Pre-Burning Man 2011 Crunch on The Ghost

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Hey all,

Just wanted to outline (for myself and others) what was completed/not-completed in the pre-playa crunch on The Ghost Project.

Big Mechanical Jobs Completed:

  • Overdrive Transmission Installed
  • Spring Brakes & Associated Plumbing (Thanks Eric!)
  • New Cylinder Head (4-valve)
  • Rebuild Jake Brakes Installed
  • Tall Valve Cover Acquired and ‘Customized’
  • Black Water Tank Welded Up & Installed
  • Toilet Installed/Plumbed
  • Shower Floor/Drain Built
  • Bed Installed/Completed
  • Kitchen Countertop Finished
  • Kitchen Sink & Faucet Installed
  • Stove Installed
  • Refrigerator Mounted
  • Pressure Water System Built
  • Water Heater Installed
All of the above are the ‘big items’ that were completed and as you can image, had smaller subsets of projects that surrounded them (for example, all the body modifications required to make the larger transmission fit and connect up).
The clear most difficult task was the transmission mating/parts scouring/drivetrain setup. The head required some special rack components that we did not have to run the injectors, so there was a lot of futzing around there as well. The water system and interior bits just took a lot of time and in some cases, a bit of money to complete. I didn’t touch on the power system only because building a multi-voltage custom power system from scratch is not something that can be hurried though with the expectation of quality that I desire.
More updates later about our journey to come!

Toshiba M200 Dual Boot

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So the OS was finally fragged on the M200 (XP Tablet Edition) that it would not even shut down correct, run most browsers, and regularly overheat (Toshiba’s power management software was crashing on computer boot).

So I decided that it would be good to dual boot Ubuntu 10.10 as well as Windows 7 (very impressed with the integrated features for laptops/tablets…like remembering display devices/settings, tablet functions, etc.) Needing Ubuntu for doing both Wifi related ‘stuff’ as well as probably for the new career path (all linux based computing at the office). I will include a ‘common’ file storage area for both operating systems to make things easy and easily shared across the platforms.

Apparently Ubuntu is very popular on the M200, so lots of people have configured the OS for all the screen weirdness that this computer can perform (rotate, pen input, resize, etc)

Not sure why XP Tablet got so fragged, but my guess is that after ~4 years of operating it heavily remotely, and picking up a few nasty virus that never quite got adequately irradicated, it just needed a good wipe. I like XP for stability, but Win7 really impressed me on my old work laptop so lets give it a shot. I can always throw XP in a background few gigs for the day that I find software that NEEDS XP.

Installing Ubuntu 10.10 over LAN

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https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/WindowsServerNetboot

Useful, but was very buggy when it came down to pulling the image off of a remote server. Couldn’t get it to work, and besides, I needed the linux partition manager booted up via the “Live” version…no install (my Toshiba M200 doesn’t recognize the external PCMCIA optical drive under linux…AND doesn’t have boot from USB (major failure))

Slick for most other machines though…especially if they don’t have drives or similar.

Spring Project Update!

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Okay…here’s a short list of what is going on this Spring/Summer 2011!

  1. The Ghost – My 1955 TDH4512 ex-city transit bus. Rebuilding the interior & bringing the running gear up to current standards.
  2. The Generator – The MEP006A generator & trailer are being finished so that I can use them at events
  3. Zesty! – 1974 VW Riviera (Camper Bus) Need to fix some leaks, give it a good wash, and make some minor interior improvements.
  4. Garden – My mate and I are working on a medium size gardening operation. Drip loop watering.
  5. Motorcycle – Just need to do some maintenance items on this and it is good to go for another year. Oil change/front tire/wiring tidy up.
  6. Black – 1982 Mercedes 300SD – Straighten out the rear corner (damaged when a wheel fell off at speed) and seal up the leaks. Already bought new tires & brakes are 80%
  7. Wagina – 1987 Mercedes 300TDT – The girlfriend’s car – minor projects (Transmission Service/Power Antenna/Power Window Switches/ACC Cleanup)
  8. New Job – Clear enough!
  9. Hitting the Alvor Desert (SE Oregon) with Zesty for a extended weekend with the mate.
  10. SOAK/4th of Juplaya/Burning Man 2011/Burnout 2011 – Hopefully be using The Ghost for these events
  11. Last but not least: Getting married June 24th, 2011.

Whoosh! That’s a big list.

Later,

-B

Generator Project Update

3phase3 Comments

The generator (MEP006A) had a power-off failure recently.

Upon investigating, found that the exciter had received some serious overcurrent (melted the soldered connections on the diodes on the exciter winding) as well as may have fried something inside the excitation module above (big green box).

Need to perform triage and figure out what happened…but hopefully have this back online soon.

 

Upgrades thus far:

  • Replaced Primary Fuel Filter with Dual Element Glass (like on John Deere Industrial)
  • Replaced Secondary Fuel Filter with Single Element Racor Spin-On
  • Changed Oil
  • Changed Oil Filters
  • Checked Valves
  • Rebuilt Injection Pump (had bad seals on shaft and rubber coupler…very common)
  • Replaced bad fuel lines
  • Cleaned Connections on Fuel Pumps (problem area)
  • Serviced Cooling System (CAT Long-Life Coolant 50/50)

I am also working on building a tandem axle trailer just for this unit. The axles/rough frame was donated by one of the family friends Tony. Removed the decking (rotten) and narrowed the axles/frame by 1.5ft and shortened it considerably. I purchased new bearing kits, two new drums, four electric brake backing plates, and two new tire/wheel combos. I also purchased some upgraded lighting (LED all around) and trailer connectors/etc.  I got all 24V compliant lighting so I can power basic proximity lighting on the generator while it is running on a job-site or parked precariously. It will have a new frame horn (heavy duty) and unless stolen, jacking points on all four corners. I would like to do locking cable/tool boxes to store various associated items.

That is all for now! More updates when I find out what let the smoke out.

 

Generator

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Looking a few ex-military generators…I love recycling old stuff!

MEP-006A model…some are trailer mounted, some aren’t. The air-brake requirement for the trailer mounted ones would be a bit challenging since the Unimog (pintle hitch) doesn’t have air-assist brakes.  At 5000+ lbs w/ trailer I’d like to be able to stop it 🙂

The alternative is skid mounted units at about 4100-4300lbs. Good for 60kW and turbocharged diesel powered.

Good for events, electricity experiments, or powering that toy in the middle of nowhere 🙂

Infrastructure win!