It has been a very busy summer this year with little time to pay attention to the HUP Pilot Model. We did manage to pull the yellow HUP out of its shelter and did a survey of remaining work to be done. The big items to be done this summer are to remove the body from the frame and to get the engine turning over.
If you are interested in the state of this vehicle, I uploaded a small video on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr96ff9SY5Y
The front bumper came off with very little effort (less one snapped bolt). It has the usual damage, but it is easily repairable. The two fuel tank protection plates and the tanks themselves came off with more than a little effort. A lot of the nuts were rusted and had to be chiseled off. The state of the fuel tanks were interesting. The driver side tank was rusted through near the bottom of the tank. The pax side tank was intact and contained about a gallon of old gasoline, which was disposed of in the most ecological manner possible... For the curious, yes the fuel tanks are same as in later model HUPs.
The running boards were also difficult to remove and both sides have significant rust damage, but again, this is easily repairable. At first glance the running boards look the same as the 42-44 HU running boards, but there is a difference. Two spacers were welded to the "L" brackets to lift the fuel tanks up to clear the running boards. Later model HU "L" brackets were made with slight changes so that the tank could sit properly.
The removal of the tanks and running boards makes working under the truck a lot easier as now we have better access to the underside. The body is held on by a series of eight (to be confirmed) bolts that go through the floor and upper flange of the frame. The bolts are long enough to accommodate a stiff spring, a washer and a square nut. The spring gives the body some movement if the frame twists.
The underside of the truck is rusty, and there are some areas of the floor plate that will need careful repair. The exhaust system is shot, but there is enough muffler left over to allow a family of mice to live in comfort. Their eviction notice has been given.
Sometime this weekend I hope to remove the nose from the front of the truck so that we can fiddle with the engine. Then we will pull the body from the frame and set it on another HUP frame for temporary storage.
More later.
Photos:
1 - Bumper assembly
2 - Fuel tanks - note hole in the bottom of left tank
3 - Running boards
4 - Easier access with boards and tanks gone
5 - Bolt and spring used to mate body to frame