2nd Annual Minnesota LTS Get Together!

[Wizard]

Alright gang, starting the planning for the 2nd annual MN GTG. I'm offering to open my home to a bunch of local plow nuts and give my new concrete patio and driveway (yes, the 10' pothole is gone :wink) an official LTS workout. Hopefully with enough notice, we can get a few of the guys that missed last years to show up... Everyone is invited, bring the wives and kids! Location is in Crystal, a few miles to the northwest of downtown Minneapolis (PM me for specific address and directions).

The date will be September 22nd or 29th (probably the 29th), time is tentatively 4pm, let me know what works for you guys on the date and time! The menu is open at this point, I'm open to offers and suggestions. I'll be working on Derek to bring the turkey frier! :D Rob's disappeared off the face of the earth, so maybe I can convince my wife to do the taters along with her "special" brownies and chili cheese dip... And of course, the much anticipated 1st production stainless buzz box will be on display, along with a few other plow toys! :D Might be a few projects to do, consisting mainly of any wiring I'm not done with yet by then, or if anyone else has any suggestions, I'm all ears...

RSVP via this thread or shoot me a PM, see ya there!

[EZSnow]

29th is looking better for me, but I'll have to run that by the Missus to make sure. If you want the fryer, I'll bring it.

[BDB]

Might be a few projects to do, consisting mainly of any wiring I'm not done with yet by then, or if anyone else has any suggestions, I'm all ears...


I could give your 575 the "BDB Special Treatment":eek:

[EZSnow]

If brendan provides the light pole, I'll provide the distracting phone call!

[Wizard]

If brendan provides the light pole, I'll provide the distracting phone call!

Lol! :haha I think I'll keep the 575 hidden out of sight back in the shed. :wink Maybe lock the new toy down in the back of my truck, out of dangerous hands.

B, you good with the 29th?

Oh and uh... No sparking this year, dont wanna have to try to explain that to the neighbors/customers... The noisy soot spittin Ford's around will be enough already... :rolleyes: PS Brian, you still owe me a wash from sootin' my truck last year! :eek:

[BDB]

The noisy soot spittin Ford's around will be enough already... :rolleyes: PS Brian, you still owe me a wash from sootin' my truck last year! :eek:

Custom ghost flames....but there is no charge for that either.

The 29th should be ok....but shoot thats a month away. I don't even know what I'm doing tomorrow.:huh

[Wizard]

The 29th should be ok....but shoot thats a month away. I don't even know what I'm doing tomorrow.:huh

Scary thought... Just trying to nail something down early. Last year several didn't show because of the short notice. Hoping that with plenty of notice we'll have a good turnout.

Good news is that it looks like we might actually be completely moved back into the house by then. Nothing like moving everything to the garage and basement and living at Grandma's for a week while the floors are getting done. :rolleyes: Still working on moving everything back in, never realized I had so much crap! :eek:

[Wizard]

Alright boys, lets nail it down on the 29th. I've got PM's sent to "Tcory", "Wesley's", "Swills", and my old man "Bob Cat Bruce" since I doubt they've seen this thread. Who am I missing? Juan might make an appearance this year since it's not all the way across town. Derek, you wanna let Shane know? Looking forward to a good time this year!

[EZSnow]

Yeah, I'll let shane know, and there's a guy on here that goes by "mater". Bryan and I have been shooting with him this summer, and he might be interested. I'll let him know too.

[Wesley's Lawn]

Im game, its a sat and I dont see why I wouldn't be able to make it, Heck maybe I can even buy a truck in time, or just bring a company truck. :cool:

[Wizard]

Ok boys, sounds like it's me, Derek, Brian, Tom, Wes, my old man Bruce, and possibly Shane and Juan. Good thing it wasn't this weekend, I would not have been ready at all... Derek is bringing the Frier, oil, etc. I'll be twisting Brian's arm when he's back from playing at the race track to bring the Turkey. We'll be making chilli cheese dip, potatoes, brownies, and maybe some fruit or vegies if someone actually wants something somewhat healthy... :beatsme I'm hoping I can convince someone to bring pop, someone else to bring chips, and someone else to bring some hawaian sweet rolls and spinach dip. Hopefully this will be enough food for this bunch of hungry plow nuts. Any other suggestions, let me know...

[Wizard]

Alright, I've got this years project ready. This innocent looking little car is, well, boring, even Parker thinks so... And it's noisy and has a terrible ride...
http://www.wizardsnow.com/ltsimgs/IMG_2982.jpg

Daddy and parker went shopping today and scored us a set of rims and tires for it. Not exactly a perfect fit, so it's going to need a bit of a lift. This is going to be way more fun than making dollies for Derek's plow (no offense Derek)... :D
http://www.wizardsnow.com/ltsimgs/IMG_2988.jpg

[Jerre Heyer]

Couple of 12 V motors from a Little Tykes car and Parker will be styling.

P.S. Can't believe you let him run that on that nice hardwood floor:wink

J

P.P.S Fixing Jacob's jeep for his BD this weekend. Need two more motors for the front wheels for the 4WD on it.

J

[Wizard]

Couple of 12 V motors from a Little Tykes car and Parker will be styling.

P.S. Can't believe you let him run that on that nice hardwood floor:wink

J

P.P.S Fixing Jacob's jeep for his BD this weekend. Need two more motors for the front wheels for the 4WD on it.

J

Lol, I was thinking lights! :cool:

Parker's really not ready for something that moves itself, couple years we'll have a fleet of power wheels with little blizzards on them though... :D

[Wesley's Lawn]

Well if you want to do some tinkering I can bring a F-450 and a 236 cat that need some work. :wink Oh and Il bring some pop too.

[Wizard]

Well if you want to do some tinkering I can bring a F-450 and a 236 cat that need some work. :wink Oh and Il bring some pop too.

Uh, no thanks, the pop would be good though...

Dad's bringing the welder over. I got steel bars to go where the old axles are for support/alignment, flat stock for side plates/lift kit, and galvanized steel bars for the new axles... Not only will it be cool, it will be strong! :D We'll actually be able to go off the concrete now too! We'll just have to see if I can hold out til Saturday before I start working on it... :D

[EZSnow]

We may need to trim the fenders away, too. Does anybody make a set of cut-away fender flares for that model?

I still say we make it radio-controlled. Then dad can just sit in the lawn chair while giving Jr a ride around the yard!

[Wizard]

Well, thanks to everyone for coming over tonight! A great time was had by all, and friendships enjoyed late into the night! We had a neat surprise from Chuck, everyone received nice LTS stickers and license plates! A very nice touch! For the second year in a row, the weather did not cooperate. It was breezy and damp, so we ended up in the garage most of the night.

MIA were Brian, Shane, Juan, and Rob. They were missed this year, and we hope they'll make it next year. I think we'll let Brian off the hook though, he's working on the purchase of a house, and we wish him luck with that! Rob's just plain fallen off the face of the earth, even good friends of his haven't heard from him since March... Juan had a b-day party for his cousin...

Special thanks to Wes and Tom for coming! It was great to meet you guys and finally put a face with your names!

Parkers little car turned out great, it looks really good, I'll get some pics up Sunday. It's a little heavy now, so steering is a bit of an issue now due to the lightweight nature of the handle, but for the intended improvements in rides to the park, etc. it turned out great!

Thanks again to everyone for a great time! Looking forward to the next one!

[Wizard]

Ok boys, picture time... I know some of the other guys have some too. I'll post what I have so far.

First up, Derek (EZSnow) Aka "Uncle Derek" and his wife Lis with my son Parker. This pic right after we enjoyed a feast of honey baked ham (thanks Derek) cheesy hash brown potatoes (credits to my lovely wife) vegies, Chilli cheese dip, chips, brownies with andes mints, and sodas.
http://www.wizardsnow.com/GTG_pics/07-1.jpg

Next pic, Tom (tcory) striking a pose for the camera.
http://www.wizardsnow.com/GTG_pics/07-2.jpg

Next I caught Wes (Wesley's Lawn) poking around my new toy.
http://www.wizardsnow.com/GTG_pics/07-3.jpg

And while the rest of us were screwing around, my old man Bruce (bob cat bruce) jumped right in to fabbing up brackets for Parker's car. (No, your eyes do not deceive you, my garage is packed full of salt!)
http://www.wizardsnow.com/GTG_pics/07-4.jpg

[Wizard]

Next, we have a couple of spectators as the buildup of the car took place. This is my Dad's wife LaDaun with Parker.
http://www.wizardsnow.com/GTG_pics/07-5.jpg

The birds eye view "look at all the salt my daddy bought". Parker with Uncle Derek.
http://www.wizardsnow.com/GTG_pics/07-6.jpg

Another pic of Derek with Parker. (bye bye sunglasses - btw Derek, if you didn't figure it out yet, Parker loves to snatch galsses/sunglasses...)
http://www.wizardsnow.com/GTG_pics/07-7.jpg

And I dont think these two get along at all... Parker enjoying Lis' company (actually, I think it's the other way around...)
http://www.wizardsnow.com/GTG_pics/07-8.jpg

[Wizard]

Working on the car's "alignment". Both brackets has to be "rocked" to make the wheels centered in the wheel wells. (I'm on the left, Derek behind in the middle, my dad on the right)
http://www.wizardsnow.com/GTG_pics/07-9.jpg

Getting the wheels mounted, axles trimmed to size, and wheels spaced out to avoid rubbing. (Wes, Me, Derek, Bruce)
http://www.wizardsnow.com/GTG_pics/07-10.jpg

Still having trouble figuring out if Derek is showing his excitement with the wheels or about to smash my head in with it...
http://www.wizardsnow.com/GTG_pics/07-11.jpg

Me admiring our work
http://www.wizardsnow.com/GTG_pics/07-12.jpg

[Wizard]

And away we go!
http://www.wizardsnow.com/GTG_pics/07-13.jpg

Can you tell someone's a little excited!
http://www.wizardsnow.com/GTG_pics/07-14.jpg

http://www.wizardsnow.com/GTG_pics/07-15.jpg

Last pic, late in the evening, we got this great idea to try to reinforce the handle are with expanding foam. The handle is really flimsey and weak, and with all the steel we added, this little car is rather heavy now and hard to steer. I'll need to get another can and add some more, I think the can we had was a bit on the old side, and it didn't expand as well as I thought it should have. I have a feeling we'll be adding to brackerts to the handle to strengthen it up.
http://www.wizardsnow.com/GTG_pics/07-16.jpg

We all had a good time, I wish Tom would have been able to stick around longer, he dipped out kind of early. Also wish Brian could have made it, but we all understand, been there done that... Thanks again to everyone for the good times!

[Chuck Smith]

That car is missing a license plate..... :wink

~Chuck

[Wizard]

That car is missing a license plate..... :wink

~Chuck

Here ya go Chuck, they might be just a tad big though... :beatsme

http://www.wizardsnow.com/gtg_pics/07-17.jpg
http://www.wizardsnow.com/gtg_pics/07-18.jpg

[Tileman]

Sure looks like a good time was had by all!

Looks like a couple 12v motors and a big battery and a small Blizzard that young man will be set and ready for some snow.

[Chuck Smith]

LOL looks like those rolling billboards I see around here. Thanks :D

Looks like a good time was had by all.

~Chuck

[EZSnow]

well, things don't always go as planned- we pulled the plug on frying a turkey when BDB announced that he wasn't going to be able to make it. However, the honeybaked ham was an excellent complement to the aforementioned cheesy hashbrowns, and dinner was great.

It was good to see Tom and Bruce again, nice to meet Wes, and always fun to see Brendan, Jen and Parker.

I'm glad I got the opportunity to witness the amazing fabrication skills that were on display in the lifting of parker's car. I didn't get too involved until we got to the handle-stiffening stages. Some better expanding foam may do it, but I still vote for a kicker brace from the handle to the rear axle... when in doubt- add more steel!!

A big thanks to Chuck for sending out the LTS goodies- that was pretty cool. Too bad Tom and Jerre's Road Show wasn't able to schedule a minnesota date- maybe next time.

The hulking stainless steel monster even got to make an appearance- that's quite a piece of equipment. Word to the wise, though- if you have been wiring (to simply call it "wiring" is quite probably the understatement of the century) inside the hopper and have allowed all the stripped and clipped ends to fall into the hopper, be sure to clear the area of women, children and testicles before activating Jerre's monster spinner. None of them will be impressed by the force with which the wiring scraps are flung!

Alll in all- a great time. Thanks for hosting, brendan!

[Wizard]

Word to the wise, though- if you have been wiring (to simply call it "wiring" is quite probably the understatement of the century) inside the hopper and have allowed all the stripped and clipped ends to fall into the hopper, be sure to clear the area of women, children and testicles before activating Jerre's monster spinner. None of them will be impressed by the force with which the wiring scraps are flung!

Lol, yeah, didn't see that one coming! :( Hopefully too much damage wasnt done... Guess I dont really need salt for testing, looks like she works pretty darn good, still finding pieces of wire impaled in my siding...

[Wesley's Lawn]

Lol, yeah, didn't see that one coming! :( Hopefully too much damage wasnt done... Guess I dont really need salt for testing, looks like she works pretty darn good, still finding pieces of wire impaled in my siding...

Yea, and in my pants too. Was nice when I sat down in the truck to leave and then being impaled with tine peices of wire. :eek: It was a great time and great food by that way ( thanks jen and derek) Was real fun to meet everyone too. Can't wait for the next one.