2012 at the Hammond Barn

[Bob Carriere]

Amazing what can be done if you listen and have the balls to try it.

In the process of tweaking the frame just a bit more........ I salvaged a short section of leaf spring from a donor and prepared to installed one more leaf spring thickness on the driver's side...... actually 1/4 inch.

So I removed the spring pack.... relatively easy considereing the well greased/lubed new pins I had installed and using big C clamps prepared to remove the "center" bolts.... install the new leaf and a new "center bolt" which only costed 0.96 cents.

Well the center bolt that had been installed by an Ottawa spring dealer, a seemingly reputable truck spring shop ,turned out to be a regular grade 5 5/16 bolt that had the head ground round and a small washer ground to match the head size..... NOT the proper 3/8 center bolt that should have been installed. Why..... because the spring pack hole was too tight to fit the proper 3/8 bolt I purchased.

In a few minutes of drilling using a large HD hand drill I cleaned up the holes and installed the proper bolt. So much for trust !!!!!!

Whe came the time to re-install the spring pack I realized that it was a three hand job....... and my aging muscles just could not handle it alone. Getting older is a real piss-off !!!!

Well later Grant came by and with his help in about 45 minutes everything was back in its proper place....phew !!!

Frame is now also perfectly levelled.....

Bob

[Bob Carriere]

Has anyone installed a 2 speed T case in a single speed C15 or C30...?

Would like to know how you handled the difference on the top mounted bolts.

Single speed has a 2 1/2 inch spread and the two speed a 3 inch bolt pattern.

My C15a cross member was drilled extra holes for the two speed.... the relocation caused linkage alignment problems.

Bob

[RHClarke]

This has been a good past week for my visits to the barn. Unfortunately they have been quite short and didn't really involve working on the trucks. On Saturday 22 September, my youngest son Jesse and I took a trip out to the barn. The aim of this visit was to gauge his interest in his army truck - a '53 SMP 3/4 ton radio van. Now nine years of age, he has realized that he is unique among his friends in that he is the only one who owns a real army truck. It was sunny and warm out so we spent some time going over the work that needs to be done on the truck. We ended our tour of the wagon lines with an agreement that we had better start planning to start work on his truck. The trick will be dragging him out of his warm bed early to work in the fall climate...we will see.

This Saturday Jesse joined me for another visit to the barn. It was cold and raining so we cut our visit to his truck short. Back at the barn we joined up with Bob and Grant who were analyzing a transfercase linkage problem with Bob's truck. We also delivered a nice almost new CF parka from Greg Wright to Bob. You can't beat the price for these coats. Unfortunately, we had other obligations to fulfil, so this trip too was cut short.

Today, I had the time to spend some quality time at the barn. Bob and I are both temporarily (I hope) unemployed, so what better time to cut, split and stack some wood for the winter. I met up with Bob at the barn and hitched a ride on his trailer. Between bouts with the chainsaw we spent the overcast afternoon at the wood pile chatting about the state of the hobby and upcoming events.

Once the trailer was filled with prime split maple wood, we headed back to the barn for a well-earned beer. It was there, over a nice cold beer that we vowed to get both of our trucks running again for another attempt at the wood chip pile at the big field before the snow flies.

Fortunately, I have some time available to that aim. I am not sure about Bob. The public service in Ottawa will come to a crashing halt without him. I suspect that he will be trading his coveralls for a business suit again soon...

Photos:

1 - Jesse and his ride getting re-acquainted
2- Jesse and the boys sorting out all of the world's problems
3- Bob's new office
4- The product of real work
5 - Tools of the trade - a killer splitter and an old army trailer

[Bob Carriere]

.... to fitting parts back on the cab 11.

First I forgot the Waterman rule of re-assembly.

Which is...... Do not toghten any bolts until most components are allowed to jiggle loosely and fall in place.

Now that I have the frame straight.....We started assembly the rad support, rad and trial fit of the sheet metal..... Nothing lines up.... but the all the holes are originally oval and some have been stretched since..... so we are getting good at installing and removing, tightening and loosenign thisngs up again.

WE gave up last SUnday after finally getting the rad support "horse collar" in place..... and like a fool I refilled the radiator with coolant so I coudl go for a spin...... now will have to drain it again to properly re-adjust.

For some reason the filler neck fo the rad is in the way of the littel rain trough in the nose piece.

NOTE TO Grant..... remember how the original sheet metal had been troched by the previous owner.... that was properly to make things fit..... now that we have repaired the sheet metal that had been removed we have clearance problems..... I swear it's like a Chinese puzzle.

I just had to take it out for a run....... we spent so much time re-adjusting the shifting rods of the 2 speed T case..... had to find out if it worked .... and it did..... pictures attached....... T case now works fine and so does the winch. All that frame twisting on the wood chip pile did not mess up anything.

Going up is fine coming back down is scary. Being very light wheels spins in the wood chips as soon as you give it more gas...... and the chevron treads do throw out wood chips quite a bit.

In low range 1st gear truck will crawl up just at fast idle.

Coming down was another story....... blue smoke came out of the tail pipe like a smoke bomb...... oil rushes to the front of the pan and must get by the rings....... also notice some oil dripping from the fuel pump/engine block gasket area. More adjustments are needed...... one fuel line was also dripping and needed retightening..... but to reach it properly we had to remove the front floor panel....... it's like one step forward and 2 steps back.
sure know how the parts fit by now....

One day will get it all done..... and be bored to death !!!!

Bob

[Alex van de Wetering]

Bob,

Awesome pics....looks like a Monster truck right now.

but the all the holes are originally oval and some have been stretched since

One of the spare fender supports I have actually has small round holes to attach the fender and headlight, while the other I have has the oval shaped holes allowing adjustment to light everything up. I guess the round holes are very early and they soon found out that it was a b*tch to line all panels up!

For some reason the filler neck fo the rad is in the way of the littel rain trough in the nose piece.

.

It almost sounds like the nose piece is not at the correct angle? Or is the rad tilted forwards?

Part of my C8 nose is still assembled. Let me know if I can take any reference measurements that could help you.

Alex

[RHClarke]

Originally Posted by Bob Carriere

....One day will get it all done..... and be bored to death !!!!Bob

Fat chance! Take a walk out back, Bob. There are more projects there than we three have life remaining. Though, it would be interesting to see what a "bored" Bob would do...

[Grant Bowker]

Originally Posted by Bob Carriere

For some reason the filler neck fo the rad is in the way of the littel rain trough in the nose piece.

NOTE TO Grant..... remember how the original sheet metal had been troched by the previous owner.... that was properly to make things fit..... now that we have repaired the sheet metal that had been removed we have clearance problems..... I swear it's like a Chinese puzzle.

You might need to trim the interference between the radiatior and the frontal sheet metal, but I'm sure you will use a bit more finesse than the previous owners (not a jagged torch cut) and reinstate a folded lip to have the original appearance. However - if you move the nose shell and the radiator closer together to preserve the relation between fan, front end shell, arch bar, support brackets and radiator - you will also be increasing the conflict between radiator cap and front end shell. Which way do you want to lose?

[Bob Carriere]

Hi Alex

Part of my problem is that I have 4 other cab 12 to check, look at, crawl all over but ONLY the one cab 11.

The nose assembly of the cab 11 and cab 12 is somewhat different..... and my truck had been re-engined with a GMC 228 with all the necessary tweaking modification required. so I am robbing off the cab 12s for parts and idea. some of the fasterners were bolts on the cab 11 but on the cab 12 they are tapered/recessed bolt heads like wood screws.

I suspect that my rad is tilted slightly too far forward...... but can only move back so far before I hit the risk hitting the fan.

Grant....... we will need to remove the axtra rubber spacer on the wish bone rad support..... that will move us 3/16 lower.

From the old pictures I haev taken fo the truck before disassembly both the rain gutter and the rad cap was very close.....

One of the possibilities is that when the rad was "recored" the new core might have been a fraction of an inch taller..... or the rad sits taller in the rad support soldered on the new rad..... a fraction here a fraction there and you suddenly have parts rubbing....

Alex..... if I can't have a look at a cab 11 nose locally I may call on you for some close up pictures.

Meanwhile look at the enclosed old pictures to see how tight clearance where originally.

Bob

PS (Post Scrotum) space is very tight at the filler cap...so much that the tabs on the cap would prevent the rad cap from turning properly..... and notice how the filler neck is actually soldered at a slight angle.
On the cab 12 the filler pipe of the rad is about 1 1/4 inch longer providing additional clearance.
I have a spare cab 11 rad and the same tilted rad pipe is installed. I may try fitting the old original spare cab 11 rad to see if size "really matters".....

[Alex van de Wetering]

Bob,

I am at work so I can't check at the moment, but I think the filler neck on my (cab11) C8 is longer than the one on your cab11 rad(s). I have no idea if my rad is the original one or if it has been replaced with one from a cab 12....nor do I remember if the filler neck is tilted. I will try to have a look tomorrow morning.......tonight is a no-go, as we have already moved to those days of the year that it is dark when you get home from work

Almost sounds like the problem with the filler neck and cap was a known early cab 11 problem, which was solved during production with a longer filler neck???? Than again, it could also be a result of the mods on your truck by the previous owner as you described.

Alex