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Nicks new toy


Grasshopper

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Yesterday was a glorious day. :-D Just the right weather for extracting Mr Hobbs new Ward la France from where it had lain for at least the last 10 years, if not longer.... The ground was too soggy to tow the vehicle out, so winching was the order of the day. Luckilly, we had brought just the tool for the job, another Ward la France. :tup:

 

Nick pays out the winch cable on Mikes WLF.

 

 

 

 

Nicks new toy is dragged, protesting from its resting place. The rear wheels were not turning.

 

 

 

It became apparent that the rear most axle was seized in some way, so we took the decision to remove the rear wheels and investigate the problem further....easier said than done!!! :box: Anybody who has dealt with Amercan vehicles with twin rear wheels will be aware or the twin nut/stud system they employ. They really don't like coming off after a decade or so. We discovered a propane burner in a nearby garage, but as no one was a smoker, we had no means by which to light it! :banghead: We eventually found a lighter, and Nick got busy with the heat.

 

 

 

Next, it was time to break out the big hammers, and slowly, the hubs were freed off. Its the only time I can recommend spraying WD40 into brake drums.

 

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Here are my photos of the day. I know Nick took loads of 'action shots' so hopefully he'll post them up soon. We got it back fine and even had to do a bit of muddy off-roading to boot - I ran out of traction in his field and had to uncouple and winch it the last 25 feet.

 

It was the most fun I've had for a long time :-D .

 

 

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Must say what a good job Paul McDonald did as pathfinder/lead vehicle driver on the journey to Nicks place. :tup: I know from experience that it is not easy to drive a modern vehicle in front of an old, slow moving one (no offence intended (for a change Mike)...) and stay in visual range, while also not going too slow that it cannot maintain momentum on hills. It does not come naturally to hold up traffic while driving something modern.

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You guys must be nuts (or very brave).

I thought I was adventurous with my little ferret.....is this what happens when you get bitten by the bug!!!

 

 

The toys get bigger, more complex and numerous. Then you start requiring new categories of driving licence and low loaders....

 

For some of us the spell of this hobby has only one natural conclusion.... :evil:

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Must say what a good job Paul McDonald did as pathfinder/lead vehicle driver on the journey to Nicks place. :tup: I know from experience that it is not easy to drive a modern vehicle in front of an old, slow moving one (no offence intended (for a change Mike)...) and stay in visual range, while also not going too slow that it cannot maintain momentum on hills. It does not come naturally to hold up traffic while driving something modern.

 

I'll second that :tup:. I especially enjoyed watching him drive 3 times round a roundabout at the top of a hill while we caught up!

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What a day Sunday was!!! I think Mike and Vince have described most of the proceedings so all I've got to do is add a few more pics for all to enjoy!

 

Vince had the joj of steering the old girl for the first time in quite a few years.

 

It was an impressive sight seeing Mike's WLF hauling my wreck. The power of the WLF is amazing.

 

 

More pics to follow....

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Mike had his turn at hitting the drum with the sledge hammer. Needless to say it worked. Big hammers can fix most things!!!!

 

Once the drums were off Mike and Vince removed the bearings on one side to eventually free the wheel. The bearings were replaced before putting the wheel back on!!! Whilst Mike and Vince were doing this I was removing the half shafts.

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