From the Garage 

It has been getting busy in the Garage over the last week! Work has continued on the project vehicles and a few unplanned jobs have been received - with a couple ongoing and a couple have left successfully repaired. 

One job was a school trailer which had a rattle noise in the hub and would lock up when moved backwards. When the wheel and hub were removed we found a nut had come off the back of one of the brake assembly bolts, allowing the bolt to fall into the brake drum. It was fairly well worn so it had been there for a while but luckily there was no damage to any on the braking components. We found another bolt and replaced it, put it back together and the trailer is now back doing duty. 

At the same time we did another trailer repair. This one had a trailer with a wheel making a bit of noise. Off with the wheel and the hub and we found the inner bearing had come to the end of its life. We found some new bearings and the lads went through the process of cleaning old grease out of the hub, removing the old bearings, repacking new bearings and replacing the hub. Greasy messy work but a good introduction to what mechanics can expect in their day. Another successful repair completed in good time.

The photos this week show the progress with the F100. The Ford Falcon wagon is the donor car for the project. We took the engine and transmission from it, along with a few other items, and will be using it to repower the F100. Last week we started setting up the location of the engine, transmission and rear diff. It takes a great deal of time and patience to get everything where it needs to be which can be a test for the students as they just want to get in there and make stuff. However, we have nearly got it all done and will be starting making the chassis, working from the engine back to the diff. Measurements have been taken and will be transferred to metal today.

The engine and gearbox have been located in the old Ford and work is commencing on making a new crossmember and gearbox mount so it can all be bolted together. This work will continue for the next few weeks as there will be a lot of fabrication work involved. While this has been going on, Ben McKenzie has been working on the lathe making new pins for the rear suspension. They are looking good and he is doing exceptional work. The front axle is being cleaned ready for a coat of paint and it will soon be ready for fitting.

The red Corolla has been receiving some attention, having the front drivers window installed and a few little jobs being undertaken. A water leak has been found on the white Corolla and the students are currently trying to find out where it is so it can be fixed.

 We also have two lawnmowers being repaired and are hoping to have them going this week. Another major job has been the removal of the radiator from the Toro mower. It has been having some overheating issues for some time and we had hoped we could get through to the quiet season when the grass doesn’t need trimming as often. Unfortunately it needed repair earlier and a couple of other parts had broken so it was decided to remove the radiator and have it sent out for cleaning. The other broken parts have been repaired but we did find some more parts which needed replacing and have them on order. The radiator has returned and will be reinstalled this week. We will also be checking the thermostat and giving everything a good clean.

As I write, another job has arrived. The Gator needs a new starter motor so we will be looking at that this week as well. Not a simple task but we will get it done!