I am immensely enjoying this saga of German cars. I agree wholeheartedly with Dwight - overcomplicated for no good reason. In Australia, only the brave venture into Euro territory when purchasing a car - we subsist predominantly on a diet of Jap stuff which have been proven to be durable & reliable. Toyota rules the roost here and we are all thankful for it. You know how I keep banging on about Corollas? Buy her a Corolla and just keep it serviced and it'll probably outlive her and the rest of us.

The absolute perfect example of German overengineering is the 09G trans in the Beetle. It started out life as a AISIN trans. AISIN is to Toyota what hydramatic is to GM.  That particular trans is an extremely compact 6 speed with an integral differential perfect for a front drive with a transverse engine. As a consequence Toyota ships that trans all over the world for that application. When the krauts decided to use it they shipped some of their crack engineers to Japan to help Toyota modify it to meet their specifications. Among other things they wanted a transmission with seamless shifts that could not be felt. In their engineering the trans they took a transmission with an expected lifespan of around 250,000 miles and wound up with a 70,000 mile unit. 

I call the kraut engineers crack engineers because I believe they do most of their engineering high on crack. 

I know people that have driven Ranger pickups, which is the identical drivetrain to the Bronco II, over 200,000 which may not meet the reliabity of a Corolla but it is entirely acceptable. No offense intended but a Corolla is a ho hum ride but the bronco really lights her fire

Guys, lets focus on what's important, at least it's not a Prius! 

Wrongway, you are right, but you get me started on German engineering and my blood boils. I will do my best to sleep it off.

No apology needed: driving a Corolla is like driving a fridge - just an appliance but if you want an appliance where you simply jump in, twist the key and wake up at your destination, a Corolla is the appliance. I'm sure the Bronc will serve her well - basic old truck that will simply lope along the highway.

Well she is going to school in central Oregon where it does snow but definately not to the point of blizzard. The bronco has a true 4WD with M@S tires so she should never find herself in trouble. I did chuck the automatic locking hubs which never did work reliably so she will need to manually lock the hubs but you can't have everything.

Welds getting better and better !!!

I justA have to practice I feel !!

Lookin good Kiwi!

3 hours ago, Wrongway said:

Lookin good Kiwi!

Thank you mate !

I am so proud of myself that I can weld aluminium now !!! 

Temp looks good welds are getting straighter flowing even across the joint I'm impressed. 

I have been welding torch stick and mig for years but tig threw me for a curve. giving me a temperature pedal means I need to think about three things now and my brain hasn't managed to do that consistently yet.

You are a better man than I  

 

14 hours ago, Old guy44 said:

 I did chuck the automatic locking hubs which never did work reliably so she will need to manually lock the hubs but you can't have everything.

You should fabricate my Hubba Grabber 3000 : made from a poly water fitting. It's in my GP thread somewhere. My old ute also has manual hubs and this thing makes engaging them so easy.

1 hour ago, Old guy44 said:

Temp looks good welds are getting straighter flowing even across the joint I'm impressed. 

I have been welding torch stick and mig for years but tig threw me for a curve. giving me a temperature pedal means I need to think about three things now and my brain hasn't managed to do that consistently yet.

You are a better man than I  

 

Dwight !! It’s been a learning curve !

I blew two tungsten’s before I clicked I had my amperage to high  .. I wasn’t cleaning with a stainless steel brush ! 
And I had my balance set to ac positive and it should have been set 30 % towards negative I was using too smaller  tungsten and not getting enough heat into the metal .. hence cranking up the amperage and melting tungsten ..

as soon as I went to a bigger tungsten. I could crank the amps up . Then I had enough heat to make a nice pool and I was off … it’s bloody fun !!!

oh and I am not using my pedal !! Same  as you ! Too much to work at once !!!

I justA need to practice  more ! 
but I got my frame built and I am very happy with it !!!

and this is the end result .. support frame for my channels to grow tomatoes in hydroponics 

 

Edited November 19, 20232 yr by 64 kiwi boni

1 hour ago, Fitzy said:

You should fabricate my Hubba Grabber 3000 : made from a poly water fitting. It's in my GP thread somewhere. My old ute also has manual hubs and this thing makes engaging them so easy.

Wtf is a hubba grabber ? Sounds like a tool a chick would have to score a man !!! 
quick Doris . Pass me the Hubba grabber … there’s a sexy guy on that foot path I want to grab !!!

Edited November 19, 20232 yr by 64 kiwi boni

oh and I am not using my pedal !! Same  as you ! Too much to work at once !!!

 

How are you getting by without it? You must have a more sophisticated unit than my old dinosaur. Mine, the pedal starts the arc. Thats cheating!!

My tig is every basic 

You can see I have my amperage at about 110 

and that welding 3mm aluminium 

Looks like your machine is made for old goats like us that can't chew gum and walk. My machine is so old they don't make it anymore. Got it out of the garage of a guy moving out of state that did not want to move it.  Temp only works with the pedal, it has three heat settings. 5A, 35A, and 70A minimum but you can't get by without the pedal, but I bought it really cheap!

I did make a combination coolant pressure and overflow tank for the L83 engine that is in the Indian out of 4 in sq aluminum tubing with an .080 wall. Some of the welds look really good but it took me as long to seal up all the pinhole leaks as it did to make the tank.

When I get past all the current projects and actually have some time for myself I think I will go to a welding school near me and take an aluminum class. Maybe when I get the hip replacement because I can sit at a welding table, don't need to stand.

13 hours ago, 64 kiwi boni said:

Wtf is a hubba grabber ? Sounds like a tool a chick would have to score a man !!! 
quick Doris . Pass me the Hubba grabber … there’s a sexy guy on that foot path I want to grab !!!

You've been inhaling too much PVC glue!

35 minutes ago, Fitzy said:

You've been inhaling too much PVC glue!

That’s a Hansen  mdpe nut off a o ring fitting !!!  With a slot cut in it ! Haha 

So where do I find a Hanson mdpe nut? It looks like ABS plastic and PVC glue wont work!

1 hour ago, Old guy44 said:

So where do I find a Hanson mdpe nut? It looks like ABS plastic and PVC glue wont work!

heres a company that has them your side of the water Dwight ...

https://www.screwfix.com/c/heating-plumbing/mdpe-fittings/cat2330014

but any plumbing shop should have mdpe fittings you could rob a nut off, 

fitzys looks to be either a 25 or 32mm one 

Yep. Just measure the Bronc's hubs and find a poly fitting to suit. These things are online for like 60 bucks - mine cost nothing.

On 11/17/2023 at 10:47 PM, Fitzy said:

No apology needed: driving a Corolla is like driving a fridge - just an appliance but if you want an appliance where you simply jump in, twist the key and wake up at your destination, a Corolla is the appliance. I'm sure the Bronc will serve her well - basic old truck that will simply lope along the highway.

The real question is you are a 20 year old girl pulling up to your college dorm. Would you rather pull up in a corolla or a mint green Bronco? Think of the Bronco as a hubba grabber? Doris, look at the line of guys following the Bronco!

2 hours ago, Old guy44 said:

The real question is you are a 20 year old girl pulling up to your college dorm. Would you rather pull up in a corolla or a mint green Bronco? Think of the Bronco as a hubba grabber? Doris, look at the line of guys following the Bronco!

hahahaha ! love it 

Come on guys 

what’s a rag top 65 bonni worth ? 
this one runs but the interior is toast ?

 

What jumped out at me 

is it has the super cool 8 luggers !!! 

Staging for the annual Christmas parade in Taupo