42 Pilot Model HUP Project

[RHClarke]

Tuesday's weather was perfect for removing the Pilot Model HUP body. Bob and my son, Jesse hauled the Caldwell HUP frame from the wagon lines to the barn. This frame will support the Pilot Model body while I work on it.

Last weekend we removed the 10 bolts that secured the body to the frame. The bolts on both ends of the truck were about 8 inches long and had springs attached. Interestingly, the remaining six bolts were quite short and did not have springs. The body did not sit directly on the frame but was separated from it by some 1 inch thick, two by two inch square shaped gaskets that looked like they were made from an old conveyer belt.

The rear fenders were in surprisingly good shape (when compared to other HUP fenders I have played with...). There was some very thin metal remaining on the rear of the driver side fender and there was some expedient repair work done on the passenger side fender that will have to be removed and re-repaired.

After the fenders were removed and after most of the linkages were undone, we rigged the body with chain. Bob manned the tractor and we hooked the chains at a central point and began the lift. All went well (after we finally undid the remaining wire harness leads), and we rolled the frame from under the body. The only casualty was the shift lever that decided to get hooked up with the undercarriage. The reverse cam lever got a bit twisted, but was repairable.


Bob maneuvered the body onto the Caldwell frame, which eventually was rolled to the side of the barn. The Pilot Model frame was left outside of the barn door and will be cleaned up and stripped down this weekend. The next issue is to see what is keeping the engine from turning over.

Photos:

1 - Fenders off
2 - Body gasket
3 - Body gasket
4 - Dvr fender
5 - Pax fender

[RHClarke]

Some more photos from Tuesday:

1 - Bob and Jesse hauling the frame
2 - The under body has some rust damage - as was expected...
3 - Body off
4 - Frame
5 - My mechanics hard at work on the end product

[RHClarke]

I had assumed the worst case scenario with this engine given its refusal to turn over - even with a pry bar on the gear from underneath!

Removing the valve cover and the side panel revealed a lot of flaky rust that was easily removed with forced air. Two push rods were bent but the others seem to be straight - we will roll them on a flat surface later to verify their trueness.

As with most aspects of the truck tear down, the engine head came off quite easily - unlike my 45 HUP that had the two center pistons rust welded to the head. One of the pistons on the Pilot Model is really stuck, but the others seem to be OK. We will see when we pull the engine and take the bottom end off.

More later!

Photos:

1 - Side shot
2 - Side panel
3 - Shot of the head - after I breathed on the camera...
4 - Block
5 - Block again

[Brian Gough]

Hi Rob,

Thanks for the recent updates on your Pilot Model HUP project. Good luck on the engine teardown. When I bought it Mr. Cobban made the famous "ran when parked" comment. I'm looking forward to seeing it up and running again.

Brian

[Bob Carriere]

....showed two stuck valves.... adjoining intake on cyl. 2 and 3 are stuck open which accounts for the sludge/rust in cyl. 2

Will know more once we have the engine out of the frame and on a full rotating engine stand.

Head is stamped/casted as H 14 0 which I read as 8th month Aug. 14th 1940 ......... there is a good chance the engine is original...... Rob has the full stamped serial numbers which he will run on the web site for dating.

Lots to clean but lots of potential to save the original block.

..... are we having fun yet!!!!

Bob

[RHClarke]

Bob, Having the facilities to do this work makes it fun. I know you enjoy working on this truck as much as I do, and I appreciate all of your help. There will be plenty more fun later this summer!

Brian, I intend to restore the truck to its original state, which means that the block will have to undergo surgery. This may take some time (and money of course), but I am looking forward to it. In the mean time I will be taking on the thousands of small tasks involved in a ground up restoration. You can count on seeing more photos later.

[Phil Waterman]

Hi Richard

Remember the Witches Brew of ATF and acetone it worked on my big flat head engine. Just keep pouring it in to the cylinders you think are stuck or all of them for good measure.

Keep up the good work.

Cheers Phil