Beverly Hillbillies, Part Deux

Vehicles and items that do not fall into the general M151 categories

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Re: Beverly Hillbillies, Part Deux

Unread post by m3a1 » July 4th, 2021, 3:29 am

I returned to one of my old haunts today after several years of absence. Friends and family were all too busy with other things to join me which was A-Ok by me. When alone I move a little faster, I'm a little more focused and I don't have people telling me the grass is too high or there might be snakes or calling me away from stuff I want to look at in order to look at stuff they want me to look at. This place would mean wading through a sea of green, some of it almost as high as me (6'00!) whilst trying not to trip over stuff that is hidden on the ground.

It wasn't even close to what our Vietnam veterans would call 'badass bush' but it was rather unforgiving and treacherous and how the HECK does grass grow that high, ANYWAY?

Being by myself allowed me to go through parts of this place that I hadn't had a chance to look at when I was with companions. Most things hidden back in those acres of weeds and grass and prickly things fell directly into the - From-Soup-To-Nuts Category. I really can't describe it. It is part junkyard, part salvage yard, and part landfill.

But among the standouts to be found in this crazy place (and there were a few DEFINITE standouts) was a matched set of turn of the century A.O.Norton (Boston, Mass) railroad jacks (Model 3260, 35 Ton, High Speed, Ball Bearing) each weighing in at a whopping 187 lbs. EACH!

When not extended, they are as tall as a fire hydrant and their raison d'être was to lift railroad cars off their trucks. Discovering his sort of thing is one of those circumstances where being alone was NOT an advantage. With my back in its presently sorry condition, hefting something of that weight by myself is no longer a small matter for me. Thank God I didn't show up in my tall truck, Longfellow! When the time came to load, I barely got them into the back of the suburban.


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Another standout was a yellow truck. It was most of a 1959-1960 International B-100 sans engine and transmission. Several acres away I found the missing engine and transmission attached to some kind of stand for some purpose now long forgotten. And here I was hoping for a flathead Ford V8....which is too much to ask for I suppose. Poor, sad little truck. Not one single redeeming line on it... Not then. Not now. Not ever.

I will not burden you with all the photos I took but everything that captured my interest did get documented. Things that looked like they might have potential had been picked clean a LONG time ago, with the notable exception of those two 187 lb. chunks of iron which defied being picked clean simply because pieces of jacks do not lend themselves well to becoming something else. I'm a fan of industrial type stuff and I am stubborn so, I am one of the few people who would show any real interest in such things and then follow up with actual hard physical labor to recover them in the hottest and most humid part of the year. I can tell you I am paying for that right now, though. Argh!

It looks like it's time to buy more stock in Tylenol.

I took pictures of the jacks, hiked back up front and asked the nice lady for a price (which was absolutely stellar). We used to have a humorous saying in the Police Department. "Be nice to the lady behind the counter and sometimes you'll get more meat in your taco." Well, friends, those are words to live by even if you're not looking for something extra. I didn't know it yet but I was about to get a LOT more meat in my taco.

The nice lady behind the counter turned out to be the owner of the place and she was hanging out with another nice lady who was handling the money. There were a few seats right outside their little shack. They were in the shade and those seats benefitted from the occasional waft of air from an ancient oscillating fan. Full disclosure - shade, plus breeze (however faint), seemed mighty inviting so I sat down to take advantage of it. Some very nice, very pleasant conversation ensued and, as is my habit, I asked about how the place came to be what it is today, etc. I ended up spending a whole hour just participating in a nice, old fashioned chin-wag. Feeling somewhat refreshed, I excused myself and returned to my expeditionary activities.

"Mister Livingstone, I presume?"

Now this location ended up being mostly a place where one might go to find trash or junk and turn it into treasure. One has to be able to use one's imagination to get past the initial impression of things (which, under the best circumstances, would be desperately bleak). Frankly, it becomes even more bleak with intemperate weather, tall grass with those nasty seed pod thingies that cling to your clothes (and get under your tee shirt's hem to drive you bananas) and... bugs. Lots and lots of bugs. Today was in the mid 90's with about 90% humidity (or worse) and the bugs were swarming any living thing they found.

I'm usually pretty stoic about bugs but having something that sounds like a Kamakazi right around my ears really gets to me...but I was going to comb this area completely until it gave up all its secrets. Bugs, or no bugs.

After much hiking and having satisfied myself I had done a pretty good job of canvassing the place, I was mentally prepared to throw in the towel. I was feeling slightly disappointed I hadn't found more stuff that was in the 'My Cup of Tea Category' but I was feeling pretty good about the bargain price I had received on the jacks, So, once again, I headed back up front, prepared to call it a day.

And then I came upon IT.

Rising up out of some vines was a tow dolly with a pathetic and rusty little For Sale sign on it. The For Sale sign seem redundant because everything here is for sale. Now, I have been long convinced that a decent tow dolly is really an important tool to have for the average person in our hobby. It is an expedient method of moving stuff that fills the gap between tow-strap-it-and-drag-it-home and load-it-on-a-trailer-and-bring-it-home. If you're lazy, like me, tow dollies just open up certain possibilities that regular trailers do not.

Because of this belief, I have long been on the lookout for one. Average prices for them, even used, make them just a bit too pricy for a cheapskate like me so they seemed to be out of reach because my #1 financial rule is to NEVER pay retail. To be fair, there is no shortage of trailers between me and my buddies so, I (or better put, WE) have managed to get along without one.

The left fender of the tow dolly was throughly destroyed and the left wheel was turned decidedly to the left. Bent axle? Maybe. So, it that had been wrecked. Hmmmm...if it had been wrecked, then how badly? Was it salvageable? There was a space-saver sized spare bolted up (surely because it was the only tire that would fit under the mangled fender and THAT most likely meant someone had pulled it from wherever the wreck took place, to here which offered some reasonable assurance of mobility.

So I began pulling the vines away like a kid unwrapping a Christmas gift and discovered that the right wheel was also turned to the left. What the...!?! How did that happen? :shock:

After I removed even MORE vines I discovered that this thing was a Demco brand Kar Kaddy and that it had a real honest-to-God steering axle on it. Most car dollies have a pivoting tray. Ohhhhh-kayyyyyy. So, other folks had undoubtedly come upon this thing, seen its wheels all akimbo and decided right then and there it was not worthy of any effort and they kept on walking.

This is where having a curiosity about how things are put together and how things work pays off in spades, fellas. Ya gotta look hard and ya gotta look twice. In the final analysis, I believe someone had jack-knifed the thing in a simple, low-speed misadventure whilst backing up. I have post-crash investigative training and all evidence points to that. Not a lot of energy caused this damage. In short, it looked far worse than it actually was.

Well, both tires had at least some air and almost everything else was there and the hitch was in good shape. Could I pull it home? I could pull it home...maybe. If I COULDN'T pull it home, I have other trailers that would make short work of the job of getting it home. I hiked back up front to the shade, the moving air, the absence of bugs and a real chair to sit in and I struck a deal on the tow dolly.

I will not tell you the price because it was a steal of a deal...but in Texas, theft is still punishable by law... :wink: ...and I have the right to remain silent. :lol:

After settling up, we chatted for another hour...literally, another hour and it was fun to just chill out and swap stories. Finally, I got back to my suburban, followed a path back into the bush and loaded the jacks. Then I made a 500 point turn, much like the hilarious Austin Powers turn-around scene, and doubled back to get the tow dolly.

I know this seems almost too obvious to say this but, it really pays to have the keys to certain locked things WITH YOU...such as when it comes time to install a ball mount in a receiver hitch... particularly one that has a locked retaining pin in it. Alas, I had none of my 'Trailer Keys' with me. DANG IT! I really hadn't planned on towing anything this day.

It seems I need to give more thought to my preparedness strategies.

So, I told the nice ladies I would be right back and I drove home, thoroughly enjoying the air conditioning. I might even be dry by the time I get back! When I got home, I got my keys and something cold to drink and my magnetic tail-light kit and some PB Blaster and some used wheels-n-tires. I checked to make sure I had a 4-way lug wrench, then drove back. That's about a 40 mile round trip. As I exited the interstate I realized I had left my tools behind. :roll: Terrific. Ah well. One cannot be brilliant ALL the time.

Once there, I pawed through bins of ancient tools that hadn't done any work for ages and scared up what I needed and went outside and three bolts later, removed the offending fender to make room for an appropriately-sized replacement wheel/tire. Do you remember that stack of trailer wheels and tires that I had found for free on the curb in my buddy's neighborhood some time ago? This is where that previous scrounging paid off. I plucked the tiny wheel off and put a trailer wheel on and happily, the bearings seemed to be okay.

While in the process of changing that tire, I discovered that I was not going to have to pull the dolly home while it dog-tracked behind me. I had been prepared to do just that and was happy that it wouldn't be necessary. The steering (which was dampened by a simple shock absorber) moved freely.

What was missing was a single pin, or bolt (I later discovered a 1/2" thick pin locks the steering while the dolly is unloaded and underway. While loaded, the pin is removed and the vehicle, trailing on the dolly, acts as kind of a sea anchor and keeps things straight and true). It sounds strange but it is a design that this company has produced for some time....ergo, it must work and appears to be a far better design than a pivoting tray.

So I took the borrowed tools back and scared up a bolt and a nylock nut and a big flat washer and secured the wheels in the 'let's go home' direction. BINGO....We're in business! I stopped twice along the way to check the hubs for heat and they were actually cool to the touch. Fabulous!


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Next, we make some plans to sort out all the little things.

Cheers,
TJ
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Re: Beverly Hillbillies, Part Deux

Unread post by m3a1 » July 5th, 2021, 1:56 pm

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Re: Beverly Hillbillies, Part Deux

Unread post by m3a1 » July 6th, 2021, 8:39 pm

Rain is coming and going this week like clockwork and they are not little storms, but big, bad, gullywhumpers. In between storms it's nice out, and sunny. I'll take whatever I can get. So, in between meteorological events I go outside and do a little work.

The remaining fender is off the tow dolly and the oddball wheel/tire (with the wrong offset) has been swapped for a matching wheel/tire; like the one I replaced on the other side. Things are looking quite a bit better. Well, maybe not better but the feng shui has improved. No doubt about it. You might note that my signal lights went away with the fenders and you'd be right about that. My theory is, anyone who intends to use a tow dolly should have a remote magnetic light kit (which I do) so, having those instead of the stock lights is all that is really necessary.

I put the remote light kit on the tow dolly when it's empty and when loaded, I put 'em on the towed vehicle. Simple, and a lot less maintenance. If someone steals it, maybe they'll get stopped for not having lights. When it's parked the lights come off and get put away. As for replacing the fenders, that will happen when I run into a bargain, or a coupon, or something in between. I'll straighten and repair the brackets that held the original fenders and adapt them to whatever I end up using as replacement fenders.



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I managed to get the retaining pin freed up, courtesy of PB Blaster and a copper mallet. After a little once-over with a red 3M pad it moves very nicely. Not hard to sort that out at all. So much of what this tow dolly needs is directly related to the previous owner's disinterest in keeping it squared away. Another step towards achieving full functionality!


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Then there's that bent strut rod. That will have to come off and be straightened. Note that the shorter strut rods are unbent which means the tongue of the machine still wants to be square to the axles so I'll take that bend out and everything will be per-fec-to. Huzzah!


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Load securement. Well, the ratchets for the tow dolly straps are okay, except for one of the pawls which requires a little arm and a spring to ensure it stays engaged with the ratchet face. Seems like a very minor thing but I assure you, it is not.




The broken one -
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The good one -
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With a little help from the internet and eTrailer.com I have a new one, plus the attendant spring, on the way as we speak. In the meantime I'll slide the ratchet assemblies off and give them a tidy-up with vinegar and clean out the slots in the chassis that they ride in to ensure complete mobility (they can be moved right or left to be directly in front of each tire to be secured). It's a sensible arrangement that will benefit greatly from just a little tender loving care. A bit of spray paint will ensure the work I do will last just that much longer.

I kinda burned through my remaining 'mad money' to buy this rig so I'll have to wait till payday to order new wheel straps. I am happy to say they are surprisingly affordable! However, affordability means nothing if I go over budget. Do that and Momma has reason to be mad. Stay within budget and there are no complaints whatever.

Cheers,
TJ
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Re: Beverly Hillbillies, Part Deux

Unread post by Redlight » July 6th, 2021, 9:54 pm

I used the tow dolly to take my M151(1st gen) from Boston to the Great Smoky MT's and return. It towed very well but very hard to back up. I did find out due to the back end being very light, the real wheels tucked in and the tires wore unevenly. not bad for short distances but it was over 2000 miles round trip. The tires were not new when I left so I was not upset to have to buy new ones. Normally I drive about 400 miles a year.

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Re: Beverly Hillbillies, Part Deux

Unread post by m3a1 » July 7th, 2021, 1:28 am

Yes, backing these up is a new level of misery and somewhat like backing a 1/4 ton military trailer. A driver had better have his 'game face' on. The use of a tow dolly also requires some planning (like driving slowly by the parking lot or gas station you would like to get into, just to check it out and then go around the block for a second try if it looks promising. Most times you just end up getting fuel at the larger gas stations or looking for a big parking lot near a restaurant and taking a little hike over to the Steak House for dinner. C'mon! The exercise will do you good and helps the digestion! :wink:

While this particular dolly allows for vehicles with a wider stance I would not be looking forward to putting anything the size and weight of a suburban on it (chiefly because this particular dolly was not built with brakes, and presently, it has hand-me-down tires, etc, etc. So, I will limit my use to something like jeeps and vehicles of a similar size and weight. That is very limited use of course but, one of the fringe benefits of having a tow dolly (here in Texas, anyway) is that they are not required to be registered so there are no annual fees for license plates.

My thanks go out to the RV industry and their lobby in Austin.

When it comes to exemption from registration in Texas, there is a short list of vehicles that fall into that category: street and parking lot sweepers, construction water trucks and tow dollies to name a few. Their being on the street is considered wholly incidental to their actual purpose. A tow dolly is not a trailer. Functionally, they are a bit like a 'Joe Dog', or converter dolly (which converts a semi-trailer to a full trailer by putting a set of axles under the front of it.

Actually, a tow dolly is a coupling device. The State of Texas provides token plates for those aforementioned commercial units, only because they are likely to be making interstate runs and, hey, we want to keep our neighbors happy. But, before you go nuts thinking about it, let me add that a vehicle ON a tow dolly must be registered (or at least have a trip permit). Nobody really rides for free. :lol:

This particular tow dolly has very good road manners unloaded and I have been taking it on short hops around town for several days now...kind of a shakedown procedure, just to see if any problems reveal themselves. The axle bearings are sealed bearings (no grease cap) and so far as I can tell, there is no runout and no appreciable heat generated over the miles. Heat would indicate unseen issues. So, I'm happy to report there is nothing to report.

Will I keep this? Probably for a while. We shall see if having it is everything I thought it would be. Ultimately, if it proves to be of very little use (now, most of my MVs are far larger than jeeps and M151s) I may sell it. But right now, I'm having a little fun getting it back into fighting trim.

Cheers,
TJ

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Re: Beverly Hillbillies, Part Deux

Unread post by m3a1 » July 8th, 2021, 11:55 pm

Meanwhile, I'm also keeping good Doctor Smith happy by taking down her old gazebo and putting up her new gazebo. We bought this at a greatly reduced price but before the end-of-season discount came along. Why not wait, you ask? Because until that discount arrived, anyone could have come along and bought it just as we did and it was the only one left.


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I took it apart in the store, separated it into three big chunks and hauled it home on the gooseneck. I was congratulating myself on having avoided a lot of time spent doing a full assembly but fellas, let me tell ya....it was no picnic. No Sir! I found out that the store assembler cheated here and there and ultimately left out some hardware which, of course, was not recoverable under any circumstance. Logic that would dictate that leftover pieces from in-store displays might just be labeled and put in a box and kept for the time when someone bought said store display. Yeeahhhh...

NOPE. :roll:

Luckily, your ol' pal never throws anything away so a visit to my garage yielded a couple of glass jars (which formerly held delicious jams and jellies) and which now held M6 metric nuts and bolts in a variety of lengths and of the size and finish that were perfect for assembling this gazebo correctly. Well. Waddya know! :wink:

I will salvage the steel from the old gazebo and make yet ANOTHER section of creepy fence for Halloween, just as I did with the last gazebo. Nothing goes to waste around here.


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There's ALWAYS something going on at the Beverly Hillbillies!

Cheers,
TJ
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Re: Beverly Hillbillies, Part Deux

Unread post by m3a1 » July 19th, 2021, 11:58 am

Well, I'm back from Disney World. Good to be home. Left The Kid in charge and was pleasantly surprised that the house didn't burn down, nor was it any worse condition than the way I left it. The kittens did shred the curtains a bit but we were due for new ones anyway.

I will admit, I missed having him along. Next time, perhaps.

Disney World has all sorts of goodies. Ol' Walt was a guy who appreciated things with wheels and, unfortunately, there was a little bit less of everything, owing to the whole Covid thing. Some of the old Tried And True vehicles were still proudly standing their posts. Others are conspicuously absent. Perhaps they were shipped to another Disney venue (which happens from time to time). I'm hoping some of their old restorations are somewhere getting a bit of a tidy-up. But if you're a gear head, Disney World has something for you!

Here are some of the best of the best, with the wrecker being my absolute all-time favorite out of ALL their vehicles.. What a beauty!

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The word is, if you get married at Disney World (which does happen!) you and your bride may get to ride in this sweet Cadillac (which has some nice upgrades (like disc brakes)...

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What old-time firehouse would be complete without a fire truck?

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And here I am, over 60 and after a few days at the parks, I'm a kid again. The ol' WET WILLY! Gets 'em every time!

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Cheers,
TJ
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Re: Beverly Hillbillies, Part Deux

Unread post by m3a1 » July 20th, 2021, 12:42 am

The tow dolly is nearly ready for service. I have taken the ratchet binders off and ensured everything was moving as it should. I'm letting them soak in the distilled vinegar for a day or two which is to be followed up with a coat of paint before reinstalling. These are not terribly rusty but they DO need paint and they do need whatever rust there IS there to be GONE. Working bits need to be right as rain.

To begin with, they were painted brown (which certainly does not make them look any better). I'd rather just get 'em right and be satisfied that I won't have rust peeking through my new paint in a year. Yes folks, a little extra prep never hurts anything. And, a new pawl has been acquired to replace the broken one on one of the ratchet binders.

I ordered a set of new 2" synthetic web 'baskets' (used to tie down the wheels of whatever is being towed). They arrived while I was traveling.

Today, I took a little time to peek at the coupler which was behaving like something was out of whack and, YUP, I found something bent on the coupler latch. Took it out and straightened it and now the whole thing works like new. I may just replace the whole thing just for quality assurance. I feel good about my repair but the coupler is showing its age and the inside of the socket is butt-ugly with rust.

The only thing really left to do from the fix-it list is to remove and straighten the left strut which is really just an annoyance. Bent stuff that shouldn't be bent just really puts me off. It is still structurally sound but I'm sure someone else (maybe a potential buyer?) would be concerned.


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Still keeping my ear to the ground for some bargain fenders.

And what's coming up? Marston Matting!

Cheers,
TJ
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Re: Beverly Hillbillies, Part Deux

Unread post by Mark » July 20th, 2021, 10:08 am

I made a trailer bed out of that matting for my mule
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Re: Beverly Hillbillies, Part Deux

Unread post by m3a1 » July 20th, 2021, 1:21 pm

The stuff is crazy expensive!

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Re: Beverly Hillbillies, Part Deux

Unread post by Mark » July 20th, 2021, 1:51 pm

Yes, very much so
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Re: Beverly Hillbillies, Part Deux

Unread post by m3a1 » July 22nd, 2021, 1:13 am

Today was all backwards but it needed to be done.

Recently, I came upon a small cache of traffic signal lights and since I'm an old traffic cop, when, or where American pop-culture and traffic control devices intersect, I'm really 'all in'....

When finding such items, the usual haul consists of too few serviceable lights (if any) to do anything meaningful with and a miserly pile of extra hardware and a whole lot of stuff that should have been put in the trash can long ago. What I found this time was a total of two, 3-light sets and a spare light box, several extra light box doors, just a ridiculous number of hanging mounts for the lights, five pole-mounts (why these never come in even numbers is completely beyond my comprehension) and a lot of broken stuff that will be cannibalized to feed my Great Big Box of Everything for Traffic Signals.


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What kind of made the whole thing extra special is these are the older 8-3/8" lens units. I find them to be just a little more quaint and a little less 'Big City'... These particular light boxes also happen to cross over to use with railroad stuff which is, understandably, 'a thing' for some folks. Whatever monster makes ya grin....FEED IT!

So, when I brought this haul home, it just kinda got dumped and sat there waiting its turn. I had other plans for today but, once I began getting into this I just thought, what the heck and let it take me where it took me because there was yard work to do and NOBODY wants to do THAT. :lol: I began with the junky bits; stripped them of their usable parts. Cracked light boxes, twisted metal, and pieces that were of questionable virtue all went to the trash can.

Then, it was time to take stock of what I had left to work with. There were seven light boxes. Light boxes are cleverly designed so that they can be assembled every which way. If one desires a standard signal light set-up, vertical or horizontal, then three boxes are joined and maybe even a fourth if you want a dedicated turn arrow. If you want lights for,say, a T-Intersection, two independent yellows and one solo red light (all blinking) could be just the thing you were looking for.


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Lenses and seals for the lenses are usually a hit and miss endeavor and this haul was no different. Most of these were Lexan lenses which is kind of a double edged sword, chiefly because they get pretty beat up by the sun and etched by acid rain and they ended up looking decidedly dull. They still conduct light fine but they just look a bit weary when not illuminated. However, in the 'PLUS Column' they take paint VERY well so, if one wanted to mask off a directional arrow, or maybe even the silhouette of a M151, or even a martini glass (dirty, of course) and then paint the background flat black, well, a Lexan lens becomes a very welcome find. Personally, I am always pleased to have a chance encounter a nice, Marbelite glass lens because glass holds up very well, keeps its glossy finish and the color always remains true. Glass lenses look attractive even when not illuminated, which is value-added in my opinion.

As to the matter of what goes on inside these light boxes the big fly in the ointment is reflectors for the lights or better put, the LACK of reflectors. Unlike the big 12-inchers which are often times illuminated by LED lights with integral lenses (very plug-n-play), these older units used a standard traffic light signal bulb (which last far longer than your average household bulb) but they are the same sized socket and all of it is run on a household current. So, when it comes time to set one up for the ol' MAN CAVE, just about any lower wattage, incandescent bulb will do.

Unfortunately, reflectors are rather difficult to come across. They are usually constructed of a highly polished aluminum but they are very prone to corrosion and those lights that have long been abandoned and are left sitting around on the ground....well, they usually suffer greatly. If you can find a reflector in good shape it's a huge bonus. Even finding one that looks like it came off the Titanic is really no big deal as they are very often salvageable with a little effort.

Here, we see one that is bent every which way and friends, it is a rotting mess on the inside. But, with some gentle persuasion I got it back into shape, etched it in acid and painted it gloss white which is absolutely A-okay for MAN CAVE use. As long as all three reflectors are finished the same, they work and look great...even painted white. This one even had a bunch of tiny perforations from corrosion. De nada! Once the light box door is closed, you'd never know it because light reflects every whichaway.


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Traffic signal lights need hoods. Well, not always but, I think they look quite a bit more businesslike with hoods. The problem is, once the lights are taken down, they are usually being retired and the fella who does that has handled so many that he really doesn't give a hoot about what happens to things while they slide around the bed of the truck and bang into one another. That makes for some pretty noteworthy dents and often times, a partial separation of the hood from its tiny mounting tab... like this particular unit which I have repaired with new rivets. Happily, these are malleable enough that all one has to do is round up a favorite beverage, grab a chair and get to bending things back to where they belong...and usually, no tools are needed.


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So, what today's efforts yielded was a fairly accurate shopping list of the parts needed to bring these lights back to life, plenty of freshly salvaged pieces and the giant yellow pile whittled down to something meaningful in its scope and more manageable in size.

I mentioned that there was some acid etching involved and today, THAT eventually turned into a sort of marathon session of de-rusting all sorts of little odds and ends, plus a few things that had been sitting around waiting for their moment to return from the dead for YEARS.

I didn't use vinegar. THIS time I brought out the big guns. Muriatic Acid.... and with that stuff you had better have your dancin' shoes on, because things go REAL quick. By the way, aluminum in Muriatic Acid, particularly oxidized aluminum makes for an interesting reaction that is not for the faint-hearted....and a LOT of heat so if it is your intention to play with the stronger acids, get educated about How-To. Start small, experiment a little bit and tip-toe up to the big stuff. Muriatic Acid can really spoil your day if you're not careful.

Cheers,
TJ
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rickf
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Re: Beverly Hillbillies, Part Deux

Unread post by rickf » July 22nd, 2021, 10:05 am

I cab see it now, new traffic patterns in front of TJ's house! With a hand held control box just to screw with people also. We all KNOW cops NEVER did that now did they? :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :twisted: :twisted:
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone

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m3a1
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Re: Beverly Hillbillies, Part Deux

Unread post by m3a1 » July 22nd, 2021, 11:54 am

Maybe.... back in YOUR day!

IMG_6852.jpg

And that was right after horses and buggies stopped being a thing, right Rick?

Rick is SO OLD, as a kid he used to hire himself out to walk in front of the Stanley Steamers with a red kerchief during the day or a red kerosene lantern at night so as to warn people in horse-drawn carriages of the approach of this new-fangled machine called an "Auto Mobile"....
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Re: Beverly Hillbillies, Part Deux

Unread post by m3a1 » July 22nd, 2021, 12:42 pm

Here's a little example of what Muriatic Acid can do for you....quickly and efficiently. Unlike using vinegar (which is a pretty sedate process) this stuff requires that you have all your little ducks in a row BEFORE you begin (especially having an acid-neutralizing bath set up)

Before -


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After -


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Here's the skinny. This particular Muriatic Acid (aka Hydrocholoric acid) was purchased at Home Depot. It is the Kleen Strip brand used for etching concrete. I have had this particular bottle sitting around for at least three years.

Be aware that high temps (and other things) break down the plastic in these plastic jugs which are not meant for hanging around indefinitely.

Because I tend to hang onto things for long periods, I store my jugs of acid in pickle buckets filled with water up to the level of the acid with plenty of extra room in the bucket. I know...I know. Sounds weird, but it works and hey, SAFETY FIRST, right?

I had a bad experience with a degraded plastic jug of acid once and I'm not gonna do that ever again. (No, I did not die, Rick.)

The water helps to keep the jug in good shape and the bucket is there to contain everything in case the jug does go bad. In the event of a jug giving up the ghost, all one has to do is kill the acid by adding baking soda and perhaps add some more water to the bucket.

When working with acid, CONTAINMENT is a high priority.

These particular WWII crate hinges have been sitting in a pile, outdoors for about 7-8 years. More than that if you consider that when they were attached to the crates, they sat outdoors even longer. This etching took about 7-10 minutes without any kind of prep. That is all it took to become completely etched and rust-free. Keep in mind, the acid WILL also remove any and all galvanizing. It will even eat the piece you're cleaning if you are forgetful and leave it in there and this stuff isn't even the most bad-azz stuff on the market!

Two things speed up the process - 1. Knocking down the rust on a wire wheel. 2. Warming the acid. I don't actually apply heat to the acid (too much trouble and too much risk) but a good hot day is really the time to use this stuff. If you have a piece with some really bad rust you can even pull it out of the bath, neutralize it, go back to the wire wheel, then (dry) put it back in the acid bath.

All the usual warnings apply when working with acid, not the least of which is protecting your body from harm (especially your lungs). I have a fan set up that is blowing directly across the top of the acid bath and fellas, this process is taking place outdoors, in open air. DO NOT use it in an enclosed space or you'll find out what it was like to be in the trenches in WWI !! SERIOUSLY!

Cheers,
TJ
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