42 Pilot Model HUP Project

[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

[RHClarke]

While I waited for the witches brew to do its thing, I cleaned off the block to reveal the casting number and the stamped serial number. On line resources indicate that it is a 1940-45 Canadian made block.

Photos:
1 - Casting number
2 - Stamping
3 - Engine out
4 - A little cleaner added...

[RHClarke]

I am happy to report that the mix of acetone and ATF worked its magic today. The engine for the Pilot Model HUP spun over nicely. To celebrate, Bob and Grant mounted the engine on a stand so that we can all admire the thing.

Next steps - clean up the parts with gasoline and find a local engine shop that can clean and magnaflux.

Photos:
1 - Engine "before" Witch's Brew
2 - Engine "after" - note number 2 cylinder
3 - Not much left to tear down...

[RHClarke]

I finally got this video uploaded to YouTube. It features the Pilot Model's frame.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDOgQ2QC9HA

[RHClarke]

The focus this summer was not on barn activities; much to my chagrin. But I did get a chance lately to do some work on the Pilot Model. The front mud guards came off with some considerable effort with the air ratchet. The nuts came off only after a lot of penetrating fluid was used or the bolt twisted off completely. It was an even split between recovered nuts and broken bolts.

I have come to realize the power of rust. It can separate a 1/4 inch steel plate from a substantial piece of angle iron to which it was welded. The gap was widened enough to remove all of the rust and to clean the metal where it joined.

The photos show the power of rust, but in the end, once the rust was removed, the plate was coaxed back into postion with the help of the press and a little diligent hammering. A few zaps of weld later and it looked like new (well, better than before).

Photos:
1 - 73 years of rust.
2 - Opening the gap.
3 - Closed gap.