From an article in the Maxitrak News of Summer 1995 - By Equus.
A few simple mods to make
your traction engine more comfortable to operate are:
1.
Sprung
trailer hitch - Drill the existing hitch
to accept a larger "eye" bolt. Thread this through the new hole, fit
a suitable coil spring, lock up with a larger washer and nut and hey-presto, no
more jerky starts.
2.
Sprung
Trailer - Simply substitute the
existing lengths of hose (or retain as bump-stops) for suitable coil springs.
Mine came from old Nissan cylinder head inlet valves.
3.
Excessive
Wear - To prevent excessive
wear on the tender towing point, insert a suitable neoprene washer between it
and the trailer hitch.
4.
Pump
Efficiency(1) - To make the crank-shaft
pump more efficient, dismantle and using an inside cutting tool on your lathe,
cut a small groove in the crank end of the pump body. Into this, fit a suitable
rubber "O" ring and re-fit. This should preclude the need to repack
with graphite string for the whole season.
5.
Pump
Efficiency(2) - If you have fitted the
large auxiliary hand pump to the tender, the above mod also works here. In
addition, a collar fitted to the ram will limit it's travel and prevent it
shreding the packing.
6.
Prolonged
Running - If you like prolonged
running, a slot cut in the side of the ash tray will allow easy ash removal,
something that's all but impossible with the standard arrangement.
By Equus