[RHClarke]

Oh, what luck! It was 2oC at 0730 hrs this morning, and it got up to 10oC by noon. Finally, we get to work outside without the fear of frostbite, or flying pests – unless you count being crapped on by over-flying geese. The geese and the muddy yard are true signs of spring, but there is still frost in the ground which forces the water to pool instead of seeping away. At this point, I’ll take soggy over frozen, thank you.

After finishing some maintenance on my car, I dragged the HUP out of its shelter. By this time, Bob had made his appearance, ready to do some carburetor work, but he had misplaced some of the fittings he needed to complete this task. His attention then turned to assisting me in determining the cause of the binding of the HUP driver side door. After discussing the merits of shimming, cutting hinges, or drilling new holes, we decided to do a study of the hinges themselves. It was noted with some surprise that the frame side hinges that I had were of two styles – one with a very small off-set, the other with a pronounced off-set. We attached both models to the door, but still had the same problem. The next step was a little un-nerving for me, but Bob, being the adventurous type, convinced me that surgery was required.

We took the door into the barn and determined that the leading inside edge that the hinges bolted to, needed to be relieved and bent forward. This would change the angle of the hinges, and could solve the problem. At that moment, Guy Vapeur made his appearance. After watching the proceedings, he glibly suggested that we weld a nut and a backstop onto either side of the newly cut gap so that a bolt could be threaded in to allow us to adjust the gap while the door was on the truck. Bob and I looked at each other, and did exactly that! It worked like a charm – much to Guy’s surprise and our delight. However, it was only part of the solution.

While the new angle of the hinge improved the situation, there was still a ¼ inch or more gap between the end of the top most hinge and the holes in the frame. The idea of drilling new holes in the frame was quickly pooh-poohed as there is a support strut inside the frame that would have been damaged if we drilled into it. So, after eliminating two solutions, we shook our heads and went to lunch.

After lunch, we had another look at the problem and decided to accept the fact that the door could not be further altered. The frame could not be drilled into, so that left the hinges. Initially, I was going to cut the bottom hinge in the center of the long arm and weld in a piece. The adjustment of the door edge made that an unnecessary step. That left the top hinge. The door side arm is very thick and does not present too many opportunities for modification. The frame side hinge was a different story. After measuring the difference between the hinge and the frame mounting holes, it was decided that we would modify the frame side hinge arm.

I now invite the “bolt-fascists” and self-indulgent “purists” who gird their loins and gnash their teeth at the thought of modifying things historic, to move onto another thread at this point. The modification was quite simple – weld a two inch piece of steel onto the hinge, drill new holes, fill the old holes and shape the new piece to look “almost” like the old piece. This went exceptionally well, thanks in no small part to Bob’s skills as a welder. The new hinge component was attached to its mate and the door was hung. The holes lined up, and things looked great! We took the door off the frame again and Bob welded the gap shut. After half an hour of grinding, the door looked no worse for the wear. I was delighted with this progress and wondered if there was anything else that could make this day better when Bob walked through the barn door with a beer in each of his hands! That answered that question. By the time the beer disappeared, time ran out and I headed back to the city. My hat is off to Bob for his advice and assistance today. It was well appreciated.

Photos attached to follow on postings