We have accumulated all the mechanical replacement parts for the project. Here's a short list of the planned replacements:
Today was assessment day. Mark and I took some time in the staging lot to get the tarps off and give this contraption a good look. Maque was able to get us some sawhorses to we could get it lifted to check out the drive train and the brakes.
The carapace is in pretty good shape. There are some cracks and holes here and there, but nothing that can't be repaired. You can see in the pictures that it is constructed from chicken wire and paper mache, and then layered in paint. The paint work is pretty clever; just a few colors and some sponging to give it a nice texture and a good effect at a distance. We'll be leaving the aesthetics work alone until we complete a rehab of the mechanical components.
There are a couple of broken welds on the frame, and we've made a call to our buddy Ricardo who's got a welding machine and will take a look at it and see if we can't get these repaired. He happens to be an aerospace engineer, which is a bit overkill for this work, but he's already looking to take the repair a bit further to try to relieve the stress in the frame that caused the welds to break in the first place.
Shifting and Brake cables are worn and weathered; still functioning, but not great. The chains were in surprisingly good shape, still bearing a heavy grease coating and not showing much of any rust. We'll get that cleaned up, and replace all the cables and housing. The wheels look fine, but the tires have some dry rot and inner tubes will need replacing.
The claws, mouth and tail are animated by way of a series of cable ropes that run from cockpit to the various actuators on the carapace. These are not in the worst shape, but they have some wire wraps and such that could be hazardous to an operator, so we'll be replacing those with proper ferrules and clamps.
Maque is working on getting us a access to the lot so he doesn't have to come let us in each time. Parts are being ordered, and Ricardo will come peak at these welds with us and see if we can't get those repaired.
We took the scenic route along the waterfront because I thought it should see the aquarium and vice versa. We turned a lot of heads, and I think did a lot to alleviate the winter blues for some folks. ~Brooke F.
