Introducing the Stig Special

[bowtiebutler956 650]

 I always hated suspense Ian! You can't even hint at the good news?  

 

Matt   

[Stigian 1,234]

Is this what you are waiting for Matt?

 

Nigel and Rob were both under instructions to give the 6x6 a good thrashing to see if anything would break

 

 

[meadowfield 2,570]

fab, looked like they REALLY enjoyed it!

 

 

and it survived too

Edited January 27, 2014 by meadowfield

[Charlie Smith 142]

Great videos Ian.

[wheeledhorseman 574]

Must be a happy bunny Ian  what with no welds being broken in the making of that video. 

 

Andy

[Anglo Traction 761]

Fusion has been achieved then!. look's like you've cracked it !.   .....or not as the case may be..  . .....  and will be a while before the grins disappear

[dcrage 625]

Who needs a plow, disk, or harrow when you have those 6 wheels churning away!!! -- It truly is a BEAST!

[bowtiebutler956 650]

Is this what you are waiting for Matt?

 

 Thats exactly what I was waiting for Ian! She was in top form in that video!  Love seeing all six tires spinning when turning. Great Video Ian!!! 

 

Matt

[AMC RULES 37,125]

Looks like too much fun...

I wanna go at it.  

[illinilefttackle 399]

Ian-great video! Have you ever thought of putting up a "Wind Turbine" on the shack for cheap electric power? If the wind blows that way much-you could get your electricity free-Good Luck-Al

[Stigian 1,234]

fab, looked like they REALLY enjoyed it!

 

 

and it survived too

 

Thanks Mark, yep Rob and Nigel really enjoyed themselves.

 

 

 

Great videos Ian.

 

Ta muchly Charlie.

 

 

 

Fusion has been achieved then!. look's like you've cracked it !.  .....or not as the case may be..  . .....  and will be a while before the grins disappear

 

Evening Rich, lol, yep fusion has been achieved.. It would of been nice if I could of got it right first time, but that's life sometimes.. And yes I'm still grinning when I think of the ol girl being given a thrashing

 

 

 

Who needs a plow, disk, or harrow when you have those 6 wheels churning away!!! -- It truly is a BEAST!

 

Hi Dave, yep she works quite well as a harrow, plow or disk just as long as you don't mind the furrows not being in a straight line

 

 

 

 Thats exactly what I was waiting for Ian! She was in top form in that video!  Love seeing all six tires spinning when turning. Great Video Ian!!! 

 

Matt

 

Good to know it was worth the wait

 

 

 

Looks like too much fun...

I wanna go at it.  

 

It's great fun Craig, if your even in my part of the world then your more than welcome to have a drive.

 

 

 

Ian-great video! Have you ever thought of putting up a "Wind Turbine" on the shack for cheap electric power? If the wind blows that way much-you could get your electricity free-Good Luck-Al

 

Hi Al, it's not normally that windy up here, but it has been one hell of a winter for bad weather!

[Stigian 1,234]

The 6x6 has been having a bit of a quiet life of late, just moving it in and out the Workshack as an when I need some extra space..

The weather hasn't helped.. Even though the 6x6 would of handled the amount of water and mud around the fields, I didn't want to upset the dog walkers, some of whom for some reason hadn't spoken to me since Rob, Nigel and myself churned the place up in the above video!!

 

But with the weather taking a turn for the better and spring well and truly here, the ground has dried out (mostly) and once again the 6x6 has roamed the landscape putting fear into rabbits and startling pigeons

 

[bowtiebutler956 650]

 Great video Ian. 

 

Matt

[Stigian 1,234]

Thanks Matt, it was just a gentle potter really.. Not the most thrilling or driving videos, but it was nice to give the 6x6 and 312 a run in the sun

[Stigian 1,234]

 

Evening all, well it's been a long time since I last did an update on the ol 6x6 and that's mostly as it's not been used that much and nothing has gone wrong with it..... Until a couple of days ago when it decided to sheer off one of the drive sprockets again!

 

With a bit of luck and pushing from Pete (well, he was driving it when it broke ) we managed to get it back in the garden late in the afternoon..

 

The next day I had the fun bit of trying to get it back in the shack while it was in 4 wheel drive mode, which as with every other time never works as it turns as soon as it's on the ramps!

 

So out came a ratchet strap to make it a 6x6 again if only for a short while..

 

 

 

It almost made it into the shack before throwing the ratchet strap off, but 4 1/2 wheels in was enough

 

 

 

Lot's of jacking each end up and pushing it about soon had the 6x6 slotted in it's repair and modifacation spot.

 

 

 

The plan is to lower the middle axle by an inch or two to give a pivot point which will allow the 6x6 to turn easier and hopefully take some of the strain out the system and stop the blasted drive sprockets from sheering off the axles!

 

Strip down has started, lots of panels and the drive chains/sprockets off..

 

 

 

Well, all apart from this drive sprocket.. Being one of those taperlock set-up what you should do is is take out the 2 grub screws and wind one back in a different hole to push the taperlock bush out..

Guess who wasn't paying attention and wound a grub screw back in the wrong hole so tight that it busted!!

It's the grub screw on the left..

 

 

 

Only one option, attack it with the grinder!

 

 

 

Is this called 5x6 mode?

 

 

 

I might even paint the inside of this wheel while it's off

 

 

 

Lot's of faffing about with a grinder and a hacksaw upside down and the inner axle mount was off!  

 

 

 

So my question is guy's... Do you think lowering the middle axles by an inch will be enough or should I push the boat out and go a whole 2 inches?

[Stigian 1,234]

Evening all, it's been a bit of a slow day in the shack, not because I was in a lazy mood or even because it's a Monday.. It's been a slow day because I've had to do a lot of thinking and careful measuring before the surgery started..

Any small mistake at this stage could mean the middle axle wouldn't bolt back in!!

 

The inner axle mount tacked in place... A lot of strengthening will be needed here.

 

 

 

Time to reshape the outrigger.. All the paint in vital places has been cleaned off and the cut lines marked all round..

 

 

 

The two top cut's were the first to be done..

 

 

 

To make sure nothing moved when the middle part was cut out, this rather over kill bit of steel was taked to the top..

 

 

 

And this even bigger bit of over kill goes on the side

 

 

 

The new "open plan" outrigger

 

 

 

Drop on a 2 inch spacer.. Or bit of box..

 

 

 

Slide the center section back in and then clamp it up nice and square for tack welding..

 

 

 

The moment of truth had arrived!!!   And I'm pleased to say all went well and the middle axle bolted in with no problem

The middle axle isn't quite touching the shack floor which proberly makes it look more of a seesaw than it really is

I'm going to have to do a couple of tweaks to makes some more space at the top for the drive chains, but nowt to drastic..

 

It's hard to get a good photo of the 6x6 in it's current postion, so have to almost but not quite identical photos

 

 

[bowtiebutler956 650]

 Very interesting idea for removing some of the strain from your axles Ian. I will be curious to see how it works out for you. Its always good to see the Beast, even if she's in pieces.

 

Matt

[Stigian 1,234]

Thanks Matt, I hope it will sort the steering/strain problem out..

 

The time had come to check the drive chain for fit, but first I had to do a bit of trimming to make some clearance space..

 

 

 

Woo Hoo, the chain fit's without hitting anything.

 

 

 

I'd best cover up the holes now

 

 

 

Of course not having a bit of box the same size going spare I had to cut  and shut some smaller stuff.

 

 

 

With the outrigger off and clamped to some rather hefty box to stop it warping, it was serious welding time..

 

 

 

Ta Daa

 

 

 

[Stigian 1,234]

Morning chaps. progress on "operation axle drop" has been a bit slow to say the least.. Party because I may of got a bit distracted with project "Why Not", and partly due to a lack of welding rod after finding my spare pack had got water damaged and a replacement pack getting lost in the post!

Oh, and the heat over here in the UK has been so hot (32'c or 89'f) in the shack that's it's been almost impossible to get anything done!

 

 

 

The outrigger was fully welded up and given a quick of of red oxide to keep the rust away..

 

 

 

A start was made adding strength back into the inner axle mount...

 

 

 

And that was it for a long while, until I finally pulled my finger out yesterday and got the inner mount boxed in and strengthened.. It's not pretty but is plenty strong enough..

 

 

 

Wheels and outrigger bolted back on..

 

 

 

The troublesome sprocket which kept sheering off the front axle was given a good talking to by the Arc welder on full power.. 

That should be strong enough but I will add some extra weld today just to make sure

 

 

 

I won't get much of a chance to do anymore today as Garry is turning up on his Honda CX trike for a full rewire, but I hope to get the drive chains back on if I can work out where I put my key steel!!

 

I need to get the 6x6 finished as soon as possible as it's been booked in the the Rural Pastimes working weekend on the 9th/10th of August (just over a couple of weeks away) and Biddenden Tractorfest on the 23rd/24th of August, so it's going to be a busy few weeks!

 

[neil 2,409]

Will be good to see the 6x6 back in action Ian.

[Stigian 1,234]

Will be good to see the 6x6 back in action Ian.

 

Your not wrong there Neil, I'm looking forward to driving the old girl again

 

 

More progress . Woo Hoo

 

The left side is all finished apart from a greasing the chains, tweaking the middle sprocket cover to fit, and giving it a quick coat of red paint which can be done while waiting for welds to cool on the other side

 

 

 

And strip down has started on the right side..

 

[Stigian 1,234]

A small progress report.. The right side now looks like this..

 

 

 

During strip down I found yet another cracked in two taper-lock bush!!  Good job I have a few spares

 

 

 

And for some strange reason, one of the chain tensioner sprockets had decided to spit out one of it's bearing!!   Not a problem as I have spares..

 

 

 

The outrigger was stripped of paint for slicing  and dicing.

 

 

 

A bit like this..

 

 

 

At the end of play today I sat down with a coffee and was looking at the underside of the outrigger.... Can you spot something odd?

 

 

 

You see the manufacturing lines in the part that has been lowered....

 

 

 

Both ends don't have them on the underside which can mean only one thing....... Yes, that's right.. When I welded the center of the outrigger back in, I had it upside down!!!

 

 

 

It's a bit late to do anything about it now though, but all should not be lost.. As the axle hole was in the center of outrigger, it should still be in the right place even though it's the wrong way up... All I need to do is turn the bearing block holder thingy through 180 degrees and everything should bolt back up

 

[Alan_Heist 7]

OOPS!!

[Stigian 1,234]

Oops indeed Alan! But the good news is after chopping and dropping the inner mount..

 

 

 

The axles and outrigger bolted straight on with no problems

 

 

 

 

The busted bearing in the chain tensioner thingy proved more of a problem to sort however!  Who would of thought the outer bearing case from a skateboard bearing could be so hard! 

 

 

 

In the end I had to attack it with different grinding stones on a drill!

 

 

 

A bit of damage to the sprocket, but not enough to stop a new bearing being fitted.

 

 

 

Only the chains and fender to fit, then I can fire her up and see how she steers

[Stigian 1,234]

I found I had quite a strange chain problem!!

I went to put the rear right hand side chain back on today, when I fitted it up I found it was too long and the chain tensioner pushed the bottom bit of the chain into the top bit..

No problem I thought, just take the half link out the chain and all will be cool.. Er... No!

With the half link removed the chain only just fitted on, but it was tight.. So tight in fact the chain tensioner was wedged down against the inside of the outrigger!!

 

So with the half link in the chains too long, without it it's too short!!!    I was stumped!!!

 

 

The chain problem turned out to be a welding problem in the end, the problem being me welding the middle bit of the out rigger back in upside down! In theory the holes should of ended up in the same place but in real life they didn't!

 

So after a bit of measuring off came the outrigger.. Again...

 

 

 

Then some more measuring and marking out.. All the holes needed to be moved 5mm forwards and 2mm up.. Taking the extra mm into account I marked the outrigger so the bit with the holes could be cut out and turned around putting the holes in the right place.

 

 

 

Chopped out and tack welded back in.. The wheel looks a lot straighter now, I don't know how I missed it first time around!

 

 

 

Mondays job is to fully weld it up, then fingers crossed the chain will go back on with no problems this time..