What ya working on?

[IHKeith]

They are great trucks, I had a 94 and 98 K1500 mud truck, drove a 97 and 98 C1500 and a 2000 C3500. 

Working on this one today, I think they easier to access everything pulling a motor than a newer style GM truck, but take more time transferring parts over than a newer one, so the job takes about the same time. An LS engine has a dry intake and no distributor, so a little less messing around, plus the LS can't be pieced together from old parts like an SBC, so they generally are coming from the same application and bolt right in.  Not saying one is better or worse but to compare old vs new, it's all the same but different lol

The new engine for this one is an older 350 short block with heads and intake from a TBI, the owner assembled it with a bare intake.  He's an older car guy and decided that I was better suited for the heavy lifting, he did well for supplying the parts vs most, he's a career parts guy though.

My first 88-98 was a 97 C1500 ext cab short box.  I bought it for $400 in 2009/10 with a rod through the block and oil pan, broke the oil pan rail.  It had 370000 km, recent brakes, front end, fuel tank and lines and about 40000 km on a reman GM transmission, some rust but nothing serious.  I used the short block from a 91 Caprice (my first derby car) and the top end and timing cover from the Vortec engine in the truck.  I paid around $300 installed for two extra leaf springs on each side.  Installed a used brake controller from my previous 90 Ram and went hauling scrap.  Drove it for a couple years, 20000km plus, hauled tons (literally lol) of scrap.  Made some decent cash with it. I was about to do a body job on it for about 4000 but found the 97 C1500 for $1150 and it was way nicer and higher optioned, only needed 1500 of body work so I moved on.  Only got $600 for the 97, it had too many km and 2wd so no one wanted it

[Finney]

During the rain for the first three days this week with all my work outside now I decided to stay in the shop and build a rocket stove. Don't have a clue as to what I am going to do with it.                                                                                                 Then with the rain gone this morning its back to the grind, mounting silage beds on truck chassis. 

[mike newman]

@Finney.....like your 'rocket stove'......although unsure of its  purpose   !!

..I can see you are a 'nobody'' without a rocket stove.....

Mike

[ihrondiesel]

On 12/17/2024 at 10:31 PM, Gearclash said:

I usually only run 2.  Last year I ran 3 for a while, and this fall I ran 3 for one day.  I only have two baler tractors so I need to rent a tractor if I want to run more.  The BR is in semi retirement as it can’t keep up with the 560s in cornstalks,  and the 2018s have a lot of bales on them.

 

The answer to that is complicated.  They all have been good to me all things considered. 

The BR780A is the first baler I bought back in ’08.  24,000 bales on it now and it has been a pretty reliable machine.  Even though it has been tweaked for better performance it is still 10 bales an hour slower than the 560s if they are all in cornstalks.  In hay and bean straw the difference is less.

The 2018s I bought new late that year and the average bale count between them is 27,000.  They were pretty good until 2023 when they had enough use on them to reveal some weak points.  Those have been resolved but one of those balers will never be quite right again as it got twisted from a catastrophic tailgate hinge failure.  I plan to keep them running for a few more years yet.

The 2023 has had more problems than I would like to see for such a new machine.  Had a nose roll bearing fail last year, and this year its been a wrap actuator failure, trouble with the hydraulic hoses and wire harness not routed correctly and getting into the bale size linkage, and a bearing/housing failure with the follower roll.  All kinda dumb problems for a baler just under 10,000 bales. I bought this baler with 3,100 bales on it and am reminded why I don’t like to buy them used. 

Haven’t had any real problems with the 2021, but I bought it with only 300 bales and this is the first year with it.  I did have to swap out the sledge frame and follower roll but I knew that was likely to happen before I bought it as it is a Specialty Crop Plus and the “Plus” part of that package doesn’t play nice out here. About 6,000 bales on that baler now.

In the past I owned another BR780A and a BR7090 and sold both of those as they just had too many problems for what we were trying to do with them.  Rather interesting that both owners have been happy with them.

What would you estimate your cost per bale is at to run those balers?  I demoed a NH RB560 this fall, I didn’t like it that well.  Two things, mostly—1) no push bar, the field we were in wasn’t that bad, relatively, but we damaged 2 bales out of 40 due to them not getting far enough away from the baler when they were ejected, and 2) we had to slow down 3 gears to pick up the windrows.  The JD 561M’s I ran this year had a crapload of issues so we traded after one season.  Got the trade done for right at $3/bale   Quite a bit less than the last couple trade deals I’ve done.  Went with optioned-down machines but planning on keeping them for 3-4 years.

 

 

[Gearclash]

14 minutes ago, ihrondiesel said:

What would you estimate your cost per bale is at to run those balers?

I tried trading the 2 2018s last year and that would have cost me about $2.30/bale in depreciation.  Repairs would have been on top of that.  Off the top of my head I have about $.25/bale in parts, maybe a tick more.  I do my all my own work on these balers so have to figure in some kind of number for that as well.  

Definitely a culture change going from green to red or the other way.  If you are used to the kicker you should probably have the hydraulic ramp option on the New Holland.  In any case you should pull ahead a few inches while lowering the door with a NH.  As far as baling speed, I would be curious what the stalk conditions were?  Really fine stalks by chance?  I once baled beside a 568 and we were exactly matched.  

[ihrondiesel]

1 minute ago, Gearclash said:

I tried trading the 2 2018s last year and that would have cost me about $2.30/bale in depreciation.  Repairs would have been on top of that.  Off the top of my head I have about $.25/bale in parts, maybe a tick more.  I do my all my own work on these balers so have to figure in some kind of number for that as well.  

Definitely a culture change going from green to red or the other way.  If you are used to the kicker you should probably have the hydraulic ramp option on the New Holland.  In any case you should pull ahead a few inches while lowering the door with a NH.  As far as baling speed, I would be curious what the stalk conditions were?  Really fine stalks by chance?  I once baled beside a 568 and we were exactly matched.  

Not fine stalks at all. Fairly coarse, windrows about 5’ wide and 3’ tall, my JD’s just ate them up, it was some of the nicest baling of the year.  I get the pulling ahead, like you said it’s a culture change. 

[mike newman]

....back on the Excavator...in a 50 acre paddock of rocks and   some years gone some brain dead ''digger driver ''   had made some very pathetic efforts to drain  the numerous spring feeds of the   big hills behind....

Was able to remedy   a couple   of huge wet areas....and do a 'rough' job of taking stone off prior to direct drilling....The 'Top Hand ' only wanted as 'rough' job due to the fiscal situation , on the four big farms at the moment.....

pile of stone from last year...surface looks good after brassica been fed off..

looking down the valley.

up the valley

..."Excavator''   very good machine   409 cubic inch Cummins

...stone worked off , and into one of the ''trenches' that some other pissant poor 'driver'' made

..green paint drilling the slope

..and again, from the Cabin door

...water  !!!,,,cutting across the contour, to pick up yet another  deep trench...

Mike

 

 

 

 

[Gearclash]

1 minute ago, ihrondiesel said:

Not fine stalks at all. Fairly coarse, windrows about 5’ wide and 3’ tall, my JD’s just ate them up, it was some of the nicest baling of the year.  I get the pulling ahead, like you said it’s a culture change. 

That should have been easy going for the NH.  We usually see about 50 bales/hr (average baling rate) in good conditions.  Should be able to kick out a bale/minute (indicated baling rate).

[ihrondiesel]

Just now, Gearclash said:

That should have been easy going for the NH.  We usually see about 50 bales/hr (average baling rate) in good conditions.  Should be able to kick out a bale/minute (indicated baling rate).

This was my first experience with a NH baler.  They do make nice bales!  That equates pretty close to the baling rate with the JD’s, best I ever did was 225 bales in 1.25 hours with 2 balers running. That was fun!

[yellowrosefarm]

Finally got around to finding out why the parking brake didn’t work on the 97 grand Cherokee. Half the star wheel was missing and a bent spring was dragging on the abs ring. Hardware kit with everything for both sides is only 15$

[KY2674]

On 12/18/2024 at 12:54 AM, mike newman said:

Did a lot of hours on a D61EX......discing  and blade work  ...roading etc.... Very good machine , just a bit bigger than the olderD58...No six way on   the D61 EX

Your Komatsu looks good...  do you do ''general blade work..or more specific tasks ??

Mike

Yes the 61 has been a very good machine and easy to operate, first dozer I've had with a cab. You can see ours has a six way blade. I'm mostly in the trucking business selling topsoil to home builders and occasionally a homeowner. But I'm just a one man show with my son helping when he's not in school. The 61 stays in a river bottom pushing topsoil, some being sold right away and some being stockpiled to higher ground to get me through the winter. We also have a 850 Case dozer we do a little custom work with but that's mainly for neighbors in the off season. The Case I can move myself, the Komatsu I have to hire a lowboy. 

[Bgriffin856]

Took four hours to clean barn yesterday. The sprocket on the barn cleaner decided it needed flipped over. Got some hammer time in. Manure really rusts things together. Couldn't get the set screws out just to realize we tacked the sprocket to the shaft instead

 

[mike newman]

16 hours ago, KY2674 said:

Yes the 61 has been a very good machine and easy to operate, first dozer I've had with a cab. You can see ours has a six way blade. I'm mostly in the trucking business selling topsoil to home builders and occasionally a homeowner. But I'm just a one man show with my son helping when he's not in school. The 61 stays in a river bottom pushing topsoil, some being sold right away and some being stockpiled to higher ground to get me through the winter. We also have a 850 Case dozer we do a little custom work with but that's mainly for neighbors in the off season. The Case I can move myself, the Komatsu I have to hire a lowboy. 

...thanks for that !!

...and speaking   of Komatsu...I had to shift the D53  waaaay   up the valley today  Rocks everywhere , so a slow trip ...to which I was very happy to disembark from the old Girl

Has not been used for some months...and the electric    over hydraulic  ''ripper'' switch gear seems to have given up....so being it was Sunday down under and we need the blade  only     (6 way )...it suffered the indignity of having the rippers chained up...with picks removed....

Mike

[just Dave]

8 hours ago, mike newman said:

...thanks for that !!

...and speaking   of Komatsu...I had to shift the D53  waaaay   up the valley today  Rocks everywhere , so a slow trip ...to which I was very happy to disembark from the old Girl

Has not been used for some months...and the electric    over hydraulic  ''ripper'' switch gear seems to have given up....so being it was Sunday down under and we need the blade  only     (6 way )...it suffered the indignity of having the rippers chained up...with picks removed....

Mike

With good set of headphones and clean glass you could have some great scenery for the RiDe.

[mike newman]

23 minutes ago, just Dave said:

With good set of headphones and clean glass you could have some great scenery for the RiDe.

...certainly no big long trains  up there Dave.!!...just met a few hardy cyclists, from Germany.. I am up there starting on Thursday    (Boxing Day )...for the 18 week season, as the ''Toll Road Supervisor ""....it does sound very important,,,...and I have the Komatsu on site to open the road after the usual heavy rains bring down tons of loose, fine 'scree' gravel, which blocks the road off in many places......The old Accommodation House is at  1800 feet elevation....the pass thru the mountains is around, in fact just over4000  feet, so the adjacent mountains are higher,,,,some totally devoid of vegetative  cover...hence they 'bleed '' scree stone erosion during heavy rain....

Thats not the photo I wanted to show you....but my two Chinese H/P computors take turns in crapping out,the photos I want are in the ''currently deceased mode  ""  in  t'other  piece of garbage......

...but you see there is elevation in the hills here ....

Mike

[forwhldrv]

Been working on a farm sign project for a bit now put the post and the sign in probably a month ago. Used the post hole digger behind the 350. After I put it up I thought a little roof over it would look good so I started that yesterday in the garage the roof is 6.5 feet long the sign is 6 feet long each side is 16” I figured the cedar shingles would look good weathered I used 3/4 pressure treated plywood under the shingles and a layer of water barrier went with the shingle idea because we had a part box the main house is sided with them they were leftovers. Fast forward this afternoon I had to go get a couple cheap bundles of utility shingles to finish it they will be on the back side away from the road. I will have to pick it up with the tractor to mount it to the posts when it’s done it’s getting heavy I’m going to cut the posts off so it’s only about 6” above the sign and thinking of putting some solar lights underneath the front of it when done to light up the sign. I am no where near a carpenter and have never done cedar shingles before but think it’s coming out good maybe I’ll get it mounted next weekend. I also been making a sign for a friend and for one of the local places that does fun pulls to be able to keep track of the weight the weight signs are aluminum and stainless steel fasteners mounted to a piece of 2” thick by 12” wide by 18” long scarlet oak my friend that cut it for me said it was.i put some pieces of aluminum  flat stock on the ends of it hoping it will help with the curling and spitting of the oak I like the contrast of the oak and aluminum and stainless I soaked the oak with boiled linseed oil for some protection it really made the grains in it stand out more. That’s about all I’ve been up to works been busy. Not much tractor related waiting for a decent weather weekend to work on pulling my 450 apart to fix the power steering or lack of 

[IHKeith]

Got back at the Fury, it seems to run now, need to verify with a test drive in the daylight tomorrow.  It’s biggest problem was fouled plugs, the dirty fuel system and compromised ignition system caused the fouling, when you are going through problems with one of these gals, a guy can be reluctant to throw new plugs at it before making sure of everything else.  This car already had newer plugs but lots of sitting around since, hate to flood a new set of plugs unnecessarily.

This engine originally had a Thermoquad carb, someone swapped a Holley 4160 in its place.  They had a convoluted spacer setup, with the cavities of the spacer facing up, mismatched ports, I replaced it with a phenolic spacer 

 

I’m thinking I should renew these connections, but need to make new leads from the original harness to limit shortening it

[stronger800]

Front axle pin and some steering parts in neighbors old ford 

[stronger800]

10+ year old tierods… came right apart.   Anti seize for the win.    

[IHKeith]

My wife had to work today so I didn’t have many family obligations today.  Had the Fury out ripping around the yard, it runs good, needs some tweaking of carb adjustments like idle air, accelerator pump, choke thermostat, check timing with a light, etc.  The rear tires were mounted white letters out and the front tires were black, so I swapped the rear tires black out.  The previous owner had bought them a couple years ago and I credited them for being new, but swapping the rear tires around I noticed the date code… 2007!!!!  They were old stock for sure, I laughed with my son about it, he was born in 2006, they are almost as old as him!!!  I had no problem burning them off a bit today, the posi works well!!

I brought my 85 K2500 in the garage this afternoon.  I need to get the interior stripped out and cleaned, then paint the interior.  After it’s painted I need to put an engine in it so it can move under its own power.  I’m closed for business until the 6th so I should be able to get it that far by then.

It’s a little bit fire damaged, but the underside is pretty mint

[Alan Dinan]

2 hours ago, IHKeith said:

My wife had to work today so I didn’t have many family obligations today.  Had the Fury out ripping around the yard, it runs good, needs some tweaking of carb adjustments like idle air, accelerator pump, choke thermostat, check timing with a light, etc.  The rear tires were mounted white letters out and the front tires were black, so I swapped the rear tires black out.  The previous owner had bought them a couple years ago and I credited them for being new, but swapping the rear tires around I noticed the date code… 2007!!!!  They were old stock for sure, I laughed with my son about it, he was born in 2006, they are almost as old as him!!!  I had no problem burning them off a bit today, the posi works well!!

I brought my 85 K2500 in the garage this afternoon.  I need to get the interior stripped out and cleaned, then paint the interior.  After it’s painted I need to put an engine in it so it can move under its own power.  I’m closed for business until the 6th so I should be able to get it that far by then.

It’s a little bit fire damaged, but the underside is pretty mint

If you decide to part with the square body……!!!!

[IHKeith]

47 minutes ago, Alan Dinan said:

If you decide to part with the square body……!!!!

When I was going to look at this truck, the whole way there, I was hoping for crudely welded in floor pans, so I didn't have to buy it. 

[Alan Dinan]

3 minutes ago, IHKeith said:

When I was going to look at this truck, the whole way there, I was hoping for crudely welded in floor pans, so I didn't have to buy it. 

At least you found a good one!!

[IHKeith]

1 minute ago, Alan Dinan said:

At least you found a good one!!

I crawled underneath the truck as soon as I got there. I got giddy and had to have it.

It has a NP545? 5 speed trans swapped into it. 

85 1500 on a 70s 2500 frame.  Power windows, AC.  Has a big custom fuel tank, gooseneck hitch, bumper hitch made from another Chevy frame, maybe the original 2wd 1500 one? 

Looks like maybe it had a turbo on it at one time? The hood braces are cut and exhaust seemed to be leaking

When I got it, it had a built block, I bought it without the motor and pulled it for the previous owner.  None of these "turbo" pics have anything to do with that setup.  The black soot on the hood makes me think it was diesel exhaust, leaked close to the outer skin of the hood and was close enough to cut out braces, yet didn't burn the paint off, has to be a 6.2, lol. 

I'm putting a 6L LS in it, it's been stroked and bored, 6.7L now, aftermarket heads, only thing stock is the block and front and rear covers, 11.2 compression, truck friendly cam, should be wild enough

[td9inidaho]

Finally found time to pull the oil geyser down and see what's up with the turbo. Boy was I in for a shock. Didn't expect to find a broken shaft in the mix. Now to see which way I go from here 

Mark