OK. So....like most of Amerika, I was recently "let go". Or more
specifically…I'm a contractor…so we like to say that they "failed to extend
my contract". In my world, that means you got fired. That last day that I
worked was July 31. And today, I decide that it's time to go explorin' in
the weasel.
Now this weasel doesn't have the old Studebaker Champion engine in it that
most weasels have. It has an old Chevy truck engine. I believe it is a 296.
It also has an automatic tranny. I believe that it is a turbo 350.
Anyhoo…I decided to go for a weasel ride.
Today, I decided that was time to go explorin' in the weasel. Now this
weasel doesn't have the old Studebaker Champion engine in it that most
weasels have. It has an old Chevy truck engine. I believe it is a 296. It
also has an automatic tranny. I believe that it is a turbo 350. Anyhoo…I
decided to go for a weasel ride.
I decided to head down to the Little Log Store and filled the weasel up with
gas. Now, the weasel doesn't handle all that well on the two-lane black
topped canyon roads. Giving it gas makes the front end rise and shifts
weight to the rear-end. Letting off the gas makes the weight shift
noticeably to the front. To further complicate matters, my weasel wants to
pull a little to the right and the track tends to jump on the bogey wheels
when I turn to the left. So, I tend to kind of drive with a fair amount of
pull on the left stick. One thing the weasel can tend to do is go into a
spin on any hard surface. On ice or on blacktop, it will tend to go into a
spin very easily if you over-steer the least little bit.
As I previously implied, this weasel doesn't have a clutch. The only pedal I
have is a gas pedal. There are no foot-pedal type of brakes for a weasel.
You just pull back on both sticks (equally) and …assuming the brakes are
working…the weasel will come to a halt.
Along these lines, I would like to point out that the right brake handle had
rusted through and broken completely off last year when I lived in Boulder.
So, after driving it for some time with a crescent wrench for a right break
lever, I bastardized a brake handle off of one of the other weasels and slid
it over the broken nub of the right brake handle. If fit fairly snugly, but
not so tight that it wouldn't wobble and turn around when the weasel was
operating.
As I was headed down to the Little Log Store for petrol, the weasel started
cutting out. I knew it was running on fumes so I opened it up. I was
running about 40 mph going down the canyon to the store…pitching and yawing
through the turns…the engine sputtering and the gas pedal nailed to the
floor. Somehow I made it to the gas station. I filled up the weasel with
the cheapest unleaded gas that they had and I ended up owing $46.31 for
31.744 gallons of gas at $1.459/gallon. After smugly answering a few
questions from some curious onlookers, I headed back up the canyon.
Even though it was August, I had my jacket on. The temperature was 56°F when
I left my house. I didn't have any gloves on, but I did have a fire
extinguisher with me. (I had learned something.)
I had recently discovered an unpaved county-maintained road about a mile from
my house. The road itself is a not-too difficult climb up the lower slopes
of Double Head mountain. Various branches lead to a few fairly serious
switchbacks that lead up to some of the lower peaks. I decided to make a run
up it to make sure the weasel was still in top running condition. I climbed
to the top without much difficulty. The clutch is sorely missed on the climb
up because I have to just put the gas to the floor and hope it doesn't die as
the weasel slowly lumbers up the hill. I negotiate a few fairly tight
switchbacks climbing without much difficulty. I climb over a fallen
Ponderosa Pine at the very top without any problem.
Coming down the switchbacks was much more complicated. The weasel wouldn't
make the switchbacks without backing up once or twice. The brakes seemed
barely able to slow the weasel's descent and I worked my way down the steep
slopes. Near the bottom, the slope got so steep that I couldn't slow the
weasel enough. With both tracks locked up, I slid down the muddy trail and
hit a drainage ditch that they dig across the road. The weasel launched into
the air for about 4 feet and turned and careened into the mountain. I was
probably going about 20 - 25 mph but it felt like 120 mph. The right brake
handle came off of the nub and was now suspended in the air in my right hand
like a baton.
The weasel is not a vehicle that it is easy to bail out of. You are seated
very low in the vehicle. It isn't like you can just open a door and fall
out. You would have to stand up and jump out. I couldn't have jumped out if
I wanted to. Unfortunately, I didn't have a roll bar. I didn't even have
the top bows on it.
I thought…"I'm going to wreck the weasel." I hit right shoulder/mountain
area and the weasel bounced back onto the trail. I was headed down a steep
incline (on the trail fortunately) with only the left-hand brake functioning.
Unfortunately, the left-hand side of the mountain was about a 30-50 foot
drop. I was eye-level with the tops of the trees on the left hand side. If
I pulled on the brake, that was where I was headed. I dropped the brake
handle and grabbed the nub of a right brake with my bare right hand. I
pulled as hard as I could, but I couldn't get any leverage. It wouldn't slow
the weasel. The weasel was gaining speed but, thankfully, staying on the
trail for the time-being. I shoved the transmission into Park. It just made
a loud clicking sound and continued to gain speed.
At this point , I realized that I had to retrieve the right brake handle from
the floor of the cockpit and fit it back over the nub to get the weasel to
stop. I retrieved the right brake handle and fitted it over the nub….all the
while….the weasel continuing to gain speed but still staying on the trail and
getting nearer to the bottom of the mountain (thankfully).
I pulled back on both brake levers as hard as I could. I was at the bottom
of the mountain now. There was green grass on both sides of the narrow dirt
road. Even the center of the road (where your differential would normally
pass) was a Disney Green color. I thought….if I do get this weasel
stopped…I'm going to grass this guys green yard….The two-lane black-topped
North Turkey Creek was fast approaching. I had to get it stopped before I
ended up in the road and got broadsided. The weasel skidded to a stop
(engine dead) about 2 feet short of North Turkey Creek.
My right wrist was bleeding. Then engine had died. The brakes where pretty
much siezed up. After collecting myself, I tried to start the weasel. I
assumed it was flooded, but once it started it sounded a lot different.
Something is now wrong with the throttle linkage and I had to hold my thumb
to the throttle linkage on the carburetor on drive home…and…needless to
say….I didn't have my gloves.
Rob Kiser
'45 M29C x 3
M28 (hull only)
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Sun Sep 02 2001 - 11:15:40 PDT