It was raining the day I picked them up. Grey clouds scudded overhead as I reluctantly made my way to the Post Office. Registered mail. I had a sense of foreboding but maybe the sudden change of weather was getting on my nerves. ....

They came in a sack. I remember thinking that nothing good comes in a sack. Good things come in parcels wrapped with cheery wrapping paper and with a card. Or from Creative Engineering. Nothing good comes in a sack sent from up north....

It all began two weeks or so ago. A phone call from one of the Buggy Boyz up north. Hard men who build strange vehicles and break them. A lot. It gives them pleasure. The buggy boyz are singing the siren's song to my children who are attracted to their outlaw lifestyle.......

Brad had some spindles he wanted me to look at. Buggy spindles. An ungodly mix of parts with splitbus kingpins. He wondered if I could handle them. I'm not young anymore and buggy stuff is tough. Real tough. My hands aren't what they used to be. But I had no choice. I owed the buggy boyz some favours. It was pay back time.....

I opened the sack. Hard spindles. Dry spindles. Rusty spindles. Unforgiving spindles. They looked like trouble. Big trouble. Like a cheap strat copy. Like a Mickey Spillane novel. The smell of trouble filled the air......



I reached for old faithful. We'd been partners for ten years now and cracked open many spindles together.
Like me, old faithful was getting past his prime. But we'd never failed. Together we'd take these tough looking critters from up north.

We didn't touch them. The country buggy spindles from up north took old faithful down before either of us knew what had happened. He shrieked as they tore the life out of him. Ten years together. The spindles that came from up north in a sack glinted at me manevolently. I slowly put old faithful in the metal recycling bin and said a quiet prayer.



No bad boy spindle from up north was going to take me. I needed more firepower.

I went to see Costa. Costa's a 2nd hand metal dealer. We've been friends for a long time. Costa's connected. I told Costa I wanted something special. He opened the safe. I bought some 15mm plate and some solid 25mm round stock. And a shoulder holster. I went home and cut the whole thing down. When finished I had a new partner. Godzilla would make those spindles from up north pay.



I used the overhead hoist to move godzilla to the press. The bad boy spindles from up north looked nervous for the first time. Godzilla wanted them bad and kept leaping against the chains. I put one of the spindles from up north in the press. The metal was sweating. Godzilla pinned him and we pumped up the pressure to about 15 tons. I reached for the heater.....

The bad boy spindle from up north broke like a 6 footer on the reef at Rincon. We left it in a sobbing heap on the bench..



The spindles from up north are better now. The years of hard life have left their scars on them. But I'll machine them next week and fit them up with some nice new oversize brass bushes.



I threw the sack away.

[Edited on 3-6-2004 by splitbusaustralia]

Man I am almost crying ! snif

Man, if you ever write a book I'm buying a copy!

Rob
I could almost see you in the shed, pumping your fist in the air, "I WIN"
Great story.

reminiscent of Douglas Adams at high noon...

waiting on the next instalment now. and wondering where that sack's gonna turn up again. it's not completely written out of the sequel methinks.

hehe that is very cool..... so good in fact I shoudl send you some more just to keep us all amussed..... I hope you don't mind if I use it on the Mega Manx buggy build site ....

I have said it before and I am sure I will say it again .... you are a legend ...

would you mind explianing what exactly Godzilla did ??

Cheers.....

I dont know what that tool that is or what it does but I want one just the same.

Viva la hefty home-built

Rob, Cracked up LOL, Man the tool looks cool but gee the special tobacco must be good this year! :thumbMitchell

Gees,

First time I feel decent in about 10 days. Think I need to live
somewhere where's there's no flu and I can wear shorts all
year round.....mmmmmmmm....

Anyway. I've been asked a coupla times about what's involved
in rebuilding spindles. So here we go with a report on
rebuilding Brad's country buggy spindles.

Firstly, had to machine the king pins (see above for pic of
worn and pitted pin). Simply rebushing worn and/or pitted
king pins is a waste of time and money. Worn pins chop up
new brass bushes really really fast and you're back to where you were (and out of pocket)...

Run out on these is around a thou..(that's a bit of self-congratulatory machinist wank 8-)...)



Having machined the king pins and reduced their diameter
need to fit oversize bushings and ream. I go through reamer blades
at a goodly rate because I just turn up a bunch of bushes to
maximum oversize and ream rather than turn them up
individually....

Pic of reaiming new bushes.



Normally have to test assemble four times or so during the
reaming process.....Pic of test assmbly showing godzilla in use
popping the king pins apart (again). Part of the reason old
faithful gave up is that I don't have a proper jig for holding and separating CB spindles
(and it didn't seem worthwhile making one - don't think I'll
be swamped with rebuilding work for CB spindles...)



Final assembly. Zerk fittings (grease nipples) and stop bolt
still to go in



Brad's rebuilt CB spindles. Paint and wipe with a film of grease
to inhibit surface rust. Should be packed in cosmoline or
vaseline if they're going on the shelf dor a while.



I'll pack em up and send em back to Brad this weekend

.....in a cardboard box......

RobK

As I am a man of many words.... all I can say is WOW ........ I'm excited :rudolf

Awesome!!! And that first post had me pissing myself laughing! Very entertaining, Rob.

Yeah did brad mention to you his postal address had changed?

You can just mail them to me instead.

:thumb



I want a set
:cry

Great story and it is great to see how you do some of your work.
Whats the latest on Leo.

Cheers
Dave