[RHClarke]

Saturday felt like the coldest day of the year. It was about -10oC with a good stiff wind blowing. Hammond got a light dusting of snow the night before that also served notice that winter is coming. So, the first order of business was to feed Lucifer, which made working in the barn much more tolerable.

Shortly after things warmed up in the barn, Grant and Bob made their apparances. The order of business for today included a local recovery, clear out and clean up the rear of the barn, and then on to some small projects.

We three loaded up Bob's Ford for a quick cross-country trek to the wilds of Kars, Ontario, where a nice 261 engine awaited its new home. The engine was stored at Greg Wright's place and Greg lent a hand for the loading - thanks to him, we were able to refill the hydraulic cylinder resevior of the engine lift that had somehow gone dry. Bringing along the mobile engine lift was a very good idea as it made loading the engine a breeze. After a few adjustments, the engine was safely tied down and we said good bye to Greg, and hit the road again.

After a quick stop in Manotic at Tim Horton's, we headed back to Hammond along the rural routes to see what was hidden in the back yards now that the leaves were down. There were a few prospective locations to be checked out later, but nothing screamed CMP.

Back at the barn, we off loaded the engine, winterized it and stored it for future use. Then we sorted out the rear of the barn, which had become somewhat crowded. We usually use the back of the barn during the cold months given its proximity to Lucifer and given that either the tractor or one of our trucks occupy the front end of the barn.

Bob tended to a bunch of little tasks such as sorting sockets, looking for items and general organization. Grant got busy putting together his round hatch inside retaining ring. He fashioned the ring from four pieces of metal that he cut with a jigsaw. These four pieces were welded together and drilled. The end product looks the part and will definitely do the job.

I played with the sandblaster. The small doors from the Pilot model HUP doghouse needed to be cleaned of years of paint, tar and asbestos. Once the hazardous crap was removed, into the cabinet it went. After blasting, I got the metal working hammers and dollies out to straighten the edges and to take out the warpage.

It was a good but busy day at the Hammond barn. Thanks to Bob for the transport and Grant for the labour in recovering the engine. I am sure that more "treasures" await us in the near future.

Photos:

1 - The load out
2 - Picking up the engine at Greg Wright's place
3 - Snugly settled in the back of the Ford
4 - Grant's soon to be round hatch retaining ring
5 - Nearly done retaining ring