Slow, Old and Green

[RMS]

i also prefer to travel the fsr's at night, its a lot safer.

[T. Highway]

WOW

A new way to see your pictures. too cool.

Bert

[T. Highway]

That picture on the waters edge is outstanding!

Bert

[RMS]

That picture on the waters edge is outstanding!

thanks Bert it's one of my favorite shots and was my background for years.

we had so much fun exploring around Britannia that on Saturday morning we set out for another day of exploration. it was a brisk morning with frost cover as i fumbled through a pre-trip inspection, a coffee in one hand and a grease gun in the other. as i stood sipping my joe waiting for the truck to warm up and my coffee to cool down i could see the exhaust billowing in the morning air. i looked around and the roof vents on the out buildings were issuing steam same as the cars passing by on the road, winter is coming. greased and heated up we hit the road.

we were joined on the highway by some friends and in no time we were on gravel with hubs locked. we spent the morning checking out smaller trails. most led to old cut blocks or were cut short by washouts, but some led to great views half way through the day while heading down a decommissioned trail my buddy stopped. i thought he was checking or messing with his gps until i saw his hood pop up on his Cherokee. thinking we would be stoped for a wile i shut off the m37 and went to find out what the hold up was. electrical gremlins had found there way into his jeep. the wipers were turning on by them selves and the electric windows no longer worked. we checked out the fuses and relays but could not find the fault. the engine management system seemed to be fine and with no replacement smoke on hand we would not have been able to fix it .

i jumped back into the 37 feeling thankful that i had no such complications, fired up the M and there was a miss. i quickly wrote it off to the hot start because she cleared up in no time, boy was i wrong, because when we got to the pelton wheel the cause of the miss became very evident. ............. being in this position before i popped the hood and removed the rad cap. looking in the rad confirmed it i could see bubbles. i called an end to the day and in minuets we were back on the trail heading for the highway and the long drive home. at the end of trail we said our farewells unlocked the hubs and checked the coolant level. dusk was making its presence known as i merged onto the high way. every thing seemed to be doing fine the temp was sitting at 180 and the power was good till i had to slow because of idiots not knowing what yield means as i approached the second narrows bridge. my heart was in my throat as the power continued to droop off as i made my way up the bridge deck. relieved that i made it over the top i knocked her into neutral and coasted to the nearest exit. at the next set of lights it got real bad as i fogged out the intersection. i could see a gas station in the distance and as i rolled in the temp peeked at 220. not wanting to just shut her off i got the woman to get me a gallon of hot water. i slowly poured the water in hoping to get the temp back down but to no avail it was just pouring out the tail pipe at this point i had no choice but to turn her off. within no time the head was off a close inspection reveled the gasket had let go between 5 and 6. being a good boy scout i grabbed the spare old school asbestos type head gasket from behind the battery box. with help from my lovely assistant the gasket was changed and head torqued down in half an hour. knot having a strait edge with me i could not check the head or the block and i was skeptical that it would hold. crank crank sputter cough is all i could get. crank crank a blip of choke and she finally fired. running ruff i kept the rpm low and made the slow trek home.

[T. Highway]

I like that you did a field expedient repair and made it back home.

Adapt and overcome is my motto!

I had a 72 BSA and I know 1st hand about the "Sealed Smoke" theory.

Thanks again for the killer pictures.

Bert

[m-37Bruce]

I'm so bad, I would have called a tow truck................

[skinnedknuckles]

GREAT pictures I like the idea of the replacement wire harness smoke I wonder if they make replacement radio smoke, replacement computer smoke etc. Those pictures and the scenery are super its always nice to get away from the concrete now and then. Good thing you are able to do a "trail" repair, at the time they always seem to be a pain but later as you reflect on your travels they seem to be a small price to pay for all of the enjoyment that you had

[RMS]

your so right Paul. when i first noticed steam pumping out of the exhaust i was a washed with dread, and a hefty tow bill looming over head. the feeling continued to grow until i made it over the bridge and off the highway where acceptance kicked in, along with a ever decreasing tow bill. back on city roads with safe places to pull over it became a bit of a game, how far can i push on? the half hour spent changing the gasket out was the best, the woman and i had never worked so well together and it truly made the trip. well that and when the 37 sputtered back to life.

the next day i went at the truck with a torque wrench and was surprised to find i got 90% of the head bolts torqued to 65lb with a 1/2in socket wrench. did a compression test and it was even across the board. hopefully the head is strait and the gasket will hold.

[Tuko]

that is awesome you did a HG on the side of the road, not many vehicles nowadays you could pull that off on!!!

[RMS]

today I took the m37 up a local trail called eagle mountain, its a favorite for jeep guys they recommend 35s, lockers, winch and spoter(s) I just chipped away at the mountain flattening it out, no winch or lockers were needed. it took 4 hours to get to the lookout it would have taken less time to hike.


if you want to see how gnarly the trail is check out youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEpVvjhk ... zJ&index=3

[T. Highway]

Once again, great pictures and thank you for sharing them.

Bert

[Monkey Man]

I always love a good trip report with pictures to colour it up somewhat (and prove it happened, no pictures means it didn't happen ), Thanks

MM

[Rich]

I enjoyed the Pictures It looks like an awesome trail for an M-37
Rich

[RMS]

few more pics

[T. Highway]

Another Great Photo, keep em coming.

Bert