Joe's 252 Colt Trail Machine "Gadget"

[JoeMeg]

Gettin there,did the wiring diagram,



Got the fuse holders color coded,



Just need a choke cable,



I will mark where I want things like the fuse holders,bundles of wires,etc. then take the "temporary" frame used for fitting during construction out. Then I'll rig the unit upside down like this,



So,instead of laying on my back (read;crawl in and out of the tub a million times,lol) reaching up,I can stand up and assemble everything comfortably. By pre-marking things,it should take some of the guess work out of being upside down. Hopefully when righted the arrangement will be in a user friendly manner,easily able to access the fuse holders,etc.

Joe.

[JoeMeg]

Thanks,Larry. It's much easier with the frame on saw horses.

Joe.

[LarryW]

Looks good Joe. Nice work on the ducting. Looks like it should work great!

[JoeMeg]

Had some time this week to work on the Colt. Got the poly fuel tank installed.



The dash is coming together.



The chassis is coming together



The bilge pump is installed.



And the oil cooler/filter lines are being roughed in.



Joe.

[JoeMeg]

Gave the upper an acetone wipe down. Looks a little better,far from perfect yet acceptable to me. I'll try to get a pic tomorrow and post it. Latest progress is,

Slots for engine mount



Upgrades to the chain tensioner mounting brackets





Joe.

[JoeMeg]

Thanks Lewis! I'm hoping to have it assembled and out of the garage before winter. ( I want to start building my Hustler! ). IDK about Busco this fall we'll see.

Camera surfaced,here are a few recent pic's







Joe.

[lewis]

Hi Joe, looks like the project is moving along great. Can't wait to see the finished machine and will it make Busco in October? Hope to see you guys then.

Lewis

[JoeMeg]

It's been a while since I updated this thread. Camera still AWOL,no pics. Making some progress. The body is now a roller with the old (not the build) frame in it. The build frame is being striped back down. It will make one more trip to the shop for a little welding,primarily addressing the chain adjusters. After that it's a matter of touching up some paint and placing it into the body to begin assembly. Both metal tanks I got with the Colts are damaged,one has a huge split on the seam and the other a zillion pin holes in the bottom from rusting. I installed the fuel tank brackets from a Chief/Superchief (the one with the alum plate on top that holds the poly tank) and am pleased with that installation. The poly tank cleaned up/out real nice and I was able to reuse the the OEM brass fitting with the piece of spring on a length of Tygon tube to make a new dangler for fuel pick up. I still would like to clean up the body,inside and out,before final assy. Been having some decent weekends,weather wise,here and have been busy enjoying some of the things we wait all fall,winter and spring to do. This one won't make the Sept. 2013 ride at Ashtabula but I would really like something else in the "build bay" this winter.

Joe.

[JoeMeg]

Lookin' good Joe! Is the sweet potato can behind the air filter?

Yep,the filter is clamped to it. Worked like a charm. The potatoes weren't too bad either,Laurie said I have to eat them if I want the can. .

Joe.

[hydromike]

Lookin' good Joe! Is the sweet potato can behind the air filter?

[JoeMeg]

As promised in my last post,here are some pics of the air ducts I've been working on. They still need a little trim work to really tweak them in but,are fully functional as is.





Joe.

[JoeMeg]

Over the last few weeks I've been working slowly,but surely,on the plenum to go from the air filter to the flange on the carb. Lack of free time,compounded by I want to do a really nice job sealing this thing up,have been holding this build up. Had to "Apollo 13" an air filter with a 3" round outlet to a 3" x 4" rectangular aluminium duct. This required opening a can of DG sweet potatoes. I'll post some pic's soon.

Joe.

[JoeMeg]

Thanks again,Jeff! This one is going real nice. Guess it has something to do with that "learning curve" that is out there somewhere. The really nice part is I've been using all stuff avail and have not been buying much of anything (septin' some beer). The duct came from the dumpster at work and I sure got my $$'s worth outta that piece! Hydromikes Chief was the inspiration to duct the hot air and muffler together and out.

Joe.

[jpswift1]

Now that's some quality work there.......very nice, Joe! It reminds me of the factory Attex Tomahawk duct work like they used on the Tecumseh OH160 blower housing.

[JoeMeg]

Another productive weekend!

Pretty much finished the ducting. Here's the exhaust duct.

,,

The pair.



It all fits! This is the brunt of the ducting design/fabrication/installation. All that is left is some trim work to snuggle the intake up to the opening in the cover and cap off the exhaust.

,

The intake duct can be seen hiding behind the screen.



Movin' right along.

Joe.