Top speed, flat out, on blacktop, 90 degree's, 2 old farts on board, big tool box, rear seat, cooler with 12 ice cold Mich Ultras, 2 folding chairs, and a pair of Cobra Walkie Talkies........Wait for it......54 MPH. Fast enough for me at nearly 78.

Had a bad January with internal bleeding, Afib, blood clots, and other  serious issues requiring a 10 day stay in hospital.  Had not expected that at all. Came close to cashing in my chips, but saved by some savvy doctors. Been out a month now and getting to feel much better. Hoping to get back and do a little riding this coming week.

I fabricate and build a lot of junk and stuff so an arc welder is a must for steel joining. I have an old Miller AC Thunderbolt Buzz box and in my old age sometimes don't have the steadiest hand when welding with AC, so I decided to convert it to AC/DC by adding a bridge rectifier. I had done this years ago to an old Monkey Wards welder my dad gave me, with huge diodes mounted on an insulated board and wired new recepts for the DC leads.

These days full wave bridge rectifiers capable of 300 amps and 1600 volts are redially available on Ebay or Amazon for just over 30 bucks. I converted mine and replaced all the plug in receps to the same type, 5' of welding cable, 8 copper cable ends, all for about $70-80 bucks. All the wiring and rectification is inside the welding cabinet and stays cool with the fan. I added a block of aluminum under the rectifier as a heat sink.

I now have AC if I need it, or DC with reverse polarity if needed, all using the the same leads. DC seems to work considerably easier when striking the arc and quality of the bead looks better. Probably not everyones desire to tackle this conversion, but it was another fun project. I will post photos later.

Not sure why the photo is sideways, but if I click on it it rotates upright.

[Just wishing everyone around the world a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. 2020 has been a challenge, but hoping for better times in the future. Enjoy your rides in safety and great health in the New Year. Stan in Lake Placid, Florida USA.]

Just wishing everyone around the world a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. 2020 has been a challenge, but hoping for better times in the future. Enjoy your rides in safety and great health in the New Year. Stan in Lake Placid, Florida USA.

Well I've been at it again. I like to build stuff so I just got done building a rear facing seat for my Uforce 500. This is similar to a rear facing golf cart seat.

I used 14 gauge 1" square steel tubing for the step and footrest frame. This frame fits where the tailgate is attached, and is anchored by a a single 5/8" bolt through the hitch ball hole. The heavy 14 Gauge tubing is overkill, but I had it on hand.

The seats and back rest are marine grade vinyl (once we got the vinyl from Amazon we understood why it was so cheap as it was seconds and had manufacturing flaws) over 3" medium density upholstery foam, attached to a 3/4" plywood base. The seat and back rest supports are made with 1/4" x 2" flat hot rolled bar and attached to the floor by removing two box hold down shoulder bolts (one on each side) and replacing with longer hex head bolts, flat and lock washers.

The unit is made in two pieces with just three bolts needed to attach it securely. Takes just a couple minutes to mount everything after removing tail gate. I still have to make a safety apparatus to keep the bed from accidentally being dumped while the seat is in use. I have seat belts ordered. I fabricated a safety bar out of Schedule 40 1" PVC tubing. This give a little more safety and peace of mind for the passengers, like riding a ferris wheel. I plan on hinging the back  rest in order for it to fold over the seat allowing more access to the tool box.

We live where there are practly no hills and our riding is mostly wooded trails and fairly flat sand dunes, so this give us the chance to take a couple passengers along. It is pretty comfortable to ride in.

My wife did all the cushion work and tells me this is the last job she is sewing as it it getting too tough for her to do decent work. I agree that its too hard for us old dudes. At nearly 78 years old, we do not have the skills we once had. Anyway, I enjoyed doing this build. Total cost was about $75.00.

Jim and I took the wives out for a couple hours on the trails near our homes. Was in the low 90's so we needed beverage breaks occasionally.

Noticed a bunch of posts in Rules and Regulations about dating sites.

Ferrous metal chips can be a mess to clean up so I use a magnet inside a plastic Wal-Mart grocery bag to attract them. When you get done, pull the bag back over the magnet and all the chips stay in the bag for disposal. Been using this for years and really helps contain them and a lot easier than trying to clean them off the magnet.

Not sure if other brands of grocery bags will work as well, although I did use a Winn-Dixie bag once and well, it worked ok.  LOL 

Started the build on a flip down windsheild for my Uforce 500. So far just started the template. Going to use 1/4" Polycarbonate, a living hinge, and whatever else it takes to get er done. Going to cost about half of buying one ready made, but I have the time and desire to build it. My buddy next door and I bought identical Uforce 500s about two weeks ago and he is my partner in crime on this. We bounce ideas off each other and usually come up with a workable  plan. Will be cutting the Polycarbonate on Saturday if it arrives.

Only saving about $100-$150 bucks, but love the challenge. The template is a better fit than the image shows. Will be using a soft rubber edge on the bottom to seal.

I have always enjoyed building or fabricating since I was a little guy. I would build little airplanes out of wood from an old orange crate, and just loved building more than buying. I built everthing you can imagine in my 77 years. Tools, equipment, just about everthing. Mostly I liked using scrap or repurposed things. I built sandblasters, shop presses, a manure spreader, tire changer, mini bike, pusher prop Ice boat, carved decorative birds and decoys. I retired as an electrician from Whirlpool corp. I also enjoyed body work on Chevy S-10's, Ford Rangers, and bump and paint in general. I never stop trying to make things better or making insted of buying. I hope I'm not the only nut like that. Here are a few of the pieces of junk I have thrown together. I hope others share some ideas or projects.

Cannot edit post

Can't always recognize the verification letters and type what I think they are, when I submit and if the veferication letters I type in are incorrect, I lose the content of the post. I have done this post three times and having to start all over is trying my patience. Recognizing the verrication letters is very difficult.

Is there any way around that as it seems to me that a Login and Password should be sufficient. I am amazed that there is so much security for what this forum is all about. Thanks

Just got my first side by side about two hours ago. I chose the Uforce 500 and seem to have a couple of problems right away. Have only driven it about a half mile and the first problem was that I noticed was when accelerating, when I got above 20 MPH it started to cut out and sorta buck. Below 20 it is smooth. I'm suspecting there must be something like a rev limiter. Any help is appreciated.

Secondly the indicator immediately to the right of the park indicator, started blinking constantly. I returned home and parked it. It now blinks constantly as soon as I turn on the key. There are no intervals or series of flashes, it just blinks constantly. I am using fresh 90 octane non ethenol fuel.

And also just need some info on the 4 wheel, 2 wheel buttons and the lock. Am i correct in assuming that the rear axles are always locked, and the lock button is just for the front drive? Thanks for any info, as I said this is my first off road creature and I'm older than dirt.