This morning Ottawa looked wonderful. There was frost on everything. As the sun rose it bathed the countryside in an incredible silver light. Damn! It's great to live in Canada (having fewer liberals around didn't hurt either...).
As previously mentioned, today was a bad news day for the Hammond Trio. However, we worked thru our grief and set about the fall chores at the barn. Bob and Grant concentrated on putting in the wood - I pitched in here and there, but the boys had everything under control, so I played with the HUP. The splitting continued until noon, when we headed out for lunch.
After lunch, more wood was harvested and the HUP got disassembled. The tie-down kit for the HUP is very basic - 12 eye bolts, 24 x 15/16" nuts and six stout metal plates to hold the body to the frame.
The eye bolts are mounted onto hooks on the underbody. The bolts then straddle the frame and the end plates are held on with the nuts (two per eye bolt - one acting as a lock nut). The only fly in the ointment was that the hooks are located in close in areas, such as the end of the frame near the chain locker, and midway on the pax side where the jerry can holder is bolted.
So off came the chain locker and the jerry can holder. As well, the oil filter system was moved further forward to avoid rubbing against one of the inboard bolts. I test fit the two end kits and was feeling pretty good about the fit until Bob and I refit the chain locker. Two of the wooden spacers located at the rear of the box impacted on the bolts. Down came the box - good thing because I forgot to insert the wooden guide blocks in the frame...
After cutting the blocks (which I made on speculation as my originals had turned to dust), we test fitted the box to the frame - voila! It fit. Two Grade 8 bolts were inserted up front and cinched down. That leaves two more to be inserted at the end of the front rails - but I am holding off due to a crack in the metal on the driver side and missing metal on the pax side near the bolt hole. The torture my Metal Mistress went thru in her various roles is still evident today.. I spent about a half hour under the HUP arranging bolts, plates, nuts and spacers. Then I drilled a new hole for the oil filter mount and refit the jerry can holder.
To celebrate the great "mating" I joined Bob for a few more hours of wood splitting. The shimming will have to wait. With the exception of the Chez Marie news, it was a tiring but satisfying day at the barn.