Joe's 252 Colt Trail Machine "Gadget"

[JoeMeg]

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

Joe.

[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]

I'm soldering any connections that can be done without too much fussing,conventional connecting methods for all else.





As mentioned at the end of my last post,I'm standing up,looking and reaching down onto this as opposed to laying on my back,looking and reaching up into it.

,

A couple hours later and it's beginning to get crowded in there,lol,



I just could not bring myself to put something nice,that I've been working on for a long time,into something so nasty lookin,so I spray bombed it :-)



Joe.

[JoeMeg]

It's been almost one year since I was pulling an old rusted frame out to begin cleaning,painting and rebuilding it. Now it's time to start putting things back together.

,

Add 18 horses

,

Up and running!



This is looking into the front left corner inside the machine.



Now for an engine bay cover/seat and it will be time for some cruisin'

Joe.

[LarryW]

Nice work Joe. Almost there.

[ARGOJIM]

Coming together nicely Joe, looks like a ton of thought went into it.

[JoeMeg]

Thanks for the compliments,men!

Larry,yep,a few more minor details and it should be all set.

Jim,I have plenty of time to think,this is what happens when we don't have any $$$ for beer,lol.

Joe.

[JoeMeg]

Well it's been about a year since I started disassembling the two Attex 252 Colts I acquired in 2012. My goal was to use the nicer/present parts to assemble one unit and keep the rest of the parts for a possible second build (someday). My visions for this build were for it to be a "sleeper" looking machine. In school I was known as one of the "piston heads","p-head" for short. A "sleeper" was that $200 car that our entire life savings were invested in the engine,trans & rear end,leaving no $$ (or time,ambition,etc.) for stuff like bodywork,paint,etc. Got ya pretty well jeered at the the traffic light,until it turned green,lol. Anyhow,I got pretty much what I imagined (watch what ya wish for! lol) but didn't realise just how unimpressive the finished product would be. Wife happened by the garage the other day so I showed her. She said "that's nice" in a somewhat insincere tone,lol. Later that day I was looking at pics on my phone and came across one of the "PA" Colt the day I brought it home. I showed it to my wife,she said " it looks the same now as it did then". I said "yes,this was my intention". She promptly replied "then why did you take it all apart just to put it all back together again?" I thought this to be a good time to change the subject and so did,lol. Less a seat cushion and back,here is the finished product,









Here are some before/after pics,

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Joe.

[amphibious drew]

Looks great Joe. Sometimes the wife just won't get it. It's not worth explaining some things to them.

[thebuggyman1]

Looks great Joe. Sometimes the wife just won't get it. It's not worth explaining some things to them.

LOL I got one of those too.

“There are two theories to arguing with a woman. Neither works.” ― Will Rogers.

[Duck89]

Looking good Joe! Great job!

[Mike]

That looks really good. At least everyone here can appreciate all of your hard work.

[LarryW]

Looks good Joe! Tell yout wife the beauty is beneath the skin sometimes. Lol.

[JoeMeg]

Thanks for the compliments everyone. The wife is great,just dosen't give a hoot about 6 wheelers. Her favorite of the MRV fleet is "the old blue thing",78' Honda Express,not a part on it that isn't bent,scratched or both. Has milk crates on front and back to carry stuff in. Anyhow gettin back to Gadget,I still have to figure out the throttle linkage set up. Haven't had a chance to take it anywhere so up and down the drive a few times just to check everything out has been the only stick time so far. That's ok though,it's topping out at about 4-5 mph the governor just keeps pushing the throttle plate closed almost all the way. The new clutch set is SWEET and Roy at QDS hooked me up with the proper belt. It comes out of the hole just as smooth as silk. I'm real happy with that investment. Had time to organize the receipts,here's what I came up with.

The two units cost at total of $900 so,Body,frame and T-20. Also,the sprocket tubes,3 lug wheel adaptors(building blocks for the 5 lugs ones to come),12 pressed steel flanges(6 greasable), $450.
Engine. $200
Tires. Got a great deal on an elderly set of Carlisle cheverons on wheels
at Ashtabula this fall. Five hold air well,the sixth needed the the valve stem
area cleaned and a new stem. $60! Thanks again Drew
Acetone,glass cloth. $50 (est.)
Clutch set. $390.
Dash/electrical/ancilary. 12vsocket,gages,hr meter,choke cable,switches,
cute little rubber waterproof boots for switches,fuses and holders,ball mount for gps,wire,led(oil)crimp on lugs. $110 (est.)
Drive train. Bearings,chain,idlers,seals for T-20,throttle;lever,cable,housing,swivel to attach to engine,drive belt,quick drain for oil,oil cooler;radiator,adaptor to engine,fittings,fuel line,air filter,oil sentry sw.,carb rebuild kit. $530.
I added another $30 just for the benefit of doubt.
Winch. $75.

That's a total of $1895. Not too bad. Must also add that all the mat'l. for the three ducts was free as was about $75-100 worth of 1/4" alum plate used for the engine mount. And no,I didn't steal it,it was an errant shipment that became a gift from a steel co. I do a lot of business with. And,supporting the "how much tires add" reality,I got a super deal on six mounted Runamuks with free shipping from Nashville and still pd $200. So,that would have added 140 to 1895 for 2035,plus let's say 150 for metals and were up to $2185 already. Borrowed the battery form Gizmo so,that would have been about another $75.So,make it $2260. And axles,I get 1" 1117 TG&P for free(similar to the alum deal). I'll post an actual cost later but will estimate $100 for axles.But really $2360 for what should be a fun,reliable unit for some time to come as opposed to 5-6K for a nice quad?

Joe.

[JoeMeg]

Had a chance to monkey around with the throttle set up. Got it to my satisfaction rather quickly. I don't know exactly where it's topping out but the rpm's are sufficient to fully engage the drive clutch. This is standing still in neutral so who knows how it will respond driving. I'm going to leave it alone until I get a chance to go somewhere I can open'er up. Should be fairly easy to tweek from here. So,Gadget is what I feel to be "trailworthy" as is and has been placed in cold storage(lol,cold) probably until spring. The "Bells and Whistles" list of things to add sometime down the road(trail) are;
-A cushioned seat and backrest.
-The winch w/brackets (electrical already installed).
-Aux. lighting.
-Mud flaps

As I add/remove/change things,I will post in this thread rather than begin new ones.

Gadget is parked in front of my Argo in the silver storage shed(with the float chargers on their batteries) and ole Gizmo is back in the build bay as this winters project. I will start a thread on that one soon.

Joe.