Okay.... I guess you guys have to endure my rambling on...
Anyhow, work stopped suddenly earlier this week and I had just enough time to run to my old NY place and pick up a� few things I have been needing in TX. At the same time I had bought a motor just over the hill from Nate's place so today I finally made it to see the amazing Rabbit Ranch.. (More on that later)
Nate had me meet him at his Dad's shop, as it was a bit easier to find than his home is..Still, for someone who has been spoiled by the wide open spaces of Texas and the Midwest, the trip to the Berkshires was a test of Drivng skill and map reading.. Roads a jeep would be at home on, but my behemoth of a crew cab Chevy was a tight fit on many of the tiny cowpaths they call roads in Western MA. And where did the sky go? 99 percent of it is hidden by trees, in fact so many trees and hills that my satellite radio wasn't working most of the time too.
Enough about the scenery, I arrive to see someone quickly untarping a Titan.. Mere moments and it is running before you can say "original Paint!" ....What a treat to see such a primitive machine ticking away like a watch. Nate didn't offer to give rides on it, but I bet he would have driven it around the yard had I suggested it.� For those of you who do not know what a Titan is, it is an OOOOOOOLD steel wheeled tractor that looks like something from a steampunk place. All gears and sprockets, and pistons and valve train and cast iron and formed steel. A true museum piece , deserving of a center stage placement.
Then.... we got to wander inside the shop, where there were a few other toys scattered among the tools and lifts ..I felt like I was in an episode of Pickers....Yes, old Motorcycle stuff too.
Then, part two.. We had to drive to Nate's house to see the REST of the collection...BTW Nate has a really shiny Ford pickup truck I would have killed for a few years ago...and I followed it to his house over more cowpaths and windy hilly roads. It sort of felt like I was on my own Berkshires Color Tour..
At the house we got to see some more jeeps....the red jeep in Nate's avatar is very nicely done, not entirely stock with a few surprises under the hood and really well kept.� His Other early 3A was on the lift...or at least its body was. Shall we say, it was somewhat ventilated underneath. Nate has a few hours of welding ahead...but I am sure he'll whip it out in a day or two once he gets the parts. The chassis was outside, looking pretty clean.
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Also inside the garage were a few.....OK a BUNCH of them old engines he goes on about. In fact.. they seemed to be multiplying like rabbits in front of us... 3HP, 6HP, Fairbanks Morse, IH, McCormick , what have you. And a miniature engine someone (Nate)built from a small air compressor cylinder. Very impressive collection.
� �There was also a top secret two wheeled conveyance being repowered with some sort of internal combustion device. I fully expect it to revolutionize the bicycle industry once it sees daylight.
� � Every nook and cranny had something else to look at. The Camaro hiding on the lift was just the tip of the iceberg. Anyhow, before I got into old iron overload, Nate offered a tour in the JALOPY.
� �Now....you think you have ridden in just about every sort of flatfender, but the JALOPY is a wee bit different. Someone engineered their own frame and suspension and powered it with a V6, added grippy large rubber and some comfy bucklet seats, and it is an E ticket ride now.
� � We went to go see the Famous...so Nate took it easy on me and we zipped away to the hiding place he keeps it in. The jalopy has an interesting ride. It is the first flatfender I have ever been in that didn't kill my back on bumps. It is a Cadillac jeep, I tell ya. The coil springs do a fantastic job of absorbing anything the trail throws at ya. Weird thing is not only does the jeep go up and down, it feels like it goes sideways too.. It will never do for autocrossing but for rocky hilly trails it is the thing to have.
Next was a demo of the amazing Famous....Again, it started almost instantly. And ran like a well oiled watch. It was after all, well oiled. It is pretty big, too. for only 6 HP if I remember right?� Again, a museum quality piece. All in its original clothes too like everything else in the rabbit collection. No shiny new paint or chrome anywhere. I got to see what the original owner saw, with the patina a few decades (actually at least ten decades) of time has added. We tarped it up after it shut down, and it was time to go.
By this time I think Nate decided I needed a bit of a boost so he decided to take the Jalopy home via a trail thru the woods. Wow...it will go anywhere. Of course we had to do the get one wheel as far in the air as you can deal.....I wasn't too scared altho it sure felt like it was tip over time..
On the way back the road we had come in on , Nate decided to open up the throttle a bit past idle... wow, that thing can book down the road. I bet it would be a kick in deep snow....
Anyhow, we got back to the house and I called the guy with the motor, who told me it was ready for pickup. We went down yet another dirt road up a few hills, took a few turnd and down a steeeeeeep hill, and loaded up the new motor for my 45. Thanks for the help loading it, Nate.. Then I had to leave before it got too dark....Driving that truck at night is a pain.
Anyhow they are breeding like rabbits, those� engines. Thanks for the tour, Nate
