Melex 212 Refurb

[scottyb]

The butt bone's connected to the leg bone, the leg bone's connected to the foot bone, the foot bone's connected to gas peddle, the gas peddle's connected to the fun bone

[gstoneberg]

I knew it was a stupid question...

Tomorrow I'll pull the cart up in the air with the winch and take a front-on picture which I can post. There doesn't seem to be an axle, other than the spring which was different than anything I've ever seen. I couldn't, off the top of my head, think of a way to lift it without major surgery. Of course, major surgery is an option. I just hate to do something that won't work.

Thanks,
George

[scottyb]

It can be done. It is major surgery. Basically you cut the front end off of the cart and with some new plate steel....weld it back on. The rear is simple. I'm not suggesting... this just saying where there is a will.....there's a way!!!!

http://www.buggiesgonewild.com/attac...1&d=1223868342

[SP-Electronics]

No, it wasn't a stupid question. We're just "silly". I think the prospect of most people going back to work tomorrow messes with their minds. I return to sole care of a 2.5 year old... WHEE!

Scottyb was serious about the parts though, just having fun with the descriptions. There are lift kits for most carts, and the Melex carts were modeled after the EZ-Go carts, so often the parts from the EZ-Go will fit the Melex as well. Building something yourself is fun, and good practice with the welder.

Sorry if we were having a little fun with your thread, and apparently at your expense. It was not meant in a harmful way I assure you.

[gstoneberg]

No worries, I actually enjoyed it a lot. Reminded me of the old leg bone connected to the thigh bone song from my childhood. Didn't mean to sound like an old fart (even though I am).

The pictures on that last post were really helpful. It makes sense when I see how he cut the old attachment and raised the attachment point. In the back, the springs are just U-bolted to the axle, the spring is sitting on top as I recall. I suppose the rear could be lifted by adding a block under each spring, however the shocks would need replaced I'd think as they would be too short? They're probably worn out anyway and I'd like to put a bed on which would require heavier duty shocks. Since I have to fab new sheet metal on the back I'm thinking of cutting and lowering the back fender attachment so the bed can sit lower.

Thanks, George

[scottyb]

yeh, you got it ... I did the rear by lowering the shackle mounts and buying a longer shock which fit my mounts and new travel requirements.

[gstoneberg]

Scotty,

Went out and took a picture and what you did on the front is exactly what I need to do. Here's my stock front attachment:



That's some stout metal. Wonder if my welder is up to it (Hobart 140). Did you saw that pipe or use a torch?

Thanks for the rear lift pictures. I'd have never thought of moving the shackle mounts (shackle, my new word for the day).

George

[SP-Electronics]

His cuts look like he used a sawzall. Your welder should be more than enough to do the job, but you'll probably need to use a little higher setting and wire feed speed if using the flux core. If you get a bottle and regulator, and get some solid core wire, you can do cleaner welds though.

I have welded a steering arm back together on my 4x4 truck with my little pocket mig with flux core wire. It was a big solid steel arm probably 2" thick. With steel that size I had to actually grind down both ends so I ended up with a V at the joint, and then welded it together, and then had to make some more passes to fill in the gap. It was used and abused for 5 years after that before I traded it for another vehicle, and the other owner of the truck used and abused it for another 5 year or so with no issues.

You'd be surprised what you can do with those little mig welders. Mine wasn't even a Hobart, it was a cheapie like L-Tec or something.

[gstoneberg]

Thanks SP, I was hoping my welder would do the trick. That was an innovative fix to your pickup. Encouraging that it held so well. Mine came with the regulator so I think I just need the gas bottle and solid wire to go with gas instead of flux core. My brother pushed me pretty hard to go with gas when I bought it but I knew I wouldn't use it heavy for awhile and decided to wait. Maybe I should spring for it now. Too bad my tool lust exceeds my wallet by such a large margin. The good news about working on the cart is that I can go at whatever pace works. In some ways that prolongs the fun. I can see how doing fab work and other cart mods could be addictive. I'm hoping to pick up a third cart here pretty soon that I intend to part out as I really only want the motor. I didn't build a large enough shop.

The next thing I need to understand is what happens to the steering when the front end is lowered. Will the stock attachments still work or will I have to modify that too?

I feel bad I gave you the idea I was upset about the humor before. I need to learn to use those smileys strategically (smiley test... - that wasn't so bad).

Thanks for all the help.
George

[SP-Electronics]

Depending on how much lift you go with, you may be able to get by with the stock steering components, and simply adjust the length of the steering arms. If you get too much lift then you may end up needing to modify/lengthen the arms, or modify more to minimize the angle of the arms. I don't imagine you're shooting for the big lift though?

If your welder came with the regulator, then you would only need the bottle, and any fittings to attach it. Mine didn't come with a regulator, so I have to buy that separately if I want to use it. I have welded with both flux core and solid core with gas (argon/c02 mix) and both are fine for most stuff, but WITH gas is a much cleaner weld. I trust both methods for projects like these, as PENETRATION is the key element, and the stuff you're working with on carts is not overly thick that you couldn't make do with these smaller welders. I wouldn't normally weld a steering arm on a truck like that, but I was sort of in a pinch, and had a schedule to keep, so I just turned it out as quickly as I could, and it turned out fine. Nothing a grinder and a can of spray paint won't cover anyway... :)

I do recommend the bottle, if you can swing it. A small tank is really not that expensive, and the solid core wire is pretty inexpensive as well. You may be able to "rent" the tank from a local company, if you think you'll be refilling it often, and it's practically free (you pay for gas basically). We used to do that for some of our gases we use in the dental industry, and it was worth it. I plan on buying one for my mig, but keep putting it off and putting it off. I'm bad like that.