2008 at the Hammond Barn

[RHClarke]

Francesco (an Italian CMP enthusiast) and his bride are honeymooning in Canada. They are on a road trip from Montreal to Niagara Falls and points in between. Their itinerary includes many romantic stops, including Hammond!

Last Thursday night Bob hosted Francesco and his wife, and invited Grant and myself to stop by for some international CMP conversation. Bob and Joyce put on a wonderful dinner and we all enjoyed learning about the CMP hobby in Italy.

Prior to dinner, Bob squired the visitors around the barn. First stop - the famous cat house.



Francesco at the controls of "Lettie" - Bob's truck.


The tour wrapped up with a conversation about the difficulties in finding CMP roofs with hatch holes in Italy:


And so, Francesco holds the record for the longest distance traveled to visit the Hammond barn. I think that record will stand for some time to come.

It was a treat to chat with Bob's international visitors, and we are looking forward to taking Francesco up on his invite to Italy...

[RHClarke]

Despite the forecast, the rain held off. It was a warm and muggy day so we decided not to sandblast all of Bob's newly naked CMP rims. Instead, Bob fired up Lettie and took her for a ride. That freed up space in the barn for my HUP.

The rear brake cylinders need rough adjustment, so I pulled the axles and removed the hubs (which came off effortlessly - a stark comparison to when I first took them off a few (?) years ago). The end screws to the cylinders needed to be turned out a considerably long way. Pulling the hubs made sense as trying to move the screws out by 1/128 of a turn with a bent screwdriver thru the adjusting vents would have taken all day. After a final adjustment, I buttoned up the hubs/axels and replaced the really nice 10.50 x16 tires (that some continue to believe don't fit CMPs). We bled the brake system and finally got some pressure.

Next step in the HUP process - the Great Mating! It will happen this fall come hell or high water!

In the meanwhile, we moved my 3/4 ton ambulance to the back 40 for the winter. Upon return to the barn, Bob's neighbour Marcel, stopped by for some quick repairs to the bucket of his little John Deere. Bob and Grant fired up the touches and straightened the bucket to just about new condition, much to the delight of Marcel.

With that fun out of the way, I headed home to Ottawa to ward off the herds of "Green Shifters" and orange socialist door knockers that plague this city.

[RHClarke]

Saturday started off coolish - thankfully, it kept the local airforce at bay. We had an early morning visit from Guy Vapeur who regaled us with stories of the steam hobby and comparisons with our CMP network. We came to the conclusion that CMPers are more verbose and tend to post more photos of a "how to" variety than our Fulton inspired brethren.



Bob started the day off with some wood management (Oh, the fun some folks could have with that line...). The cool weather is upon us, so Bob moved two cribs full of wood taken from last years clean up.



By 10:00 it was hot. Lunch at Chez Marie was a welcome break from the heat. Grant joined us after lunch with a special delivery of more tubes and flaps for our future project vehicles.



I on the other hand, had some fun with the HUP. I finally installed the missing spacer (see next photo) the second nut and retainer on each of the rear axels, put some anti-seize on all of the wheel studs, axle bolts, and lifting ring bolts (rear set) and nuts (front set).



The brakes now work - thanks, Jeff/Bob/Frank/Grant and everyone else who worked on them. Wiring harness is now installed (hopefully correctly).





All that needs to be done is some paint touch ups, and the great "mating" of body and frame can get underway.

So, (and now the reference to the title) I decided to fire up the HUP. She runs and idles great! Except for some leaks around the waterpump and a new leak in the middle of the rad... We shut her down and watched the water slowly drip out of the bottom of the water pump and dribble out of a hole in the rad. Bob asked if I had installed a new waterpump gasket. I responded that I don't think I would have reinstalled the waterpump without one, so the worst case scenario popped into our heads - cracked block!

Off came the rad (properly marked for leak repairs). Off came the fan and belt. Off came the waterpump - guess what - NO GASKET! In my defence, it has been three years since I first took the pump off for painting (and put back on the motor just to keep things in one place). A case for keeping notes...So, we cleaned up the housing, removed the backing plate and cleaned it up and installed the new gaskets. We reassembled everything except the rad - the leave pass expired and I had to hightail it home as it was pressing 6:00PM. I carefully noted "Fix the rad" in my project notebook...

[RHClarke]

After four long years the HUP frame and body have reunited...at long last, the HUP is beginning to look like she should. This morning, Bob, Grant and I worked out a plan to slide the body onto the frame. The first step was to conduct some routine maintenance on the wheels of the frame that supported the body for two years. Surprisingly, the tires inflated and held (there was some moisture inside them).


We then lined up the back of the HUP with the body and chocked the wheels front and rear.


Out came the drag ropes, come along and Bob's tractor.


We used four by fours and other lumber to prevent damage to either the frame or the undercarriage of the body.



With some elbow grease at the come along, the body slid easily onto the frame. Care was taken to ensure that the fender tabs on the body did not rip out the gas tank filler necks or dig into the now famous 10.50x16 tires.


We removed the transmission shift tower and brake lever and carefully slipped the body home to where it will finally rest. Next week, we will install the wooden and rubber composite spacers and secure the body with the tie down kits.


Needless to say, I'm happy with today's progress. Many thanks to Bob and Grant for their able assistance.

[RHClarke]

Since Bob went to all the trouble to set up the shot, here is a happy fellow:


Tight fit...

[Phil Waterman]

Dare we hope for driving by next spring.

Cheers Phil

[RHClarke]

Originally Posted by Phil Waterman

Dare we hope for driving by next spring.
Cheers Phil

Phil, Maybe on the test track sooner than later! I have to reassemble my steering and have one mystery to solve - there was a gasket/shim between the steering wheel mount on the frame and the steering box - it got blown away by the overzealous sandblast maniac (me) a few years ago. I also found some horseshoe shaped metal shims when I removed the steering box. have a remnant of the gasket/shim that looks like stiff gasket material, but is as thick as two sheets of standard paper. Did you crack open your steering box or remove it from the frame? If so, was there a gasket or shim? Any guesses on the material of the gasket and dimensions?

I am guessing the shim provided fine alignment/adjustment and the metal horseshoes general alignment.

Anyone out there who can determine the composition of the shim material and recommend replacement material?

[RHClarke]

Bob refused to reveal what he was smoking, but the pipe looks familiar:

[RHClarke]

[QUOTE=RHClarke;104640]


I was just browsing this thread when it hit me - the bumper on the HUP seems to be level! Previously, one end of the bumper was an inch and a quarter to two inches higher than the other. It is amazing what a ton of metal (the body) will do to a frame...or is it the Guinness?

[Bob Carriere]

..... aren't you sitting on what was the high side..... hihihi

[Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)]

[quote=RHClarke;105316]

Originally Posted by RHClarke

Just thinking, Rob.... you might have to increase the length of those propeller blades in order to get it to move under its own steam, and put in a stick to steer with.

Just a thought anyway...

[cmperry4]

Impressed with the state of things, compared to my slowed-again-to-snail's pace progress, what with needing to build a new fence out in the country, my sporadic trips to the dacha, and diesel-fuel rationing. Did you get my snaps of the doghouse door. I will have to get measurements of the rear tool box from you at some time.

[RHClarke]

Originally Posted by cmperry4

Impressed with the state of things, compared to my slowed-again-to-snail's pace progress, what with needing to build a new fence out in the country, my sporadic trips to the dacha, and diesel-fuel rationing. Did you get my snaps of the doghouse door. I will have to get measurements of the rear tool box from you at some time.

I feel your pain. I take advantage of the opportunities to max out my time at the barn, and I work on the HUP...

I do not recall seeing the door photos, but I will check again tonight since the Gracies Call for tonight went bust.

Measurements of the tool box will be sent soon (I hope). I'll post them on MLU as well to spread the wealth.

Keep us all posted on your progress - I appreciate keeping up on things HUP-ish. Who knows, maybe when we strike it rich, and after we fix up the trucks, we can have a '45 HUP race!