Another Muskeg

[J5 Bombardier]

Put the wheels on the rear beams, that's it for now, going to be coasting for the next week.
J5 Bombardier

 

[IMP]

Is that a used spring in your new can? I found a guy in Canada who sells new springs for this application. I replaced the spring cans on my J5 and it made a big difference in how it handled because the original springs were going soft

 

[J5 Bombardier]

I think they came from a side wing mast off a snow plough, same dia ,but shorter. Second muskeg with the rubber block beam bushings we have put cans on, they seem to behave better backing up when the walking beams have a can between them . To bad I painted them as they were probably the first set of chrome (exhaust stack )cans in existence.
J5 Bombardier

 

[J5 Bombardier]

Picked up a couple Muskegs, one is a mate of the muskeg on this thread, with a possibly toasted 318 engine. We'll check the motor over and see, in the meantime it will donate it's tracks and some solid wheels to some projects on the go.
The second muskeg is very early, will have to sand for the serial number. The axles are small, flat bar rails, old style diff housing, sprocket axles very delicate. You can see all the changes that happened over the years to make a more robust machine.
J5 Bombardier

 

[J5 Bombardier]

Pics for above post

 

[J5 Bombardier]

Down to the last 4 wheels, ended up taking off the air tires and running more solids. So it will be 12 solids and 4 foam filled, with one of the foamed tires needing a hub repair. Welded up the hub where the seal had spun and with a long ready rod securing the rim to the chuck, managed to cut a new surface.
J5 Bombardier

 

[J5 Bombardier]

Productive day today, the 4 walking beams ( with wheels) were installed along with the spring in a can . Tracks got some paint , one yesterday and the other today, burnt the fuzzies on the dry one and got it on . Just have to put the grouser's back on and then tackle the left side tomorrow .
J5 Bombardier

 

[J5 Bombardier]

Finished installing the tracks , nice to have the suspension finished. Next up radiator and wiring, getting harder to push /tow this muskeg around .
J5 Bombardier

 

[pixie]

Looking good !!

 

[J5 Bombardier]

Been a while since the muskeg got worked on, got side tracked on tractor repairs etc . Heated space is at a premium , so off came the hoops and she is now inside. Hope to get her mobile at least during the holidays.
J5 Bombardier

 

[J5 Bombardier]

Got the fuel lines run , carb rebuilt, cleaned up the wiring , swapped over to a 90 amp delco and fired her up. The original stewart warner electric gauge was defective , so I went mechanical ( should have done that from the start ).
I'm not a mopar guy by any means, but this is a serious step up from my 251 flatheads, I like ! Next job, make a mount for the hyd pump to run off the crank.
J5 Bombardier

 

[J5 Bombardier]

A little work done today, finished the pump drive and bolted it to the crank. Made up some spacers to allow me use on the front motor mount as a point to bolt the pump bracket and I set the pump in place to get an idea where I'm at. Hopefully can get back at it this coming weekend.

Happy New Year ! J5 Bombardier

 

[J5 Bombardier]

Finished the pump hyd pump mount today. The rad only had to be raised about 1 1/2 inches so I was able to reuse the pusher fan after giving it a trim . The electric fan will be used as a back up and hope to install the rad tomorrow.
J5 Bombardier

 

[J5 Bombardier]

Half way through Feb , still playing with the Muskeg. Rad is in , electric fan installed for backup, new 185 thermostat and hoses. Air compressor ,and a small tank with pressure switch for the hyd winch drum release installed. Got the old 318 running pretty good today, and partially installed the mufflers, just have to put some rubber washers on the mounts. Wrapped the headers as per Sno -Drifter's suggestion, may wrap them up to the flex joint as I have some left. Couple more pieces of pipe to pick up and then will get at the hydraulics.
My 2 fingers are now sore, so to be continued.
J5 Bombardier

 

[olympicorange]

……….. nice job,... better than new. sore fingers.... heat wrap comes to mind,...

 

[Bobcatbob]

Looks fantastic J5! Wrapping the headers.....for heat control/corrosion?

Bob

 

[J5 Bombardier]

Thought I would give it a try , maybe save the plug wires from the heat. There is also the fun of handling that fiberglass wrap, not so bad for the scratchies if you wet the stuff.
J5 Bombardier

 

[J5 Bombardier]

A few things scratched off the list this weekend. I rebuilt the Gresen valve and made up 3 mounts to hold the hyd lines on the deck. The rad shell was lengthened 2 inches to make room for the electric fan , so that is now buttoned up.
J5 Bombardier

 

[J5 Bombardier]

Finished running the steel hydraulic lines today, ended up with 5 lines, the 5th line being a excess lubrication dump from the winch planetary back to the reservoir. Cleaned up the engine side covers and installed, had to modify the right side to clear the lines.
Next up , finish hooking up the lines, pump install and build some baskets.
J5 Bombardier

 

[Snowy Rivers]

Sweet looking rig....
What does it have for a differential ???

 

[BearGap]

What a machine!! Beautiful work at every step. Thanks for the great updates.

 

[BearGap]

Love your work! Do you take special orders? I’m thinking about one with a 340 wedge head with over transom open headers.....and a Bimini top would be nice for those Sun Valley late March keggers with the Tucker hi-rollers.

 

[Snowy Rivers]

Hmmmmm
Like these ?????

500 inch Big Chevy with a blower and 2 dominators on top to supply gobs of 105 octane fuel.

Toys of childhood

 

[J5 Bombardier]

Thanks , I think there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Lots of power with the 318 , I'm not a big fan of the Carter 2 barrel carb , but we'll see how it goes. Other than running Chrysler flatheads, this is uncharted territory to have a Mopar , always been a Ford guy.
Keep saying this is my Last Muskeg build /restore...….., but I really like them. Lol
J5 Bombardier

 

[J5 Bombardier]

We finished fabbing up the left hand baskets today, with the right side almost complete except for the mesh. Also got the hydraulic hoses hooked up to the control valve. The work was inspected by my canine friend..... it passed, but I'm also the guy that feeds her.
J5 Bombardier

 

[Jim_S]

We finished fabbing up the left hand baskets today, with the right side almost complete except for the mesh. Also got the hydraulic hoses hooked up to the control valve. The work was inspected by my canine friend..... it passed, but I'm also the guy that feeds her.
J5 Bombardier

Good to hear you have an inspection process in place :th_lmao:

 

[J5 Bombardier]

Hauled the last 6 loads of wood this morning, probably won't start splitting until it dries up. So that will give me time to try and complete the Muskeg.
Finished up the right side basket , this afternoon, just have to bend up a sheet metal cover to protect the hyd lines beside the driver's seat. Then cut plates to strengthen the rear tub as we start to fab up a skidding boom . But that's next weekend as it's back to work and the shit show that this Chinese Virus is causing!
J5 Bombardier

 

[J5 Bombardier]

Bent and fabbed up a cover for the hyd lines this afternoon. Had my 220 lb eighteen year old step on it for a stress test. Going to have to put some expanded metal on the fenders opposite the drivers seat , so nobody falls on their butt.
J5 Bombardier

 

[J5 Bombardier]

Installed the hoop today, hopefully for the last time , so no more parking under the hoist , it will now have to sleep in another shed. Started figuring out the rear boom /winch layout as I wait for some exhaust elbows in the mail.
The 318 is running well , I installed a hand throttle for warm up , or if I split wood with this muskeg. So I did away with the stepped cam /fast idle that was originally linked to the choke .
It will be 3 years this October since I brought this machine home, I think it might be done before then …..fingers crossed.
J5 Bombardier

 

[Snowy Rivers]

The big hoist in the background looks a lot like the hoists used to service the engines and propellers on the old B29 bombers??????