It'sbeen a long time since I have written anything on this blog, so I thought I'd bring you up to date on my latest project. Well Susie and I have succumbed to the call of the North Woods and recently bought a new Snowmobile to get around in during the winter. After all we do live in the Snowmobile capital of the world!
Presently I am in the process of winterizing all of our other toys and putting them to bed until next season. The two motor scooters all fire up fine and have been no problem at all since Jeff at Eastland Motorsports (http://www.eastlandmotorsports.com/index.htm)tuned them up, replaced a gas tank, changed gas filters and cleaned the carbs. If I take care of them right, they'll be in perfect shape for next years fun.
The fishing boat had a few hiccups recently and needed a new fuel pump. I replaced that and adjusted the carborator rich/lean mixture and it also is running fine now. Just have to remove the 18HP Evinrude I got on Ebay for $300.00, remove the seats and floor and move it outside of the garage, and cover it, so I have room for the winter toys and my truck.
Next on the list is my Motorcycle. Need to change the oil and filter, fog it, remove the battery and cover it until the spring arrives and the new riding season is on. My friend also got a bike recently, and although we haven't made any big road trips, next year is sure to have many planned.
So what's next? Well I am an avid "Craig's List" reader. Always looking for that next bargain. I thought I'd like to get another snowmobile, but I did not want to spend the money, just to have one sitting around. The new one is a "Two UP" so Susie and I can ride together, we don't really need two, but it would sure be nice to have one if we had some week-end guests during the season. To rent them for a day is about $125.00. To expensive to have my guests burden that kind of bill.
And if they bring kids with them, then we also have a sled that attaches to the back of the snowmobile for them to ride in, another great Craig's List find. From a farmer in Winnebago, IL. It had been stored in a barn for years. They said there kids ahd grown up and it had not been used for years. It was time to go and let someone else enjoy it. Got it for $250.00 cleaned it up, rebuilt the padded seats adding new pressure treated seat bottoms and backs, re-upolstered it, and it is as good as new. No kids? No problem, it also makes a good trailer for putting all of our ice fishing gear in.
I looked and looked on Craigs List. My favorite sections are the "FREE" and I especially like the Barter section. Now since I don't hunt anymore, and I had this old hunting rifle laying around, I thought I'd use it to barter and see what happened. But I had to get it back into good condition. The first thing I did was break it down separating the breech and barrel from the stock. I then removed the old finish from the metal. I used an emery cloth to sand out some cosmetic old pitting and then I cold re-blued it and polished it up. Now keep in mind that this gun is a Model 1893 Spanish Mauser. So it is pretty old, but in perfect shape. I got it from a friend more than 40 years ago by trading my Winchester Model 50 semi automatic shotgun for it. It had a Bishop Stock, which is a custom walnut stock and was never finished. I cleaned that up and put a light coat of extra virgin olive oil on it and rubbed it in for a beautiful oiled finish. It smells good too! Now we're ready for trading.
I found a guy in Iron Mountain, Michigan who had a 1993 Artic Cat Prowler 2 UP Snowmobile for trade. I saw the photos and it looked in pretty good shape. After a few texts and photos back and forth we both decided to pursue the trade further. Time for a road trip! I went to check it out and I traded the rifle for the snowmobile. Now mind you, I did not expect the snowmobile to be in perfect condition. It did start, and they threw in a stand to keep the track elevated when not in use. But it did have some issues. One of those issues was the fact that there was a problem with the electrical system. Another was that someone had cut off the luggage rack, the third was that there was a pin missing from the hood, and the forth was the hood strap was severed.
The first fix was the hood strap. I used a pipe clamp and my vise to fashion a metal sleeve. I inserted one end of the severed wire and then the other to the sleeve and using the force of the vise, I applied pressure to crimp it shut. Then I took a 20d nail and slipped it into the slot for the hood retaining pin until I could get a clevis pin that was of the right size. Now to tackle the electrical problem.
The electrical system on snowmobiles work one of two ways depending on the make, model and type. It is either a closed system, or an open system. All snowmobiles have what is known as a "kill switch" which is on the handle bars. It is for an emergency way to cut off the engine. Sometimes these switches go bad. However on mine, it is an $80.00 fix. And wouldn't you know it, my snowmobile runs on a closed system and there is an open somewhere in the electronics preventing it from starting. Yes it started when I picked it up, but that is because they bypassed the switch with a jumper and had it running. But this is not the safe way to do this. So we need to fix that first.
Now as luck would have it, when trying to start it, I broke the recoil chord. But to fix that you have to remove the resonator and the muffler to get at the bottom screw. I did that, but while I had those parts off, I decided to clean them up and give them a fresh coat of High Heat Paint. They're drying now. Today, I'll finish the job and get it all put back together tomorrow. Then I'll tackle the clouded up windshield. Instead of replacing it, I'll refurbish it with tooth paste. Yup, if you have clouded plastic, such as a head light or plastic windshield, they can be brought back to life by simply using the tooth paste as a mild abrasive and polishing compound and voila! Good as new.
The luggage rack was removed and my good friend Pat has it and will be rebuilding it using rebar as the main focus and welding it into place. We'll then replace back on the machine after painting and it will be as good, if not better and stronger, than new.
Meanwhile, I noticed on Craig's List someone had a boat trailer that they were giving away for free. Now how could I pass this up. My initial intent was to use this as the foundation of an Ice Fishing Shanty. I called and then picked it up and brought it home. It is cosmetically in disrepair, nothing that a light sanding and fresh paint would not fix. But after looking at it's construction it is not suitable for my intended purpose. But have no fear, because my good friend Al told me he was riding one of the back roads and someone had a boat leaning up against a tree and the hull had written on the bottom "FREE". Last night after going to a new restaurant "Carlin's Club Lodge" for a fish fry, we decided to check out this boat on the way back. It is a 12 foot fiberglass boat that was probably a Sears Gamefisher. The interior was completely void of any seats etc, and all of the floatation had been removed. However, we can refurbish it and make it safe and sound.
Today we'll go back with the FREE trailer and bring it back to the house, and it will be the next project in line. We'll add new Mahogany seats, Styro-foam floatation, and hull paint. We'll be on the lookout for a fixer upper outboard motor and then we'll put it back on the market next spring and sell the whole package. So far that's the plan.
There is always something to do up here in the North Woods. It's nice to be able to pick and choose the projects I work on. Some of those on the back burner? I have all of the guts from an old Fender Guitar. One of these days I am going to go out in the woods and find a nice piece of Maple and shape, sand and build a new guitar, using those parts. When I get it done, we'll have someone, other than me, that knows how to play, give it a try. Then we'll see what happens. Nice to be able to have such a variety of things to do in the retirement years. See ya for now!
