New toy!
- Thread starter great white
- Start date
TrueBlue02058
Post King
Sweet !, the Ultimate ATV :FordSmile
great white
Grumpy Old Fart
Yessir, they do.
great white
Grumpy Old Fart
Im looking at joining the annapolis ground search team after i retire from 413 sqn.
I can't cover a lot of uneven ground due to my injuries over the years in helo SAR.
So the argo will fill in for my "boots on the ground" and hopefully add some capability seeing as its amphibious. I've got some plans to build it up to make it a proper SAR rig.
SAR gets in the blood. Not so easy to just stop cold turkey...
I can't cover a lot of uneven ground due to my injuries over the years in helo SAR.
So the argo will fill in for my "boots on the ground" and hopefully add some capability seeing as its amphibious. I've got some plans to build it up to make it a proper SAR rig.
SAR gets in the blood. Not so easy to just stop cold turkey...
great white
Grumpy Old Fart
East hants might be just a tad out of range. We might be building our retirement home in Cambridge instead of Nictaux, which puts us in valley search (kings) turf.
They seem to have several argos in thier ranks already so thats kind of cool. Much newer than mine though.
They seem to have several argos in thier ranks already so thats kind of cool. Much newer than mine though.
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great white
Grumpy Old Fart
Well, when im retired the travel part wont be a problem.
Problem will be that's a fair way to haul all my kit (ie:$$ on a fixed income, worse now that gas is climbing like a homesick angel!) and my response time to any call out will suck. I'm going to be just on the other side of Kentville, so at least 20 mins to just get to the Hants county line.
But when you NEED an Argo, nothing else but an Argo will do. They're pretty much a one of a kind type rig with where they can go.
It's pretty old tech, but not much else out there can carry 6 adults at once over rock, swamp, mud, marsh or swim carrying 4 adults. Chick the Argo trailer on the back and you can carry another 4-6 people or something like 1200-1500 lbs of gear.
Mine is dead nuts simple too, at least compared to the new ones. Its about as complicated as a stone axe compared to a quad or side x side. About the only thing electronic to go wrong with it is the ignition. Everything else is "steam driven". If it breaks, you can probably fix it with not much more than a gerber and some tree bark! Lol!
Problem will be that's a fair way to haul all my kit (ie:$$ on a fixed income, worse now that gas is climbing like a homesick angel!) and my response time to any call out will suck. I'm going to be just on the other side of Kentville, so at least 20 mins to just get to the Hants county line.
But when you NEED an Argo, nothing else but an Argo will do. They're pretty much a one of a kind type rig with where they can go.
It's pretty old tech, but not much else out there can carry 6 adults at once over rock, swamp, mud, marsh or swim carrying 4 adults. Chick the Argo trailer on the back and you can carry another 4-6 people or something like 1200-1500 lbs of gear.
Mine is dead nuts simple too, at least compared to the new ones. Its about as complicated as a stone axe compared to a quad or side x side. About the only thing electronic to go wrong with it is the ignition. Everything else is "steam driven". If it breaks, you can probably fix it with not much more than a gerber and some tree bark! Lol!
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great white
Grumpy Old Fart
Yep. Down at the cottage i couldnt believe where this little bathtub would go.
tromped along the shoreline in waste deep water with no troubles. Rocky bottom and sand bottom. I had to keep the tires where they could get at least some grip since they dont swim.
Then ripped up the road and into nasty wet mud. Barely slowed down. Couple guys on quads were there and covered head to toe in mud. I drove through with a pair of jeans and a tshirt on and didnt get a lick on me.
Hit some swamp right after, no problem. Came out the other side, still clean and dry.
Then I romped through some nasty thick bullrushes and some scraggly scruff at least as tall as me. Stuff theres no way you could walk through without cutting a trail as you go. You know, the bramble alder type stuff. It just pushed it all flat and bored a hole right through it all with barely a care.
And thats when it was still "new to me" and not working right. When I get it tidied up, running right and the tracks on it it's going to be unstoppable.
Gonna be a fun rig for sure!
tromped along the shoreline in waste deep water with no troubles. Rocky bottom and sand bottom. I had to keep the tires where they could get at least some grip since they dont swim.
Then ripped up the road and into nasty wet mud. Barely slowed down. Couple guys on quads were there and covered head to toe in mud. I drove through with a pair of jeans and a tshirt on and didnt get a lick on me.
Hit some swamp right after, no problem. Came out the other side, still clean and dry.
Then I romped through some nasty thick bullrushes and some scraggly scruff at least as tall as me. Stuff theres no way you could walk through without cutting a trail as you go. You know, the bramble alder type stuff. It just pushed it all flat and bored a hole right through it all with barely a care.
And thats when it was still "new to me" and not working right. When I get it tidied up, running right and the tracks on it it's going to be unstoppable.
Gonna be a fun rig for sure!
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great white
Grumpy Old Fart
Soooo, if you have followed my other post (my 83 mustang) you know i just cant leave well enough alone.
what I've done so far:
ordered half links to fit the tracks better
ordered 45 watt led headlights.
Ordered red led tail lights
ordered 6 arb style green waterproof switches and the bezel to go in the dash
combination hour meter/maint tracker/tachometer/volt meter/clock in green backlight
combination voltmeter/usb/12v panel (green backlit)
brake cooling duct replacement
locking gas cap (because current one leaks and this was actually more affordable than a regular one)
winch
aluminum rear floor (bought a 1/8" sheet and will form to fit)
spool gun for welding the aluminum stuff when the time comes.
Work done:
Fixed the brake/steer levers so the work together properly.
rebuilt the carb.
reworked the throttle cable which the po had messed up.
reset the governer to oem spec from whatever the PO had it at (DONT MESS WITH THE ENGINE GOVERNER ON A KOHLER!!!)
tore the drive clutch off, spun up a new spring spacer on the lathe, put it back together and now the transmission will actually shift without grinding the box. Need to take it apart again and make a half size spacer though as the clutch now needs just a hint too much rpm to engage for my liking (its a cvt/snowmobile clutch). Basically, if you think of it like a normal transmission torque convetor, the stall speed is too high for my taste.
ripped the po's mess of wiring sins out of the rig.
the kill wire and charge wires from the engine had several butt connectors and a mix and match of spade connectors. Cut that all out back to clean wire, soldered in new wire with dual wall heatshrink and finished it with a nice waterproof delphi connector.
tore the auto/manual bilge pump switch apart and rewired it. Then pulled out the automatic bilge pump and rewired it. Put it all back together with delphi connectors.
Installed new ato covered fuse box, intending to dump the old and corroded glass fuse holders
to do:
waiting for more delphi connectors to arrive
install busbar
wire in all the aforementioned parts when they get here
build a new main wiring harness for under hood, built with waterproof delphi connectors.
order and install new chains.
pull all 8 axles, inspect nearings and replace grease/water seals.
once all that is done i can get on to the custom work.....
ive lost track of how many friends want me to take them for a burn and several others have already hinted around about hunting season coming up (not a chance bros!). Lol!
what I've done so far:
ordered half links to fit the tracks better
ordered 45 watt led headlights.
Ordered red led tail lights
ordered 6 arb style green waterproof switches and the bezel to go in the dash
combination hour meter/maint tracker/tachometer/volt meter/clock in green backlight
combination voltmeter/usb/12v panel (green backlit)
brake cooling duct replacement
locking gas cap (because current one leaks and this was actually more affordable than a regular one)
winch
aluminum rear floor (bought a 1/8" sheet and will form to fit)
spool gun for welding the aluminum stuff when the time comes.
Work done:
Fixed the brake/steer levers so the work together properly.
rebuilt the carb.
reworked the throttle cable which the po had messed up.
reset the governer to oem spec from whatever the PO had it at (DONT MESS WITH THE ENGINE GOVERNER ON A KOHLER!!!)
tore the drive clutch off, spun up a new spring spacer on the lathe, put it back together and now the transmission will actually shift without grinding the box. Need to take it apart again and make a half size spacer though as the clutch now needs just a hint too much rpm to engage for my liking (its a cvt/snowmobile clutch). Basically, if you think of it like a normal transmission torque convetor, the stall speed is too high for my taste.
ripped the po's mess of wiring sins out of the rig.
the kill wire and charge wires from the engine had several butt connectors and a mix and match of spade connectors. Cut that all out back to clean wire, soldered in new wire with dual wall heatshrink and finished it with a nice waterproof delphi connector.
tore the auto/manual bilge pump switch apart and rewired it. Then pulled out the automatic bilge pump and rewired it. Put it all back together with delphi connectors.
Installed new ato covered fuse box, intending to dump the old and corroded glass fuse holders
to do:
waiting for more delphi connectors to arrive
install busbar
wire in all the aforementioned parts when they get here
build a new main wiring harness for under hood, built with waterproof delphi connectors.
order and install new chains.
pull all 8 axles, inspect nearings and replace grease/water seals.
once all that is done i can get on to the custom work.....
ive lost track of how many friends want me to take them for a burn and several others have already hinted around about hunting season coming up (not a chance bros!). Lol!
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great white
Grumpy Old Fart
I dont think so tim!
Maybe wait until i drop an 1100 cc jap 4cyl in there or something.
Then maybe i'll deserve the name change!
Lol!
Maybe wait until i drop an 1100 cc jap 4cyl in there or something.
Then maybe i'll deserve the name change!
Lol!
great white
Grumpy Old Fart
Auugghhhh! My eyes! My eyes! I'm blind! I'm blind! [IMG2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"http:\/\/www.supermotors.net\/getfile\/1120104\/fullsize\/img_6374.jpg"}[/IMG2]
Hey, I can see again! But everything looks funny now: [IMG2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"http:\/\/www.supermotors.net\/getfile\/1120103\/fullsize\/img_6373.jpg"}[/IMG2]
27 watt led lights. 45 watts total. 3 amp draw total. Pretty good! Powered them up in the dark garage and they actually throw some pretty serious light. Its not going to get out hundreds of feet, but the argo is going to be slow speed driving and tops out at 18-20 mph anyways.
and the dash layout from left to right: power port panel, tacho/hourmeter, bilge pump panel, choke knob, ign cylinder, brace of 10 "arb style" switches.
[IMG2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"http:\/\/www.supermotors.net\/getfile\/1120105\/fullsize\/img_6376.jpg"}[/IMG2]
All green backlit.
Should be pretty cool.
Hey, I can see again! But everything looks funny now: [IMG2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"http:\/\/www.supermotors.net\/getfile\/1120103\/fullsize\/img_6373.jpg"}[/IMG2]
27 watt led lights. 45 watts total. 3 amp draw total. Pretty good! Powered them up in the dark garage and they actually throw some pretty serious light. Its not going to get out hundreds of feet, but the argo is going to be slow speed driving and tops out at 18-20 mph anyways.
and the dash layout from left to right: power port panel, tacho/hourmeter, bilge pump panel, choke knob, ign cylinder, brace of 10 "arb style" switches.
[IMG2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"http:\/\/www.supermotors.net\/getfile\/1120105\/fullsize\/img_6376.jpg"}[/IMG2]
All green backlit.
Should be pretty cool.
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great white
Grumpy Old Fart
Mounted in the body and slaved to a temporary battery (waiting for more delphi connectors to arrive):
The last pic looks like its looking down because it is. I had to hold the phone up over my head. Any lower and the lights are blinding and just wash everything out. Its actually hard to look at them, they actually are that bright!
I had to square out the body holes, cut the mounting boss off the lights and drill/tap holes in the rear of the housing to attach body mounting brackets (the place for the bolts was there, just not drilled).
Lights off:
Lights on:
In darkness:
Night pic is a little deceptive because of the tree/bush to the immediate front. The big pines behind it were all lit up, but just doesn't show in the pics.
Right around 27!watts each and under 3 amps total to run both.
Pretty good for 26 bucks!
Edit: supermotors seems determined to post pics side ways no matter what I do! Lol! Its an iphone thing from what i can figure...!
I also took the drive clutch apart again and spun up a 0.0781 spring spacer on the lathe to replace the 0.156 spacer. Now its just about perfect. No crunch or walking away shifting at idle, tiny bit of flare before drive to get the rpms up for good pull away.
The last pic looks like its looking down because it is. I had to hold the phone up over my head. Any lower and the lights are blinding and just wash everything out. Its actually hard to look at them, they actually are that bright!
I had to square out the body holes, cut the mounting boss off the lights and drill/tap holes in the rear of the housing to attach body mounting brackets (the place for the bolts was there, just not drilled).
Lights off:
Lights on:
In darkness:
Night pic is a little deceptive because of the tree/bush to the immediate front. The big pines behind it were all lit up, but just doesn't show in the pics.
Right around 27!watts each and under 3 amps total to run both.
Pretty good for 26 bucks!
Edit: supermotors seems determined to post pics side ways no matter what I do! Lol! Its an iphone thing from what i can figure...!
I also took the drive clutch apart again and spun up a 0.0781 spring spacer on the lathe to replace the 0.156 spacer. Now its just about perfect. No crunch or walking away shifting at idle, tiny bit of flare before drive to get the rpms up for good pull away.
great white
Grumpy Old Fart
Finished off today by making the template for the rear floor:
Transferred it over to 1/8 aluminum and i'll cut it out when i get a chance to finish it off.
Transferred it over to 1/8 aluminum and i'll cut it out when i get a chance to finish it off.
05 gt 5spd
On the road again
You are making great progress !