Mid-Mount Madness: "Katy's Bogie Bash" Sleds...

[400brian]

There has been talk of starting a pool, or otherwise wagering on whether Joe can:

1) actually pick a sled.
2) actually build said sled. ( without farming it out )
3) making same sled run by February.
4) completing 70 mi ride under its own power.

The problem is it all gets pretty complicated, and we figured we'd have to offer odds to get anyone to bet with him.....

Any ideas?

[JDT]

Brian I just got a fax from Vegas and they have giving the following odds...

1) picking a sled 4 to 1.

2) building said sled 7 to 1

3) making it run 3 to 1

4) finishing the run 27 to 1

Numbers can change up to midnight November 1st, 2015.

[sledhead16]

With Texas weather in his corner, he might get more done than us snowbelters!

[JoeRainville]

You guys kill me, LMAO! I should at least get a cut of the odds... It is great to see pic's of bogie sleds, hope to see a good turn out for the Bogie Bash.

Kevin, I have kept your old 400 well protected, as it's eventually going to be rebuilt as original...eventually.

Allen, after my 84 Liquifire is done, my next 84 will be either an 84 Sport or Trailfire, with one of your hoods. I see you are making room for more Liquifires, good job! And remember there is no such thing as a "too big" of a garage or barn.

Lindork, how many years ago was it I delivered your 78 Liquifire? You rode my 78 CC in 2009, so you have been working on that sled for at least 5-6 years... Don't rush it, LOL! And then there are rumors of a mysterious pair of 340/s'?...hmmm...

-Joe

[sledhead16]

Joe thanks and good luck! I just wish I could clone myself like "Multiplicity"!

[JoeRainville]

OK guys, you can settle up on BET 1: (Bogie Entertainment Trust #1): The sled was chosen.

It was, of course, the obvious choice: the 1973 JDX-8. She was moved from the storage barn into the shop. I also began to dig out all the NOS parts I have to fit it. Since collecting any mid-mount NOS parts was entirely not on purpose, I was happy with what I have dug up so far: every thing from all new bodywork, clutch kit, back rest kit, most of the suspension and drive train, etc.



Linder helped me out with an NOS set of rear iders, so I kept digging this weekend and found even more parts buried in the North Texas Part Depot:



Even with this stash, completing BET #2 is going to be a lot of work. Even though a lot of the parts going on the JDX-8 have been sitting on shelves for 42 years, any of them need paint or other reconditioning before being put to use...

-JDJR
11 months to go...

[400brian]

The Green Machine is in the garage, it would be nice to get a few things taken care of now.

This sleds original mission was to be the beater sled. A guy advertised it here on the list, and delivered it for $60. I bought it for parts, discovered it ran, so decided to fix it up a bit and let the kids ride it. Yeah, that was the plan...
It was born a '74 300, had a '74 JDX4 Special 340 engine transplanted along with the engine mount and bar, all before I got it.

Well it turned out that almost everything on the sled needed attention, I probably should have parted it out! But, because everything needed attention, the sled pretty much taught me how to work on mid-mounts. It took several winters of work before it ran. I had it at the first RWTC we attended back in 2007.

This is how the RWTC has messed with our heads, I am still messing with this sled 8 years later! Yes, the ignition issue that has been plaguing the sled needs to be resolved, and that is why the current tear-down is underway. But I keep thinking of things that should be done while I have things tore apart. Because of the RWTC, and now the Bogie Bash, good enough is no longer acceptable. Now it has to be as good as I can reasonably make it. Money is a consideration, but I have most everything discussed here, so that is not the deal breaker.

The top half of the heat shield is missing. Vapor lock never has been an issue, but I have bought the missing half, and will be bringing the vapor lock components back up to snuff. The cooling shroud on the engine is cracked and has pieces missing, I plan to pull the engine out enough to replace that. No doubt I will find other things.

Here's a shot of what was left of the heat shield.

[HoosierDeereMan]

To quote Brian "Money is a consideration" LOL!

You have it tore down this far so you might as well do the full blown restoration. The wife on a new restored sled = lots of full system diagnostics checks!!!!

Troy

[sledhead16]

Thats gonna be a nice JDX-8

[JoeRainville]

I guess it's about time to get my project in gear, so I sent Lindner the following pic, to which he told me to "quit watching TV..."

[JoeRainville]

So this past weekend, the JDX-8 was stripped down to the bone. I started with removing the hood and body work to get a look at how to best get it apart. Last time I stripped a 73 JDX-8 down I was in high school...in the 80's...

[400brian]

Taking a pic of a tool sitting on the sled doesn't count as wrenching on it!

[JoeRainville]

Lindner: I had not yet begun to impact!

But, did that gun make short work of the 24 zillion carriage head bolts that hold on the bogie cross shaft mounting clips. I hit them all with "PB Blaster" first, and got lucky as only two of the bolts spun in their pockets. The rear axle was easy to remove from the chassis, but they tend to be a pain to actually take apart and service.

The worst of it was definitely the chaincase. Removal of the upper gear is not a big deal, but getting the lower gear off the shaft and removing the chain tensioners is kind of a pain. Apparently it also required a donation of epidermis and hemoglobin to expedite the removal of the chain and gear set. Needless to say I cut the back side of my hand and fingers on the sharp as hell lower access hole. Lindner added words of wisdom like "it is what it is" to my profanity laced text messages.

[JoeRainville]

Once the darn lower gear was removed, the drive axle is actually pretty easy to get out, as the bolts thread directly into the chaincase assembly without separate nuts. For some reason the Goodyear "Pathfinder" track ended up on this JDX-8 instead of the original or updated Gates unit. It will be replaced with an NOS Gates track, and most of the running gear will be replaced with NOS parts. I plan to update the drive axle from the original 1" shaft to the stronger 1 1/8" shaft.

[sledhead16]

Way to go Joe! glad to see im not alone in the bumps and bruises and bleeding department.