Marty T – bringing old machinery back to life in Marlborough Sounds*, New Zealand
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“I started this channel to share my ideas, creations, adventures and to show people how easy it is to live off the grid & save money. I like to build useful things using junk which would otherwise end up in the landfill or use energy to recycle.”
Bringing an abandoned HITACHi UH043 excavator back to life
An old excavator broke down 16 years ago and was abandoned in the middle of a trail on a steep slope in my neighbors forest. My neighbor wanted it out of the way so he can use the trail again, he said I can have the excavator for scrap metal so I went to investigate.
After sitting for 16 years in the forest, the radiator needs a good flush out and the hydraulic oil is past its use by date, so Supercheap Auto and Gulf Western sent me some new fluids to put in the old girl and also some shiny new tools. Thanks guys, you saved me a fortune.
Slowly working my way through the multiple issues on the old excavator I found abandoned in the forest. It feels like a new machine with fresh pins in the bucket and hitch.
Both boom cylinders have been weeping since I got the machine a few years ago, gradually getting worse. Time to re-seal them..
SALVAGING AN ABANDONED VINTAGE DAVID BROWN 25 TRACTOR
The rescued David Brown-25 is in rough shape, the exhaust manifold is badly rusted, the oils are full of water and the filters haven’t been changed this decade. So I’ll do some maintenance / repairs and get it back to work
REstoring a Cat d2 bulldozer
We heard about a broken down old Cat D2 dozer left to rust in a nearby forest so we went to investigate. It is worn out and sloppy with a suspected blown head gasket, broken rings and one brake not working so it will be a challenge to bring it back to life
We recovered this broken down old Caterpillar D2 Bulldozer in a New Zealand forest a while ago. There was water in the engine oil so we stripped it down to investigate, suspected blown head gasket.
It has been a challenge but we finally got the old Cat D2 back together, runs like a swiss watch
The old D2 runs like a dream with the new liner and head gasket. Shout out to Banggood for sending me a new pocket osmo steady cam, much smoother footage
Salvaging a GREY MARKET Kubota Mini Tractor
I was offered this old grey market kubota after the owner had tipped it over in a bog, it is very similar to mine so I took it away, worst case scenario I can use it for parts.
The little kubota has had a hard life, the left steering knuckle was in bad shape. I managed to track down the parts and get it like new again, its a great little tractor, perfect for chipping branches and little jobs around the house.
In the previous videos about the rescued mini tractor, I had lots of viewer comments about how I can improve it and make it safer. Lots of good ideas, so in this instalment , I’ll follow viewer advice to make it a better machine.
I heard about an old Bristol 25 dozer sitting in a shed in a remote part of the Marlborough Sounds for the past decade so I went to investigate. The machine was no longer used by the owner so I paid $500 for it and I will go back there soon, give them a quad bike and try to get some of the other old machines running for them.
I’m doing some repairs on the old Bristol Bulldozer I picked up for $500 for last month. It needs a lot of work, this time I’ll concentrate on rebuilding the water pump and thermostat housing, both are in pretty bad shape, and it looses most of its coolant after 10 minutes running.
I’m doing some maintenance on the vintage Bristol Bulldozer I picked up for $500 for last month. This time I’ll change the engine oil and filter, final drive and gearbox oils. flush and refill the radiator with long life coolant and I’ll spread some gravel on my driveway
Fixing an Bonito craft 4.9 with a Suzuki 85hp outboard
Abandoned ALUMINIUM DINGHY
* The Marlborough Sounds are an extensive network of sea-drowned valleys at the northern end of the South Island of New Zealand. The Marlborough Sounds were created by a combination of land subsidence and rising sea levels. According to Māori mythology, the sounds are the prows of the sunken wakas of Aoraki
Douglas fir is one of my favorite types of timber, it is naturally resistant to borer and rot. For those worried about the impact on the environment from cutting down trees – I plant at least 5 trees for every one I cut down and I have planted over half a million trees during my time working in NZ forestry, so I’m ok with milling a few for my projects.
