OFF ROAD and ON TRACK

Using the stock titan rack and pinion for racing off road was more than it was ready for. Yup, we tried it, and we broke it. However, it made it alot further than anybody expected, about 200 miles of the MINT 400, and it was still “steering the truck” as it went on the trailer.  We owe the longer life and the fact it still worked at all to the steering stabilizer we built out of a small fox shock. This kept the rack from getting the full force of the smash and bang and thus a stayed with us a little longer.

Using the steering stbilizer system we built will keep your rack alive a long time providing that it is not subjected to the kind of punishment the Vegas desert has to offer while going as fast as the truck will roll. It kept the 37″ tires in line and made it alot easoer to drive in the rough, just not that fast and rough.

Currently we are switching to a steering gear box with hydraulic assist. Due to the position of the motor and the steering shaft location this seemed to be a much less challenging conversion than giong to an aftermarket rack. I know U-joints used in tandem can make some pretty good twists and turns, but damn it man we would be asking it to look like a pretzel in order to get to the rack.

Being adventerous cheap asses, we are modifying a saginaw gear box and drilling two ports to accomodate the lines needed for the hydraluic cylinder. I took picutres of the disassembly of the box, (that’s the easy part) and will take pictures of the rebulid and installation of the whole system. One thing to keep in mind, that damn box has got about 20 or so little ball bearings that will jump out of that sucker fast as hell. Those little bastards are next to imposible to find once they hit the floor, thus the count of “20 or so” as reported herein. If anybody knows how many little balls really live in that box let me know, if it is more than 20 I need to go russle up some more balls.

A picture of me on the floor with a magnet trying to find those suckers will not be part of the gallery, but I promise that a step by step photo shoot of the rebuild and line installation will be. You see this is bait. If you have any interest in this process at all, you have got to check back in the next few days to see the pics. 

A BLOG FLASHBACK for Gas Prices Suck

Has anybody asked their date if they know how to siphon gas yet? I did. She had no idea what siphon meant and was totally sick over the fact I would suck gas through a hose….She was, however, in tune with the parallel I eventually got across to her (the art of sucking and blowing and such). That was refreshing.  Such was her level of skill, in her preferred arena, she could have got the preverbal golf ball through a garden hose should she have tried. Different strokes for differnet folks, bless her heart. For me, I will stick to gas.

That’s flogging and this is blogging.

Ride Dirty,

Snakecharmer

I know this is supposed to be a blog about off road parts, fabrication and Nissan race trucks but once in while you gotta write about somthing different. In that regard, this post is the wandering mind of a man lit up on 3 margartias and very little ice.

Watching the news tonight I saw a report that questioned if “gas theft” would start to be a problem. Hell no, as long as we don’t get caught. I mean really, don’t you have a Kentucky credit card in the back of your truck? For the uninitiated, that’s a section of clear hose, about 3/8″ in dia that slides right into almost any hole that has gas in it. Suck on that baby and you’ve got the makings for a cheap Friday night on the town.  CLEAR HOSE, did you get that?  This is important. Why you ask? Well, its friday night right? Just so you know, it’s next to impossible to get that hot chick wearing dasiy dukes and a wife beater to talk to you with “gas breath”… not good, not attractive.  Here’s the point. with a clear hose you can see the damn gas BEFORE it gets in your yap while you are sucking your brains out trying to get it the siphon rolling. This whole siphon thing should be the making of every mans dream. No stupid, not sucking on the hose yourself, but the act in general, applied to a more specific task, one best done at your beck and call by the lovely daisy duke from the dew drop inn down on main street. THink about it men…I mean this takes a woman’s the best practices into consideration, first the blowing , then just as fast some sucking, and if it’s good there ain’t never a need to spit. Lets put that into the real mans rule-book for questions to ask before a first date. “Have you ever siphoned gas?” should be one of the first things we ask our prospective lovely counterparts. Follow that with, “are you any good at it?”  Providing you get an affirmative to both questions you have got one hell of a night in front of you. Just think, you can get where you’re going for next to nothing and upon your arrival she wont spit.  If you signed up for this dream date…..you might be a redneck.

Yup, that’s what i call Flogging the Blog.

Ride Dirty,

Snakecharmer