Don and Peter's Hot Rod Corner

glenn kangiser · December 18, 2007, 12:10:38 AM

E-bay is probably best - I buy a lot there with good results- serial numbers can make a difference. Check that yours is covered.

The manual will tame a lot of that intimidation down. After that they are just plain hard to work on -- not near as bad after you get a clue what to do.

desdawg · December 19, 2007, 10:12:58 AM

Been out of town for a couple of days. Edited my post to 863 rather than 843. Duh. My first Bobcat was an 843 but these aren't. Anyway I should have known to look on E-bay. You can find nearly anything there. $94 with shipping and it looks like the same manual would cover both machines based on serial #'s. I e-mailed the seller to make sure.
Emboldened by that I searched for a repair manual for my New Holland LB75. $300 Canadian or $296 US$. Ouch. And only one available from a retiring New Holland dealer. That one will have to wait. It would be pretty easy to spend a lot of money on manuals wouldn't it?

December 20, 2007, 12:15:37 AM

No doubt, desdawg, but one repair will pay for all of them. Shops generally charge from
$80 per hour and up. Cummins is $109 here. They are entitled to coffee breaks also. I save thousands of dollars per year doing my own repairs. Over $12000 this year alone compared to shop prices

desdawg · December 20, 2007, 12:26:23 AM

Oh I know you are right Glenn. Especially when you are out there where the hoot owls meet the chickens. Like I said it is a big hole in my self sufficiency attempt so I need to learn.

glenn kangiser · December 20, 2007, 12:56:26 AM

Also - desdawg - there are forums on almost anything you can think of -- many are good like ours - I saved several thousand on the Dodge Truck Cummins forum also and got a $1000 check from Cummins for their bad block casting I learned about on the forum.

December 20, 2007, 08:27:53 AM

Actually I would be interested in taking some classes if I could find some close by. Like maybe a community college or something. I have a mechanic up north who is working on my little Massey grading tractor. It wouldn't lift the arms on the three point hitch. He had never been into one and when I saw him the other day he said he could see what needed to be repaired but he hadn't figured out exactly how it worked. The inner workings of a hydrostatic transmission baffle me.I have no background in that area whatsoever. Spending some time with someone who knows the principles would be a good thing.

glenn kangiser · December 21, 2007, 01:49:57 AM

I hink there is a hyd. pump in the bottom of the transmission but it runs the lift. I have seen water get into the trans and gooey oil plug the pump -- could even tear it up.

Could be some info here. http://www.ytmag.com/mf/messages/archive80.htm

Start with general stuff - some of the old motor manuals had general theory - study your shop manuals over a bit and you should start picking it up. Pretend it is an interesting novel.

MountainDon · January 09, 2008, 05:15:50 AM

Glenn, you're a Dodge guy from way back. Here's an extremely nice Power Wagon

More photos and info HERE

desdawg · January 09, 2008, 07:49:30 AM

That is a beauty. Looks too nice to use.

January 09, 2008, 10:51:02 AM

I've loved these things since I was a kid. The civilian models and I were born the same year.

I've more photos and links someplace around here too.

Sassy · January 09, 2008, 03:25:56 PM

I like it too

glenn kangiser · January 09, 2008, 03:33:20 PM

That has always been one of my favorite trucks -- the Dodge Power Wagon.

What a beauty.

MountainDon · January 09, 2008, 10:59:47 PM

One more Power Wagon.

This one for the woodworker gearheads among us.

Nice combination of two loves.

glenn kangiser · January 10, 2008, 12:27:56 AM

That's nice Don. I wish I had a woody.

January 10, 2008, 12:39:12 AM

I was of course talking about the Dodge, Peter.

MountainDon · January 10, 2008, 12:46:05 AM

There was another PW that you'd find interesting Glenn, but I don't think I saved a photo. IIRC it was ot outstanding in any visual sense. What made it cool was being repowered with a '99 Cummins diesel.

glenn kangiser · January 10, 2008, 01:19:00 AM

That is a great engine to power nearly anything with. It would make a tough little Cherokee.

desdawg · January 10, 2008, 10:40:43 AM

That second Power Wagon is more my style. Looks like you can't hurt it on the roads I have to deal with.
I am still taking notes regarding manuals. The e-bay seller never responded and I never went back to pursue it. I guess I ought to, but given my new finacial status, i.e. retired without a pension, I will wait a bit longer or until I need one.

Sassy · January 10, 2008, 04:47:44 PM

The only pension plan we'll have is what I get from the VA, which isn't that great... most of it will be from the "Thrift Plan" (401K), a tiny stipend for the pension, & the rest they expect you to get from social security... now, if I have anything left in the Thrift plan it won't be so bad.

Our property & equipment are also part of the package for retirement. If we have to sell, we always have a lot of that, depending on how the market is... $:-\$

glenn kangiser · January 10, 2008, 04:58:34 PM

The small diesels are great for small trucks, but the Cummins is tough to beat for full size.

I'm running around 300hp now but it can go up about as far as you want. I need the horses as my truck and tools are around 11000 to 12000 lbs empty and sometimes I put a couple thousand lb. load on the rack.

Here's Gus and a Mustang.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=1103305

January 10, 2008, 05:31:38 PM

Desdawg... here's a power wagon we could both feel comfortable about knocking it about. It's a '47 with the factory 10,000 lb PTO winch on the front. Although with the stock flathead it wouldn't be a quick trip, it would get the job done. I'd actually love one like this with a later model EFI Chevy small block (OK, maybe a 318 Dodge/Chrysler to keep it in the family) for motive power. Sort of a rat rod approach. And Vintage Air A/C... a must in the SW.

Another interesting one I managed to lose track of, or rather the URL went south, had a 4 cylinder Jimmy diesel stuck into it. Can't remember if it was a 53 or a 71 series.

MountainDon · January 10, 2008, 11:42:51 PM

Peter, living where I do I would not want any vehicle I'd drive with any frequency that did not have A/C. I've been there, done that. No thank you any more.

As for the engine, if I was going to the trouble of repowering, I'd want to go the extra mile and use something that had EFI. That eliminates a lot of otherwise perfectly good older engines. More heresy;

I'd also want an automatic transmission, a late model electronic OD model.

Those power wagons had very low axle gears... at least 4.89 standard and I think there was an optional 5.83:1. Of course that would eliminate the PTO, but I'd rather have the AT.

Oh yeah, add in power steering as another must have.

Maybe disc brakes and power assist, or at least the power assist (maybe a hydro boost) .... the list never ends does it?

glenn kangiser · January 10, 2008, 11:46:55 PM

In California on a used car we first check to see if it has A/C then we check to see if it has an engine.

Too hot to go anywhere here in the summer without A/C.

MountainDon · January 10, 2008, 11:56:01 PM

Quote from: glenn kangiser on January 10, 2008, 11:46:55 PM
.... first check to see if it has A/C then we check to see if it has an engine.

MountainDon · January 11, 2008, 02:26:54 AM

Quote from: benevolance on January 11, 2008, 12:40:28 AM
...Methinks you guys are getting soft in your old age though...

You might have something there Peter. $:-\$ I do recall a number of trips in my old CJ to UT in July

No top, or rather bikini top, no A/C, air so dry you don't even know you're sweating... but it is so nice doing the same trips in the A/C'd Cherokee. Power windows yet!

Note: With the CJ I did rig up a 'misting' system where I could spray a fine cooling mist of water that was directed directly at me. Not as good as A/C tho. Further note: two of my 4x4 club mates have CJ's with Vintage Air A/C units. They are

I love automatics.

I used to think "real men shift gears themselves". Then I had 2 Scouts, one after the other; one a T-19 manual, one a Torqueflite auto. The granny low was cool! But the auto offered more control in the rough. Automatics are superior to any manual box doing serious 4 wheeling. For everyday use you can't beat them, either. In my book. OMMV. Much more control using brake and gas in unison compared to a clutch system. They are a lot like A/C. Less hassle. More cool. If you're feeling like showing off, there's nothing like stopping on a serious uphill, then continuing on your way, smoothly, calmly, no slipping back, no madly revving engine, no clutch slipping, no tire spinning, this you can do with an automatic, not a manual box.

Yes, EFI means a computer as a part of the package. Modern computers seldom fail. Yes, it was easy to set old fashioned points with a matchbook cover in an emergency, but I haven't had to do that in decades. With my Cherokee, THE vehicle I'm most likely to find myself "in the middle of nowhere, without a paddle" I have a spare computer bolted under the hood. Unplug one, plug in the other. Yes it cost me a few hundred used. But it's there, It's ready.

IF, IF I was doing a Power Wagon I'd get a Dana 60 front end, with disks, and transplant it complete with a P/S steering box, etc. Been done many times in Jeeps.