1960 fork lift redux

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Boy! I feel for the guys who must work on these things every day. There's not enough room for an 8 year old Chinese girl to get her hands inside most areas...

LLoyd

"Stormin Mormon" fired this volley in news:%cbor.49900$ snipped-for-privacy@news.usenetserver.com:

this will be an "ongoing project". Now that it starts, it's apparent that it's a little "cold natured", and requires diddling the choke during warmup to be stable.

Looking around reveals a fairly weak spark, but on all plugs it's, eh..., OK... so I guess next is an ignition tuneup. Then, if I get the courage, I'll remove the carb, and at least clean it up and check the jet (only one, just like an old cast iron Briggs updraft carb).

Lloyd

I like forklifts too. I already bought six of them, sold one and scrapped another at a profit. One more was a bad deal and will likely be scrapped also. The sixth one goes to my place tomorrow.

What I learned is that there is a reason why nobody wants old forklifts. The reason is parts availability.

On 5/2/2012 11:13 AM, Ignoramus21480 wrote: ...

...

I think it's mostly the folks who really use them don't want to waste the time/money on downtime.

There are plenty of boneyards around here even in a (relatively) sparsely populated area; can't imagine there aren't a zillion in/around Cook County that could get virtually any part of any forklift you could imagine.

--

dpb fired this volley in news:jnrq09$de8$2 @speranza.aioe.org:

I called the guy I got this from to ask a couple of questions, and asked about parts.

He told me that "they aren't exactly 'on the shelf' but with three or four phone calls, I can get any part for that lift you need."

I believe him, because this was well after the sale, and he wasn't trying to impress me, since I was already happy with what I got for the money.

I also know (because I have the ID ticket) that Clark made a couple of hundred-thousand of these lifts, identical in design except for a few electrical details, and the vendors of the specific parts. So there are lots of "bones" to pick over.

Besides, Ig. I make parts and I can fix most anything. So it's more a labor of love and admiration for the old, tough machines than a struggle to maintain. That 4-cyl "Connie" will probably never die at the loads it works under.

LLoyd

I wonder how many of those parts are manufacturable by the home machinist. Probably a pretty low number.

-- The problem with borrowing money from China is that thirty minutes later, you feel broke again. --Steve Bridges as Obama

Larry Jaques fired this volley in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

The engine, et. al., and tranny are probably not, nor easily replaceable, but they are tough and built to last forever.

Most of the top-end parts like the carb kits and ignition parts are still being made. The chassis/body/weight-bustle isn't going to fail. All the hydraulics and mast components could be duplicated by any competent metalworker. The hydraulic pump is a standard high-volume heavy-duty truck power steering pump, still available.

Bearings, axles, etc, are standard items that were standard then, and are still so now. 'Git 'em at NAPA.

Lloyd

Yup. You don't have to make all your replacement parts. I fixed the shifter on a pal's forklift with a short length of all-thread, a matching coupler and pair of jam nuts and lock washers. I explained that it was a temporary fix until he could get the properly inspected and certified factory linkage.

He just smirked at me and drove off. I wonder what *that* meant? :)

--Winston

This guy has an interesting website and has rebuilt an Allis Chalmers ACP80 (8000 lb lift) forklift as well as a 1971 Clark forklift that sounds like it somewhat similar to yours:

I am sure that a lot of them can be made, but at what cost?

"Denis G." fired this volley in news:8cff2568- snipped-for-privacy@q24g2000vbi.googlegroups.com:

Yep, that's a CY20B... same model number as mine. They made them for a LOT of years.

Lloyd

Generally, when something isn't available via the commercial arena, cost isn't an issue if you can make it yourself. Having another machinist make it for you could be overly expensive, though.

Via this CNC router build, I'm learning just why engineers are so picky and so damned anal. Precise is A Good Thing(tm).

-- The problem with borrowing money from China is that thirty minutes later, you feel broke again. --Steve Bridges as Obama

How is it now?

I just bought a 5,500 lbs Clark C500-55 forklift today...

The mast on it leaks big time. The good news is that a seal kit is available for this cylinder.

Ignoramus6562 fired this volley in news:YaSdnaTKN6cmFCDSnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

It runs fine every time I turn the key. I have now used it to 30% of it's cost, based upon daily rentals. I suspect I will pay it off in another three months, based upon that use level.

Mine has not a drip of any kind of leak anywhere, now. No gas, no engine oil, no hydraulic oil.

It was a bit of a chore cleaning up the fuel system, but that was all it needed to be a useful tool.

Lloyd

This is great Lloyd. I am sorry that I sounded like a sourpuss when we discussed that forklift.

Ignoramus6562 fired this volley in news:xLSdnR6qj_KtOCDSnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

I don't remember your saying anything I took offense to .

Lloyd