Gearman's Gotta Project

[Michael Mayben]

Thanks to mendomikee:

http://www.forums.IHPartsAmerica.com/readers-rides/2550-ol-yellar.html

Dave the gear man has an IH project now so he can play with the rest of us.

Here's the background...

Mendo got pulled over by a dude in ukiah one day while driving grampa ('51 l-112 resto). Dude tells mikee he's got a similar rig "up on the mountain" and he wants it to go to a good home.

Mikee takes a ride up the hill into the local backcountry where folks live "off the grid" (if ya know what I mean...afterall, this is mendocino county and I ain't talkin' vineyards!). He finds this rig with the motor pulled out.

It's a '56 s-120 4x4 and started life as a pg&e service rig. Then sold off to a local chick sometime in the 70's, then this guy snaked it to use to build his place "up the hill".

Once he was through with the ride as far as hauling building materials, he jerked the motor (around 2003) and it went to a local machine shop for freshening. The crank was ground but the motor was never touched after that.

So mendo realized the machine shop dude is a fellow club member (mikee is the prez of early iron of ukiah car club). He went and looked at the motor and decided to have it built for a replacement for grampa's lungs. But he turned dave onto the rest of the rig (actually has a kali title and an inop certificate!!!)

Friday we ran down to ukiah and hooked up with mikee for a trip to the casino in hopland for a $4.95 prime rib feast...absolutely the best prime I've ever been served, including kathy's! And...I came away $56 to the good off the penny slots from a $10 "free play" card issued to rookies to suk ya in!

Then on Saturday we picked up a u-haul trailer and went up the mountain for load-out. Dude had the rig pulled out and pointed downhill for us already. Using his pickup he gravity-loaded it right onto the trailer with a towstrap, about the easiest trailer loadout I've ever experienced!

 

[Michael Mayben]

Here's the rig in all it's glory.

And the cab has been full of all kinds of critters denned up over the years.

The original "fleet" color was blue, the rig had been repainted at some time in the optional oem two-tone cream and brown complete with pinstripes.

Tires were new in '98 and prolly only have a couplea thousand miles on 'em. Big six pattern hubs with a d44 up front and a timken/rockwell drop-out style axle in the azzend. All that will be going away.

 

[Michael Mayben]

The trip down the hill and back home was entirely uneventful.

We offloaded the ride at the shop where dave has relocated his bizz temporarily, a truck shop in no-man's land between pleasant hill and dexter, or.

The post wwii hyster lift truck made quick work of the offload. And...the motor in that lifter is a an IH silver diamond flathead...same as in unkle ed!

Dave drove the ride into the shop just like it was under it's own power.

 

[Michael Mayben]

The rig is in good company...dennis and jimmy sears operate a dump truck/materials hauling bizz here along with serving as the hq for their sprint car hobby. Dennis is long time fixture in circle track in the western u.s. And at one time was the dominant competitor all over the west.

Since log haul rigs are flooding the market now thanks to the governments policies regarding the timber industry and construction, they can be picked up for nearly scrap prices. The boyz buy up these rides and convert 'em to dump rigs for future re-sale if and when the economy comes back.

 

[Michael Mayben]

Here's a shot of one of the sears' boyz other rides...this oldskool sprinter is run at a few tracks around the area still, but is built currently for cottage grove rules. Dave is the chassis and motor dude for this one.

 

[Michael Mayben]

Ain't this nice????

Dave's plan is to have the clip and body off real quick. Then the sheetmetal goes to a local acid dipper for cleanup. Once it comes out of the tank, he'll determine (based on what's left) where it will go for repair and paint prep.

 

[Michael Mayben]

And the powertrain?

Dave's gotta line onna 2003 superduty p-stroke rollover total. So the plan right now is a complete p-stroke drivetrain including tranny (six speed) and axles. But that plan is subject to change at any moment. No matter what, it will be a diesel setup though as he already has a couple of cummins motors that could be stuck in the hole.

We'll update this thread as progress is noted...dave is talkin' a two-year build depending upon his workload that puts beans on the table.

 

[SS2]

Very cool.. nice to have an uneventfull recovery...

 

[Michael Mayben]

very cool.. nice to have an uneventfull recovery...

Very boring recovery actually! Dave is too well-prepped and far more anal about this shit than me!

And I was havin' flashbacks to miz phelps botchinated recovery that yore pop engineered!!!!! That was nearly this same time a year ago!

The rockroad hill comin' out of the donordudes place was just like that first uphill off phelps mountain where me and pop got stuck and you had to come winch us in yore noballz condition! Told dave we'd call ya to come rescue us too. But the van finally found enuff traction to make it up...then goin' down was a thrill also as the rental trailer had surge brakes which are basically uncontrollable! Once we made it back to pavement it was ok.

We'll pick up mendomikee this wed. At portland aeropuerto, he's comin' down here for a week at binder u. To make some hard decisions regarding uncle ed. So he'll be at the meeting on Thursday and is expecting some kinda long distance award.

So if you and pop got some more needless/worthless shit to pawn off on someone, mikee is a good Mark!

 

[SS2]

We'll pick up mendomikee this wed. At portland aeropuerto, he's comin' down here for a week at binder u. To make some hard decisions regarding uncle ed. So he'll be at the meeting on Thursday and is expecting some kinda long distance award.

So if you and pop got some more needless/worthless shit to pawn off on someone, mikee is a good Mark!

It will be great to have Mike at the meeting. I have lots of stuff to pawn off on him. Some of it he could even drive back home. Tell him to bring his check book. Which one I should fill up with parts for him???.

 

[Robert Kenney]

ain't this nice????

Dave's plan is to have the clip and body off real quick. Then the sheetmetal goes to a local acid dipper for cleanup. Once it comes out of the tank, he'll determine (based on what's left) where it will go for repair and paint prep.

If you have ever seen a body after a chem dip like you are talking about, it is the coolest way t go.

I use strip clean in my general area. Will store for years if kept dry...



strip clean co.

 

[mendocinomichael]

Guess it's time for what's know as "the rest of the story". First off the dude who was a growing "herbs" up in the hills had the engine on the s 120 rebuilt. Within less than a month the new engine lost oil pressure, (damn herbs will get to you every time), and destroyed one of the journals on the crank. Being planting season, (low point in growers financial world), the dude had the engine pulled by a barnyard mechanic friend and there it sat until I came along. What I ended up with is a totally dismantled 240 engine, and a new crank. The crank had been sent out for a face lift and was sitting in the shipping box with pretty pretty journals still covered in the wax like stuff used by re-builders to to keep em from rusting. Cross hatching was still evident in all 6 holes, virtually no build up on valves or cylinder head. I did take the head apart as I am in the process of grinding down some rough spots to improve air flow on the intake ports. I did discover one major crack on the exhaust manifold, right in the center. In virtually the same location as the crack I discovered on the sd 220 in grandpa earl, my l112. Is this a design flaw endemic, (look up the word mm), to these engines?

Sure glad I meet all of you good folk at last years bee. Got a brazing price down here in deeppocketsville that would have been slightly less than 3 months house mortgage and the servitude rights to my first born. Phew. The gearman suggested I give ron mouser, (my stable mate at 2009 bee) a call, which I did and sure enough he thinks he has what I need sans the crack!!!