More reasons to think Breadfan is insane

[Breadfan]

And to make TAF jealous of my exhaust 'skillz'. ;)

So over the weekend I planned out my projects, was going to work on the Fox on Sunday, oil/filter, new spark plugs, install weather stripping and new door hinge pins. I did none of those.

Instead I went to my folks house to work on a little peice of iron I have sitting there. No...not my Spitfire...

Back in the day, during the middle school years I believe, my lack of a drivers license and love of hot rods sorta combined in a really strange mutated way.

To make a long story short - I painted some rather mis-shapen hot rod flames on our lawn mower. As you can imagine, it went over really well. :rolleyes:

Fast forward a number of years, and then another number, I told my dad when I buy a house with a lawn I'm going to need a tractor...and maybe, just maybe, I could "borrow" the old 'Wards mower. I think the reaction was more like "Hurry up and buy, get this thing outta here!"

But can't do that just yet, it's been sitting behind the house, in the elements, and is in rough shape.

So, Sunday I dusted it off, and started the reconstruction. Blew all the leaves and gunk off of it, and washed it. Took the front end off, and found it still had gas in it. :( So off came the carb for a quick rebuild, and a quick oil change while I was at it. 20mins later she was running again!

Next came the fun part - the old flames are peeling, go figure a 90 cent can of Wal-Mart paint won't last forever! Time for a refinish!

But first came the exhaust. Chopped off the old canister muffler and welded on an adapter peice and then a chrome turn-down tip. No muffler here baby, 12hp of single-cylinder power! YAH!

So rather than install door weatherstripping in a Mustang, I did this:

http://www.neuralimpulse.com/misc2/100_0509001.jpg

http://www.neuralimpulse.com/misc2/100_0510002.jpg

http://www.neuralimpulse.com/misc2/100_0512004.jpg

So yeah, I guess I am crazy, but I gotta admit I really get a kick outta stupid little projects like this. So far I'm $6.99 in the hole on this project.

BTW, just as a disclaimer, I'm not as big a redneck as this thread would lead one to believe. Seriously.

[merc]

It must be the Potomac river water :eek: Hope to see you this weekend :)

[Joe Walsh]

I like the flames...they go really well with the louvers!!

How loud is the straight pipe??...It's gotta be worth .15 HP!

BTW: That thing must be a beast, as it is both 'INDUSTRIAL' & 'COMMERCIAL'

[shakes_26]

BTW, just as a disclaimer, I'm not as big a redneck as this thread would lead one to believe. Seriously.

Uh...yeah, you are a redneck....nuthin wrong with that! Just so as the WHOLE neighborhood knows you're mowing the lawn. I mean, we wouldn't want them mistaking anyone else's puny Honda 4 stroke eco mower for your manley man Monkey Wards, open pipe, 12hp, 5 speed, 32" deck, dual cupholder, grass clipping, 2 stroke exhaust spewing hot rod!!!!
:D :lol::D I've got some used 5.0 badges too, want them?

Hey just remember this, keep on keepin' on.

[VNMUS]

That really made my day. Thanks guys.

[TAF]

Well done! Great read and pics to boot...nice straight-pipe job. You wanna come down here the 1st week of November to help with the line-up we've got scheduled before SSHS6? You're hired! ;)

[Bradley G]

you're gonna loose some low end grunt, with those straight pipes.
Maybe a hot left foot, too!

[JMan]

It must be the Potomac river water :eek: Hope to see you this weekend :)

You must mean this . . .

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14689392/


J

[Hotrauder]

I believe ole W.C. Fields, " don't drink the water, fish ****** in it!" Just a word to the wise. Dennis ... Oh, a grass cutting thunder wacker. Can I borrow that for weekend use in my retirement community. It would be a hit.:D

[Bluerauder]

I could "borrow" the old 'Wards mower.
That has got to be a genuine collectors' item. I mean it's a real "Monkey Wards" riding mower with the original nameplate. $6.99 ??? It's gotta be worth at least twice that much. :rofl:

[Breadfan]

It must be the Potomac river water :eek: Hope to see you this weekend :)

Yeah, hopefully. Refresh my memory btw, which event? I think the ones I knew about and were looking at were the PW Cruisers show on Saturday and there's an NVMC meet too, been meaning to take my '90 GT to the NVMC meet sometime...

[Breadfan]

:D :lol::D I've got some used 5.0 badges too, want them?

If they're just collectin' dust I could give them a good home on the "fenders". :) I think I have one 5.0 badge floating around somewhere, but not sure where...

I'll pull all the badges off when I repaint it, so the "Monkey Wards" badge will go back on.

Unfortunately, I may not be able to save the "Industrial Commerical" stickers. :(

But no fear, I'll print out some custom graphics or try out my airbrush and use the old ones as a template. :)

Really as redneck and just plain cool as customizing a mower is, what better place to serve as a platform for practicing techniques. Practice body work, rust repair, fabrication, metal work, welding, painting, airbrushing -- it's gonna be hard to mess up a 20 year old Monkey Wards mower that was sitting in the woods just a week ago. :)

I'm trying to decide on color combination. Yeah I'll probably use spray cans to paint it, not sure I want to shell out the money for pints of House of Kolor 12 step pearl systems, lol. My little sister was helping out on it, she was thinking something non-standard, maybe silver basecoat with black flames that fade into a dark metallic red? :D

[shakes_26]

Metallic Silver, with black racing stripes.... oh and make sure you fabricate an insulated bottle/cup holder.....hey mowing is thirsty work.

[ckadiddle]

I bet it'll still blow the doors off a Honda!