vikingminer49er

It's been three weeks since I received photos on the 1938. Joe Jarvis has had some delays due to the pandemic, and I've been home working on the new shop excavation. Here's the latest photos on boxing and reinforcing the frame on the 1938.

Only a few photos from Joe Jarvis on work on the 1938 RC. Started repair on the grill shell with removal of rust and welding replacement panel on the bottom.

Progress slowed in the second half of March due to the coronavirus pandemic. At the time of the last post, March 12, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped nearly 10% in a single day, and I placed the building contractor on an indefinite delay. Have continued with earthwork with my two little machines at a leisurely pace while staying home. Completed excavation of the east side and started on the north side. Found a hard, durable, stony clay layer at about 3 to 4 feet below grade. Will use this marker bed for the subgrade foundation. Suitable soils stripped from the corral areas were used to raise the grade on the south side of the exterior. Using the excavation spoils to level the interior.

Plans for the new truck shop have been finalized. Will be constructing a traditional, lumber-frame structure, instead of a metal-frame structure. Although more expensive, we believe the better insulation and moisture control of a traditional structure will be much more energy efficient for heating. Size and appearance will be similar to the existing cattle/hay barn. Finished cleaning up the construction area, and started stripping available soils from the old corral.

Progress photos from Mr. Joe Jarvis. Cab and frame have been sandblasted and sealed with primer before start of assembly. Bottom rear of cab will require patch panels.

Bit more raking and grading of the construction site for the new truck shop. Hope to finalize plans and start ordering materials this week.

Gauges and speedometer have been received at Bob's Speedometer in Howell Michigan for rebuild and conversion to 12-volt, negative ground. Very expensive. Cab and frame are at the sandblaster in Grand Junction. Hauled fenders, running boards, doors, and the Charger rear end to Grand Junction for the next phase of the build. Returned home with the springs and axles from the 1938, and front-sump oil pan, alternator, air-conditioning compressor, and motor mounts from the Charger.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, a truckload of pit-run material for drainage and finished loading the irrigation pipe.

Cab is off. Frame will need some repair and reinforcement,

Mark-ups for position of new crossmember.

Finally got some update photos from Joe Jarvis, American Iron Hot Rod Shop in Grand Junction Colorado. Finished with the mock-up for placement of the 2014 Dodge Challenger Hemi engine and transmission. New rear sump oil pan needed to clear the new front crossmember. Time to disassemble the pieces and prepare for sandblasting the frame and cab.

Spread some of the road base where Judy keeps her daily drivers, so she doesn't get muddy on her trips to town and her social events. Started loading irrigation pipe. Started layout for the New Truck Shop with offsets from the cattle/hay barn.

Still have some clean up to finish by the old barn, and need to move the irrigation pipe for another project at another property, scheduled for later this year.

Brought in some road base to deal with the muddy spots before the rains start. Got some help from a couple of younger neighbors.

Posted another video showing the corral are to clear before start of construction. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff_89r-Ys74 Photos of clearing the construction site.

The 1975 Dodge S700 Earnhardt Bus sprung an oil leak from the oil pressure sending unit. Removed the unit for now and plugged the hole to stop the leak. Fired up the bus and backed it around the cattle/hay barn, where some vehicles are stashed to make construction room for the New Truck Shop. Posted a youtube video of the bus backing up. If you watch the video, you'll see a squirrel escaping from the cattle/hay barn to find a new hiding place in the woodpile. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfQa6CrjAfQ

Started removing the corral panels to clear the area for the New Truck Shop. Will reset a line of corral panels to the south side to allow construction room, and separate the pasture from the construction area.

Middle of February, the weather on the Western Slope of Colorado starts to change. Not likely to seen the really cold temperatures of January. Turns milder, and muddy. We'll still get snowstorms, sometimes as late as May and June. In case you never noticed, by the middle of March, winter is gone. That's why the groundhog always predicts six more weeks of winter. Just ask Bill Murray. Perfect time to start planning outdoor projects. The structural designer has completed the foundation design for the New Truck Shop. Ready to start layout, but still have to clear the construction site. Have had the 1975 Dodge S700 Earnhardt party bus parked where the south end of the New Truck Shop will be. Haven't had the bus running in several years. Fired it up with gasoline from a 1-gallon, transfusion tank, hooked to the inlet side of the fuel pump. On-board compressor put the air in the air brakes, blasted the air horn a few times to announce it's immanent movement, and tried to get it to move. It had been sitting in one spot so long, it had trouble getting out of the frozen depressions under the wheels. Gave it a tug with the Bobcat 322 Excavator to bring it back to the surface. Slowly drove it the length of the bus to clear enough room for laying out the foundation area. Throttle linkage needs some work, before driving the bus out back to the truck yard, to get it all the way out of the construction area. The New Truck Shop will replace the old wooden corral area. The old wooden posts have been pretty well rotted away by years of use. Steel corral panels have been supporting the wooden corral for some time. We used to have horses, and some cow-calf pairs, but we just raise a few feeder steers now. Definitely time to put the area to a higher, and better, use.

Radiator has been installed, and engine and transmission adjustments have been made. Engine and transmission position required cutting the firewall, will require modification to the lower firewall pieces, and fabrication of a driveline tunnel under the seat. Fatman suspension parts arrived on Tuesday. Original front axle and suspension have been removed, and the Fatman suspension has been positioned. Will require an oil pan change to a rear sump for the 2014 Dodge Charger Hemi engine. Parts to be re-chromed were sent to North Star Platting yesterday.

2005 Honda VT750CA Shadow Aero purchased in Wheat Ridge Colorado. The liquid-cooled engine with shaft drive is a smooth-riding bike, with plenty of speed for highway cruising. Especially enjoy the low seat height, and old-school style. Some Honda riders will spend thousands to make their bike sound like a Harley, and some Harley riders will spend thousands to make their bike ride like a Honda. Spent less on this bike than a typical repair at an HD (Hundreds o' Dollars) shop. I like it just fine. Threw in a couple of photos of my old 1985 Honda VT500C Shadow, that I used to ride to the mine on a daily basis in the good weather. Sold the older bike when I no longer needed a daily commuter after the mine closed. Now, only ride on occasional rare days, when I take a break from my many projects. Really should ride more often.

Good eye Trucker Tim! The gizmo on the dash is the automatic fire suppression system used on underground mine equipment. In addition to the dash control with an activation push button, there is a fire-extinguisher, dry-chemical container, a Carbon Dioxide (CO2) charging cartridge, and an activation push button in the bed of the truck, and tubing in the engine compartment to distribute the dry chemical in the event of an equipment fire. Handy requirement for an underground coal mine. What's the Toter you have for hauling the M37?

Thank you to Mr. Merle Coggins for the reply. Was beginning to think no one was watching any more. For all of you that have been bored by the list since we left the 1950's some pages ago, this should be my last entry on this thread. Don't have any photos of the last parts truck, and it's too snowy to go out and get any of the 1997 D2500. Truck 61 is a 1996 Dodge D2500 Extended-Cab Pickup, with a V10 engine and automatic transmission, purchased in Clifton Colorado. The truck runs, but needs to be re-built. It would make a good, fast, highway truck. It's been sitting here for years, and is probably far down on my priority list of things to do. Truth is two-wheel-drive trucks are not much in demand around here. Many thanks to all who have been viewing all my trucks. It has been my pleasure to go through all my photos and stories of bringing these pieces of the past home. it's been a good winter-time project, and have printed out the pages and made a scrap-book of my trucks. Spring is just around the corner. Time to start some outdoor projects. Please follow my 1938 Dodge RC Pickup Build thread. Thank you. Best wishes to all. Tom and Judy Anderson Paonia Colorado 970-986-1020 vikingminer49er@gmail.com https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBzJGckMYO4

Truck 60 is a 1995 Dodge W2500 Pickup, with the Cummins 6BT, 12-valve, diesel engine and a 5-speed transmission, recently purchased locally near Paonia Colorado. Thought we already had enough trucks, but Judy showed me an ad in the local, weekly-published, High Country Shopper for this truck, at a price we couldn't refuse. Since I was first to arrive with money, the guy was left to answer the numerous calls from soon-to-be-disappointed, potential buyers. Other than faded paint, rust, cracked windshield, the horn and cruise control doesn't work, there is nothing wrong with this truck. Although high miles at approximately 325,000 on the odometer, took the truck for it's first, long, parts run last week, to Montrose, Grand Junction, and home, approximately 200 miles without issues. Since the 1989 Dodge W250 Cummins has recently been re-finished to better than new, this will be the Lone Ranger truck for the farm. A Lone Ranger truck is the truck used to haul trash to the dump. "To the dump, to the dump, to the dump, dump, dump, dump." Sung to the music of the William Tell Overture by Gioachino Rossini. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfqJzCqHdjU