Otter LRC CM4647296 comes home

[welbike]

No worries Jordan, when I go back again (to retrieve my measuring tape, one in inches) then I'll check if the bottom is open or closed.

Cheers,

Lex

[David Dunlop]

Is that a stud for a leather strap on the front, Jordan?


David

[Jordan Baker]

Alex, thanks again. Carefully looking over the pictures you sent me leads me to believe that the bottom was welded up. Thats what I have done for mine.

David, I would think the stud is for that.

[Jordan Baker]

This has proven to be one of the most challenging parts to remove from the Otter hull. Approximately 60 round headed slotted screws held this box in place. Most had to be cut off with a Zip disk. This steel box held the fuel tank.

[Jordan Baker]

The task….remove the remains of the 5/16-18 screws that had the heads cut off. I could have ground them down flat then drilled out and re-threaded them. However they can lead to problems if you get your initial hole off centre. So in this case I tried the old school ways of welding on a nut to the end of the threaded bit sticking out. This works great as welding puts a pile of heat right into the stud and also gives a nut for the impact gun and socket to remove it. Most of the studs came out nicely. I had one stubborn one that would not come out and the welded on nuts kept snapping. So did the next step and welded on a flat washer to the end of the stud. Then welded a drilled out larger sized nut to the washer. This time the impact gun won and the stud came out. A quick run through with a threading tap and all the threads were good.

[Jordan Baker]

Some detail shots of the fuel tank enclosure. This “box” is just under 4’ in length to give an idea of the size. It’s quite heavy due to the size of the steel plate and all the angle iron. One interesting bit is that the welding on the plates to the angle is continuous the entire length. The rusting is heavy in place but everything will still cleanup nicely. One interesting point to note. I’m finding that a lot of these parts were bare steel and then installed together then painted. There is no evidence of paint between the joining surfaces. The floor plates were the same when bolting to the body. 80 plus years later there is a bit of rust and corrosion.

[Jordan Baker]

One of those moments to be grateful for. Last week a fellow vehicle restorer who’s been in the hobby for sometime reached out to me. He had a shift plate and wasn’t sure what it was for. Well wouldn’t you know it….it was for an Otter. Today it arrived in the mail. It will need to be restored as at some point it has been over painted with red primer. The other picture is what it should look like NOS and also a line drawing from the Otter manual.

Thanks Brian.