Springfield Flyer.

[tauruck]

Front wheel hubs are home.

I bought the billets so long ago the supplier has since closed.
Theo Murray from Craft Hydraulics in Welkom is my sponsor. He calls me "uncle". Old school South African respect.
Like the SA farmers being offered US citizenship.
He paid for the billet injector bungs as well as these hubs.
Attie from Heathcote Engineering did the machining and I think it's perfect.

If anyone here is in touch with Chris Raschke please convey my thanks for the ARP studs.
He was tough but relented and pay day is coming. Chris I won't let you down brother.

Lately the quality of the people coming on board has changed. Just awesome, good, humble humans.
I'm Blessed but more so now than ever.
I blew their phones up with thank yous!!!!.

Blind Faith and the breakfast of champions, PRAYER!.🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻✝✝✝✝✝

Getting nuts today. Wohoo.🙏🏻🙏🏻👊🏻👍🏻

[tauruck]

Two more.

I supplied the bearing, stud and seal. That part I left to Attie.
I don't know machining clearances at all.

[tauruck]

A giant leap.

Boys, this is progress.

I goofed a little on the first hub when drawing the studs.
I was so darn excited I forgot the Copper compound.
Second one went easy.

I used the press after pulling the studs a few mm using a nut and wrench.

Super happy.

[Stainless1]

Getting nuts today. Wohoo.🙏🏻🙏🏻👊🏻👍🏻

Gee Mike, I thought you were nuts everyday.... no other person like you in the world.... well except maybe us....  cromag
Keep the faith brother... 

[floydjer]

Wise move using the nuts/ flat washers to start them straight. Carry on.

[tauruck]

Getting nuts today. Wohoo.🙏🏻🙏🏻👊🏻👍🏻

Gee Mike, I thought you were nuts everyday.... no other person like you in the world.... well except maybe us....  cromag
Keep the faith brother... 

You guys just let the genie out of the bottle.😂😂😂😂
I was waiting for this all my life but never knew.
What a rush.
Thanks Bob.🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[tauruck]

Wise move using the nuts/ flat washers to start them straight. Carry on.

I have one that's a little off but I think it will pull straight when the rim goes on.
I hope.🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
I'm not perfect.
I learned quite a lot. Back t6o graft. I hope you're doing well my brother?.

[floydjer]

All is fine Mike, Thank you for your concern. Carry on, JB

[tauruck]

God Bless and keep you my brother.🙏🏻✝

I've made an oil catch can. Pics to follow.
There's a lot of online junk I won't buy even if I could afford it.
I had two heavy duty plastic tanks with built in mounts and fittings I bought years ago so I decided to use both.
I cut the bottom off one and the top off the other and bonded them. I added Carbon fibre and a lip and lid.
Turned out good.

For the filter I went to my Aluminium scrap bin. I inherited a whole bunch of plates off of a home built CNC machine my buddy was replacing.

Starrett hole saws, the drill press and a light touch. It all worked.
I made two discs and used a smaller OD hole saw for grooves.
I have a big piece of perforated 1mm steel so I cut 2 pieces to size, rolled them over some tubing, clamped the ends together with a hose clamp and tigged them.

They got some exhaust paint because I had it. For filter material I used breather bag for composites. It's the same material used to make ait socks that went into the airbox on the Mazda rotaries I used to race. They ripped us off in the 80s. The stuff is cheap as chips. I have a 50m roll bought in 2000 that I can't use up.

I drilled the base plate and fitted a recessed rivnut. This will get bolted and bonded to the lid I made.
The inner perforation got wrapped with breather film and inserted into the outer.
This whole deal fits together like it was factory made.

R400 for a tiny Chinese pit bike filter???. They're kidding and besides I don't have a credit card. In South Africa some of us make stuff.😂😂😂😂

[tauruck]

Two more of the painted and polished completion.
Overkill, maybe but I enjoyed doing this.
The el cheapo drill press is my lathe and polishing machine.

[tauruck]

Front wheel hubs are home.

I bought the billets so long ago the supplier has since closed.
Theo Murray from Craft Hydraulics in Welkom is my sponsor. He calls me "uncle". Old school South African respect.
Like the SA farmers being offered US citizenship.
He paid for the billet injector bungs as well as these hubs.
Attie from Heathcote Engineering did the machining and I think it's perfect.

If anyone here is in touch with Chris Raschke please convey my thanks for the ARP studs.
He was tough but relented and pay day is coming. Chris I won't let you down brother.

Lately the quality of the people coming on board has changed. Just awesome, good, humble humans.
I'm Blessed but more so now than ever.
I blew their phones up with thank yous!!!!.

Blind Faith and the breakfast of champions, PRAYER!.🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻✝✝✝✝✝

Getting nuts today. Wohoo.🙏🏻🙏🏻👊🏻👍🏻  Guys. I'm using the old girl's phone. We have a blackout going. Power's been of since last night. I've heard of all the craziest thefts even by South African standards but this one takes the cake.these thieves stole the transformer oil. The substation got fried and 4,000 of us are up a creek. Crews are working apparently and the grapevine says by noon tomorrow. Sparky  if you're reading this everything went as planned. I'll message you when the lights come back on.

[tauruck]

Power is back on.
Thursday around 1AM thieves stole the oil out of the substation.
In SA they'd steal the sugar out of your coffee if they found a way.
The traffic light poles all also lying on the sides of roads. Perfectly cut
off by cars that drive on taking the copper cables with them. It's a disease!!!!.

Sitting in the dark for 3 days was good. Time to plan. I have to make a mould to produce floor tray panels.
I have a huge sheet of framed glass but building fences along the sides is not impossible but is a mission.
Yesterday morning the old girl says the neighbour is remodelling his house and is throwing out a pile of boards
if you want them.

That Norwegian pressed faux wood, interlocking stuff. Most were in great condition but the best part is
that the underside is so slick I won't need release agent. This is the good stuff!!.
The floor panels I need to make are 800mm wide and 2.4m long. The 800 is to the outside fences.
These floor panels are 200mm wide and 1.2m long. 4 across and 4 over the length makes the perfect box I need.
This interlocking system will have a beautiful mould made in an hour. I must have 50m2 of it.

4 days=4 floor trays. I'm spoilt for choice here. I have Nomex Honeycomb I bought years ago from a guy who was closing up shop. R200/sheet. It costs around 3 grand now if you can source it.
Then I have sheets of Nidacore which is a plastic type honeycomb in 2 thicknesses. Also the highest density Polystyrene foam boards.
Any of the 3 will work. It's just choosing the right one for the area. It's a good thing I bought these sheets when I did. With what I have there's enough for the floor and whole body.
I'm Blessed.

[tauruck]

I was thinking things are too easy.
Assumption.🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Those Norwegian floor planks come apart real easy but putting them back together is all but impossible.
Screw and glue!!!!.
Today is going to be a fun one.

[tauruck]

For 12 years I've been battling along on a project way out of my league.
I've been blessed to find great backing in almost every facet but engineering is the big one out of my control.
Products and materials are simple. They arrive and life goes on.

On engineering I'm on the backburner. These are huge factories that crank out millions a month.
I can't nag the guy responsible because I'm not a paying customer so some of my parts were at a facility for over a year.
I never nagged the guy but eventually things got out of hand. Short story. The old girl took a big tote bag and went to collect
my samples and finished/half done parts. There was an argument but she came home with stuff. If I had gone I'd be wearing an orange jumpsuit.
I'm a good natured guy but if you get in my face no matter how hard I try turn the other cheek it doesn't work. In the old days people settled issues
like men. This guy who runs the facility was awesome and changed overnight. I never poked him not even once.

Theo from Craft Hydraulics steppen in and got all the Aluminium machined at Heathcote Engineering. These parts are perfection.

Gear cutters in SA have attitude and it's bad. Who knows why?.
I need splines cut and not one will help.
Doors slammed in my face at every turn. I'm on the ropes. Did I underestimate the complexity of building a long car?. 100%. GUILTY!!!!!!.
All on me.
I Google gear cutters near me. This company pops up. In a straight line about 6 miles away.
I call to pitch my proposal and a lovely lady called Dianne tells me they don't do jobbing. They manufacture for their own products but she gives me the director's email address
and says I must CC her as well.
I contact the director and he replies that he'll help where he can.
He gives me his personal number along with the head of engineering's one.
Chat with Craig#2.
I call the guy and from the get go we click. He says he doesn't have a cutter to do 41 spline so I ask if he can help with turning and milling?.
Craig says he'll talk with the boss.
An hour later the director messages me to apologise for not being able to assist on the gear side but any other engineering is free of charge including material.
Make an appointment to see Craig.

I go there yesterday and this facility is huge. So big that it takes up 5th and 6th Street.
Here's this short guy waiting for me and having a smoke break.
He's got a look about him. We make small talk and it turns out we served in the same unit. I was 75 intake. He was 93 and not happy because he never went to the operational area.
Mandela was released and we did all our training for nothing.😂

He asks me my day job?. Carbon, glass and Kevlar.
This is his answer "****n me". I spent 5 hours on a course on laminating at AMT because the boss wanted to manufacture a very crucial part here but I couldn't come to grips with the stuff.

We walk into the factory and he gives me the tour. Anything you need is all here.
CNC tube bender, water jet cutter, Plasma cutter, aluminium welding, CNC lathes and milling machines, Gleason gear cutters and racks of material. Stainless Steel, Aluminium and Steel.

We can do any process you need here. Show me your drawings and samples?. I open the bag. I have my half done rear axle housing, a few drawings and two shafts out of the AOD box.
He calls Henk over. Henk is a bear of a man and hilarious. Ja man, we can easy cut these splines. I tell him gear cutting has been a huge problem. I've been ripped off, lied to etc.
He asks if I ever dealt with Cape Gear Cutters?. Yup, Hanno Lourens ripped me off. This guy hit the workbench so hard parts bounced.

He says to Craig "you see I told you that bleep bleep bleep is a thief. He takes deposits and sells samples. He never paid me and that's why the boss flew me back from Cape Town.
Small country or coincidence???. I'm not making this up. Henk was recruited by a thief who ripped him off as well and is now going to cut my gears.

While I was there Craig did 2 CAD drawings and parts were cut on the plasma table to get them ready for machining.
Now the next chapter is I'll be helping on the Carbon Fibre project for these guys.

This place is so cool. It's like i've known the staff forever. Updates coming.

12 years of hell and heaven was up the road!. 🙏🏻✝

[tauruck]

Here's the difference between a 15 month nightmare and a 24 hour almost to the minute comparison.
Craig is a vet from 1 Parachute Battalion and if you know these guys they don't back down or give an inch.
I can't say if certain types end up at the unit or if it makes them this way?.

Here's progress from when I was there this time yesterday.
Parts machined and already plated.
The rest will be done by later today.

At this pace there will be very little for me to whine about.
All glory to Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Thank you Lord. 🙏🏻🙏🏻✝✝