HUPs IN STRANGE PLACES

[RHClarke]

Originally Posted by derk derin

You had me wondering what you meant by right hand drive conversion so I took another look at my pictures and never picked up on the fact that it was converted to left hand drive.I have been working in diesel fumes for TOO many years now!Don't worry about things rotting in Manitoba,they are frozen half the year,that's why our vehicles are in such good shape when we find them! I was told that this HUP was an ARCTICIZED version,explaining the interior lining and sealed roof hatch.Is that what it is?The worse of the damage seemed to be the front bumper torched off.
Regards,Derk.

Derk, I tend to butcher English, and it was poor word choice on my part. But, you got my meaning anyway. The left hand drive conversion would mean that this HUP's floor plate and the toe plate on the front clip on the (new) driver side were either removed or modified for the petals/linkages. The bellhousing must have been drilled out or replaced to permit a clutch arm to protrude on the left side. Not much work for someone who knows what he is doing, but it begs the question; why? I am going to guess that this truck was used on municipal streets or provincial roads as a snow plow - perhaps making the conversion necessary.

I don't know if there were any HUPs selected for arctic operations during the war, but I will check the S/N contract numbers to see if any went to Russia. It may have been converted post war, but I don't think it was converted by the Cdn forces, as most HUPs seem to have been disposed of at the end of the war (Natural Resources Canada made good use of them in their bug surveys in the late 1940's and mid 50's).

The photos don't give much info on the "lining". If you look at the door pictures, you will see what looks like lichen or moss growing on said "lining" - most likely worn spots. I am not sure when they started to put in the linings, but my 45 had it - a nice green color with barely visible but random striping. My HUP's lining had the consistency and thickness of roofing felt - I still have samples of my HUP's lining but most of it had deteriorated due to dampness and in my HUP's case - fire... At one time my HUP had a wood stove in it. They cut a nice round hole in the sliding roof hatch cover and welded a stove pipe on it. The wood stove did a real good number on the back of the truck burning the divider wall, warping the metal on the floor and in some cases burning the lining off the wall immediately next to the stove.

The round hatch looks like a good body man made a cover for it. It also looks like most of the vertical metal ring was torched off...for shame, as those parts are as rare as rocking horse droppings.

Nonetheless, the sheet metal looks good and most of the conversion damage could be fixed. Hopefully the front bumper mounts are not torched off. I would be very interested in seeing more photos of this truck - Google earth does not provide useful top down images...

A fixer-upper for sure, but a worthy project if she sells...

Below is a photo of my HUP in 2002 after I "cleaned" it up.