42 Pilot Model HUP Project

RHClarke · #1 11-12-12, 01:13

I am starting this new thread to record the activities relating to the ongoing restoration of the 1942 Chevrolet "Pilot" Model Heavy Utility - Personnel truck that I bought from Brian Gough not so long ago. The army referred to these pre-production trucks as pilot models. The use of the word "prototype" to describe the truck has been in common use of late, but either label works for me.

The aim of this thread is not only to store and display info about this unique truck, but also to provide me with the motivation to keep working on the restoration of the vehicle.

Comments/observations and constructive criticism will of course be welcomed. If you don't like what you see and you want to comment to that effect, feel free to send your comments along with the money to make things right.

With that out of the way, I would like to start with the recent history of this truck. The following link http://www.oldcmp.net/prototype.html connects you to Keith Webb's Old CMP website. There you will find the background on this remarkable truck.

RHClarke · #2 11-12-12, 01:25

As mentioned, the 42 HUP was recovered a few years back at the world-famous "Chicken Ranch" (2009). The link takes you to the YouTube video I uploaded recently. It gives you a good idea of what the truck looked like before I began the tear down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cjduhFyTkA

In the video you can hear Brian chatting with Bob Carriere and Grant Bowker, who aided with the recovery.

chris vickery · #3 11-12-12, 01:36

Loking forward to see the overall progerss on this, I know you have been at it a while.
As a sidenote, I did watch the YouTube vid of the recovery. Bob, please stand well out of harms way next time you winch something or at least toss a chain over the winch line. Hard to do restorations when you are missing body parts....

RHClarke · #4 11-12-12, 22:37

We removed the Pilot Model's roof with the aim of determining what had to be done to repair it and to gain access to the support pillars. We noted that the front left and right edges of the roof differs from the production model in that they are more angular than the production roof forward edges. The sub-frame is very strudy made up of fairly robust steel channel.

The following photos show the extent of the damage to the roof:

1 - From the rear of the roof - the rounded edges are in fair shape but most of the edges where the roof meets the frame is rotted.
2 - Left front forward edge of the roof showing its unique shape - this I will preserve at all costs.
3 - The leading edge of the roof showing significant damage.
4 - Right front edge.
5 - Damage along the mid section.

RHClarke · #5 11-12-12, 23:02

Some of the major differences between the Pilot Model and the production model included two piece side and rear walls, and the the use of separate support pillars between the lower portion of the walls and the roof.

Photos:
1 - Right rear of the truck showing roof and wall less front and middle pillars.
2 - Pax side door (with doghouse next to it) - note the glass roll up window.
3 - Rear pillars.
4 - Front (smaller) and mid (larger) support pillars.
5 - Left rear view showing the well constructed sub-frame

RHClarke · #6 13-12-12, 21:12

The Pilot model HUP differed from the production models in terms of doors and windows. The two front doors were narrower at the top than the later model cab 13 doors and incorporated roll up windows and door handles (as opposed to the rocker arm door opening devices). There are two small side windows that fit forward of the forward door frames.

The side doors too, had roll up windows. The two rear doors and the two side windows had sliding glass plates. The following photos show the robust construction materials used in the Pilot model.

Photos

1 - Pilot model pax side door.
2 -" Delmar Cobban RR 5 Mt Brydges" (close to London Ontario).
3 - Inside panel.
4 - Close up of panel.
5 - Upper window frame

RHClarke · #7 13-12-12, 21:20

Photos

1 - Earlier repair job - pop rivets and folded metal. It did the job a bit too well. Water got in but had no way out until it made a way out...

2 - The hidden damage.

3 - Interior detail - lots of surface rust but not too much damage to the interior workings and inner panel. The window regulator still worked well but the support (resting on the metal stop below the regulator) needs to be replaced.

4 - The outline resembles the cab 12 door inside profile.

5 - Comparison cab 12 and Pilot model doors.

david moore · #8 14-12-12, 17:29

Just seeing you load the HUP out of the chicken barn - question for Bob....what make/specs of winch do you have on your trailer, Bob. Obviously it can handle that pretty heavy HUP easily. Is it just a 12v winch? What do they cost approx.? I have a hand winch which can handle the jeep but not the F8.

Good to see you all at Gracies by the way - worth driving from Kingston!

Bob Carriere · #9 15-12-12, 04:49

Hi David

Was nice to see you last week.

Winch is a 9000 pounds single pull model from Princess Auto...... doubled with pulley block claimed to pull 18,000.

All I can say is that when you try pulling a cab 13 dump truck frozen to the ground it pulled the Ford and the trailer backwards and the CMP was still not moving. So we tied the front of the Ford to a tank and broke the icy grip on the CMP by jacking the cab 13 sideways with sheepherders jacks..... and broke one of the jacks. Once freed up the winch just pulled it on the Trailer.

Power to the winch is by means of two 25 feet sections of #2 welding cables...fortunately the Ford diesel has two large batteries.

It has proven to be a reliable workhorse on our many recoveries some of which the CMP tires were either flat or the wheels rusted solid.

Prices have dropped considerably over the last 5 years ..... $500 to 600 will now get you a 13,500 single pull winch at PA.

My trailer is rated at 9900 pounds to beat some regulation. I have had slightly over the capacity a few time.....but do not make it a common practice.

I consider that over the years it has served us well and saved a lot of aching muscles. It is now due for a total repaint / rewiring.

Bob

RHClarke · #10 01-01-13, 22:14

My focus today was on the driver's side door for the Pilot Model. It was in better shape than the pax side door but requires some repair.

I decided to cut out the rusty metal along the straight edges and to fill in the pin holes along the curved edge. After about an hour or so of welding and grinding I managed to weld up most of the pin holes along the curved edge. I think I just may be getting the hang of welding thin rusty metal. Right now, I am convinced that it would have taken more time to fab up a curved section to weld in than to fill in the holes. However, there is some cosmetic work still to be done, but I will get to that later on.

Right now I am happy with the progress - such as it is.

Photos:

1 - Dvr side door showing extent of damage (circled).
2 - Damage on curved edge.
3 - Damage on lower corner.
4 - Curved section almost completed.

david moore · #11 05-01-13, 05:24

Bob - thanks for info re winch. Is it "hard wired" into your truck electrics or do you have separate battery? Photo would be good if you can find the trailer in the snow!

Bob Carriere · #12 05-01-13, 16:04

Hi David

The wiring was kept as simpleand flexible as possible.

Fortunately the Ford diesel has two large batteries. I choose to build my own double cable using twin lenghts of #2 welding cable for Princess Auto.

Installed huge alligator clamps similar to bosster cable at one end and welding cable extension connectors near the winch. That allowed me to set up the connectors to guarantee the polarity would always be the same. The connectors are rubber colored solid brass insert, twist 90 degrees and the lock in place.

Havng that flexibility to run the cable along side the truck allows the traielr to be used by my truck or Grant's truck or to remove the winch from the trailer and use it in other circumstances.

Which brings me to the winch installed on the front of the trailer.
I choose to fabricate a solid removable stand alone table to the winch. Made from tick walled steel tubing.....actually 1/4 inch trailer receiver hitch stock as it has to hold up to a lot of pulling. The whole arrangement is slipped on, dropped down on tubing welded to the frame of the trailer. It is a heaby two man job but the winch can be removed in a matter of minutes from the trailer........ in a tight pinch deep inside a junk yard I could remove the winch.........back up the truck to the victim with out the trailer and tie the winch to the traielr hitch of the truck and pull away.

Not sure I can dig out the trailer to take pictures.... it is a frozen mess out there. Will see if I have pictures in my files.

In any event Spring will come and you are always welcomed to the barn.
In fact if you ever decide to do a similar set up I would be happy to build and instal it for you as I enjoy that kind of thing.

Bob

david moore · #13 06-01-13, 01:07

Hi Bob

Thanks for good info. My small hand winch is set up much as you describe with a pretty beefy receiver - which might be good enough. My trailer likewise is buried in snow - I'll photo in the spring and then we can discuss. Might well take you up on the fit-up offer - in the warm season though! I havent bought a power winch yet so lots of time.

My F8 now runs very nicely - look forward to getting it to a show or whatever next season - some occasion when Mike the Big Gun has his C8 there!

Cheers

Bob Carriere · #14 07-01-13, 05:00

Don't tell anyone,,,,,shhhhhhhttttt but we are planning a Big Bad Bob Beer and Burgers BBQ for June 16th weekend 2013.........

I would love to give you a hand installing a winch on your trailer. If all you will be carrying is your jeep and F8..... both of which are rolling...... you would not need a heavy set up...... mind you once you have it you may be tempted to do some weird recovery....... but then if it is too big you can always call on the Hammond gang.

Bob

david moore · #15 09-01-13, 22:25

Hi Bob

I can keep a secret about BBBB&B BBQ! Only jeep and F8 load you are right, although the latter is too much for my little hand winch but the receiver for it is pretty sturdy. No intention of hauling rusty metal out of the bush!

RHClarke · #16 24-07-13, 21:10

It has been a very busy summer this year with little time to pay attention to the HUP Pilot Model. We did manage to pull the yellow HUP out of its shelter and did a survey of remaining work to be done. The big items to be done this summer are to remove the body from the frame and to get the engine turning over.

If you are interested in the state of this vehicle, I uploaded a small video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr96ff9SY5Y

The front bumper came off with very little effort (less one snapped bolt). It has the usual damage, but it is easily repairable. The two fuel tank protection plates and the tanks themselves came off with more than a little effort. A lot of the nuts were rusted and had to be chiseled off. The state of the fuel tanks were interesting. The driver side tank was rusted through near the bottom of the tank. The pax side tank was intact and contained about a gallon of old gasoline, which was disposed of in the most ecological manner possible... For the curious, yes the fuel tanks are same as in later model HUPs.

The running boards were also difficult to remove and both sides have significant rust damage, but again, this is easily repairable. At first glance the running boards look the same as the 42-44 HU running boards, but there is a difference. Two spacers were welded to the "L" brackets to lift the fuel tanks up to clear the running boards. Later model HU "L" brackets were made with slight changes so that the tank could sit properly.

The removal of the tanks and running boards makes working under the truck a lot easier as now we have better access to the underside. The body is held on by a series of eight (to be confirmed) bolts that go through the floor and upper flange of the frame. The bolts are long enough to accommodate a stiff spring, a washer and a square nut. The spring gives the body some movement if the frame twists.

The underside of the truck is rusty, and there are some areas of the floor plate that will need careful repair. The exhaust system is shot, but there is enough muffler left over to allow a family of mice to live in comfort. Their eviction notice has been given.

Sometime this weekend I hope to remove the nose from the front of the truck so that we can fiddle with the engine. Then we will pull the body from the frame and set it on another HUP frame for temporary storage.

More later.

Photos:

1 - Bumper assembly
2 - Fuel tanks - note hole in the bottom of left tank
3 - Running boards
4 - Easier access with boards and tanks gone
5 - Bolt and spring used to mate body to frame

RHClarke · #17 31-07-13, 16:14

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 · #18 31-07-13, 16:29

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 · #19 01-08-13, 00:47

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 · #20 01-08-13, 02:10

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 · #21 01-08-13, 03:19

....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 · #22 01-08-13, 05:00

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 · #23 01-08-13, 23:19

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 · #24 05-08-13, 01:58

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 · #25 12-08-13, 04:15

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 · #26 27-08-13, 21:56

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

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

RHClarke · #27 01-10-13, 21:56

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.

RHClarke · #28 03-10-13, 18:35

After a long search, I found the close up video of the Pilot Model. It gives one a good idea of the scope of work to complete this restoration project.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uy_2N_wiNoM

RHClarke · #29 15-10-13, 15:00

The amount of rust damage on a truck only become apparent when you tear it down. The running boards are a case in point - while on the truck they appeared to be strong and in good shape. Once I pulled them off it was clear that time and the elements had their way with them.

The top of the "diamond and dot" pattern running board plate had some pitting and wear in areas that would be expected for a truck that had a long and distinguished career as a school bus. The bottoms of the board were quite rusty, but they were solid. The "L" brackets that hold the runing boards to the frame had extensive rust damage along the horizontal lengths. The retaining straps were in poor shape with all of the treaded ends rusted solid. One band had separated near the treaded end.

But the most damage was to the "rim" that ran under the entire running board. The rim is a 1 inch by 1 inch length of angle iron that was spot welded to the underside. I removed the most rusted parts and kept the rounded edges in place until I replicate the radius of the bends. The intent is to replace the metal rims using the same amount of cuts at the inside radius as the orginals.

Photos:
1 - Running board rim removal
2 - Bolt hole configuration on the end of the board
3 - Post surgery
4 - Some of the damage - the rim was thin, sharp and very weak

RHClarke · #30 12-01-14, 00:21

The diamond/dot plate steel running boards off the Pilot Model were in fair shape - except for the lower reinforcing edging or railings. As mentioned, these were removed to make way for new replacements.

The biggest challenge was to make sure that the outside radius of the bends matched the outside radius of the boards. To do this, I used a fine blade on a grinder and cut some slots. The first slot was where the bend began and other slots were cut into the steel until the bend was completed. To do this, some of the slots had to be widened with the grinder. Once the slots were completed, the rail was bent to match the radius.

Once both rails were "slotted" and properly bent, the rails were clamped to the running boards making sure that the edges were flush. A few zaps with the welder held the long length of the rail in place. The ends of the rail were pulled in, clamped and then welded into position. After a few "insurance" welds, the slots were welded close. Next step is to cut off the excess railing and then drill the attachment holes.

Photos
1- The start point - new steel
2- Slotting the inside radius
3- Note that the short arm does not match the outside edge - it gets pulled in once the inside radius is welded
4- Welding completed
5- Final product - looks the part