Tractor

Never interested in any sports either. I'll play some here and there, but I can't sit and watch it.

I've read that the turbo is about 6-10 lbs of boost and really help more with reducing smoke than adding power. I plan to add an electric winch, probably a warn 18,000lb 24v model and down the road I'm going to put an air locker in each axle. I'm also going to be building a waste motor oil purification system in my barn which will allow me to use the oil to run the truck. I'll also build a few simple devices to measure the viscosity and BTU's of the fuel so I can get it just right. Then maybe I'll be able to afford to drive it.

I removed the hard top last night and began sanding away the paint. Its in pretty good condition except for the front drip edge. Its pretty rusted and thin. I wish I was a fiberglass wizard, I'd just make a new top for it because this thing is heavy.

The H1's have been getting more common as they are getting released from service.

I got it off a guy in worthington, has been on craigslist for awhile. You can try govliquidation.com but its so annoying to go through all the paper work to get it released and an SF97 form so that you can get a title. It sounds like there has been some serious bidding going on to get the good ones that are left.

yeah, the gun ring makes that an expensive truck. I love those Vietnam era gun trucks.

The breaks on them are usually single circuit air assisted hydraulics which is very old and not real safe. I may update the breaks to at least dual circuit or since they do work very well I could just make sure I keep a close watch on them for leaks and be careful. Still one wheel cylinder failure and I'm gonna be hitting a ditch or pushing a bunch of cars to stop. I lucked out on this one as its got all the cold weather gear installed and some extras, ie hard top, block heater, cab heat, propane start system. Single rear tires instead of the usual duals, and the engines data plate says its an LDS 465-1A instead of the usual LD 465 so at some point they swapped in the more powerful 5 ton engine so a whopping 175HP/425tq for me.

I'm not sure which way I'll go with the color. I plan to remove the hard top and windshield assembly this week to begin repairing the rust damage. I'll probably dig into the trucks history and see if I can find anything interesting to base a restoration off of before I decide what paint scheme to do. The truck also came with a binder containing its rebuild work orders from 1991 so I know whats been done. I lightly sanded the front bumper today and found IARNG 248 ASB on it. This coincides with its papers and the govliquidation.com records I've found and I think means Iowa Army National Guard 248th Aviation Support Battalion. That is the group it was with when it was removed from service and auctioned. Will be interesting to see what else turns.

Yeah gears are 6.72. There are lots of gear sets out there, you just have to know where to look. The trouble is that they are around 14,000lbs with a 120-140HP engine that was spec'd out before modern highways for the military who doesn't really need fast cargo trucks. Even if you could run at 70 you'd need to replace the wheels with a more common size and get tires that can run 70 without exploding and its very hard to find wheels that fit the 2.5 ton rockwell axle. Most people either weld some wheels together hillbilly style or buy the army HEMMIT wheels that have been custom made by one of a few shops in the country that do it so $$$.

Engine is an LDS 465 Multi fuel turbo. Driving these things suck pretty bad, but doing it puts a huge smile on anyones face. Max cruising speed stock is 48MPH. I had it up to <> 55, but thats just under the red line and I hear you don't wanna run them that fast much as the engines just weren't designed for it and won't last long. Its got like 3,000 miles since its complete rebuild though.

Last night with the help of Mike I drove home what I hope turns out to be a good project to replace my old Toyota 4x4 that I've ran the snot out of and have some good times. For those who don't know them its a 1965 US Army M35A2 "Duece and a half" 2.5 Ton 6x6 cargo truck. This one is in very good shape and was rebuilt in 1991-92. The worst paint repairs will be on the cab roof and front window area, but thats normal and still not bad. My old Toyota still doesn't want to leave the job and today backing the M105A trailer that came with it into a spot next to my barn I forgot about the ground being a bit wet and soft over there and got the M35A2 stuck. My wife hopped into my Toyota and pulled it right out. Wet field grass is always a pain and especially since this truck has the 11x20 highway tires. http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f185/EWhytsell/M35A2/DPP_0001.jpg http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f185/EWhytsell/M35A2/DPP_0003.jpg http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f185/EWhytsell/M35A2/DPP_0002.jpg http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f185/EWhytsell/M35A2/DPP_0004.jpg http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f185/EWhytsell/M35A2/DPP_0005.jpg http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f185/EWhytsell/M35A2/DPP_0007.jpg http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f185/EWhytsell/M35A2/DPP_0006.jpg

That second windmill shot and the shot of the flower at the memorial really stand out. Nice work.

Yeah GIMP is very powerful for free. Actually more so than PS Elements. Now PS CS4 and CS5 are in the league of their own compared to Elements. I use CS5 and Lightroom 3.4 at the moment though really I only use photoshop for astrophotography and extreme editing since Lightroom does 99% of the editing I need. Lightroom is excellent for cataloging and managing huge numbers of photos such as what I get from weddings. Its also very useful if your very into photography and want to catalog your work for easy access, adjustments, and viewing. Another nice feature is that you can upload from lightroom to many of the social media sites with plugins.

Thinking about this a little bit I came to realize the most stress is going to be on the tube running into the receiver hitch. Use something heavy gauge for that section and the rest should be fine.

I usually use google to find answers like that. Not being a dick, if I knew I'd tell ya. I'd guess that a specific gauge might be perfect for the task, but engineering bends and supports in the correct positions would allow for thinner material to do the same job.

And those photos are why they don't allow "pro" cameras in there;-) Nice work, you should have put it on auto and handed it to security telling them to give it a try.

I did take a few pics downtown a couple weeks ago. They sucked, winter isn't the best light and the light changes very fast and doesn't last long enough. Then couple that with everyone at my house having some type of cold/flu all the time lately equals no photo ops. I'm seriously itching to hit the downtown and parks all over asap. Time changes this weekend so we'll see.

I have the M&P 15 sport version. Works very well and from the specs most things are mil spec and all that stuff the gurus care about. Lots of fun to shoot and no malfunctions for me shooting +1000rds of the russian ammo from walmart.

Gold only does well when the rest of the economy is suffering. I look for it to drop anytime. No way to tell when though.

Yeah I got no problem with options. That type of trading is a complete mystery to me though. Maybe we'll all learn some things.

I've been thinking of starting a CR trading game on investopedia.com I use one of their open games as a test account. I guess I'll gauge interest here and if it looks like people want in, we'll set up a start/end date and see how it goes. That way we can restart, (ie every 3 months.)

My stop loss popped me out at about 5% profit on 10K shares so not bad for three days. Another company I've been watching for a few years has been Iridium Satellite Communications Co. (IRDM) They had a really bad startup just before the tech bubble, went bankrupt and are now back and not looking bad. GlobalStar is another in the same industry, but its a penny stock, financials don't look good, its got potential, but at this time is extreme risk. Recently I've been watching them closely and will be trading them on my test account for sure and possibly real money.

This, I've hated mornings as long as I've been around. Probably has something to do with me hating sleep too though;-)

I think siri has some more upward potential. I'm at about 6% profit now so I set a stop loss order. Its financials and technicals are starting to look like a real company. Reports are saying <> 2.50 per share, but thats always a guess and not a good indicator. It really depends on world/national news, and in the case of siri the automotive industry which is recovering.

I gotten them in my yard on a few occasions when my neighbors had a cattle fence boarding us. I suspect they used to fall off when they jumped the fence. They weren't usually found near the fence which would suggest rubbing or getting tangled, rather about 50 yards away in the middle of my yard. One I have in my garage in nice shape, and others get found when I'm mowing.