Lancaster Needs Bearings

Well we heard some dry bearings in Lancaster so we spent the afternoon looking for parts then giving up and repacking the old front hubs. We had a lot of help. One guy hauled me to all of the parts stores. Another family invited us to supper and to stay and join what looks like a cult to me. We resisted and finished the mechanical work, washed the truck off and are now headed for D.A.P. (a Land Rover parts supplier in Springfield Vermont.) They have parts waiting for us on the forklift seat. Gotta get on the road........

Riverport to Newport

Well we got out of the yard at exacly 8am yesterday. Kerry got our fridge packed up for us. I made a quick beeline to the shop to make some modifications to a little table I recieved from Pete for the Boler. (It goes in the middle of the couch so that a person can sit on each side and eat and it fits in the compartment under the bunk.) Patrick was up and early and our trip started.

In Mahone Bay we made a quick throttle adjustment and checked bearings for heat. In Amherst we picked up a couple of fire extinguishers for good luck and ate some lunch..At the higher rate of speed (between 90 and 100km Woo Hoo!!) the shifter was occasionally jumping out of 4th.(fixed that with a bungi).

In the end we made it as far as Newport Maine after meeting up with Neil in Bangor to deliver a back Rover window. He was covered in drywall dust from major home renovations.( I've been there.... I don't envy them but I have huge respect for anyone who takes on a big house.)

Now we are at the Chamber in Newport surfing the web. We had a melt down this morning of the little converter that turns 5 wires into 4 wires for the trailer lights. The billow of smoke was my own creation thanks to an experiment in DC current running to the trailer gone bad.

I have skipped that idea and am just running the fridge and battery charger running off 11o through the 1000w inverter we installed in the truck before leaving home. This morning I put in a mega battery to be the backbone of the inverter set up. I 'll show that set up some where down the road. (Litterally)

Gotta get back on the road. Headed into Vermont and New Hampshire and then upstate New York today. Cheers Shawn and Patrick

Survived the Graduation Party

As I finished up in the shop on the alternator upgrades the first guests arrived. I scrambled for a more presentable t-shirt and clean hands. No stress this evening, just burgers, brauts and beer. (Might say my head doesn't like me this morning.) The evening was great. Tonight is Rebecca's big graduation and then we head off in the morning. Today is dedicated to the Bolers wheel bearings and packing for the trip.

If you know someone that may want to follow this blog because they like old Rovers, Driving long insane distances or are a relative or friend that I should have emailed in the first place to say I am a visitin'...... Please send them this blog address and get me out of trouble.

Bad alternator mount and parties.

Tuesday and all was well. I ran to Bridgewater then off to Lunenburg with Flivver. Now I am back home and the truck is making an awful noise. The alternator mount has acted up and is rubbing against a bolt. Some adjustments and some reallignment and I think all will be well. We have a Graduation party for our daughter tonight so I figure I won't accomplish much else today. Patrick is mowing and we'll get the Boler packed tomorrow.

The overdrive is in!

Pete came over on Saturday and we got the borrowed Fairey overdrive installed in about three hours. We took it for a test drive without floors. It screamed like a Banshee. After sound proofing the whiney overdrive is pretty good noise wise and seems ok mechanically as well. We also did some general maintenance (greasing, oils changed, etc...) I found a broken motor mount

I fixed some small wiring Issues on Sunday and Kerry and I went for a drive. That was nice with a stop at the Black Forest Restaurant. I found another motor mount thanks to another Rover Guy. Kenneth said he had two. I said I'd be up for them in the morning. Patrick took Flivver fishing late in the evening I stayed home and fixed up a storage box for the trip.

Picked up the motor mounts Monday Morning. Put them in Monday afternoon with Patrick. Finished looking things over before Patrick went off to harrass prom goers and what it is teenage boys do.(Yea I remember....but I try not to think about it to hard. I'd go insane with worry.) Tomorrow I'll load up some tools and check the Boler over.