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The continuing saga of Niksons 1402 IMP sn 129

turbinator62

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It is shaping up to be another pathetic snow year. These pictures were taken on new years eve at 3000 ft. We have about 1 inch at the cabin which is at 3700 ft.
 

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Nikson

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That is sad...

I guess you can bring that thing down south to its motherland and join me on a run... :)

We drove up to the hills today, at 4000ft we had good 12in hardpack with a bunch of soft stuff on top. Still doable in a stock 4x4 with good tires.

Lakes were frozen pretty well, just enough to run around for the kids and do some icefishing...

Dont give up - its on its way...
 

Snowtrac Nome

member formerly known as dds
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we aren't much better here I took the cats back out to the storage yard out of the city limits to avoid property taxes and there they will sit until we get some snow coverage
 

DAVENET

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8" of wet on Thanksgiving and nothing until the 4" this morning. It then proceeded to piss down sleet & rain all day, so looking out right now at a nice thick coating of 1.5" crap.
 

Nojeeep

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Outstanding workmanship. Sorry if I missed it, but how did you letter the dash panel. I'm always equally amazed by the little details. I love the clean work and attention to detail.
 

turbinator62

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I use AerogGraphics in Loveland Colorado. www.aerographics.com Ph 1-800-336-9633. They specialize in aircraft graphics but can do anything you want. Call them and they will send you a catalog.
 

turbinator62

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I actually made it to the top at the Leavenworth Snowcat jamboree. Slow but sure. Took me 2 hours up and 1-1/2 hours down. I think there were about 16 cats this year. Snow was slushy and temps were in the 30's but we had a great time. Many thanks to Nick, Marco, Jim VT, Jinn and everyone else for making this a memorable trip.
 

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turbinator62

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I had to bring the cat home for service after the Snowcat Jamboree in Leavenworth. I had a sticky throttle cable to fix, so I decided to go ahead and upgrade the springs as I had planned to do this spring. The weather here has been in the 50'S so might as well do it now. Hopefully will get some snow and I can still use it this winter.

Last year I had tried to install new springs that were heavier and had about 2 inches more arch but found that the upper track guides hit the cross frames due to the wheels being lower. So I removed all of the old springs, reached them up about 1/2 inch and added a 12" long X 3/16 thick leaf to the top This should give me a tiny bit more ground clearance and a little heavier suspension to compensate for all the extra weight of the custom cabs.

First picture is of the old spring with 3 leaves, second is the re-arched spring with 4 leaves and the 3rd picture is the side by side comparison.

Height to the top of the old was about 3", to the top of the new is about 3-3/4"
 

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turbinator62

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I got a new toy a few weeks ago. It is a NEW HERMES engraving machine of about the same vintage as the cat. So I couldn't resist making a data plate for it.
 

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redsqwrl

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That is pretty cool.

Love the Old school Type set.

I used to work at a newspaper......

A real newspaper
 

turbinator62

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If you really want one, contact me through private mail with your requirements and I'll see what I can do. I have a number of colors (black, blue, red, gold and silver as well as several woodgrains. The largest letter I can make is 1/2" and the smallest is 1/8". Something similar to mine would be about 20 bucks I think.
 

turbinator62

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Been awhile since I've been on the forum. I've been out of commission since May. The Dr. found a tumor on my back the size of a ham sandwich that was shorting out a nerve bundle and messing me up pretty good. The tumor was benign but left a big hole and I haven't been able to do much for a while. Driving me crazy. I'm just this week staring to feel like I may get back to normal someday. So with all of this sitting around doing nothing I was rereading my thread about the bad clutch. While looking at the picture of the old clutch assembly the problem is right there. If you look at the adjusting ring, you can see cracks adjacent to the holes. The ring is what provides the spring pressure to the clutch disc when the cams are engaged. The "pop" I heard when I was adjusting the clutch at the cabin was probably the 3rd crack breaking. The cracks would reduce the pressure on the clutch disc allowing it to slip. 2 cracks were probably already there and combined with the bad cam pins caused the clutch disc to wear out in one season. The old clutch assembly is probably 50 years old and well fatigued. The cat has a new one in it now so it should last another 50.

That's what happens when you have too much time on your hands. :smile:
 

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sno-drifter

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Welcome back Mr. Turbinator. I am so happy to know that you are on the mend. Nice that your "time out" was when there is no snow.
 

turbinator62

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None of this was life threatening, just real inconvenient. I still have a numb spot on my butt about the size of a tuna fish can, but I guess it's better to have a numb ass than a numb skull or numb nuts.

Hope to head over to the cabin in a couple of weeks. I haven't seen the snow cat since May.
 

turbinator62

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My wife and I drove the Tin Can (1990 Geo Tracker) over to Leavenworth Washington on 9 Oct. I wanted to drive up the roads we went up in the Snowcats during the Jamboree last January. What took me 2 hours and seemed like 20 miles in the snowcat turned out to be 6 1/2 miles and took about 30 minutes in the car. The first picture is where we had the tent set up for the picnic. The second is "AJ" hill. This is where AJ broke an axle and rolled backwards into another cat that was sitting a little below where the car is. It is steeper than it looks in the picture.
Our plan was to drive up to the top of the mountain, then go back to Leavenworth for some good German food and a little shopping, then head back to the cabin.
When I got back into the car to start it, I turned the key and......nothing. WTF?!!!! No click, no stutter, nothing. Why do these things always wait until you are in the middle of nowhere to happen?
So the wife and I had to push it and get it back on the road. I didn't want to go straight ahead, because just to the right of the picture is a cliff. Had to turn it to the right, push it through a small wash uphill and finally got it back on the road. (I'm glad it is light) Now it is coasting out of gear down hill with me hobbling along with my bad hip at the open door trying to jump in to roll start it. (Sorry, no video)
So I jump in, and it started right up. Whew!
I am convinced that this place has bad JuJu. Between AJ and me bad things happen here. Can we go somewhere else next year?
We made it back down to Leavenworth no problem, but couldn't shut the car off. I always wondered why Leavenworth has a McDonalds when there are so many nice restaurants in town. IT,S SO PEOPLE WITH BAD STARTERS CAN USE THE DRIVE THROUGH!
Now I really owe my wife dinner.
I had a new starter at the cabin and had it fixed in about 20 minutes. The solenoid burned out and was open circuited. It worked fine for 25 years. I just had the starter out last year to check it out. This falls under one of the "True and Secret Mysteries of Life" I guess.
 

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Snowtrac Nome

member formerly known as dds
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maybe you should park like the old model t drivers did. they called it parking with one leg high.
 

turbinator62

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I was going to do that, but my wife told me to get off the road and not block it. (like there was any traffic up there) After 27 years I know better than to argue. She now agrees that when in a remote area, ALWAYS PARK FACING DOWNHILL!
 

Snowtrac Nome

member formerly known as dds
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that's the one reason I keep buying shit with manual transmissions I stretched 25 years out of my original starter because I only use when I need it.
 

turbinator62

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One of the things I forgot to include in my thread was the problems with heat on the Wisconsin engine that involves the carburetor. Even before I built the cowling, I noticed that there was always a smell of gasoline after shutdown. A closer look showed evidence of gasoline dripping on the top of the engine from the carburetor snorkel. I thought maybe the carb had an internal leak so I tore it down and checked it out but could find no problems. What I discovered was that the heat from the engine and exhaust manifold was boiling the gas in the carb after shutdown due to heat soaking, and it was draining out the drain on the bottom of the snorkel onto the top of the engine, WHOA! I found that was a common problem back in the day when these engines were used on corn binders and such but it is not cool on an engine that is inside a cab.
The first thing I did was use a thick insulating gasket between the carb and intake manifold, which is part of the exhaust manifold casting. Second, I removed the drain screen and drilled and tapped it for 1/8" pipe thread and installed a 90 degree fitting with a long tube. A drain hose is clamped to the tube and runs to a bulkhead fitting made from a 3/8" bolt out the bottom of the tunnel. I put a cheapo fuel filter in line with it to keep crap from getting sucked into the carb when the engine is running.
Third, I made up a cooling duct that picks up cooling air from the engine shroud just behind the flywheel fan and directs it onto the bottom of the carburetor bowl. Problem solved and no more gas smell in the cab.
 

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Helmsman38

Member Formerly Known As Kristi KT7
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My wife and I drove the Tin Can (1990 Geo Tracker) over to Leavenworth Washington on 9 Oct. I wanted to drive up the roads we went up in the Snowcats during the Jamboree last January. What took me 2 hours and seemed like 20 miles in the snowcat turned out to be 6 1/2 miles and took about 30 minutes in the car. The first picture is where we had the tent set up for the picnic. The second is "AJ" hill. This is where AJ broke an axle and rolled backwards into another cat that was sitting a little below where the car is. It is steeper than it looks in the picture.
Our plan was to drive up to the top of the mountain, then go back to Leavenworth for some good German food and a little shopping, then head back to the cabin.
When I got back into the car to start it, I turned the key and......nothing. WTF?!!!! No click, no stutter, nothing. Why do these things always wait until you are in the middle of nowhere to happen?
So the wife and I had to push it and get it back on the road. I didn't want to go straight ahead, because just to the right of the picture is a cliff. Had to turn it to the right, push it through a small wash uphill and finally got it back on the road. (I'm glad it is light) Now it is coasting out of gear down hill with me hobbling along with my bad hip at the open door trying to jump in to roll start it. (Sorry, no video)
So I jump in, and it started right up. Whew!
I am convinced that this place has bad JuJu. Between AJ and me bad things happen here. Can we go somewhere else next year?
We made it back down to Leavenworth no problem, but couldn't shut the car off. I always wondered why Leavenworth has a McDonalds when there are so many nice restaurants in town. IT,S SO PEOPLE WITH BAD STARTERS CAN USE THE DRIVE THROUGH!
Now I really owe my wife dinner.
I had a new starter at the cabin and had it fixed in about 20 minutes. The solenoid burned out and was open circuited. It worked fine for 25 years. I just had the starter out last year to check it out. This falls under one of the "True and Secret Mysteries of Life" I guess.

It won't be the same without you at the SCJ 2016. Speedy recovery hope you two by slight chance make it there.
 
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