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The chassis is somewhat cleaner now and I sandblasted all of the steel rivets that won’t get replaced. The next step will be to strip all of the remaining paint, then I will be spending a little time taking out dents. I also need to figure out how to fabricate a new piece for the end of the...

Maybe these maps will give you some idea but our lake cabin is about 40 miles NE of the Baudette/Rainy River border crossing on the small bay I've circled. It's a relatively short drive once you cross the border. As the maps show, there's a lot of fishing territory around us.

It’s probably not the smartest move but I’m going to stay with the original cleated track. It will be a lot of work to get it back into shape but it’s simple and I guess that fits me. I’ll have to take another look at the Sportster next time I’m out there but I’m pretty sure it has a steel...

Out doing a little pre-fishing today for a Walleye tournament this weekend and guess who showed up for the party. 38 degrees, wind blowing about 20, and a Muskie. Just doesn’t get any better.

Sometimes you literally have to beat the bushes in search of parts. My brother’s Sears Sportster (aka Polaris Charger), abandoned many years ago, actually provided a couple of key parts that will be put to good use.

I’m constantly amazed at the size of those fish. The Spotted Muskie is pretty cool. I had no idea you could get Muskies in the southern part of the state. I guess I always associate northern WI more with Muskies. A lot of vehicles with Wisconsin plates up here now, I think at least a couple of...

Good question Kirk. If things go according to plan (questionable), I’m going to use this mill. It’s a 340 “Big Fin” motor out of a 78 TX. They might have bumped up the HP a little from the 73 version but I’m not sure. Even though it is the same displacement as the original, there are a couple of...

Well, it only took what, a little over two years? I suspect there might be a late rush of Muskie fishermen that were holding back due to the vaccination requirement. It’s prime Muskie and Northern Pike season.

Hey Kirk, good to hear from you. Not sure about the energy level thing, there are days…. It probably helps that I only work a couple of days a week, leaves a lot of time for other activities. I’m sure we’ll be talking, I will know I will need some expert mechanical advice (and maybe even a...

There wasn’t much to the sled “deconstruction” and it went pretty smoothly. One spindle was a little stubborn and, of course, three suspension bolts came out easily and the head on the fourth stripped out. Had to resort to my hack trick of driving a slightly smaller metric socket on it – came...

Awesome! I've become a big believer in staying as active as possible during physical recovery. I can tell you from personal experience that sometimes your body will surprise you with what it can accomplish. Keep it up!

Thanks for the update Gary. Starting to think about going home is a very good thing. Hoping to hear soon that John is on his way back to his home and family in the U.P.

Thanks, hopefully the project ends up as I'm imagining it. I'm definitely a little antsy to start getting things set up in the shop, but before a lot of that can happen, this freeloader has to give up its space. Have to love the late model design, all this to replace the Bendix drive for the...

Geez Mezz, I had to read through this entire thread again. It’s been quite the journey but it sounds like the outcome will be everything you had hoped it would be. Congrats on the progress you’ve made!

I’m glad you guys have confidence because it lets me feed off that confidence to launch into this latest old iron resurrection. I’m still in summer fishing/lawn mowing/morning coffee and evening brewski on the deck mode, but I doubt there’s a day I don’t think about this project. For whatever...

I’ve flip-flopped more times than I can count about doing another “ground-up” project but for some time I’ve been thinking about a couple of projects that I’d really like to attempt. This project is one that I’ve been mulling over. I’m calling it a “Mutt Mod” but in the end I think it will be...

Mark, it’s been awesome to see your progress! It sounds like you are well on the way to resuming activities you enjoy. I have to admit, I’m kind of a chicken when it comes to joint replacement but experiences like yours give me a lot more confidence to have one done if/when I would need one...

What a porker! Look at the coloring on that fish, beautiful. Well done and I guess I don't have to tell you how lucky you are to have world-class fresh water fishing basically right in your back yard.

It probably wasn’t very well known outside of MN, or maybe even northern MN, but the entire Minnesota watershed that feeds into Lake Winnipeg, which included Lake of the Woods, experienced insanely high water levels this year. Our humble cabin was built on the water’s edge and was constructed to...

Awesome!