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Likamobile Kit Project

August 15, 2006

  Kits 12 and 13 arrive, by way of a new carrier, DHL/Amtrak. I was impressed with the efficiency, no customs problems or fees. (As of yet). This company seems to have their act together. Let's hope it stays that way.

  I guess ModelWorks really wanted to make this kit hard because all my instructions came shredded, see picture. Just kidding, but my packing material was shredded inventory lists.

  Check the parts inventory; I'm missing 2 grub screws. Also the piston rods were not included as promised; the reversing arms were included with new roll pins. ModelWorks contacted. See Kit 10 Addendum, piston rods sent later.

2.5 Hours

August 16

  Prefit the control levers, quadrant, and keyway. It's easier to file the brass brake lever than the keyway.
  The bolts for the water bypass bracket LK01461, to the body frame, need to be longer with nuts as the angle bracket is not threaded. I used 2 M6x20mm bolts, nuts, and washers.

  Prefit the Emergency Brake pulley brackets and pulleys. There were not any bolts listed to mount the LK1452 bracket to the body frame, 3 M6x16 bolts with lock washers work fine.

  Dismantle levers and brackets for polishing and powder coating. I polished the brass lever handles and quadrant, and then had the balance of the levers powder coated. Also had the brake brackets powder coated as well. I also polished all the copper/brass lines and fittings.

3.0 Hours


August 30

  Parts back from powder coater. Install control levers and quadrant, install brake pulleys, brackets and cable. Grease the pulley shafts only not the cable. Install reverser control, using light grease on the bronze bushings.

  Install the water bypass rod and valve. At this point decide what direction you want the water pump bypass handle to be positioned, I chose straight up for the water valve closed, set the bypass valve closed and adjust the bypass actuator accordingly. So when the brass handle is straight up the valve is closed and when the handle faces rearward the valve is open. Install the reverser rod.

2.0 Hours


September 3

  Installed all the water pump plumbing, bypass lines, and the black nylon water feed lines. My lines were rough cut so I just trimmed them square and clean with a razor blade. Also note that the 34022302 ¼" locknut is for securing LK1586 fitting to the left side water tank.

2.0 Hours

  I did a lot of jumping back and forth between kits 12 and 13 and building the engine, that is why some of the dates seem out of sequence.

  All the plumbing fit perfectly without any rebending. The levers and quadrant are absolutely beautiful, wonderful machine work, it took very little buffing to make the brass shine nicely. The controls are very well thought out. An enjoyable experience.

  While I was waiting for new kits arrive, I experimented with pin stripping. I came up with a very simple solution, especially since I can't draw a straight line. I went to a local arts supply store and picked up some paint pens, Red in my case, they come in different size tips, so I could vary the stripe size. I used masking tape and placed the edge of the tape where I wanted the stripe to be, pull the paint pen along the edge of the tape and now I've got a nice straight line. I spent a few hours and am quite pleased with the results.

Happy Building;

Rick


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Likamobile Home Kits One and Two Kits Three and Four Kits Four-B and Five Caliper Correction
Kits Six and Eight
Kit Seven Kit Eight Kit Nine Kit Ten Kit Ten AddendumKit Eleven
Kit Twelve
Kit ThirteenKit FourteenKit FifteenYear EndKit SixteenLeaf Spring Modification
Kits Seventeen / Eighteen
Engine Modification Boiler Installation Burner Installation
Fuel Line, Brake & Throttle Pedal InstallationFinal KitFinal Assembly & Steam Up
Road Test & ModificationsPurge Modification

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