This morning I cut the a last few pieces of steel on our MultiCam Plasma cutter, then welded them into place. Then I hooked up the throttle cable and took a link out of the chain. I welded up the bell mount as well. I then fired the truck up and carefully powered it out of the shop to position it on the track. I shot a few pictures and then called Phoebe over for a test drive. She was a little apprehensive after last week's failed attempt but game to go. I fired up the engine and together we made a couple of trips up and down the four hundred and fifty feet of track. All went well.
Then it was Phoebe's chance to take it for a spin while I took some pictures and video. (I'll post the video tomorrow) Phoebe gingerly eased the Johnson bar forward and she was off. She went up and down a few time and after twelve years waiting was pleased with her first powered ride!
This afternoon I went back to the parts store for a few more pieces to do some tweaks. A bigger pulley on the engine will give us a slightly higher top speed. A heavy duty throttle cable and a second heavy duty control cable for the Johnson bar controls will make them fool proof - especially in a sudden stop. I also sourced a disc brake caliber of the correct size to give our rig some stopping power. I'll have to design, cut, fabricate and install a hand control lever for that system tomorrow as well. So tomorrow I'll put the little rig back in the shop for a little more work.
