2011 at the Hammond Barn

[RHClarke]

Another milestone was reached at the barn on Saturday. Grant mounted his engine into the frame of his truck. The hold up was a broken off bolt in the block of his engine. After five attempts Bob managed to weld a nut onto the broken bolt and out it came.

Grant then used the overhead gantry to coax the engine into place. Grant was then heard to say "Now, it looks like a truck."

Photos:

1 - The approach
2 - The expectant Groom
3 - Bob demonstrating confidence in his chainfall and gantry
4 - Touchdown - a match made in Hammond
5 - Looking more and more "like a truck".

[RHClarke]

After a little investigation online, I learned that 1966-1977 Ford Bronco door hinges "might" be the solution to my rear door hinge issue. The Bronco hinges are a little longer and the gap between the "arched" arm and the flat arm is 13/16". This may solve the binding problem. There is a set of Bronco hinges offered on EBay that I will be bidding on in the near future. The price for a new repro set is about $200.00. The EBay hinges while well-used are much cheaper (unless a bid war happens). I hope to find out if they do indeed fit. I am also trying to get the dimensions for 1960's VW Beetle door hinges (two flat arms).

The next issue was to find a replacement door guide and latch to weld onto the back door frame. Fortunately, the Hammond Barn has an extensive supply of spare parts. After a quick jaunt to the wagon lines behind the barn, Bob and I found the parts. We dragged the lower rear cab frame/sheet metal that we picked up in Montreal last winter back to the barn for some surgery.

After removing the door frame uprights, I cut out he cab supports for future use. Bob removed the latch with some heat treatment. The door guide was spot welded into place so the weld was drilled out and the guide came off with very little fight. A quick sand blast and a spray of black paint later, they were hung to dry for future use.

As usual, the day passed all too quickly and I had to head back home for domestic duties. Helping to keep Bob and Joyce comfy during the winter helps Grant and I “pay the rent” for the privilege of keeping our trucks and stuff at the barn. All in all, it was another great day at the barn.

Photos:
1 - The "infamous" HUP side/rear door hinges (repro Ford Bronco hinge)
2 - HUP rear door frame devoid of door guide and latch
3 - Donor lower rear cab frame
4 - Salvaged pieces for future use.

[Bob Carriere]

First of all thanks for the hand for moving the firewood....really appreciate the help.... I had planned two weekends to get it done with you guys it was done in 1 1/2 days.

Considering the amount of wood we moved..... the engine, bell housing, clutch and tranny installed..... cleaned out the garage.......and the darn brake job I had to do on the wife's Hyundai ..... not a bad weekend. Sure glad I had a Goberment job to go to this morning to rest !!!!!

On the hinges.... my experienced bellied up to the counter at Mac was the same as any other parts store...... they only know how to punch in the computer part number and will not take a part in the back room to check it out....... in fact they get very impatient if you have them to call out 5 or six parts numbers to see which one fits.

On the Bronco hinges ..... after degreasing myself Sunday late after noon, my wife dragged me to Rockland for Hot Rod show infront of Boston Pizza.... she wanted to take pictures...... well there was a Bronco guy out there with an early 66- 67 model and you might be able to contact him for actual eye comparaison....try [number PM'ed] ...... tell him you need his help for hinges.
That number is probably Rockland or back roads towards St Pascal Baylon...
Good Luck.

Now to see if we can get that newly installed 261 to fire up.....

Bob

[RHClarke]

Attached are photos of the Bronco hinge - which may or may not fit the HUP rear door. The issue is binding at the hinge side of the door with the door frame. Perhaps these hinges have the necessary clearance to allow the door to shut completely. I will find out next week when my ebay hinges arrive. If they don't fit, they will go back on ebay/kijiji.

[RHClarke]

Saturday morning saw our first frost, and we have not yet reached the end of summer! It took a few minutes to find the snow scraper/brush in my garage, but it is now a necessity. After removing the frost on my car I headed to the barn for some early morning metal work. Upon arrival I noted with interest that the annual migration of the geese has started already. Winter is not that far off it seems - the temp hit -3 oC just north of us last night. What a country.

The first task this morning was to clean up the alternator mounting bracket that Bob and I fabbed up. After some careful grinding and sandblasting I painted the bracket and hung it outside in the sun to dry. The temp had risen enough and would eventually hit 14 oC by noon. Bob arrived at the barn a little later in the morning sporting a turkey feather in his hat. We decided to do a little clean up near the metal scrap pile. Useable CMP parts were loaded into Bob's trailer and taken to the winter storage area. The Marsden Matting was also moved to a more convenient location.

After that fun, I pulled the wheels off the HUP to check for rust. As expected there was some rust on the rims but nothing that a quick sanding and repaint didn't fix. Once the paint dried, the wheels went back on the truck. The alternator bracket had dried by this time so Bob and I adjusted the bracket and mounted the alternator. The fan belt was lengthened to accept the alternator and we test ran the engine.

Photos:
1 - Frost!
2 - Geese migrating early
3 - The Chief
4 - Alternator finally in place

[RHClarke]

Bob drove his truck out of its storage container and attached his home made radiator strut. It took some adjustment, but Bob got it in place. The next challenge was to stop the leaking fuel bowl. It seems that the cork gasket dries if not in use, so a new gasket was found and installed. After letting the trucks warm up a bit, we decided to go for a spin in our trucks. We drove to the large field for some fun - a short trip of about 500 meters. On the way there we got some interesting stares from the local traffic.

At the field we tested out the 2 and 4 wheel drive features of our trucks. Bob took a tour of the back 40 and returned with a better appreciation for seat belts. After a few attempts to reach the top of the wood chip pile, we headed back to the barn for some clean up. The trip back was very quick. I had just shifted into third gear and had to brake fairly hard to make the turn into Bob's driveway. Bob was able to get up to fourth gear before braking for the turn. I have no idea of how fast we went, but the roar of the engine, the sound of the gears whining and the wind made the experience quite exciting. Bob and I parked the trucks and after a few moments we managed to settled down enough to get back to work on various projects.

Later in the day Grant arrived to work on setting up his radiator. I pulled out my tool kit from a storage tent only to find that the rain had somehow made its way into the tool box. It should be noted that the tool box was covered by a tarp. How it got into the box is beyond me, but I shouldn't have been surprised as the rain in this part of the country sometimes falls sideways. The water left most of my tools with a nice rusty coating. So the next hour was spent sorting tools to be cleaned and those to be tossed. Fortunately, most of the tools were salvageable. After an hour at the wire brush the tools were oiled and stored for more cleaning at the next visit. By this time it was getting late and I headed for home. It was a good drive home but not as fun as driving the HUP. I'm still smiling!

Photos:

1 - Strut installed on Bob's truck (just behind the rad)
2 - The wood chip pile at the Hammond CMP Testing Establishment
3 - Hammond rain has several effects - rusty tools
4 - Tools after a quick brushing

[RHClarke]

The weather this morning was more seasonal than the last few mornings, so with nothing better to do, I spent the morning at the Hammond Barn. The tasks this morning included finish cleaning up my rusty tools, and to install the rear fender to running board connector plates (that's what I call them anyway). The plates attach to the end rail of the running board and to the fender itself. A quick check of the Prototype HUP surprised me - both the front and rear fenders attach directly to the running boards. The 45 HUP only has the rear fenders attached to the running boards. I guess this gives the 45 a little more flexibility going cross country.

Back to the job - the fenders were not too cooperative. Not surprising as they were bent, twisted and torn up when I got the HUP. They now look good, but there was some twisting when they got repaired that made the installation of the plates more of a challenge.

The trick to installing the plates was to use force. The fenders were unbolted from the frame to allow for some movement. The plates were attached to the running board by four bolts and nuts. The running board was raised by using a jack and this generally lined up the screw holes in the top of the plate and on the fender. Four large slotted round headed machine screws were attached through the fender and then through the plate by four nuts. This made the plate draw the fender to it and the fender actually looks properly lined up.

Once the jack was removed, the fender bolts were retightened, and the job was complete.

Photos:
1- The plate
2- The fender layout
3- Front view
4- Back view
5- New artwork at the Barn (part of the Hammond Art Appreciation Program)