Melex 212 Refurb

[gstoneberg]

Here is the bolt:



Nope, there's a little bumper on the front that worked just perfect to hook the winch too. (Notice the puddle under the steering wheel.)



Guess I'll fire up the angle grinder with the cutoff disk and take the head off that bolt.

Thanks, George

[SP-Electronics]

I'm curious George (hahahaha, had to do it), what is that red wire and white knob off to the right in that first picture?

[gstoneberg]

No problem, I read some Curious George books to the grandkids a few months ago. They haven't made the connection.

I have no idea what that is. There's no mechanical connection from it to anything else. It looks like a simple single pole switch. I'm a little baffled as to why there'd be a switch isolated under there.

You can see a bunch of wrapped up wire on the other side of that picture which is located right next to where the accelerator was, but it wasn't hooked to anything either. I have so much to learn.

George

[scottyb]

So does the guy who putit there
Maybe a secret kill switch?

[gstoneberg]

I have all the sheet metal off the cart I intend to take off. I did have to cut that bolt in 2 places to get it out. It's still stuck in there but at least the pedal is no longer in the way. I had hoped to get the mystery switch out so we could take it apart and try to identify it. About 2 seconds into cutting off the bolt heads on the top side of the floor parts started flying and when I looked for the switch it was in pieces on the floor. O well. I took a couple pictures:




Now I have to decide to what to cut out and replace and what is good enough to keep.

George

[SP-Electronics]

Do you have a sandblaster? If so, blast as much rust as you can, and see where it is rotted through, those are the places you'll want to replace. If it is all fairly solid under the rust, and doesn't end up thin, don't replace. If SMALL spots blast through but the surrounding area is still solid with no rust remaining, just weld plates over it.

Should be able to save most of it, but it looks like the stuff under the seat is pretty well gone. Or buy a bunch of steel and fab up a whole custom frame based on that one. Put it UNDER the factory frame, so you end up lifting the cart a few inches in the process.

[gstoneberg]

Boy I wish I had a sandblaster, but I don't. I did see one packaged with an air compressor on Craig's list here, but didn't go after it because the compressor was a little smaller than I think I need. I was planning to use a wire brush to go after the metal to see what was bad or good. That would have trouble in the corners though.

I like the idea of raising the cart by a couple inches, but I'm not sure a whole new frame is worth the effort. I'll have to think on that one. Clever idea. Thanks for the help.

George

Originally Posted by SP-Electronics

Do you have a sandblaster? If so, blast as much rust as you can, and see where it is rotted through, those are the places you'll want to replace. If it is all fairly solid under the rust, and doesn't end up thin, don't replace. If SMALL spots blast through but the surrounding area is still solid with no rust remaining, just weld plates over it.

Should be able to save most of it, but it looks like the stuff under the seat is pretty well gone. Or buy a bunch of steel and fab up a whole custom frame based on that one. Put it UNDER the factory frame, so you end up lifting the cart a few inches in the process.

[SP-Electronics]

Wire wheel and an angle grinder should get most of it, and give you a good clean surface to weld to.

good luck with it.

[gstoneberg]

I have another question about this cart. I plan to use it off-road hunting, but hate to go through the time and expense to try and lift it on such an old off-brand cart. However, some more ground clearance would sure be nice. Can a person put on larger tires to gain ground clearance without lifting the cart? There appears to be about 4" of clearance above the tires. I've seen 20" tires for sale as well as 22" and up. I apologize for my ignorance here.

George

[scottyb]

I think you can put the 20s on it without a lift. That will give an inch of true ground clearance. The lift kit doesn't give you true ground clearance- only bigger tires raise the rearend off the ground. Besure to wear eye protection when using the grinder and wire wheel brush. Little broken bristles and debris will be flying. I like a clear face shield for that job..