Buffing out HDI

[hydromike]

So, what's the story with this machine? What was it used for, and why did the previous owner decide to get rid of it? I'm dying to know what you gave for it; the black HDIs (any Avenger, for that matter) look so nice....

[foxvalley]

So, what's the story with this machine? What was it used for, and why did the previous owner decide to get rid of it? I'm dying to know what you gave for it; the black HDIs (any Avenger, for that matter) look so nice....

This is actually a repair job for a big powerline co. The thing ran,but not very good, so I'm guessing they trailered it a while back and kind of forgot about it. The gauge was replaced so I don't have any idea how many hours,said 89 hours on it,more like 1089.
I don't think the thing would have been worth more than 5k in the condition that it was in,and I know I wouldn't have paid more than that.
Yes,black is way cool,and with the rops,rims,pans and body all cleaned up, this thing is really taking shape.
Sounds like they replace their units every 5 years,and from now on,according to the new man in charge,all their units are going to be kept in a heated building,and hopefully (maintained) I'm guessing my estimate on this unit had a little something to do with THAT desision

Also, I am very exited about the super heavy truck vinal I found for the seats and back rest,good to -30 below before cracking. And we went with a higher grade chain all around.

[foxvalley]

Well, we got the two outer,and one inner bearings on today,not to much issue,new ignition,light and bilge switches, along with steering and hand brake pads.New gear lube in the tranny,and two chain tensioners,along with all the slider blocks are replaced. Had a problem with the emergency brake cable that i wanted to replace,looks like they may have installed that with the lid off, don't think i can run the new one?
Ran out of parts, hope the clutches and the chain comes today,as we will be down the home stretch once this stuff is on,looking forward to putting a couple hours on this thing.....you know...... just to make sure it works properly.....LOL.

[foxvalley]

The track tuners came in yesterday,so spent a little time installing them while waiting for the chain to be delivered. Noticed that there was a gash in the tub under the wheel well,spent some time fixing that with plastic epoxy,hope it holds. Chain finally came,broke it to length,and plan on installing it tommorrow. Also need to modify the mud flaps to fit under the rops,going to use three of the rops bolts to attach the flaps. Just need to get the clutches,and the seats and backrest back from the appolster and we can finish this thing.

[Sol]

Man your kickin tail on this. WTG

[foxvalley]

Man your kickin tail on this. WTG

Yes, its comming right along Sol. Things came to a screeching halt again today when we ran out of parts....... again. The clutches are comming from ODG in canada, so we wait.
Did make a little more progress today, however, as we got all the chain on,and didn't have to many issues accept the last guy that worked on this didn't seat the set screw from the chain sprocket into the axle,and the spocket,or should I say sprockets,(three of them)where sliding back and forth, and did some damage to the frame support,and to one of the chain tentioners. Not a big deal, but more work. Also found another hole, or gash in the tub on top of the wheel well,and now I know how all the dirt got in the engine compartment.
Installed the mudflaps,not the prettiest job because of the rops was in the way,but it will be better than nothing.Put the tires back on, and am going to run it in the snow before I put the tracks back on, to test it and to clean all the filth off. Not much more to do.

[foxvalley]

Clutches came in, along with the top of the heat shield,should have this thing running on Mon.

[foxvalley]

Got this thing all put back together on Mon. runs like a champ.Little concerned about the tranny,as I didn't get to test it out before we started work,no problems.
Very impressed with the rubber tracks/track tuners,a great fit for this setup. Put about an hour on it so far,going to run it some more,just to make sure. Still waiting for the seats,as soon as they are on I will post some pics of this thing,night and day difference. Love the "triple black" of this thing,in the snow,with the rops, it looks like a "superfly"

[foxvalley]

Still waiting for the seats to get done,go figure,two weeks to rebuild the entire unit,and four weeks so far to get my seats back.They better look damn nice if i'm going back to this guy.Chomping at the bit to post some pics of this thing, but i'm not going to untill seats are in.

[foxvalley]

Finally!!!

The original material that I had picked out was backordered,however, we did find even better stuff,four way stretch,and good to -60 F. Bill did an awesome job on the seats,and really finishes off the job.

[Sol]

Wow Fox, what a great project. ThaT LOOKS GREAT Congrats.

[foxvalley]

Thanks Sol!!!