42 Pilot Model HUP Project

[david moore]

Bob - thanks for info re winch. Is it "hard wired" into your truck electrics or do you have separate battery? Photo would be good if you can find the trailer in the snow!

[Bob Carriere]

Hi David

The wiring was kept as simpleand flexible as possible.

Fortunately the Ford diesel has two large batteries. I choose to build my own double cable using twin lenghts of #2 welding cable for Princess Auto.

Installed huge alligator clamps similar to bosster cable at one end and welding cable extension connectors near the winch. That allowed me to set up the connectors to guarantee the polarity would always be the same. The connectors are rubber colored solid brass insert, twist 90 degrees and the lock in place.

Havng that flexibility to run the cable along side the truck allows the traielr to be used by my truck or Grant's truck or to remove the winch from the trailer and use it in other circumstances.

Which brings me to the winch installed on the front of the trailer.
I choose to fabricate a solid removable stand alone table to the winch. Made from tick walled steel tubing.....actually 1/4 inch trailer receiver hitch stock as it has to hold up to a lot of pulling. The whole arrangement is slipped on, dropped down on tubing welded to the frame of the trailer. It is a heaby two man job but the winch can be removed in a matter of minutes from the trailer........ in a tight pinch deep inside a junk yard I could remove the winch.........back up the truck to the victim with out the trailer and tie the winch to the traielr hitch of the truck and pull away.

Not sure I can dig out the trailer to take pictures.... it is a frozen mess out there. Will see if I have pictures in my files.

In any event Spring will come and you are always welcomed to the barn.
In fact if you ever decide to do a similar set up I would be happy to build and instal it for you as I enjoy that kind of thing.

Bob

[david moore]

Hi Bob

Thanks for good info. My small hand winch is set up much as you describe with a pretty beefy receiver - which might be good enough. My trailer likewise is buried in snow - I'll photo in the spring and then we can discuss. Might well take you up on the fit-up offer - in the warm season though! I havent bought a power winch yet so lots of time.

My F8 now runs very nicely - look forward to getting it to a show or whatever next season - some occasion when Mike the Big Gun has his C8 there!

Cheers

[Bob Carriere]

Don't tell anyone,,,,,shhhhhhhttttt but we are planning a Big Bad Bob Beer and Burgers BBQ for June 16th weekend 2013.........



I would love to give you a hand installing a winch on your trailer. If all you will be carrying is your jeep and F8..... both of which are rolling...... you would not need a heavy set up...... mind you once you have it you may be tempted to do some weird recovery....... but then if it is too big you can always call on the Hammond gang.

Bob

[david moore]

Hi Bob

I can keep a secret about BBBB&B BBQ! Only jeep and F8 load you are right, although the latter is too much for my little hand winch but the receiver for it is pretty sturdy. No intention of hauling rusty metal out of the bush!

[RHClarke]

It has been a very busy summer this year with little time to pay attention to the HUP Pilot Model. We did manage to pull the yellow HUP out of its shelter and did a survey of remaining work to be done. The big items to be done this summer are to remove the body from the frame and to get the engine turning over.

If you are interested in the state of this vehicle, I uploaded a small video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr96ff9SY5Y

The front bumper came off with very little effort (less one snapped bolt). It has the usual damage, but it is easily repairable. The two fuel tank protection plates and the tanks themselves came off with more than a little effort. A lot of the nuts were rusted and had to be chiseled off. The state of the fuel tanks were interesting. The driver side tank was rusted through near the bottom of the tank. The pax side tank was intact and contained about a gallon of old gasoline, which was disposed of in the most ecological manner possible... For the curious, yes the fuel tanks are same as in later model HUPs.

The running boards were also difficult to remove and both sides have significant rust damage, but again, this is easily repairable. At first glance the running boards look the same as the 42-44 HU running boards, but there is a difference. Two spacers were welded to the "L" brackets to lift the fuel tanks up to clear the running boards. Later model HU "L" brackets were made with slight changes so that the tank could sit properly.

The removal of the tanks and running boards makes working under the truck a lot easier as now we have better access to the underside. The body is held on by a series of eight (to be confirmed) bolts that go through the floor and upper flange of the frame. The bolts are long enough to accommodate a stiff spring, a washer and a square nut. The spring gives the body some movement if the frame twists.

The underside of the truck is rusty, and there are some areas of the floor plate that will need careful repair. The exhaust system is shot, but there is enough muffler left over to allow a family of mice to live in comfort. Their eviction notice has been given.

Sometime this weekend I hope to remove the nose from the front of the truck so that we can fiddle with the engine. Then we will pull the body from the frame and set it on another HUP frame for temporary storage.

More later.

Photos:

1 - Bumper assembly
2 - Fuel tanks - note hole in the bottom of left tank
3 - Running boards
4 - Easier access with boards and tanks gone
5 - Bolt and spring used to mate body to frame

[RHClarke]

Tuesday's weather was perfect for removing the Pilot Model HUP body. Bob and my son, Jesse hauled the Caldwell HUP frame from the wagon lines to the barn. This frame will support the Pilot Model body while I work on it.

Last weekend we removed the 10 bolts that secured the body to the frame. The bolts on both ends of the truck were about 8 inches long and had springs attached. Interestingly, the remaining six bolts were quite short and did not have springs. The body did not sit directly on the frame but was separated from it by some 1 inch thick, two by two inch square shaped gaskets that looked like they were made from an old conveyer belt.

The rear fenders were in surprisingly good shape (when compared to other HUP fenders I have played with...). There was some very thin metal remaining on the rear of the driver side fender and there was some expedient repair work done on the passenger side fender that will have to be removed and re-repaired.

After the fenders were removed and after most of the linkages were undone, we rigged the body with chain. Bob manned the tractor and we hooked the chains at a central point and began the lift. All went well (after we finally undid the remaining wire harness leads), and we rolled the frame from under the body. The only casualty was the shift lever that decided to get hooked up with the undercarriage. The reverse cam lever got a bit twisted, but was repairable.


Bob maneuvered the body onto the Caldwell frame, which eventually was rolled to the side of the barn. The Pilot Model frame was left outside of the barn door and will be cleaned up and stripped down this weekend. The next issue is to see what is keeping the engine from turning over.

Photos:

1 - Fenders off
2 - Body gasket
3 - Body gasket
4 - Dvr fender
5 - Pax fender