Rectangle Hatch

[Joel Culliford]

Hello

Ok, so the CMP that is being rebuilt by Port High students, does not have a hatch. It was removed and just a large rectangle piece of sheet metal was welded on top (larger then the actual hole. The goal is to replace it, which right now looks like the students would have to build it in the metal shop.

I am starting this thread in the hopes to gather as much info on the hatch as possible. I need dimensions, thighness, bolt type, how it works...pretty much everything.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

[Phil Waterman]

Hi Joel

The pictures you found on http://www.canadianmilitarypattern.com/Posting.html are for the rear sliding hatch on a HUP which is about 4'x4' and slides on rails.

What I think you want is this versions, the pictures attached are some that Bob Carriere sent me. To post them I've had to drop the resolution if you think these are what you are looking for let me know and I can post them to my web site at hi resolution so you can see the detail better. I'll keep looking for more detail shots.

Cheers Phil

[Joel Culliford]

Yes, you are right. Gee I thought I had found some info, oh well back to the drawing board.

[Marc Montgomery]

For the rectangular hatch.

There is a wood spacer that goes between the outiside roof and the exterior angle iron hatch frame

There is an inside steel rectangle (it has a slight convex shape to the sides to match the curvature of the roof)

There were also 'cushions' around the perimeter of the inside of the hatch.. Usually these were wood frames (4 pieces) with 45 degree angles where they meet, they were covered with a about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick horsehair stuffing with a canvas covering. (some models were just heavy rubber) The stuffing covered the face and top and the canvas wrapped aound the top and a littlle on the bottom and was tacked into the wood, which was held on to the angle iron frame with screws through the anlge iron from the outside.

The wood bits are complicated.

The inside perimeter bits are undercut to create a lip so they can sit on the liip of the hatch frame angle iron. The hatch lid itself closes onto the tops of the cushions. The wood substrate has to be measured to allow for the thickness of two layers of canvas where the corners mate.

The spacer between cab roof and exterior hatch are even more complicated. There are four pieces that dovetail (overlap) at the corners. To compensate sliightly for the slope
of the roof, the front one is thicker than the back one and the bottom is cut to match the roof slope...eg the forward side of the front piece is about about 3/4 in high, the back edge of the front piece is about 1/2 in.. (these are not exact measurements..its from memory and given as an example)

The rear piece is (from memory) not undercut as much (perhaps not at all- this is from memory) as the rear portion of the cab roof is not sloped much at that point.

the side pieces are complicated (but identical )as the bottoms which mate to the cab roof are shaped to match the slope of the roof and so have a concave curve to them on the underside.

from memory there was wide window tape between the cab roof and the inside metal rectangle, and between the cab roof and wood spacers outside and the wood spacers and the exterior frame. This thick and wide window tape-gasket- is very difficult to find now, so a substitute would likely be needed.

IMPORTANT": It is much much easier to find an original hatch than to try to make one. You have to make the locking mechanism and housing, machine the double latch, the Hatch lid is re-inforced. There are take-offs around from wrecks...in any case you will need a model to use as a template to get the details correct, or just restore the orig.

The hatch lid grab handle to guide it open and pull it closed, was a couple of thickness of canvas strapping sewn with a footman loop slipped through each end which were than bolted into the hatch lid.

The knob on the roof is a kind of fibre thing, ( a wood repop would be ok) it fits into a U shaped spring steel clip when open. the clip holds it tight enough to keep it from wobbling around or bouncing when open

I believe the exterior grab handle shown in the earlier photos is not an original..which was not as high. See photos of my truck.. look very closely - the hatch is open... the grab handle is original and just a bit higher than the hatch. you can see the knob sitting in its U shaped holder, and the canvas tops of the cushions are exposed

http://www.mapleleafup.net/vehicles/...in/c60l_1.html

with the various gaskets and lid closing on the cushions tightly and covering the small amount exposed, the rectangular hatch is watertight.

On the roof a couple of inches in front of the hatch there was a grab handle bolted to the roof, again , there should be originals available from wrecks

[Bob McNeill]

Here are a couple of pics on the easy way a hatch was fitted in Oz, chev, the grab handle bolted to the outside bolts on the front of the hatch. The lower frame went inside. The roof panel had been pressed so as to be level in that area, the seal I made useing 2" x 1/2" a strip 1/8 x 3/8" and on the outside 1" x 1/8".

[Bob McNeill]

Seniors moment, the pic shows 3/8" on the outside.