Gray Man, Inc.

[DRIVEN]

[BLUE]

Like a boss. How long did it take you ?

[DRIVEN]

I did it in 3 blocks. Probably had about 8 or 9 hours total. At least an hour of that was where I had just bolted the valve cover back on and when I reached for the next part realized I'd left out the reluctor wheel for the crank sensor. Off comes the valve cover and timing cover again. Then I ran out of RTV and had to go to Napa. Then clean the wet RTV off the mating surfaces and start over again. I'm really out of practice for this type of thing.

I'll take it down to the coin-op car wash and clean up under the hood, then run into town and go through the car wash. Due to the weather and timing of the last several trips I've taken, it's probably been 8-10,000 miles since it was last washed and vacuumed. It's beyond filthy. I'm pretty embarrassed.

Oh, one more thing. After putting 7 whole miles on the GMC, it looks like the transmission we had built just over a year ago ate shit. I drove it over to my parents' house to deliver it and everything went fine. My dad ran it over to my house later to borrow a couple tools and said it banged a 2-3 shift and started slipping. Fluid level was fine. He called the builder who has an idea what broke, but of course it's just out of warranty. It was a HD build and got some upgraded parts but apparently not enough of them.
I'll put the scanner on it to get an idea of what the transmission is doing vs. what the PCM is telling it to do. Then I'll put a pressure gauge on the test port and see what the pressures look like. Unless I can find some dumb external reason, I'll be yarding it back out in a week or two. My dad is making a trip to the Portland area in January, so the builder can fix it while he's in town.

Fuck. I'm getting tired of working on that thing.

[BLUE]

Good you go it sorted and rolling. I was raised on Valvoline.

That really sucks to hear on the truck. Mountain of frustration especially when good money on alleged newer HD parts.

[DRIVEN]

[BLUE]

Feel free to post more pics like that

[DRIVEN]

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I'll just say it. I'm a filthy pig. I haven't really cleaned up after myself in months.


I moved a bunch of parts to the well shed. Reassembled my dad's junk Vortec and slid it against the wall. Put a bunch of stuff away and swept the floor. Sooo much better now. I know the perspective is weird but I can fit another car and my trailer in there now.



I really wish one of you guys would come by and take this stack of books.



Once I was satisfied with that side of the shop I immediately got distracted. Had to start by drilling yet another set holes in my lift plate and chasing the holes.




I needed to raise it up to drop the oil. Then I rolled it over by my toolbox and yanked the heads. When I bought it, the seller had no history and it was locked up. I had no idea what the cylinders would look like but was pleasantly surprised.




I had dumped ATF in the spark plug holes months ago, so the rings were well soaked. I smacked the top of each piston with a hammer on a piece of wood. Then I worked the ring gear with a long pry bar. Didn't take too much to free it up. It had several stuck valves but I got them free as well. There's still one being a bit sticky but I think it'll come around. The only ugly thing I saw was some vertical scratches in #3. You can definitely feel them with your fingernail. The rest is just staining.




Just for kicks I measured the valve lift. A monstrous .233" on a 1.28" valve. Spring pressure is an impressive 50 pounds.



And to help you appreciate how hilariously dinky these things are...




I had originally planned to just put it on a stand in the corner as a conversation piece. Now that I know it spins free, I just might try to make it run.

[DRIVEN]

Ebay carb core. Definitely not the correct one but I can make it work.






I'll still need a new distributor and starter before I can try to run it, but I have options there. I had 2 intake valves that were being stubborn and didn't always close. I opened them up and sprayed PB Blaster on the stem and guide, then just let them marinate for a week. Gave the valves some back and forth twist with a pair of pliers and now they're fine.

[DRIVEN]

Supervibe has been gettin' me paid the last 2 weeks. Right around 4500 miles when I got home last night.



About 6 weeks ago I got detoured through Leavenworth on my way home from a Seattle job because Snoqualmie was closed. Picked up a nail late on a Friday which had me scrambling, but luckily found a little used tire place that plugged it. First and only tire trouble I've had with this car ever. Still wasted 2 hours though. When I got home I decided to throw a plug kit in the trunk because if I have it, I'll never need it. Wrong.

On my way home from Kalispell yesterday the TPMS light came on as I left Lolo, which isn't all that unusual with this car. Stopped for fuel in Grangeville and the LR tire was visibly low. No sweat, only 10 minute delay this time. This time it was a sharp rock.

[BLUE]

I have the metal version of those (Amazon) , and a 12v cig tire compressor pump in each of my vehicles. Saved the day more times than I have fingers and toes.

[DRIVEN]

I have a set in the shop that I've had forever. The set I started carrying in the car, my dad used to carry in the saddlebag of his previous Roadking. It had cast wheels so the tires could be plugged. His current Roadking has spoked wheels and tubes. Spokes are pretty but they're a PITA to keep clean and tubes suck. It would probably take 2-3 hours to change the rear tube on my Indian if I had all the tools with me and a way to lift the center. I guess that's what AAA is for.

I have a small cigarette lighter pump that I carry on the trail bike. It got moved to the Supervibe trunk too. I'll get something else to carry on the trails. Glad I was at a gas station with air on Friday.

[DRIVEN]

Well, after 4 months, my last item from Partzilla finally got delivered.

I did a cursory inventory and it looks like I have just about everything. Time to put the puzzle together.


This is just about the most complicated way of going about this.




I started doing fencing last fall and stalled when it got cold. I'm to the point where I need to drop 5 of the 80' cottonwood trees before fencing can proceed. Ugh!


I'm hoping to find the motivation to do some tree work down there tomorrow but the couch is so much warmer. It was 19* when I went down to the shop today and eventually made it all the way up to 26*. I think I could probably drop at least 3 in the field but 2 are definitely leaning the wrong way and I don't want to land them in the powerlines. I'll be getting help.



And one more oddball project I'm working on.

[DRIVEN]

And this is where I had to hit pause...



Apparently the listing for the new Moose cam chain was inaccurate. The pitch is off. Although the TW, TTR, XT, and some other Yamaha engines are very similar, not all parts interchange. OEM part numbers for the chains are different even though all the aftermarket chains just use 1 number. I'm going to compare parts with a local buddy who just happens to have one of his engines apart as well, then get the right chain coming.






I also impulse bought a Mikuni flatslide but not sure I'll use it right off. Probably use the stock carb for break-in, then swap out and tune the Mikuni.

[DRIVEN]

Did some tree work today. Took out 2 apple trees that don't produce. The other tree is some kind of ornamental crabapple(?) that's good for nothing but growing sideways, blocking the sun for my Asian pear tree, and ripping out my earbuds when I mow around it. Looks like I can add 6 fruit trees in full sun now.







I'm stalled on the TTRWXT225 engine build until parts get delivered. Meanwhile, my dad just keeps chipping away on his '37. He's done bunch over the last few months. Decided to fill a bunch of holes and clean up the firewall and it's totally rewired now. He changed his mind on the color and finished the dash. The unused hole got plugged with a 1937 Walking Liberty.







He says he wants to be done by April 15th, and it looks like he'll probably make it.

[DRIVEN]

Purely unnecessary upgrade. TW is getting a TTR/XT hybrid engine swap. Main reason is the 6th gear, second is the 30% power bump. The TW, TTR, and XT share the same engine architecture but different frames. Just so happens that the XT headpipe is stainless and a little thicker (quieter) than the TW and the correct shape to fit. Snagged a filthy one off ebay for a really good price. Spent some time today seeing if I could improve the cosmetics.







Good enough for who it's for. I'm not polishing it.

[DRIVEN]

Bought a new toy. 5 big trees get dropped soon.

[wayno]

Bought a new toy. 5 big trees get dropped soon.

Have you used one in the past?

[DRIVEN]

I've got a smaller 16" Homelite that I use all the time. This 036 is a midrange in the power department but has a 25" bar. I've used similar sized in the past but not regularly. The row of cottonwood a few posts back is being thinned. I'm having a tree service put them on the ground due to proximity of 2 powerlines. I bought the Stihl to process them. There's some big willows that probably won't be around much longer either.

I know I've mentioned this before but the previous owner was an absolute idiot about tree placement. Either were too close together, directly under powerlines, or intertwined with fencing. Now I get to unfuck all of that. Don't get me wrong, I love having the trees down there, but I really don't have any choice. The row of 9 will be reduced to 4 but evenly spaced and have room to fill out more so I'll still get the shade. The row of thick willows are right next to my ditch so it makes occasional trenching difficult, plus they're just messy. There's a couple random smaller trees that are directly under powerlines that I'll leave until they get too big.

I'm replacing everything on the northern end with fruit trees where they get full sun. Trees closer to the shop will be replaced with evergreens. Along the ditch to the east I'll probably plant a row of lilacs where the willows are. Lilacs really seem to grow really well here. In the paddock next to the highway I'll plant 1 or 2 large trees (probably Catalpa) that will eventually be shade for the animals and be a bit of a blocker.

It all takes time. I do a little every year. Trying to avoid clear-cut and total replant because I like the shade.

[DRIVEN]

I mocked it up to inventory fasteners and such. Looks like I need to place yet another order.