Make-A-Wish sled restoration project.

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snoluver1

Active member
Cuzzinolaf stopped by for a few hours today to lend a helping hand. We went through most of the driveline components and got a few of the plastic pieces cleaned up and polished. Once I got the secondary off and the chain case cleaned up, I discovered why the sled was parked and forgotten about all those years ago. The secondary shaft bearings were completely shot! I remembered the reason I parked it was due to a noise in the driveline, and those bearings are quite obviously where the noise was coming from. So, a trip to my favorite bearing supplier is in order. Should be no problem getting the bearings.

Cuzz, it was good seeing you again. Thanks for the help!:)


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cuzzinolaf

Well-known member
Man I stunk like parts cleaner when I got home. Glad I could help for a little bit.

I'm working in Round Lake on Monday but can still run out to Gurnee if ya need to me to. See you Monday night.
 
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snoluver1

Active member
Today I was able to to get the crankcase cleaned up, for the second time, and cleaned up and honed the cylinders. They cleaned up very well, although there is a very light score mark in the right cylinder that did not come out with the hone job. You can see it in the fourth picture. I didn't want to get too crazy with the hone, and I can assure you all, it looks worse in the picture than it actually is. It passes the "fingernail test" and should not effect performance in any way.
I also got a couple pieces parts primed and painted.

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I decided that after my work today, I had earned myself a steak. I didn't feel like firing up the grill in the rain, and the ol' lady already had a fire going in the house. I rigged up this little contraption so I could cook my steak. I know it has nothing to due with the project, it just turned out so good on the open fire, that I thought I would share the idea.
:)
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phazerpilot

New member
nice looking steaks! after the wife dragged me thru the rv show at lake county fair ground,
I went out to the garage and decided to paint the hood . It's looks like a brand new hood now and it's hard to picture how bad it looked like just a short time ago.
monday night if things work out i will be dropping off the chassis to snolover. The hood has a couple of imperfection that need to be rubbed out before the decals can go on and it needs some time to BREATHE , so they don't bubble from the trapped solvent, that will take a couple days to do. DSCF1048.jpg DSCF1052.jpg
 
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snoluver1

Active member
Phazer, The hood looks fantastic! I can't believe how well the repairs came out. Outstanding work!



I came home to a little surprise from Mr. Brown sitting on the porch.

Skiroule, you went WAY above and beyond the call of duty on this one. HOLY CRAP!!! I can't believe you did this. I'm speechless!

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timo

Well-known member
you guys are doing an incredible job. keep it up. if congress could work in unison like you guys this world would be a much better place. that steak looks damn good too!!!
 
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snoluver1

Active member
Thanks for all the kind words guys!:)

Tonight I was able to get the crankcase and top end back together. I have a wake to go to tomorrow night, so the rest of it will have to wait till Wednesday. I put it in my "storage facility" for safe keeping.


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sns

New member
We have been watching this thread and just have to agree with the others - you guys are awesome! Great work...it's looking good!
 
skiroule

skiroule

Well-known member
Man! I go away for a couple of days and all sorts of progress occurs. It's funny, the same thing happens at work. Go figure.

Phazerpilot, the hood is phenomenal! It's perfect. If I ever get started on a vintage project of my own (which is actually somewhat likely - I do have the fever), I might have to consider bringing some business your way.

Everthing is looking really good. I've already mentioned the attention to detail that is going into this sled and the most recent photos continue to reinforce that statement.

Hopefully the track works out. By all accounts, it will fit and has a somewhat updated lug design to handle the power of that 340. After thinking about it some, it just didn't make sense to compromise on the track after all the work that is going into the sled. Please consider it a contribution to the project.

Cuzz, I don't know about you, but I didn't see any of those steaks when I was there. I'm just sayin'.
 
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snoluver1

Active member
Skiroule, with all that you've donated to the project, I think I might have to feed you steak AND lobster the next time you come down!:)

I stopped by Danny's Glass and Trim today to pick up the seat. Danny did an outstanding job with it!! I wasn't able to find the original material, but found a piece that was close. Danny took it and cut it into four separate sections and stitched it back together exactly as the original was. It looks fantastic. Danny does some very nice work and I would recommend anyone in the area that needs upholstery work done, stop by and see him. He doesn't have a web site, but he is located directly across the street from Camping World (formerly crystal valley rv) on rt. 176 in Island lake. 847-526-5425.



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scottiking

scottiking

Super Moderator
Staff member
Looking AWESOME!
Someone might have to build a glass case to display this fine machine!

Scottiking OUT
 
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snoluver1

Active member
I got the chassis back from Phazerpilot a couple days ago and got started on the polishing duties. As I stated earlier, the belly pan is not perfect. There are several imperfections that were impossible to work out, due to access. There were a few areas that could not be hammered out from the top side simply because there was no way to get at them with a hammer and dolly. Also, there were some where I just had to draw the line and say enough is enough. Aluminum is a difficult material to work with and does not stretch, bend, shrink like steel does. You can only beat on it so much,before you start to over-stress the aluminum and crack it. Please remember that this belly pan was a complete and total disaster, and quite honestly should have been crushed instead of "restored". Between phazerpilot and I, we did the best we could with what we had to work with. All this rambling is just a little disclaimer to any potential buyers. I want you to know exactly what your getting, so there are no false expectations. Sometimes the camera hides imperfections, sometimes it accentuates them. It all depends on the lighting, camera settings and the angle of the dangle! In these first two shots, I tried to get the camera to accurately display the imperfections on the bottom side. I've heard your supposed to keep the rubber side down. Hopefully the new owner wont spend much time looking at the bottom of the sled!


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So that brings us to the polishing. I didn't get to crazy buffing on the bottom side. Just wanted to clean it up a bit.




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For the areas that will actually be seen, I was much more thorough. I first started out with a heavy cleaning with a scotch-bright pad. I then wet sanded, starting with 400 grit and working my way up to 2000 grit. Then buffed with 2 different levels of compound, and then a final rub with Mothers polish. I have to say, for 35 year old aluminum, I think it turned out pretty darn good.



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Admin

Admin

Administrator
Staff member
Boy, that thing is looking great!

You have done so much in such a short period of time. Amazing!

-John
 
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snoluver1

Active member
Thanks John. I have had a lot of help along the way. Skiroule and phazerpilot's contributions have had an enormous impact on the amount of time the project is taking!
 
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Love4Snow

New member
Look's GREAT in pictures I'm sure it is even more impressive in real life. You guys sure know what you're doing , this thing will be better than new. You still aiming for having it done for the RIDE-IN?
 
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