will be tomorrow night. As before I’m working on other parts..
Transmission Time :
Boyles Transmission
It was the transmission’s turn.. So I removed the secondary drive (in background) & the output gear. I slit the case apart and had a good look inside.. nothing wrong..no metal pieces.. So I cleaned the halves and resealed them.. Should be good to go..
Finished Trany
Just thought I’d throw this photo in the mix.. shows the completed transmission.. next to the completed motor. Also today I cleaned and inspected the disc brake calipers.. lots of brake shoe left.. I’ll start work on getting the frame ready for painting.
Bazoo Decal
Looks good… I might not have a factory paint job.. but I’ve got the decal very close.
Factory Decal
I found this photo from jolly old England AFTER I had the decals made.. I think my decal is more ” refined” Note: the white rubber bumper strip where the top & bottom join.. Wish I could find that..
I’m also trying something brave.. I painted the rubber headlamp mounts with the flexcoat bumper paint.. They are / were white from the factory.. very grubby and would not clean up.. If the paint won’t stand up to the flexing then I’ll have to think of another way. I’m not doing the white trim thing like from the factory.. I want black.
A Bazoo in England
This is another photo of the one across the pond.. it was for sale a while back and this was one of the photos. It says the kids are for SCALE… but maybe that’s should be SALE.. 🙂 Cool tires EH ! It also is a good photo of what the original looked like.. with the white trim…But I successfully painted the rubber head lamp trim BLACK.. so No white on my Bazoo.
Lights In
They are just 35 watt tractor lights.. but I could not find LED’s that are the same size.. These work ok so they stay for now. And I’ll be keeping at least some nostalgic stuff.
Painting the Frame
The frame got it’s satin black paint job tonight.. and looks good.. Next I’ll be cleaning and painting the bits that go on the frame..
The Clutches & Brakes
This is a critical part in the 6×6 drive system. It takes the power from the transmission and splits it to the two sides.. and the brakes for steering as well.
All cleaned up
This is in very good condition. Not worn down at all. Lots of pad left on the clutches.. and the discs are good. Seen also in the photo is the control handles, they are chrome and I’ll leave them that way.
Clutch / Brakes
Here’s the Two Clutches & both brakes are put back nice & clean.. Lots of adjustments on this system..
Hook up to the leavers
Different view shows the transmission leaver hook up and the two control leavers
Secondary Drive parts
I don’t know what else to call the two split drives that are after the clutches.. so I’ll call them the secondary drives.. The final drives being the chains that join all the wheel axles together. Any Who.. the brunt of the abuse seamed to be here.. A lot of torque is on those small sprockets. And the key way in the axles show it.. ( upper right hand in photo) I bought new keyed 3/4 axle, and new bearings , key stock.. collars too. I took a break for a few days till I could get to Kelowna to get these supplies.. now its time to have at it again..
This is a new post that will be for info on our Summer Group Camping..
We scored big this coming summer.. getting the site for the August long weekend
This year … 2014 we have the Groupsite booked from: Wednesday. July 30 th .. to .. Sunday August 10th. The gate is open for us 1:00 pm on the 30th.. And we leave the Monday morning by 11:00 am. That’s 12 whole days of fun , relaxation & visiting.. Come for as many days as you like..
Also this year we will be helping Jens & Diane celebrate their 50 th Anniversary …. Stay tuned for the plans..
Waiting for the gate 2013
Hopefully we all avoid this line up for this year.. We were all so anxious to get there for our short time that we kinda piled up at the gate.. They won’t let us in till 1:00 so no point in being early.
July 16 th.. :
Well it’s getting close.. and it looks like there may still be a campfire ban in effect by the time we arrive at camp.. I will wait till the last minute to load any wood..
Update: July 22..
We are looking at just over a week now.. Campfires are allowed AT THIS TIME… so we will bring some wood.. The compessor is dead..so we will have to do with our own inflators..
I made an adapter to use on one of the 30 amp plugs. It splits the 30 amp into two. So we would have three 30 amps.. Dave repaired the cage compressor that we use to inflate stuff.. it was getting tired .. we don’t use it here at home anymore.. But it should be good for the summer..
Last year in 2013.. we had to find other ways to camp because of only getting the four days.. A few of us went to the Arosa Ranch up on Anarchist Mountain You can see the Facebook page.. Give them a call very nice place with full hook ups.
Spring is here !
And camping will come before you know it.. I was kindly donated three more River float tubes.. the good kind that we like.. so they will be added to the bin of floaties.. Just like the one in the photo below except yellow & black.. so no worries if anyone needs extras.
See also the second page of this post… Bazoo page 2
That’s what it’s called.. It’s an amphibious 6×6 ATV.. Or AATV.. very much like the Argo that everyone is familiar with. This Bazoo was made in 1971.. yes it’s old and kinda rare. Made here in Canada by Otaco Industries in Ont.. there is very little info on these, just a couple of copied brochures and one or two running ones on the forums .. So I’m thinking a cool project indeed.. and This little buggy looks like WAY more fun than a quad. It seats two people… side by side ! has room to carry stuff.. is the same size as a quad.. and goes in water, snow and through the bush.. What’s not to like about that !
Coming home
So here I have one in my driveway.. acquired from a fellow lawn tractor guy.. who did not want to bother with the Bazoo.. Mostly original , and a little cosmetically challenged. Just dying to have me put some love into it. Oh.. and the orange is the factory color.. and I intend to keep that.. however newer paint. I’m excited !
Not to forget we are talking about a 42 year old mechanical device here..
The tires are old and cracked / flat . However two unused tires came with it.. so that still leaves four crappy tires. Not really a problem since you can buy six new ones for a reasonable price. I’ve been told the drive chains are “newer” but until I get into this buggy and start testing things out it’s very hard to say what is needed. I can put tubes in the four bad tires so as to be able to drive the Bazoo around.. I can do a compression test on the motor to see if it’s worth spending time on. Then there is other parts such as the transmission that may or may not be good.. anyway I could go on .. but I really need to get the Polaris Quad finished up and gone so I can get going on the Bazoo..
The ad from 42 years ago
Hmm I was about that age.. in the ad. the kids in the top photo that is ! So the big question ? Is Bazoo spelt with three “o”s ? I’ll be sure to use three in the new decals. As for this post.. I’m lazy and 2 will do.
And Now :
The Motor
Here’s a quick photo of the motor in the Bazoo. A twin cylinder 2 cycle snowmobile engine. Very simple indeed, at least compared to the Polaris Quad I just worked on.. Now here’s a little info on the motor.. This is a CCW.. or Canadian Curtis Wright 290 cc , and yes Curtis Wright … of Wright Brothers fame makes airplane engines.. But here in the great white north.. the Canadian division made motors for snowmobiles.. Go figure ! The carb on this wonderful piece of history is a Walbro WR6.. and Walbro still makes carbs. so there is parts and info still out there. I printed the carb diagram.. and did a quick dismantle… conclusion.. I’m suspecting there is three missing springs inside the pump in the carb and thus the carb may not work , but we have not tried.. so I’ll be sorting that out first. After tests on the motor.
A Note Here : A bit of news I found out later.. I was told by the fella I bought it from that the motor was a 400cc.. well the label and the model number on the motor disagree. This is the 290 cc twin that was offered as an option for the bazoo. The standard motor being a single 240 cc. That explains why other photos of Bazoo’s have singles in them. Also of note is that the “Bazoo” was only made for two years.. and Otaco industries went though many changes and was bought by American Seat Inc.. and up till 2007 they made seats for buses and trains.. Then closed the doors. They are better known for the tin & cast toys they made in the fifties.
Thinking to myself:
How fortunate that this Bazoo came 99% complete.. all the inside covers, the original seat in good condition, all the original controls.. and a few questionable extras ..like a trailer hitch and some ugly mud flaps. The fuel tank in the front has been abandoned and now one sits in the back next to the motor. I’ll find out why ? The potential for improvement is churning through my mind.. One is the complete power train.. I can get the Hydrostatic drives from a zero-turn mower and then use a Briggs & Stratton V-twin motor that would be newer and easy to repair. That would mean no more transmission, clutches & brakes. Hydro drives would chain drive right to the wheels.. and provide instant reverse and braking on hills.. Think about it …. I am !
Hey While your waiting to see & read what I’ll be doing with this little gem.. or if you’re scratching your head thinking Rob’s lost it again..
Jan 24 2014: and the work starts..
Welcome to the shop BAZOO
Tonight Dave and I pushed the Bazoo into the shop.. let it thaw out a bit. See those two ply wood cross dividers .. they are gone.. first thing I removed . The second thing on the agenda was to pull all six wheels off. and I was anticipating a problem.. was told by the previous owner that he could not get them off.. stuck ” you need to take a torch to those wheels” .. OK . Well he must have loosened them or?? because they came right off with a bit of a tap of the hammer.
Double hubs !Unique Rims
This set up of double hubs is to deal with the strain put on the wheels, and the fact that the three wheel studs are tight together. I can see the advantage of making new hubs that fit a 4 bolt 8″ trailer rim.. those 4 bolts are spread out and stronger. More on that later.
The business end of things
Looks messy , but it’s very simple. Dave & I tested the function of the drive line.. and it works good. The transmission shifts ..forward /neutral / reverse like it should .. the chains all seem good and the framework that holds it all together is not rusted or broken. There’s a bit of play in the levers, and the throttle cable was broken.. Minor stuff.. I’m impressed for such an old machine. But as far as use goes…. The Hobbs hour meter.. which looks original .. says 165 hours ! Wow that’s low ! Does it work ? Also it looks to me that someone at sometime replaced five of the drive axles & hubs. I know this because I’ve seen a photo of the factory inner hub.. and there is only one left. And the wheel nuts on that hub are 1/2″ and the others are 9/16″ ? That axle is also the loose one of the bunch.. So it may be the leaking one too.
Parts & pieces
I took a few parts to work and gave them a bath.. It’s sure good to have the two interior covers.
Testing The Motor:
Before I go taking too much apart.. I need to know the condition of the motor. Part of that involves the use of the starter.. So I needed to sort out the rats nest of wiring.. People do make a mess with the wires.. tons of tape & cable ties. There’s dead end wires , there’s dirty connections and fuses that don’t work… Well then I like to study the wiring diagram.. and in this case it’s not for the Bazoo but instead for the motor. And it turns out to be dead simple.. just like a lawn tractor.. kinda simple. Even the key switch is from a lawn tractor. It has four positions.. off/kill… on with lights… on without lights.. and start. I thought of using a new key switch till I realized that it needs to have a kill circuit in the off position. So I’ll keep the key switch ..it works ok. And what’s this in the photo below ?
Rectifier ?
A home made rectifier ! no kidding .. Dave knew that when he saw it.. Those are the two wires from the alternator… and the black one charges the battery. It was all wrapped in gobs of tape.. But it works ! Oh and I found the wires to the hour meter cut, and it’s broken.. so who knows how many hours now.. Checked the compression on the cylinders with two different gauges and we have 118 in both cylinders. That’s respectable considering the age. The spark was good too.
Check out the video.. After having a snowmobile mechanic look at the Walbro carb and tell me that it’s good and we are not missing parts .. Dave & I put it back on and hooked up the gas tank. Had to do a bit of adjusting but finally ..vroooommm… Dave is seen tweaking the mixture.. and the clutch is working too… Bonus ! So now we are getting six tires up and working.. Two are new and two will have tubes put in. These tires are badly cracked.. but I just need them to hold air for a test run.. And I need a new throttle cable, which is a bicycle brake cable. And a new belt for the drive. Then we should be BAZOOING !
Slight change in plan:
I had everything ready, Tires mounted, throttle cable… except the belt was on order.. Then we are standing there looking things over.. and we noticed the motor was not lined up with the secondary drive. And on these belt clutch / drives alignment is everything. So the motor would have to be moved over 3/4 “. Totally not to big a deal.. but a bunch of work none the less. The motor runs good… the Drive line could use a few adjustments.. So I made the decision to forfeit the test drive and get right into the “taking things apart” job. Hey we had the motor out.. anyway..
Motor on the bench
With the frame removed from the Bazoo it will be easier to work on stuff like mounting the motor. So I went to work on removing the axles & seals … They hold the frame in. I was right about the center axle on the left side.. needs to be replaced / or machined. One out of six … not bad !
Axles & seals removed
All the chains had master links , and so once they are off and the set screws loose on the collars on each axle… they just slide out. Each of the outer seals has four bolts through to the frame rail inside.. The frame is loose now but I need help to lift it onto some saw horses. Then I will have two separate things to work on.. The fiberglass body.. and the frame with all the mechanical stuff. Oh I almost forgot the motor.. I can’t leave it looking like that.. It needs some love too.
Naked..Greasy Tub
Well the frame is out and on the saw horses. And that’s one greasy place where it came from. I also got a few of the external stuff removed like the muffler & the stupid mud flaps.. Just need to remove the plywood from the sides and the top and bottom will separate.
The frame & drive
It’s going to be easy to work on the drive up here on the saw horses.. way better than bending over the side of the Bazoo. I plan to remove the transmission and the chains. Then degrease the whole thing at work in the wash bay. Same thing with the bottom fiberglass tub. Lots of cleaning ahead of me here.. I need to think of a way to keep the chains lubricated without the mess. I believe there is a sticky chain lube that won’t get “flung” all over. We can do things better ! I ordered the paint I need for the fiberglass.. I use Interlux Brightsides polyurethane boat paint. I’ve used it before .. pricey but tough. Not wanting to get things mixed up..I used colored cable ties to mark the chains as to where each one goes.. there is nine chains. Same thing with the axles, want them back in the same place they came from.
Naked Frame
Here’s the frame stripped of the drive parts and ready for the bath. This weekend I hope to get the body split in two and washed.. as well as the other parts.. The workshop is going to be a bit crowded with so many parts..
Split !
Here we have the top & bottom in two pieces. Now I can clean them properly.
The gas tank..
Here’s the old gas tank .. looking at it from the underside. I see they had problems with a leak.. It’s been patched , but the outlet is not there.. I’m guessing the outlet fitting would leak and so the new tank was the easy solution.. I would like to fix this and use it again. So that would be one of the improvements.. I have some others that we’ll see about later..
Rub-A-Dub-Dub.. Scrubbing my Tub :
All clean and back in the shop…. Can you read what it says on the front ?
Sunday Feb 2 2014:It took a lot of scrubbing to get the greasy mess out of the bottom of the tub.. All clean now.. so I can see what’s going on .. Found two holes drilled in the bottom.
One of the holes in the bottom ?
It would never float for long with all the holes I had to fill today. Once it was warmed up in the shop I mixed up some resin and plugged those UN-needed holes. A lot of messy patching has been done over the 42 years.. so I’ll be trimming some extra lumps down.
Trailer Hitch
That’s quite the heavy duty hitch there ! I had to cut the ball off. Dave & I tried to wrench it off.. no way was it coming off. I’m deciding weather or not to remove the whole hitch .. and put it back on later.. I will keep it though. Ok I did remove it.. cleaning it up and it will get the satin black paint treatment. One thing missing .. is drain plugs. The holes were there.. but they’ve been fiber glassed over.. Need to deal with that.
Fixing the cornersThe rear corners
I’m taking the time to fiber glass the front corners to be like the rear ones… As seen in the photos.. This way I can wrap the edge guard completely around. I will be bonding the top & bottom when I’m done painting..
Could you read upside down ? Now you can
Funny what you find when you sand the spray paint off.. There’s three LIFE GUARD signs on the Bazoo… all painted over with BLUE ? paint.. on a orange Bazoo. ? WTF. Hmm what stories it could tell… Anyway all this body work is messy / dusty stuff.. so I want to get it done before I work on the frame and motor..
Re-Glassing the bottom
If you look at the photo back when I brought the clean tub back to the shop.. you will see that there is red primer all over the bottom.. And under a very messy layer of fiber glass was two metal plates. One is easy to see.. Presumably to protect the front of the bottom from damage. That would be OK.. but they are badly rusted.. and in a year or two would have dissolved into muck. On top of that they were leaking.. I found that out when I was washing the inside.. Mostly because not much of Buddies glassing job stuck ! I’m careful to sand & clean the surface before putting resin on.. Anyway they are removed and the holes filled and three coats of glass & resin go on the bottom. I have an idea for protecting the bottom from damage.
New corner
It’s been a lot of work to fix up the bottom tub.. But if you do all this taking apart… don’t put it back together with things wrong.. I DON’T want any leaks. Nor do I want damage from rocks & stuff. So here’s what I have dreamed up for protecting the front of the Bazoo..
A Bush Bar (rough drawing).. But you get the idea.
Yup.. I’m thinking this would serve best to protect the body of the Bazoo from unwanted bangs & scrapes.. I would make four strong attachment points while I’m glassing.. Build it out of square 3/4 ” tube. Attached to the bottom with metal skid plates… And …
Pull me out Scotty !
A Winch !
Just got this today.. For the Bazoo…
Once all the resin on the bottom is dry, I’ll do some more filling and then flip the tub back over and do a bit of reinforcing.. Got my supplies from the fiberglass shop.. including the Interlux paint. The bottom tub is all done ready for paint now. Time to start the top half.. not worried about leaks up there.. but I would like to have it cosmetically nice. Lots of work needed on the left front where Buddy fixed some damage.
Decal Time:
You can just make out the original decalNailed it !
It’s these little details that really make the restore. I’m having the decals made. Had to do this before I scraped it off..
Another weekend.. more time working on the Bazoo. It’s the top of the body that’s getting the love.
Repairing the corner
This corner was damaged … most likely from hitting something… HARD.. And it was patched the way the rest of the Bazoo was patched.. Lumpy & painted blue. fortunately I have a 8″ sander with 80 grit… makes short work of those lumps. A bit of filler and a rasp.. and you have a close to original look.. Earlier I reinforced the back side with mat & resin. Isn’t it funny …the grill in the front.. serves no purpose other than looks.. ? I suppose it was a cosmetic thing to have the Bazoo look like a truck ? I’ll leave it , I’ll paint it black.. but the first time water comes slashing through there it’s getting a solid piece put in.
Over all view.. with the darn LIFE GUARD sign.
That sign would not come off.. so I’ve sanded the crap out of it.. Should be good.. Lots of spider cracks to fill.. and of coarse about twenty holes. I flipped the top over and added extra mat & resin where things will be attached. And I did the same for the underside of the back lip. That’s a place where an electric out board could go.. Maybe..
Motor Cover
I’m continuing the body work stuff.. like I said I want to get the messy stuff out of the way and clean up after. Above you can see the motor cover is getting a few patches where there was holes.. and Buddy cut slots for the fuel line. Same for the front cover that goes under the seat.. With the body work finished., I cleaned the shop up.. Getting ready for PAINTING ! one of my favorite things to do..
Clean parts
I cleaned up the two interior parts … And mixed my paint.. 1 Quart Fire Red + 1 Quart Yellow. and the color was a pale orange.. most likely because yellow has a touch of white in it.. but after brushing some one.. I liked it.
Orange Creamsicle ?
It’s not a vivid orange for sure.. but it’s easy on the eyes.. Interlux does not have a ready mixed orange.. so this is what I get. This is a polyurethane paint with a hard glossy finish. I used a good brush on these small pieces , but a foam roller will be used on the other big stuff.
I’m slightly ahead of my time…
Laying pipe !For the wires
Actually I’m trying to think ahead.. By gluing these pieces of pipe in there I can keep the wires tucked up out of sight. The long one across the rear is for the tail light wires. Yes there will be tail lights .. Yes they will be LEDs . I can’t help myself.. just got to pimp my ride.
First Coat
Rolled the first coat of orange on the tub tonight.. It will have overnight to cure good, then it gets a sanding and second coat.. The plan here is after the bottom is all painted then I’ll glue the top on. Then I’ll paint the inside. Last will be the top.
This Post is getting long… So I’m creating a second page
My sister invited me to join her for a Quad Adventure.. hosted by the Nelson Club. what the heck this is something I’ve never done before.. Kathy had two good quads , I used the 2004 Polaris 500 AWD. She had a newer Artic Cat , so away we go.. To the Bombi Pass on Hwy 3 .. Lots of logging roads and trails. And our leader / straw boss got a bit lost..and none of us had GPS.. or even a compass. What ! Live and learn.
Lot’s of Quads that day I think a dozen or so
This map is of the Bombi Pass between Castlegar & Salmo on Hwy 3. I traced our path in Pink. You can see the Hwy bottom left. He wanted to go to the power line .. we were heading the totally wrong way. .But it was fun.. and for a bunch of beginners we got a work out.. some very steep rocky trails.. and some just plain old logging roads. In the end it was all good DUSTY fun.. We just had to reverse back along the way we came..Good thing I’m good with directions.. The Polaris & I got a long just fine.. Even better when I remembered to take the parking brake off. I’m amazed at where this things can go.. It was a hot day too.. Here we are found some shade to wait for the others to catch up. The Quad I was ridding is the one she sold to my friend Dave.. It’s great. The red Artic Cat that Kathy is on she has sold as well.. So now I’m fixing up one of my own.. See Post.. Let the adventures begin.
A (not mine) Sportsman 500… or what mine should look like.. IT WILL
Dec 9 2013: And I’m at it again !
In my search for something to work on / putz with in the shop.. This Quad popped up and got Dave & I’s attention.. Cheap ! Beat up , dirty, not running good… and left outside .. PERFECT for me.. And more so because these are one of the best quads out there.. Not too big ..not too small.. go anywhere.. I know cause Dave has a 2004 version of this quad and I rode it for a whole day. .SEE POST . But mine is missing a few things, like the rear rack. And some of the body parts are broken.. but I’m good at fixing that sort of thing. Needs a new muffler too.. and as I get involved there could be more things. For now it’s getting stripped down and cleaned.
My Quad.. The good side.
It’s Green !.. that’s ok Dave’s is Yellow! HA
I’m waiting for a warm day to do the cleaning.. or maybe take the quad to the shop at work.. Anyway what you see in these two photos above is me placing the body parts on for a photo shoot.. and another one from the net.. To show what it would be like in nice shape..The one I have came all in pieces. and one interesting thing was the carb wrapped in a bag and hanging by the throttle & choke cables… Was told that the quad would run but barely .. and would stall out.. thought to be carb issue. And that was correct ! And it wasn’t just the spider making a cozy home in there.. nope the first thing I found was the choke spring not in it’s proper place. See the following photo..
Found Spring here.. not the proper place. and it tore the rubber..
With a hole in the diaphragm the throttle would not open all the way.. So I’m thinking once I get a new one the quad will run fine..Or there could be more..won’t know till I get the parts and try starting the motor.. In the mean time a bath is needed.
Needs a Bath ! So do I..
Ya I know.. they are suppose to get dirty.. but wash it when you get back from getting it dirty ! For me it’s way easier to work on.. and this poor quad has not seen a grease gun or an oil can for a while.. So take note of the photo above.. cause it WILL look different after the bath. One other thing that is of concern is bent stuff.. this quad had a rough life.. and the owner had replaced the front suspension …so it’s good to look at the frame carefully. First thing I noticed was the bent down handlebar.. a common thing but I will fix that. You can see in this photo below..
See how they don’t line up with the back of the frame… I’ve mostly fixed it now
But which is bent ? Well it’s a little of both.. the bars are bent down on the right side, but there is also a slight “skew” to the right-top frame rail. not enough to be overly concerned about. If I’m able to pull it straight then great.. if not.. no worries.
Much cleaner ! and the way I like it !
Now it’s had the much needed bath. And under the dirt you always find stuff.. Missing screws, missing front disc brake. Hmm. I would have discovered that when I pulled the wheels off anyway. Just another part needed. Last night I took the pull starter off and cleaned it up.. wound the rope in a bit.. and put it back on.. one more thing fixed.
Used a mild acid to wash the aluminum transmission.
Today we tried in vane to pull on the upper frame.. just to tweak it a bit.. wouldn’t move.. So I’m thinking leave it alone. We also pulled the valve cover off to see if the cams are worn.. nope everything is fine.. I bought a motorcycle lift today and now the quad is up higher and easier to work on.. pulled the front wheels off and found … the right side had a brake disc.. but no pads left.. the left side is missing the disc but has wore out pads.. So there’s more stuff to buy. Then I moved on to the speedo cable .. and where it goes on the transmission. That part was seized.. so I took it apart and freed it up.. but I need a long square key to put it back on..
Sad looking front brakes 🙁 The hubs have no oil in them..
I’ve now ordered all the parts I need. and they are: new front brake pads, new front brake rotors, new carburetor diaphragm, new key for speedometer, new shifter switch. Then there is the stuff I will fix: the muffler, the plastic body parts, the speedometer, the rear rack. I have a few days before my Sister brings the parts. So I’m working on some of the small stuff.. I took the rusty but functioning starter solenoid off and cleaned it up and bench tested it for function.. Works fine, but I have a bare wire that will have to be covered.
Drive train brake
I was also working on the Rear/ Drive train brake. Unlike the front bakes this one is all there and working good.. So I just pulled the caliper off and cleaned / lubricated stuff and made sure there was enough brake pads left. Oh and today I ordered LED lights to replace all the bulbs except the high beam light.
Rather then flipping between the different things.. And now that my parts are on the way.. I’ll list the fixes.. Starting with:
The Speedometer:
My poor sad speedometer.. I’ve taken it apart a week or so back and left it for dead.. Basically it has not been working for a while. And upon investigation… it was the right angle drive off of the transmission that was seized. And that twisted and sheared the square 2 inch long drive key. It is supposed to do that but then you fix it 🙂
Right Angle Speedo Drive
This little baby with two 45 degree gears was the problem. Normally you would get a new one. NA I was so bold as to take it apart ( you can see where) and clean it and make it work . I may not have done the neatest job but It works again.. So once I get the new key (not able to fix that) then this goes back on the side of the transmission.
The cable is good. .. but the speedometer had a broken glass..
All apart
Letting mother nature into the speedometer is never a good thing. You can see what’s left of the glass.. I CAN FIX. So I took it all apart too.. (I have no fear with this stuff) I clean and lubed it up and it works fine now. I made a new lens from some lexan I have . And …
Almost Like New
I say “almost” because the black face is weathered. And it’s in miles ! what’s up with that ? Speaking of .. there is got to be more than the 2603 miles that shows in the ODO ., but I’m leaving that alone. Dave says set it to 0. I’ll just be happy to know how fast I can go before I get scared.
The Battery:
And the holder ..and the solenoid. I was contemplating removing or cutting the battery holder to fit the battery I have but I’m thinking it would be better to just buy the correct size battery.
All Cleaned up
I removed all the rust and gave it a paint job… new positive red wire too. Seams a little exposed for a hot lead.. I need a second rubber boot. I’ve still to go over all the electrical, but I have not found a problem yet other than the shifter switch and a few burnt out bulbs. Speaking of those.. one of the burnt out bulbs was the AWD light.. a tiny bulb , never seen anything like it.. So in my bag of tricks I found a blue LED tiny bulb that I soldered on to the old bulb holder.. and now the AWD lights up blue.. very cool.. I took the handlebar off and all the switches that mount on the bar.. and I’ve tested and cleaned all of them now.. The exception is the brake switch, I’ll need all the brakes installed to test that because there needs to be pressure on the brake lines. If that works there should be no electrical woes .. Hopefully.
The New Parts:
It’s Christmas.. and the parts arrived with my Sister.
Parts !
Not shown here is the shifter switch .. I was antsy to see if it would work.. It’s a new design. Seems ok.. it fits and should do the job.
Shift Switch
I’m a bit nervous putting the shifter back together. The service manual tells you to be careful because the switch needs to work ! but does not go in great detail. And this being an expensive part I do not want to damage it.. I can see now that it’s a more robust switch, it’s metal not plastic like the old one.. The shifter went back together without a hitch.. the switch works good too. Yessss.. Now I can finish the carb.. and work on the front hubs.. Today is Boxing Day.. I thought I would take the handle bar over to Peter’s shop and use a torch to take the slight bend out.. So I heated it up carefully and got it perfectly straight. I sanded the bar and gave it a new paint job. I also cleaned and polished the bar clamps and replaced the missing bolt. Done. When I was taking the grips off I noticed there were a bit ratty.. so some nice new ones … maybe heated would be good 🙂
Them’s The Brakes :
Now that I had all the parts I needed it was time to do the front wheel hubs and brakes. You need to pull the hubs off to replace the disc rotors. It’s a good thing to inspect the locking hubs for wear and broken parts.. Everything was in good order despite the fact that one hub hadn’t seen much oil for awhile. Your supposed to fill them 1/3 up with oil.. there was a bit in one side only. So they got some oil and put back together with new rotors.
New Brakes
So the brakes are like new.. and the brake light switch is working too.. There does not seem to be any air got into the lines. So them’s the brakes 🙂
Sunday Dec 29 th :
I thought I’d get a lot more done today.. but I ran into a snag or two. I did get the carb back in it’s proper place.. I now have the proper battery. And with those things I thought I’d be starting the motor.. But I wanted to have ALL the electrical in place and working..
Repairing the plastic
The other evening I got the handle bars all fixed and painted .. installed with new grips. So today I figured I better get the pod back together.. witch meant fixing the broken mounting holes.. I used new metal to reinforce the plastic . Worked great. Even did a bit of plastic welding with the soldering iron.
The pod
I placed the top here so I could check out the lights . See the little red light in the middle. That’s my new brake light. It will tell you when ever you use the brakes.. but the idea is for you not to drive with the parking brake on… Something I did and not proud of. Will it be annoying.. ? I’m not sure yet. Anyway I got to testing all things electric.. and found that the starter would not work.. Wow whoda thunk.. I seriously could not get it to turn over. 🙁
The BAD Starter
So out it came.. not to hard .. two bolts. When I did get the shaft to turn it make some BAAAD noises. I printed the instructions for taking it apart, and got to it..
Yuukky
Boy was it dirty, no lube , and one of the brushes was welded to the armature.. None of which was good, but explains why it was a no-go. So Clean-Clean.. lube-lube and back together. And it works. Yay.. :)…. Until I put it back into the motor.. it cranked the motor over about six times and click.. nothing. Took it back out and apart.. The brushes are too short.. or wore out too much.. need new ones if I’m going to have electric start. So I’ll move along to something else:
Bonus !
Dave Had a motor brush that worked ! With a little modification and some solder I repaired the brush.. and the starter now works great.. all the time every time..
Old Brush (left) New (right)
You can see the difference in length in the photo above.
The pod (dash)
I also got the pod all together and as you can see all the lights work, red speedo light , and the bright red one is the brake light.. coming along nicely. 🙂
High Beam Light
The high beam light got a new H4 bulb, and a polish to take the yellow and scratches away. It’s mounted properly now and you can adjust the angle.. It always should be that way..
Where are we at :
How the Quad looks today
Time to take stock: I’ve yet to start and run / test the motor.. But as of tonight I could, it’s mechanically all together, but there is no muffler yet. Here’s what I do know.. The starter and all electrical is working. The brakes are excellent. The wheels go round & round.. Ok that’s silly. Maybe it’s easier to say what I know needs work. The left hub did not engage when I tested the AWD .. That side had a bent disc that I straightened, it’s also got a bad rear oil seal.. so that’s work to do. Strangely the tail light won’t work ?? it worked before ? not a big deal but it bugs me. The Unknown: How well does the motor run ? Does the belt drive do it’s thing ? Does the charging system work ? Will the wheels fall off.. That’s silly again. Seriously though I’ve done a lot of hours of work.. and spent some cash here .. so crossing my fingers.
We have a running motor !
Took most of the day to fart around with checking for fuel..and trying to mickey rig a muffler.. but it started and it ran good enough for a boot down the street and back.. but the muffler is to restrictive and the motor runs like crap with that. The good news is it RUNS, The Drive line works good too.. and things like the fuel pump are working good.. But I need a proper muffler.
Welding Plastic 101 :
Well I’ve heard of it being done.. but never tried it till today.. I have a flat tip for the soldering gun.. that’s just the ticket.
Flat hot tip
One of the foot rests for the quad was broken right in half. not anymore !
repaired !
Here’s the step by step.. of repairing the other foot rest.. it to had pieces broken right off.
That’s Broken !
Oh ya try too glue that and not have it break again.. I’ve done that with little success. This is a piece where two parts bolt together.. needs to be strong.
Melting the plastic together.
With the hot blade on the gun I melted the plastic just enough to bond. From both sides. And I added more scrap plastic where I needed to fill a hole.. It was important to clean with a wire brush where you are welding.
TA DA !
After you sand the weld down it only shows a bit.. Sweet ! and you can feel how strong it is right away.. Buy new plastic for the quad…. are you crazy ! Why.
Exhaust & Muffler :
Breath in … Breath out. Instead of spending hours TRYING to build my own muffler I found an “off the shelf” one at Lordco that is perfect.. and cheap.
new muffler
This seams to be working fine.. the mounts are a bit of a compromise, but I’m thinking the muffler will do the job at a fraction of the cost of the Polaris one. Once we get the motor running better we’ll see.
Dave’s coming over and we are going to check the gap on the valve cams.. Very important that they work good. But what I found today while removing the fuel tank .. may be the problem with the motor performance, or a good part of it.. I noticed that when I pulled the fuel line off the shut off valve .. I saw the fuel just dribbling out of the fuel line.. even though there was lots in the tank. So I replaced the two fuel lines coming from the fuel tank.. better flow.. While setting the valve clearance the starter calved again.. I’m buying a new jobber one it’s not expensive.. so why fart around with the old one. Also seemed the carb was not working good .. pulled it off and apart to check the float setting and found the jet seat loose in the float bowl.. All these fixes should mean a running motor when I get the new starter.. So no more work on quad till new starter comes.
Wee Haa !
Yup Got the starter installed and Dave & I fired up the Quad … runs great, idles nice .. so we put the air box back together and the seat on and went for a boot… Even better with all the stuff properly together.. Much quieter .. Gobs of power… and go.. Speedo works ! It was dark so I did not video that.. maybe on the weekend. A few tweaks are still needed.. and the left hub needs it’s parts to function properly.. will get this stuff done on the weekend. So I also need to build a new rear rack and put the body back on. Oh and the problem with the tail light was a bad bulb.. Ha.
More Tweaking:
I got the parts to fix the Left hub.. and after getting that done Dave was anxious to test that the 4×4 was working.. The Polaris fired up without choke in seconds.. It’s running great. So here’s the Video..
Short little clip, but shows the 4×4 working in the snow. I’ve got all the front body and rack on today..
Getting it together !
after the bit of fun… I went cruising all over the back yard. We set to work on a rear rack..
New rack
This is what we came up with.. it’s only to mount the box that I have for the rear..
The Box !
This box will be at home on the back of the quad.. It’s roomy , weather proof.. and will hold plenty of stuff. I decided to work into the evening.. and see what I could finish.
Almost !
I put the rack on , and all the body panels. Need to mount the box, and I’m still waiting for the LED lights to come..
99%
If the LED’s ever show up and go in we are done.. Up for sale now.. we’ll see what happens.
Lots of action on the sale.. someone came and took it for a ride.. really liked it. Others want to trade everything and anything for the quad.. Guys like quads ! ??
I’m not going to count the parts machine as a Scooter.. it’s just a bunch of parts…. which will be very handy for getting this new one on the road again. So this I will call the second scooter, and it came to me NOT running.. BUT this is a complete Scooter, with registration..and with a few extra goodies . Another front fairing with a windscreen, and a nice lockable trunk box for the back. And upon a closer look .. almost perfect body parts.. I say “almost” cause it’s missing just a few trim pieces, and I found two small cracks.
And why was it not running ?
This is what I found… A 12 volt battery was installed in the trunk ? not the proper place.. not the proper battery. The Scoot has a 6 volt system and fortunately the 12 volt battery did no harm except to have possibly burnt out the start light.. So with the proper battery it turned over nicely ( but won’t start) and there is lots of spark. Electrical stuff ruled out..
So I moved my attention to the fuel stuff.. the carburetor. I suspected this first, but it’s easy to check the spark and rule that out. After I removed all three covers and poked around a bit to see that the hoses are all hooked up proper ( I have studied the hose routing carefully) Yup it’s all there.. dirty but it’s all there. So I pulled the fuel line off to see if the petcock is working.. yup there is lots of fuel to the carb. So a dirty / plugged carb is most likely the problem. But that’s no problem for me.. ..The other day I rebuilt / cleaned the carb from the parts scooter.. and so I simply swapped the carbs. And that did it ! fired right up.. ran great. So I put more air in the tires and off down the road I went.. It’s raining so just a short trip.. plenty of power too. WE HAVE A WINNER !
When I got back to the shop I tried all the lights and the horn.. they work fine.. It looks like the speedo and fuel gauge are working good too..
So I need a plan..
And here’s what I would like to do.. New tires, New drive belt, New battery, New flasher relay, New paint…new Color ! and of coarse all this means a tear down and cleaning. The complete “ROB” treatment.. I love this stuff.. now that I know it runs I want to get at it.. I have lots of spare parts to choose the best ones from.. I have a near perfect seat.. new looking brake shoes, good cables. So away we go…..
The Rebuild…
What can I say.. I’m a cleaning nut.. So I’m stripping down the scooter.. and tomorrow I’ll take the greasy parts to the solvent tank. The body parts will get a bath with “Superclean” degreaser. Same way I cleaned the red CV80.
What’s left on the scoot will get a Degreaser bath as a whole.. before I remove the motor & drive. I’ve removed the Gas & oil tanks , carb (it’s already clean) , muffler and cooling shrouds from the motor, air box and the electrical stuff from the rear… This evening I cleaned the dash gauges and replaced the burnt out bulb, tested the others. I cleaned the front flashers , and while I was in a cleaning mode I cleaned the carb that wasn’t working.. Found the float to be way out of adjustment. So it should still be good and used again.
Stuff I’ve found so far: The front brake cable is seized.. I have a good one. The carb was in need of a bath & adjustment. Done.
For reasons unknown I could not log into my Blog and keep current… all is good now. so I’ll catch up … cause I got a lot done.
As I said I’ve been busy taking every part and cleaning them.. in the case of these switches ..improving them.. cleaning the contacts and applying my electrical grease.
Here’saphoto of the pile of parts & pieces that I’ve cleaned and made ready for re-assembly. I ‘ve done painting all the pieces that are black .. I use a satin black paint that is for bumper’s & trim.. great product.
This is the fork after it’s rebuild. Carefully greased and repainted.
Well “Bahama” blue to be more precise.. I told you I would change the color ! No more white. This color looks great with the satin black.
Shinny… Yes.. I love what the clear coat does for a paint job.. As soon as the parts are completely cured.. it’s time for putting things back together. But not until we do a little extra with some pin striping..
Check out the side panels ..and the decals I made.. plus black pin stripes… Looks “factory”
It arrived in the mail !
I’ve got the highly coveted European “Hercules” tail light. Read more about this in the Red CV80’s Blog. They never came with North American CV 80’s. now I can shave those ugly lights off of the rear rack. You can see in the photo the white piece that would be used instead. Total Upgrade !
I had a problem with the paint on the fender.. my bad .. I tried to add satin black to the bottom.. and in the process ruined that paint.. So I had to sand off the bad and repaint the fender.. here it is all fixed up with the clear on.. nice ! Next step pin stripes.. Really close to putting things back together..
I’ve got the front all together now.. minus the wheel.. need new tires first. Note: the front brake cable is no longer hanging on the outside of the fairing. Check the photo at the top of the post !
The “BELUGA” is now gold as per theme.. used to be chrome. I sure hate those “after thought” turn lights.. they are a sloppy fit. To get the flush ones like they had in Japan would be awesome.. but they are hard to come by. Robeye Restore.. you bet. I want to sticker my best work.
Sunday Nov. 24, 2013
Today I got quite a bit done.. It really isn’t hard to put things back together when it was only a week or so that you took it apart. And I’ve done this before..
As you can see most of it is done.. I just put the sides on for the photo.. I’ve got to solve the problem of missing edge pieces for the front fairing.. Then I can put the front all together.. I tested the electrical all out and seams fine.
Need the rack on to make it more complete.
This scooter in looking “spiffy” The blue and the satin black look so nice together. The turn lights work way better with the new electronic relay. May still spring for those LED lights ! I got some black door edge trim from the auto parts store and it works great to replace the missing trim on the front.
The blue scoot is all together now .. runs good.. so I ran the fuel out of the carb.. and moved it to the basement for safe storage till spring. Only one thing that seamed not working good was the fuel gauge..(stuck on full) so I’ll check that out in the spring. Most likely a simple fix… I plan on using the blue scooter next year..
Any updates to this posting will be on my new BLOG… HERE
And You will find out why at first I turned down the offer to buy two of them. They don’t rate well compared to other Scoots. But this time the guy who had them just wanted them gone.. and so I paid him for the tires, battery & other parts and took them home. They are twins .. One has registration and the other is an ICBC write- off. Most of the body plastic is either gone or broken, but it runs. In other words a good parts machine.
The one closest in the photo is the good one.. hard to tell cause they are both in pieces. The wiring harness in the good one was bad so he was in the process of changing it.. But before I tackle that …it’s bath time ! So I removed the rack, seat, gas tank , oil tank and the air box. That way I can clean better.
So here it is all stripped down and clean. I wanted to get at some of the workings.. especially the vacuum lines that work the cold start. The more I put back together the harder it is to access stuff..
One thing that I noticed ..is that the rear body piece of the scooter could have been a cool looking tail light. They used the same mold but molded with white plastic. In Europe it’s a tail light. We have rules for how wide apart the turn lights have to be. So Yamaha used the conventional North American set up. Which does look nostalgic.. good for a 1982 scoot.
Everything is all back together..for now.. I’m still waiting for a battery so I can start it up. I only have to glue one piece of the body , the rest is in great shape. In fact it’s still shiny as you can see. I polished up the rear rack and painted the licence holder.. looks like new..
Yeah ! Got the battery and put some gas in the tank ..and oil in the oil tank.. and she fired right up .. runs great. No adjustments needed.. so I took off down the street.. Plenty of get up and go for my liking.. Weeeeee I forgot how fun they are.. So I put all the rest of the body panels on.. 100% like new.. EXCEPT the turn signals would not flash.. Hmm I’ll try them with the motor running. And I’ll take some good photos too.
Here are those good photos:
Hey I did a good job of erasing 31 years… It helps when something is well made.. The only rust I found was under the rubber floor mat.. and that came right off. Winter is fast approaching so I think I’ll cover and store this Scoot till next spring. But I will be tinkering with the parts machine.
The Parts Scooter:
Well aside from some missing parts.. there is some “hard to repair” damage to the parts Scoot… SOOO it’s never going on the road again. I’m taking it all apart. That will allow me to check which bits are good and which are worn out. I also got to have a good look at the carb. It’s missing the throttle valve, but the rest is in good shape. I’m understanding how things work now.. I’ve read a E-book by a CV 80 enthusiast on rebuilding one… full of very good info and tips on how to keep it alive. Plus He delved into the history of the CV80. I’m also learning how to take the whole scoot apart and put things back together. I have a better wiring diagram that came from the E-book author. That and my service manual are giving me a good understanding of the electrical system. Now with all this vast knowledge I’m thinking about buying yet another CV80 and doing a complete rebuild this winter.. There is one for sale in Kamloops that I’m looking at. (photo below)
This one is white. Started a new post for working on this oneHERE. Owner says he used it lots.. has 5500 kms on it and now has starting issues. I now know where to look to fix those. Also you may notice the front fairing and windscreen. I have one as well.. came in the box of parts.
Also I’ve ordered a new flasher, and bought a European tail light. I’m looking into LED lights as well.
The parts scoot is proving to be very useful.. both as a teaching tool and as a source for good parts for the new scoot on the block.. I’ll get back to the Red scooter in the spring.. For now I moved it to the storage in the basement.
Work on the white scooter is coming along so nicely ..and I’m very fond of the new color .. I decided that I will keep the white (now blue) one and sell this one..
SOLD the red scooter... here’s a photo of the two before the red one went off to it’s new home.
So now the blue scooter is all finished and moved to the basement for safe & clean storage.
Finally the tractor of my dreams.. ! And there was a used one for sale that I could afford. These are the best of the best sub-compact tractors. Diesel, 4×4 , fully automatic, power steering… power everything. If there was something negative you could say it would be the limits of being small.. it will NOT pull your house off it’s foundation… but that’s the price of fitting through a 4 foot gate. Most of these come with the front end loader and a baby back hoe.. but the one I bought has the loader and a 54 inch mower deck , a vacuum bagger system and a 5 foot snow blade.. As an added bonus I got an extra set of tires & wheels Plus the three point hitch pieces so I could hook up other tractor stuff.
Here’s a photo taken half way home from Vernon.. The spare rear tires are liquid filled and are heavy ! so I used the loader.. and I held down the snow blade with that weight too. HA. I can see that loader being handy for moving stuff.. In fact that snow blade was heavy.. so I put a chain on it and used the loader to move it to the Franknport.
When I got home the grass needed to be cut.. so without hesitation I flew at it.. I filled those three bags up four times.. that’s a big pile of grass ! The blower has big pipes and is driven from the rear PTO..so it “sucks” and won’t plug up. It’s much quieter than I thought it would be.. so was the deck.. I just needed to adjust the deck a bit for level.. and sharpen the blades..to get the cut perfect..and I’m thinking that I will remove the bagger for now and use it more in the spring and fall for yard clean-up. Also the loader comes off in minuets. Then I’ve got the best mower ever !
This is also going to be one handy machine this winter.. I’ll change to the calcium filled lug rear tires and the 5 foot snow blade will make short work of any snow that may fall here.
Look at how new the blade is.. I doubt it was ever used.. I’ll change that.. A few small bit & pieces are missing but nothing that can’t be found, just pins & stuff.
There is great visibility from the seat, and a ton of room for your feet too.. Hands down the most comfortable tractor I’ve ever tried.
I’ve now removed the blower, and I took the deck off.. (easy) and clean it good and sharpened the blades. Also tweaked the level adjustments and now I have a perfect cut.. Wow is it ever nice to mow the lawn. I’m getting the 3 point hitch on too and making a 2 inch receiver for trailer hitches..
The front end loader comes on and off in seconds.. so no need to pack it around.
Cool how the loader has it’s own stand and you can just drive into it and hook up the 4 hoses and two pins and your away. I’m getting faster at it. Once the mount for the snow blade is on the front of the BX you can just drive into the blade and it locks in.. so cool ! I’m looking forward to some snow ! Just Kidding !
I got it made.. and it’s very useful indeed. Now I can move the trailers around (by my self) without the truck. I can see the ball to line up.. and then the tractor lifts it up so no cranking.. I moved the travel trailer too ! But I shouldn’t really do that heavy a trailer.. It exceeds the trailer limit of 2000 lbs.
Pretty cool EH.. Plus since it’s a 2″ receiver I can plug other stuff in.
Several Weeks of fun with the BX 1850:
Well there is some work too.. Love the things this little tractor can do.. I take the loader off when it’s time to cut the grass.. And back on for work stuff like moving the garden shed. Picked up one side and put some rollers under it and pulled with the BX. Also moving the trailers around with the BX so I’m not driving my truck on the lawn. Digging some holes ..filling some holes.. I had to drain the liquid from the lug tires because it was rotting the tubes.. so I had the tire shop remount them tubeless. And I’ve ordered the lug tires for the front too.. So this winter I’ll run on all four lug tires.
Here’s the 4 ft box blade /scraper .. probably the only attachment I’ll be buying for a while.. after a lot of thought this is the most useful attachment I could think of. It’s good weight for the back at 300 lbs .. and it’s a grader / leveler.. and if you lower the teeth it will till the ground like a plow. a great tool for driveways and plowing snow..
Above is a new photo ..moving firewood from out back.. but it shows the new tires I have for the BX .. they are called bar tread tires standard from the factory.. All summer I ran on the turf tires that were on the tractor when I got it. They are great for cutting grass..but not so good for digging.
Got the Kubota all ready for plowing snow now.. Bought an extra cylinder for the angling the blade and now I have full control of the blade ..
Had to fix the headlight switch.. and install the angle cylinder .. then it was back to the franknport for the winter.. in the mean time the cat thought it was a great thing to guard.. Those temple cat’s ! geez.. This winter while it was cold and I was plowing the snow .. the plastic rear fender got cracked , and one tail light too.. The fender is actually made from a cast resin.. quite thick.. but the cold makes it brittle. And so in the spring it needs fixing..
Spring 2014:
Time for the yard work and raking the yards.. Done… and I piled up the compost.. mixed in the old chips & grass/ leafs.. Then it was time for some tractor love.. and fix the broken fender.. I used polyester resin & mat to repair and reinforce the cracks.. Then I added 3m gravel guard to the rear corners.. and changed the tail lights to LEDs .. Also moved the turn lights up higher on the roll bar.. better seen from there.
ImprovementsNice !
It’s now six years old and has 780 hrs on the meter.. I’ve put 45 hrs on the tractor since bringing it home last July.
It wasn’t far.. just 55 kms from home. But the purpose was to test out the trailer in the real world and see what we liked and needed to change.
Midway Community Campground :
That is where we went .. with our friends along with their trailer too.. We’ve been thinking of trying out the small riverfront campground for a while.. and this was the perfect time.. $20 a night with 15 amp power ! good deal. AND you are backed up to the river.. NICE. It’s quiet.. like the rest of Midway. Anyway it was all about testing the trailer out.. And we love it.. Everything worked as it should.. we have more cupboards then we need.. and we had to keep turning the temp down on the fridge so stuff wouldn’t freeze. The trailer towed sooo nice on the highway. It’s a keeper.. We love the bed.. love the kitchen..
In fact it’s so good that we want to use it more.. we want to come back to this campground just for the weekends a few times. It’s very relaxing.. and only a 40 minuet drive. We also want to check out some other places that are within a hours drive.. More camping…
Here I go .. but not so crazy this time.. at least I think so.. As you may know.. I had a very good offer on the GMC motor home and we realized the lack of use it would get so ..take the offer.. and off the GMC went. No RV but a whack of money in the bank…Good Suited me fine, if the guys at work bought one I could borrow it.. But nether of them were really keen on that.. Oh well.. But I was always scanning the ads for ..well everything.. even RV’s and I saw this trailer for sale ..Christina Lake… hmm close enough to have a look.. Dave & I did just that.. And to my surprise it was the best trailer I could have ever hoped for.. So I threw out a low offer and they accepted ! Wow.. What a deal.. This is a 1990 Jayco J-Series 2450. With the best floor plan I’ve seen.. better than what I saw at the RV show last fall…and those were new ones.. For 23 years old it’s as sturdy as the day it left the factory.. No signs of ever leaking.. and we know were to look.. Completely original inside & out.. No damage at all.. So home it came..
We used Dave’s Avy because I don’t have a brake controller yet. We did have to stop at the bottom of Fife Road hill just to make sure the bearings were ok and give the tail light bulbs a twist to get the connection better.. This trailer has not been towed for a few years.. but used as a extra home.. I was worried about the tires making the short trip.. They are rough.. and the spare is used on one side. But it all went ok .. in fact even without a proper equalizer hitch it towed great.. Wow very positive.. I believe this to be a good size trailer for our Avalanche’s to handle without worries.
Now it’s home have a good look test some things out .. make a list….
It’s not without issues… mostly outside.. that is where the weather has worked it’s magic over the years. The obvious things are:
The Tires: Bad enough that four new ones have been bought and the spare will return to it’s holder on the back..with a new cover. This gives piece of mind when traveling.. most likely the last tires I’ll buy..
The Awning: We could see cracks in the fabric.. and sure-nuf it’s dirty, wet and there is wasp nests up there..and they damaged one part.. you can see in the photo. too bad because it’s a nice one..or was. it’s a 14ft one..the plan is too install the 18 ft one from Dave’s old Award trailer.. it’s still good and that will give us one that covers the whole lenth of the trailer..
The Fridge Vent Cover: It was toast ! Cracked and on the verge of being a leak.. We’ve replaced it with the one from the Award.
Note Here.. that we are wrecking out Dave’s old Award trailer.. it has already donated parts and pieces to other’s including the fridge that went into the GMC.. Going to be handy for a few more goodies..
The 30 amp connection box door: It’s cracked and won’t close anymore.. See above photo.. I’ll have to buy a new one.
The Range Hood Vent: It was / is missing the flap that keeps the critters out.. The Award had a good one..
The Bathroom Door Latch: The only thing (for now) in need of replacing inside.. The Award has a good one..
The Not Bad Stuff !
The pump and the water tank are under the bed and accessed by this door on the rear of the trailer.. Handy for repairs and winterizing ! Just remember to turn it off at night ! Check out the carpet color.. yup same as our Award trailer.. Dusty Rose.
This is the most desirable feature of the trailer.. a walk-around bed.. no more crawling over each other.. There’s a 60″ wide mattress there now but a bigger one will fit.. Opening windows on three sides ..Sooo good cause we like fresh air.. And I’d like to point out that those windows are my favorite louvered ones.. when they are open the rain can’t come in.. Why don’t they still use them ??
A kitchen with everything you’d expect. Double sink, 4 burner stove with oven, two door fridge.. lots of storage, and the all important counter space for the coffee maker. all the upholstery and window dressings is in perfect condition. Every light works ! And yes the clock too.. One of the first things we did was to plug the power in.. The A/C works great.. The fridge got cold ! The info panel works ! A quick clean and we are moving in..
Ahh the Bathroom.. There’s a tub /shower that I could actually use ! And you can brush your teeth and crap with the door closed ! It’s a bit bigger than what we had in the Award. It will work just fine.
Now We need to test the plumbing:
NO leaks ! I put some water in the tank and the pump fired up and flushed the left over anti-freeze out of the lines… But the pump would not shut down after the pressure was up.. We put our pressure gauge tester on the pump and it would go to the 32 psi like it should.. so Dave lubed the sensor up and adjusted it and boom worked as it should.. So then I hooked up the city water and that was good too.. NO Leaks ! Not even the faucets.. WE HAVE WATER..
Let’s Check the Propane !
The trailer came with two 20 lb tanks.. they don’t look old but one is out dated .As well one was empty the other feels like it was half full. It’s a simple and typical trailer system.. The stove lit up perfectly and the furnace fired up and the heat was coming out.. no problems .. The hot water tank was a little more work though.. The main burner worked but the pilot would not light.. Due to some critter making a home in there .. the air hose evicted the little guy.. Now the heater works perfectly.. So all is good with the propane.. will need at least one new tank though.
The Shopping trip !
During our trip to Calgary and Edmonton I stopped at several RV parts stores and bought all the necessary bits & pieces. Including: two Max Air vent covers.(we like to leave the roof vents open). Spare Tire cover. ( cause I’m a neat freak). New sewer hose & fittings. New Electrical cord door. New Water tank fill door. (old one looks gross). New Tail Lights.. ( just like old ones but not broken) . Some RV caulking / sealant.. And a few other bits.
Time To get Started :
The first thing I got done was to change out the tail lights. Easy when you use the same but newer..I then sealed them with the new stuff. Next I need to get up on the roof and clean up the old sealant.. But it started to rain. So… I’ll talk about some of the things I plan to do..
Cleaning the Exterior :
So in these two photos you can see what Mother Nature has done to the caulking.. Yup things are growing.. in the top photo I went to town on a part.. a little too much.. started to remove the paint Yikes ! I’ll have to be more careful. But it’s how this trailer will be after a good bath..Then I’ll use the new clear sealant and cleaning will be easier. But first I’ll need to fix up the roof..
The Batteries :
The way they had it was with the extra battery in under the dinette seat.. I’m not fond of having batteries inside.. The battery tray you see in the photo will only hold one battery.. So the plan here is to remove the rear cross piece and weld four of them back to the trailer frame so the two can sit side by side.. That works better. These are large batteries which makes camping without plug-in power for a week possible. Of the two batteries that came with the trailer .. only one was good..
The Bath :
The weather kinda turned for the worst here.. So I decided to use the shop at work to do the roof and the cleaning.. so tonight I towed the Jayco over there and gave it a bath.. I used degreaser on the harsh spots.. Rust jelly on the rust.. and the whole trailer got a wash with “Super Clean” my favorite RV cleaner.. It is of coarse diluted half & half.. Brings the shine back to the siding..
Fixin.. the Roof:
Well I got the whole roof all re-caulked.. The sun had curled some of the roof coating.. See photo below..
Although it had not leaked yet it would if left this way.. I also got to reattach the fridge vent cover.. in a better way.. While I was working on the roof Maureen was inside giving the Jayco a wipe down and vacuum.
Some New Parts :
While in the shop I replaced the power cord door and the stove hood vent.
Now doesn’t that look better.. works better too..
Also while in the shop I did a very thorough cleaning of the windows.. The louvered windows are great but they are tricky to clean and the opening mechanism needs some lube now and then.. Then I brought it back home..
In this photo that brown spare is still on the rear of the trailer.. The proper white spoke is back now and I’ve since painted the spare RV white…
Cleaning The Awning:
The Norseman Awning has some good features.. So maybe thinking of keeping it.. I’ll see if it can be repaired. So I gave the awning a MUCH needed bath.. Looks way better but those tears bug me.. Mostly (We Hope) the awning is needed for shade not rain.. So I’m thinking just use it this year.
Wheels & Brakes:
Finally got the trailer over to Peter’s to change over the tires and do the service on the bearings and brakes. Everything looked in good order.. except the wiring connection to the brakes on the rear wheels was corroded, and needed to be repaired. No wonder it seemed like there were no brakes…only half were working. We installed new grease seals and repacked the bearings. And of coarse mounted the four new tires. The spare was still good and two of the old tires are worth keeping.
Fixing The small Things:
There were a few things that needed fixing inside.. The fridge light (fixed) , The bed room door was of it’s track (fixed) I installed a new (closable) heat vent in the kitchen.. they had taped a piece of cardboard over it !
I have also changed out three of the lights for LED ones that I had. Just the ones we think would get left on to see in the dark.. The hall light, and the two over the head of the bed. I have more should we decide they are better. They certainly use less power when your running on battery alone.
The messes are done.. including cleaning the two roof vents.. and they now have the covers installed on them so they can be left open. Time to move in.. Now that all these things are in good order.. the Jayco looks much newer that it is. It truly does not seem like a 23 year old trailer. It’s clean and everything works as it should.
I’m just putting the finishing touches on some of the exterior now.. Painted the hot water & furnace covers, they were grey and looked out of place.. they are now RV white and look like they belong..
I’ve also welded the spare tire carrier to the bumper.. it was clamped and had a mechanism for folding it down ?? I could maybe see the need for that if it was in front of the access door but it’s not…so it’s much stronger now.. And the bumper got a new Brown paint job. This was the factory color for the frame. I also repainted the step and I’m in the process of painting the Hitch end too.
I’ve now finished the trays for the two batteries. And everything got a new coat of brown paint.. Just need to put things back and we are done.. Time for a “Shake Down” run..
The Jayco spent some time in the Franknport but mostly it’s been in the driveway and being used as a spare room.. It’s been hot and when we used the AC it worked great. And I’ve been running the fridge for weeks now and that’s working great too.. We are looking forward to spending the first week in August in the Jayco.. That will be it’s second trip.
2015 Many Trips:
in the Jayco now.. three years to the family camp.. Now has new awing Fabric installed on the frame. We got a foam topper on the bed so it’s a bit more comfy… This spring while testing things after winter storage.. the fridge decided to give up it’s duties. A newer one was found and we are good, everything works as it should..
Sadly though a Fifth wheel 31 ft Challenger has come to live with us.. and it’s time to move up. bigger newer and Deluxe! So the fate of the Jayco is unknown for now.
This is the new post for the restoration of the Performer.. And this is page 1 dedicated to the work done in 2013. Page 2 is for work in 2014 I decided to start this new post and the pages cause I thought the old post would grow too big.. A fresh start..and..so I had been determined to complete the boat by the summer of 2013.. but that did not happen.. But look at what I did get done..
She’s a good looking boat ! And I’m naming her after our much loved and sadly departed Kitty “Bessy” We had Bess in the family for a long time… Boats should have names and this seems fitting.
Today I made some support blocks up and dropped the boat onto them.. It’s easier to work on the boat when it’s low and not tipsy. This weekend I’ll set up the garage over her.. and put some lighting in there.
Look I can just step over the stern to access the boat..cool. When I went to Kelowna to get the garage I also picked up some fiberglass supplies ..including white Gel-coat for the hull. I’m getting a price on solid teak hardwood flooring too. And I decided to completely strip the boat’s inside down to the fiberglass. Yes that means new cabin walls and rebuilding the berths too. There’s just too many holes in stuff.. And the rear bulkhead for the motor well will be raised higher and moved back a bit for more room.
Just once more I thought I’d show the plans for the boat.. I haven’t changed anything except give myself a bit more room at the stern..
This photo is my inspiration for the color scheme I like.. it’s a 50’s car color and the boat is also 50’s so it just works for me. It’s going to look great with the teak interior too. We’ll see if this all comes together.
You can see in this photo that the floor under the cabin is in bad shape.. at least the part you can see.. The 1/2″ ply bulkhead walls are in good condition.. But they need to be firmly attached to the floor.. so maybe instead of removing them I’ll cut them up an inch or so and then add a piece back on the bottom after the floor is in.
The roof of the cabin will get some Finnish as well. To make it look nice and to hide some wires. The wood beams are in perfect condition so I will probably just paint them..
Day 1
Got the garage up today.. so the boat is safe & dry. Dave & I removed all the windows ,fittings… and stuff from the boat.
I Bought my own oscillating multi tool today and gave it a try.. going to make short work out of removing all the wood. It flush cuts very nice.
The plan is to clean out most of the interior of it’s wood parts. Then rebuild the stringers , ribs and the floor. Also replace the rear bulkhead and some of the transom. Everything will be glued and fiber glassed into place. This puts the strength back into the boat. Then I plan to roll the boat 45 degrees to one side and re-gel-coat that side of the bottom.. Then do the other side. After that the top of the boat will get its fresh blue paint. And then it’s time to start putting things back together.. and finishing the interior.. Wow all before July.
I Had Help for the day… it takes two to undo the bolts holding things on. Now it’s stripped down.
Here’s the pile of parts. They will need cleaning up..
In two days I’ve got a lot done.. All the floor right to the front is gone.. I’m not touching that chamber in the bow.. there’s no floor there, there’s no ribs or stringers .. The bow doesn’t need support. You can see I cut the cabin walls about a half an inch above the floor. There’s no rot on them.. but there was lots under the floor in the cabin.. bad ! All that’s left is to grind it all flat. And I need to remove the inside layer of the transom..
Today I scrubbed in inside of the boat.. You can see a stick I’ll use to locate the floor level. I also cut out a new transom piece from 3/4 ply.
Here you can see one of the many ribs I removed .. not much left.. and just bands of fiberglass holding them down.. I’ll do better..
Here’s the new 3/4 inch inner transom.. Glued..screwed.. and clamped. This has hopefully taken the bow out of the transom too. I don’t want to remove the clamps for 24 hrs. I’m using Polyester construction sub floor adhesive.. Waterproof and strong.. I’m gluing the four stringers into place with it as well.. using big concrete blocks for weight.
So far so good.. The glue is holding good. The resin and mat with be the real strength in the end. The bottom of the boat takes a real beating with the water & waves. So the only thing that is strong enough will be multiple layers of fiberglass. Here it’s all in.. ready for the mat & resin.. Using foam to fill gaps. Today I got the resin & mat out and was determined to get that part done.. 4 Litres of resin and a lot of mat. Got it done.. after it’s all cured I’ll put a 1×4 down the middle for the floor to join on.. I’ll need to get the 1/2 ” ply for the floor..
The floor is now in and very solid. It turned out good.. I used lots of PL Premium glue and coated deck screws. Today I glassed in the outer edges to the hull. I’m also taking the time to plan the cabinets and seats.. and so I’ve made a few adjustments to some measurements on the plans. Nothing to much just a tweak here and there..
Nice place for the tank & battery box. The aluminum tank is 18 gallons.. lots for a long day. We tested the fuel gauge too. Works great. Next is the inner wall for the motor well.
My Friend Dave had a great Idea ! Two braces are better than one .. So I made these up and fit them so the fuel tank fits nicely in there.. Glassed them in and now a much stronger transom.. I like. And before I install the motor well wall I’m going to rebuild the berths & lockers in the cabin. Much easier when you can just step over the stern.
But Summer is coming and other stuff to do … so the Boat got put back on it’s trailer and moved to the franknport.. I’ll bring it back out in the spring and continue then. In the mean time I’ve added goodies from older campers to my pile of parts.. I have more stoves and sinks and pumps …. etc to choose from.
Oct 10 2011 This is an ongoing and current project… watch for updates
Today it was raining hard .. so being the non-coastal person that I am.. I hid in my shop. I built a stand out of wood to hold the running 1975 Chrysler outboard.. the older 1972 one is on a stand I bought at Princess Auto. The 1975 motor will be the one I use on my Seven Seas Cruiser. The other will be my spare. No Dave I’m not doing the twin thing on the boat.. One should do the trick and be less complicated. If you checked out my blog on the Seven Seas you will see a link to a video of a bigger boat running great on a 75 hp Chrysler.. So I’m inclined to think my 55 will do just fine. I’m not out to break speed records. As per usual I’m ordering the shop manual for these motors so I’m not guessing how to tune them up.. Why these old motors ? Well I got one for free.. and the other was very cheap. They aren’t as old as the boat , but they are still nostalgic. And they are very simple to work on.
4 Cowls….
That’s because I’ve got two more parts motors ! Ok ones a 45 hp cowl.. but they are all the same size. I have two 1975 and two older ones.
This is where Rob has fun…
Painting stuff…pimping stuff… This is where I shine. I’m going to choose two of the cowls that are in the best condition and repaint them . One I will keep the white & gold scheme , the other I will custom paint .. white & light blue to match the boat… Just watch me go…
I’m not sure what to call them but they are a pain in the butt.. Those little circle clips.. they are easy to install but hard to get off. But after I take off all the trim I’ve got a naked cowl..
This will be the one that gets the hammered gold paint job..
Holy Cowl !
Thanks to the great way they put things together I can mix & match the badges with the trim to get the best. I’m going to chose the chrome “Chrysler” letters to go with the custom lt blue paint. And I’ll redo the “55” in blue . I’ll keep the red numbers for the restored gold trim cowl.
I changed my mind … I tried different combinations , and the chrome badges look better with the gold. This is the newer cowl ,and it has a new hammered gold finish.
Here’s the blue cowl. That color is a perfect match to the top of the boat. I painted the badges all black because they were quite scratched. Now I’m trying to decide on blue letters or white.
White letters it is.. So this is my custom cowl, with the blue that matches the boat.
And here’s the (original ) looking cowl. As soon as my service manual arrives I can get to work on the motors.. they will get a fresh white paint jot too..
May 2012 :
Reality bites … and the motors got wheeled over to the corner last fall for other projects. But soon I’ll be wheeling them back out.. there is a new bigger Chrysler 70 that came on the Glasspar that will get the run first.. and then these will get their chance at fame.. Stay tuned !
Bring out the BIG guns first…
Once this 70 hp has been run a bit (on the lake too) then it will be a dolly queen till the Performer is ready for power.. Looks like I have another cowl to paint.
This is a little story I wrote back in May 2002. I was sailing the Weekender boat I’d built that winter. It’s a read …enjoy
Oh ya I’ll never wish for wind again….cause I got it…
The first two times I took the boat out for my shake down there wasn’t even a hint of air movement. So on Monday it was blowing real good here so I headed for the lake hoping for the same… Yup a real nice breeze blowing north up the lake. Oh boy Rob’s going sailing this time. And this is where things started not going so smoothly… First off I have a choice of two boat ramps (both halfway up the lake). I have been using the further one because its not as busy and it has real nice docks on either side with nice bumpers. BUT I thought I’d check out the first one that’s right beside the marina. I was driving past it anyway… Well no one there so I give it a go…. First thing that went wrong… I set up the mast before I back up too close to the water. Then I look up and there’s a friggn power line 12 ft off the ground at the top of the ramp !!! Ok no problem down goes the mast and I back up past it to clear the line. Fine now the boats in the water tied to the wharf (Little with no bumpers). Now I must take the time to describe the launch area here. This is located at the narrowest part of the lake ( something I figger’d out later ) So the wind’s a little faster here. And then there’s the marina and all the docks sticking out in the lake on the south side of the ramp. On the north side (wind blowing against it) there is a LOG BOOM breakwater extending about a 100 ft out. I thought I would just sail on out to the open lake….WRONG the wind pushed me hard against the boom and I GROUND my way along it …so much for the nice red paint.. When I finally got past the end of the boom the Weekender took off like a bullet, but not before the line I have from the end of the boom to the gaff boom ( for flags ) caught the stupid light they had on the end of the log boom. Snap! Oh well you can sail without that…. But wait my steering cable decided to part company with the turnbuckle, and this all happened with in seconds….. So I’m in a good blow (whitecaps) leaning over the back of the boat holding the rudder with one hand and the main sheet in my other….and I can’t reach the other lines. And I’m crossing the lake ! This was not good… so about the halfway point I turned to the wind then headed back …. I let the main right out to try to slow down but the jib was working way to good …. But I managed to steer for the launch and miss all those boats tied up at the marina. I don’t think anyone from the marina was looking outside, because if they had they might have freaked at the out-of-control sailboat blasting into they’re ramp…. sails flapping.. My halyards are cleated to the mast.. and I will change that so I can drop sails quickly…. And I thought I was smart using cable crimps for my steering lines… they will get tied now with good knots.
I think I sprained my hand in all the excitement…but I’ll live to sail again..
Another older Document I authored in the winter of 2007 :
Sept 2006:
“ What the bicycle is to the road…the Kayak is to the water” A quote ? yeah from me . What I was trying to say is these are ..or can be inexpensive human powered ways to enjoy the great outdoors. “GREEN” if your into the politically correct things. And I like that. Since I was pre-pubescent I was into the water thing. lots of boats, anything that floated I thought was cool. But in the seventies you didn’t see very many kayaks, unless they were home built. Now they are everywhere.. And knowing me I can’t resist finding out what it’s all about. So a little research was started… Some surfing on the NET , a little browsing in an outfitter store in Edmonton..and I was hooked. I focused in on the 12 ft recreational boats. They seamed the most reasonable for my needs.
After a few visits to our local kayak shop, I wanted to try two boats , the Dagger Blackwater. Which came with very high recommendations from the shop owner ( his personal favorite)….. Pictured above…. And my favorite the Pamlico by Wilderness Systems. Because it got the highest ratings in user reviews. So first I rented the Blackwater on the weekend that we camped out at Christina Lake. Well I liked the quality of the boat. The seat had lots of adjustments on it. In fact it was real comfy too, but the cockpit opening was on the small side. Just 34” long, which was a squeeze to pull the other leg inside. My other concern was the twitchiness (tippyness) of the boat. Just reaching down to adjust the foot braces sent the boat into a spasm. However once you relax and start to move the boat is great… So my friend Dave and I spent a good four hours paddling around with one of us in hot pursuit in the row boat. It was a fairly good first experience . But I really needed to try a PAM . So three days latter I’m booking off work early. Unfortunately the only Pamlico 12 ft the shop had left was the olive green anglers boat… the same boat just ugly.So off to the lake …now this boat was less money than the Dagger..and mostly because there is no drop-down skeg to help in the tracking. And the outfitting (seat & stuff) was not as fancy. But it was every bit as comfy too me. And the quality was just as good too. The real big difference was two fold…first the cockpit was a whole ten inches longer…that made getting in and out easier. Second this boat was more stable .. you could move around without any concern for getting wet. I spent a good hour on the lake, and made sure I hit some waves. Both head on and sideways. No problem. It might have taken a little more effort to keep the boat tracking straight, but it turned better . And I can live with that. So back to the shop only to find out that he had none of the PAM’s left. But I could order one for next year…any color! So we talked about paddles & PFD’s and I tried on a few. Boy way better than my Coleman life jacket. And found out just how important the length of paddle is. A 230 cm is good for big guys like me.
Half the money down..and wait till spring for the boat…you bet. The shop did good on a package deal …boat, paddle & PFD. So I ordered a BLUE boat.Ok that ‘s a good story …but wait there’s more. While I was checking out E-Bay .I found a Dagger kayak for sale inAbbottsford,BC. Pick up Only..the auction said.. no kidding it’s pretty hard to ship a kayak. Hmm . This was a 15 ft Edisto model that has been discontinued from the Dagger line. It came with a rudder, paddle and neoprene skirt. After a few E-Mails back & forth, I decided to win the bidding on this boat.. And I did just that. Still paid way less that a new boat . And the guys roommate was bringing it toKelowna…how cool. No regrets here.
Yes it’s purple ! but that’s just a color..and it’s different . Here it is the thanksgiving weekend and the lake is still very pleasantly warm. So off I go for a paddle … I was concerned for the small size of the cock pit, but I found it wasn’t too bad getting in and out. This boat is very stable and with the rudder deployed it tracks were you want it . Rudders are cool! If it’s wanting anything it’s a taller seat-back. After sitting in the other boats you really get to like the back support. If I can fix that I will. The paddle that he gave me with the boat is very much like the one I bought.. just purple. There’s a cool little hatch in the bow for keeping small stuff dry. And a large rear hatch too. So with the new rack on my truck I’m good to go.. I’ve put in a few days of using the purple Dagger now, and it’s a great boat. But its getting cool now so I have to put the toys away for the winter. Look forward to next season ….
The rack for Kayak’s on my Avy..
Any one who’s come to the family camping in the summer has seen this on my truck.. It holds 3 boats and cost me $40 to build. I’m still using it five years later…
January 2007:
Well surprise the kayak I ordered was delivered to the shop early. And Wildways wanted me to pick it up so he’d have room for more that were coming. So here it sits in my basement ..cause I didn’t make plans for it outside yet. Oh well as soon as it warms up a little I make a place for it outside.. I’m sure glad I chose the blue color , it’s a very nice break from the yellow ones that were in the store. It came with a little bonus of knee pads on the cockpit rim. A cup holder and great seat. Looking forward to using it this spring. These are very user-friendly boats with a long cockpit opening. I found another PDF on E-bay for thirty bucks . way less than the $120 in the store. So we are set up good for the season.
September 2007:
Well we took our two kayaks with us on our yearly May camping. The first stop was Okanagan Lake. It was windy both days we were there so I only used the “Pam” for a little jaunt on the lake. What a great boat. Our next stop was our favorite Herald Park on Shuswap lake. It was there that the boats got a workout. I even got Maureen into the “pam” for some first time paddling. She really did enjoy it, but found it hard to keep the kayak going in a straight line. One of my future projects will be to install a drop down skeg on the back end of the Pamilco.
The boats came with us again when we went to our annual family campout at Kettle River park. I transported them 10 km up the river to Westbridge, and paddled the river back to camp. This was so much fun.. we did it several times. I will be doing that every year for sure. Next year I’ll be sure to get some photos of the river runs.. And this coming spring I have some paddle holders to install on both boats.
Update.. 2011 :
A few changes to the Kayak ‘s I have.. in 2009 I bought another Pamlico 12 because I loved the blue one so much.. This time it’s red, and it is the fishing model so it has a rod holder and paddle clips on the side. Also that year I sold the purple Dagger for what I paid for it. So I’m down to two boats.. Perfect. These are the boats I enjoy the most.. and when my Brother comes to the camping he brings two as well, so we’ve enough for a good group paddle.
The paddle down the Kettle river during our summer camping is a high lite for me. It’s about a two hour run and easy enough for beginners. And we have introduced a few new people to this for sure… Maybe more will bring boats ..it’s a great way to see the river..
