I was gonna "do" this paint in Orange Camo --- but I haven't gotten to the "camo" part yet!
I'll use this paint as my primer when I put a fully catalyzed version of it on this summer -
or when it gets to 75°F degrees or so.



2002 Chevy K1500 p/u rims with 2"spacers to get the centerline back where it belongs and to miss the calipers. The paint is 1956 Case Tractor "Flambeau Red" - the white is kinda generic GM appliance 030 I think.


1986 K5 - Posi front & rear, 383 Stroker, Crane Circle Track cam, Edelbrock lo-riser manifold, Q-Jet, THM700R4 built with a lot of goodies, WARN Manual hubs, 2 1/2" front / 3" rear lift, straight cut 5-planet pinions in transfer case, HiBo Racing Bucket seats (black w/orange trim) 40ch CB AM/SSB, 104" stainless steel whip, RG8 coax, GMRS Midland MXT575 w/Midland 6.2dB gain NMO antenna w/LMR400 coax, White interior LED lights, LED headlights, all LEDs in tails and markers, 125 Amp alternator, GP 27 Deep Cycle Marine Starting battery, 20Amp solar array on roof, w/ voltage regulator, electric cooling fan (1 on radiator / 1 on aux trans cooler, both are thermostatic) 400Amp 0/0ga wire to rear trailer plug for winch when it's in the rear, Ramsey 9000 lb winch on 2x2 trailer hitch stinger, Completely re-rubbered all doors/windows/runners, door seals, etc., new window motors both l&r and tailgate.

I use this truck to haul 3 cords of wood at a time for my winter heating - we only use wood.

I usually need 8-9 cords every year and built a splitter on my 1956 Case VAC tractor to do
the splitting .....


The splitter runs a hydraulic pump off my PTO and it can "do" a 30" stroke if I need it -
I usually cut to 17" for the firebox though. All we have in Montana that's considered as hard
wood (it isn't) is Lodgepole which is a very straight fir.


This is a side shot of my Case and my deceased dog, Roxi. She was 1/2 Border Collie
and 1/2 Lab. She loved to swim and we gave here empty milk bottles so she could "herd"
them --- it was in her DNA.I miss this dog a lot!

 

Nice!

 

Thanks. It's been a 22 yer long project.

 

Well ---- since my last post (Mar 2016) --- I just blew the transmission --- the torque converter, really.

It's scattered on a buddy's workbench - in a transmission shop - and I can see the Direct Clutches were just about used up --- in a short while they'd have gone metal-to-metal and that is always bad.

Remember - this transmission was built by me in July 2000.

I think 25 years is a pretty good lifespan since I have treated the whole vehicle very badly by driving over 24" stumps - towing a half-loaded trailer with maybe 4000 lbs of logs in it and all my saws, fuel tanks, tents, and sleeping bags (in case I had to overnight in the woods) - and other support gear.

When the trailer would get back at the basecamp, it'd be loaded with 10,000 lbs of logs, I'd tow them home to my splitter - etc.

That has always been the plan ... <ahem>

Nothing else in the transmission was bad or worn out - even the pump housing is still smooth - and the front seal is supple and not leaking.

How did I kill the converter?

I got high-centered by somehow driving off a small cliff - dropping straight down onto a huge rock, and I thought the transfer case was gonna come up through the floor - it hit that hard.

The impact was directly down as I came over a hill and got daylight under all 4 tires and fell onto that rock.

I had to use the winch to pull myself off the rock --- and I sent the cable from the front winch fairlead then around a tree and back to the rear hitch and pulled myself off, sideways ........ I was afraid to go front-wise or backward because I was not sure the driveshaft or the oil pan would like either idea --- so sideways off the rock it went.

Damage? Yeah --- some ....

The impact shoved the crossmember up into the lower flange of the frame and bent the lip up about 3/4" --- the frame's flexible - so nothing ripped --- so I'll just stick some 4"x4" angle steel on it and redrill the bolt holes. I'm not going to try to un-bend the frame lower "C" flange because it's frame material - and I don't like to re-bend frame steel.

The rear mount was ripped all to hell, but held on as designed - so it didn't let the rear of the unit fall.

The support torque rod from the side of the transfer case to the engine ripped out of the case, and although it looks bad, I got it heliarc'd and drilled and rethreaded with Keenserts for extra strength -The lower bolts on the transfer case-to-the transmission were ripped out --- pulled all the threads out with them - but they didn't require welding --- just Keenserts and they're all good.

The loss of fluid is what killed the converter (I think so anyway) as I had to drive out of the woods for more than 1/2 mile until I got to out basecamp so we could check everything out.Toward the last 50 yards or so, going forward was getting very hard to do --- it was slipping very badly.

FUN FACT ---> the 2-4 band is so good-looking --- and when I built this unit, the idea was to pre-burn the band by pushing the 2-4 outside cover IN as the vehicle was driven on a hoist in 2nd gear -- the smoke would be incredible, and that was a speed-trick.

It looks the same as the day I installed it --- I always liked the way the band worked, so I may put it in again - as is.


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