Unclejake

Sure is. They taste like a cross between turkey and duck

I spent most of the weekend carting schist and extending the driveway. The JCB is finally operational but oh lord it's slow and noisy. Still much better than a spade and a wheelbarrow

Hot-mix would cost all of the millions Corbie. I could probably do it cheaper in concrete TBH... but I'm happy enough with the crushed schist we've been laying over the last couple of weeks We were very fortunate to buy the property as land here is very, very hard to get. It's a little over 24ha with half a kilometre of sandy beach to the north and another half kilometre of semi-tidal lagoon edge to the south. It's an 'oldschool' title from the late 1800s so I own down to the high tide mark on both bodies of water. TBH I've never walked to the lagoon side of the property. It's a low lying wetland which will just need to stay like that for now. Today we collected timber, rebar and underfloor insulation from the port. Tomorrow I need to go to work to pay for some of it. Ha

In January 2024 I suddenly needed somewhere to live in a hurry ... so I figured on building something small out of scraps of building materials I already had.. There's no power, water, sewer on the property, but 10 days ago we got most of the driveway in. I'm the kind of guy who thinks a fair bit before I act, so after some further thought most of the scrap timber/plumbing/etc. I had available got pushed to one side as they just weren't going to work. Queue more invoices for better timber (plus freight) I think this project will take until spring 2024 to be weathertight. Shipping delays and huge freight expenses will add to the timeframe and budget. For example I have $500 of under concrete insulation here at the port. The freight bill for that insulation alone was $1,200. The proposed dwelling will be single bedroom and about 60m2 I always start very well but never finish anything. Let's see what happens this time.

Well, if I lived somewhere with paved streets would buy something like this. I just have little idea if it's $15k or $25k. Moot point anyway I guess. Chur

Out of curiosity; what's the likely resale value of a machine like this? I am very out of touch with motorcycle values these days but I imagine there's a good market for a sorted HD cafe racer

I had not seen this project prior to today. It is sensationally cool and exactly what I would have built. So awesome. Congratulations on an amazing thing mate.

Thank you, but evidently there's no used 4x4 front hubs available in NZ. I did get offered one from the UK for NZ$3K plus freight and GST though.

Thanks chaps. I have found someone in Auckland who appears to have 100% of the right gear (including metal spray) so I'll send the parts to them instead of CHCH (unless @sentra tells me they're dicks) https://www.mpw.co.nz/about-us

Folks, I've had a pretty major setback this week and need to get a tractor stub axle tube, a cast hub and an annulus repaired and reassembled with new bearings and seals. Christchurch is a reasonable option as the parts agent is in CHCH for the bearings and seals (and may be able to do the job too, but I haven't heard back from them yet). I don't need any teeth or splines cut, but I figure I'll need at least three components built up with weld and then lathed. The cast hub repair might be tricky. I'd need the machinist to collect the broken bits from a freight depot near CHCH airport. Total package weight around 30kgs I guess Any recommendations? https://www.youtube.com/shorts/mvw7SXXi7WY

Impressive. The wharf piles will almost certainly be H6 treated. A couple of gargoyles would look pretty mean on top of them.

Howdy brains trust: Is it legit to get steel automotive wheels galvanised?

Did you try the $2 diode as suggested early August? From your description it will solve your issues. The charge light on the dash is usually an essential part of the circuit to excite the alternator. Fiats are odd, but not that odd.... and also be certain you're understanding your charge light (and if it's switched from earth or positive) correctly

Thanks for the update. He had such terrible arthritis it was a wonder he could even think through the pain. His cars were always immaculate and he was a gentleman to race beside. There's not many blokes I'd touch wing mirrors with entering the Pukehoke hairpin at 160kmph on drum bakes, but Bill (and a drain layer from Te Awamutu) were amongst them. Edit: IMHO business should be like racing with those chaps. Go hard, go into it to win... but give your opponent racing room on the track and help him out off the track. Shake hands, share a beer in the evening, bit in the morning go out to try to beat him again without ever trying to make him lose

Coby is a brand and was owned by a guy I raced cars with. He may still own the business but I have lost touch with him. The Coby brand includes products such as reducers, doughnuts, mufflers and resonators. A resonator is a free flow style design slightly similar to a motorcyle baffle system. A resonator will reduce nasty exhaust noise but leave a fair bit of burble in your exhaust tone. They can sound great, but can also sound shit if the exhaust diameter is too large for engine displacement