[RHClarke]

There is not much to report from the barn. This weekend was fairly quiet. Bob headed to the sunny climes of southern Ontario to talk carbs (no, he is not on a diet), and maybe swing a deal to pick up a few more CMPs…I didn’t make it out to the barn until Sunday morning. It was a balmy 0oC with no noticeable wind to drive the temperature downwards. The sun shone brightly all day long, which turned the once frozen approach to the barn into the usual springtime quagmire.

The warmer temperatures over the past few weeks served to knock back the snow drifts and to reduce the amount of ice on the roads leading to the barn. This meant more water and mud, but like the return of the Robin (the flying type), they are welcome signs of a change of season. Later that morning, Grant arrived at the barn to perform some administrative chores. My first chore was to remove the accumulated snow from around my shelters. If left in place, the melt waters will gravitate to the shelter floor. Much like it did in “Club HUP”. Grant and I dug a drainage ditch to drain the water on the floor of the shelter.

The rest of the last day of winter was spent babying the HUP. After winching it out of its shelter, I spent the most of the morning fabricating and installing an electrical system kill-switch and mount, and then I changed the oil. The electrical work went well, although it is not hooked up yet…so the jury is still out on that one. The oil change was interesting. After running the HUP for about 15 minutes, I shut her down and prepared to perform her first oil change. With all due regard for the environment, the HUP was prepared for her transfusion. The oil pan bolt came out with no trouble at all – right into the oil container. After fishing the nut out of the oil container, I watched the dirty oil drip out, fascinated by how dirty oil gets with only about 10 hours of running time on the clock. After the dripping ceased, I replaced the oil pan plug (had you worried there, didn’t I?).

The next step was to remove the two oil filters that were hidden under the frame rail. Sometimes I am amazed at my physical strength. I put both filters on “hand tight”, but it took a considerable amount of positioning and grunting to get them off. After a five minute fight, I managed to get number one to twist ever so slightly. Encouraged, I gave a mighty heave and finally, the filter gave up its fight. But not before it dripped dirty oil down its sides. No problem, says I. My latex gloves will keep my hands oil free. After spinning the filter, off it came. Oil, I am told, has some slippery properties. Combined with latex gloves, it is like grabbing onto a greased pig. Needless to say, the filter slipped out of my hands and plunged directly into the container of oil previously bled from the oil pan. Now these filters are not the little ones found on your average small car – they are quite big and have considerable heft – judging from the cascades of oil that landed on my coveralls, the front tire, and the cardboard box used for a ground sheet.

After a 20 minute clean up, I tackled number two filter. No mistakes this time – it came off nicely and was gingerly emptied into the oil container. Next, I filled the new filters with fresh oil and screwed them on – hand tight of course… Both filters were then marked with the date of the oil change with permanent marker. The rest of the new oil was dumped into the opening in the valve cover. Not a good idea. Too much oil at any time causes a flood over the valve cover gasket and the oil seeks a way to escape. My valve cover has a few dents and dings in it and it does not exactly fit the gasket perfectly – as was witnessed by the oil oozing down the drivers side of the engine block. After a 20 minute clean up, I declared that simple task done.

Feeling like I had accomplished something, I decided to tackle a persistent problem with the accelerator linkage. The linkage binds when you first press on it with your foot, and then it gives way suddenly. This makes driving the truck very exciting. Grant and I studied the linkage and determined where we thought the binding occurred. After some tinkering and lots of lube, it was decided that the problem was the linkage lever that ultimately connected to the carburetor. The trick was taking the little rig apart. Off came the “C” clip. Attempts to remove the lever proved futile as the exhaust flange was in the way. Brilliant idea! Remove the pin that holds the lever. No go - still no clearance. Next, remove the exhaust bolts and lower the flange. Success! Off came the lever. Now, call it curiosity, or just plain stupidity, but I decided that the pin could use a cleaning. Out came the wrench and the pin was removed with no fight at all. My delight turned to horror, for as soon as I removed the pin, a torrent of nice green anti-freeze sprayed out of the block. It is amazing how your memory works (or does not work at the proper time) when faced with a crisis. In my mind, I recalled that I had seen this happen before – some fellow named Bob, I think, pulled the same stunt a few years earlier. Good laughs all round then…not so much this day. The pin was promptly returned to its home and left there.

After a 30 minute clean up, I took the lever to compare it to one of the engines in the barn. The lever configuration was somewhat the same, but the angles were different. It was then that it struck me – the engine was out of a North American commercial vehicle and the lever was actuated from behind the engine – not from the front. To fix this problem, I cut a “V’ into the upper portion of the lever and carefully forced the gap to close. A few zaps with the MIG welder later, the lever was ready for its test run.

The linkage was reassembled and it worked somewhat better. There still seemed to be a lot of resistance. This was problem was traced to the two return springs I had set up. I took off one of the springs and tried it again. Success! Giddy with excitement, I started up the HUP and tested the gas pedal. Outstanding! But what was that noise I was hearing? Oh yes, the exhaust bolts…After a quick shut down, the bolts and the flange were reinstalled. Now it was approaching time to go home. After driving the HUP back into her shelter, I bade her a fond good-bye, wondering where the day went…

Lever photos:
1st - "Normal lever config"
2nd - Comparison - after bending the original
3rd - Final product (less dressing up and paint)