How To: C15a Wire-3 restoration

[David Dunlop]

Wow! That little sub-project turned out very well, Jordan.. Congratulations.

When I first heard one of those running, all properly muffled, I was surprised how quiet it was. More so than the average gas lawn mower I think, and it gets a bit quieter when under a charging load it seems as well, if I recall correctly.

Nice find for the chorehorse ground strap by the way. Hard to tell if it is early or late pattern under the wing nut. Early ones simply had the end flattened and solder dipped, with a hole drilled into it. I suspect that caused a few wing nuts to get lost, having to completely remove them, which negated the ‘quick release’ concept somewhat as well. Later straps had an an angled slot cut into them rather than just a hole, and I think some makers may have added a small square of folded over sheet metal slotted at an angle as well. These allowed a simple loosening of the wing nut rather than complete removal.

You are going to be on the road and on the air with your WIRE-3 in no time, Sir!

David

[Jordan Baker]

Thanks David

I’m quite pleased with how it turned out

As for the ground strap it must be one of early ones with the solid flattened end and hole drilled through. No slot to be found.

[Alex van de Wetering]

I’ve finished the restoration of the Chorehorse and it’s now mounted on the removable tray. There was also a “quick release” ground strap hookup point on the cab frame. I used an NOS 36” long Chorehorse ground strap. Once hooked up to the charging panel the Chorehorse fires right up.

Lovely work again Jordan! I should be pickung up another Chore horse for my C8 in a week.....no idea of condition though!

[Jordan Baker]

Tonight I decided to pull out my Cnd 10cwt trailer and get some pictures of the two together. I also finally installed the new T plate. Interestingly both the trailer and the Wire3 box were made by Brantford Coach and Body.

[Jordan Baker]

I had to pull the Chorehorse out the other day. It was leaking gasoline badly between the fuel tank and engine. In my rush to get it done I thought it was fine. However it wasn’t and it’s not something i would consider as safe. So apart it came. This also made me realize the fuel tank wasn’t as clean as I thought. There was a good layer of gummy and hardened fuel coating the entire tank. The fresh gasoline had softened it quite a bit. This was flushed out and some very hot water was put in then I poured in a bunch of the POR15 cleaner degreaser (formerly Marine Clean). I also put in a small fish tank heater and pump. This way I’m keeping everything warm and moving. After about 4 hours the tank was nearly spotless. It got a good hose down with a hot water hose.

I’ll be reusing the original gasket along with a skimming of No2 Form A Gasket. This will also be applied to the bolt threads as they are open holes into the fuel tank. The fuel check valve was also soaked in the cleaner and it good to go.

[David Dunlop]

Good thing to find soon, Jordan.

David

[Jordan Baker]

Small stuff being worked on. The 6v battery for the truck finally had its cover installed. I made up a wooden block to help hold the battery in place as it is a smaller battery then what the tray was designed for. I also put in a sheet of neoprene so that the positive terminal wouldn’t short hot on the cover. The battery box cover was an original item that got a fresh coat of paint. I copied the original inked on part number. Lastly the cab buzzer wiring was installed. Thanks to John Sek for the original buzzer block.