2008 at the Hammond Barn

[RHClarke]

While this thread has been somewhat quiet of late, a lot of activity has taken place at the Hammond Barn (despite the absence of our fearless leader). Grant is restoring the roof for his truck, and by the looks of it, he is getting it right. It is too bad I don't have a "before" shot, but here is the "during" shot showing Grant's handywork from afar:



Bob made an appearance this weekend on Sunday. He was down east eating Maine lobster and drag racing Phil Waterman's Beauty. More to follow on that. It is funny to hear our Bob speaking with a Maine accent with French inflections...It is good to see his sense of humour has not left him, although his choice of headwear leaves one wondering...



Since I was too lazy to tackle the HUP, I decided to start stripping down the ambulance to assess the rust damage - there was significant damage, so I will be using the ambulance to kit out Jesse's radio truck, with a view to restoring the ambulance in the distant future.



We also chatted about the BBQ - which is on the near horizon. Get your steak orders in ASAP, or you will be left chewing the fat only...More from the barn later.

[Mark W. Tonner]

Originally Posted by RHClarke

... although his choice of headwear leaves one wondering ...

... after seeing a man and woman (whoses names are withheld, although they are on the wife's side of the family ... ) wearing full length fur coats in Sarsfield last week just after sunset, Bob's headwear looks normal to me for the area ...

[sth65pac]

I know just where you guys are at now.... Slow going eh!

[Bob Carriere]

Last weekend Grant actually sand blasted the whole top assembly and gave it two coats of red primer...... now he still has a few ripples and small dings are now visible but what an improvement. Grant is a very patient and meticulous.... they will be ironed out before he is finished.

He has the updated pictures on his camera and will probably post them soon.

The big remaining job is replacing a strip of sheet metal at the joint line which has rust perforation..... we will be trying our skills at butt welding to make the seam invisible.... or nearly invisible.

Bob

[Grant Bowker]

As Bob said, there are still some areas that need work but the roof is much better now than it was a few weeks ago. Some are in places that can't be reached from behind for hammer and dolly work so I will either have to live with those or apply a thin swipe of Bondo to level the low spots, I refuse to take the reinforcing ribs off the inside of the roof so I can remove a minor ding and then create more mess as I wel the rib back on. There are also some gentle waves that might be from the original stamping process, but more likely were made worse or caused by decades of use and abuse. There was so much paint built up on the outside of the roof that I used a grinder to remove the bulk of the paint, otherwise I would have used a massive amount of sand to clean off the roof. Sandblasting followed and revealed a couple of areas (over the door, surprisingly not the drip rails) where all that had been making a smooth surface was paint, no metal. The rear lower edge of the assembly has suffered rusting where the sheet metal had water trapped by the angle iron frame. There is no cure except replacement along there. Red oxide primer was applied to preserve the metal. as the remaining dents get worked on, I'm going to have to apply more to maintain protection.

[Alex Blair (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Grant Bowker

As Bob said, there are still some areas that need work but the roof is much better now than it was a few weeks ago. Some are in places that can't be reached from behind for hammer and dolly work so I will either have to live with those or apply a thin swipe of Bondo to level the low spots, I refuse to take the reinforcing ribs off the inside of the roof so I can remove a minor ding and then create more mess as I wel the rib back on. There are also some gentle waves that might be from the original stamping process, but more likely were made worse or caused by decades of use and abuse. There was so much paint built up on the outside of the roof that I used a grinder to remove the bulk of the paint, otherwise I would have used a massive amount of sand to clean off the roof. Sandblasting followed and revealed a couple of areas (over the door, surprisingly not the drip rails) where all that had been making a smooth surface was paint, no metal. The rear lower edge of the assembly has suffered rusting where the sheet metal had water trapped by the angle iron frame. There is no cure except replacement along there. Red oxide primer was applied to preserve the metal. as the remaining dents get worked on, I'm going to have to apply more to maintain protection.

Grant
When you have little dings like you described using the red wrench with a slightly oxidizing flame,and a pin point flame envelope,start heating the ding about 1/2 inch out from the ding and using a quick movement ,start heating around the ding working your way into the center..The metal expansion and contraction should level out the ding..Works well on hail damaged vehicles..Ask any farm boy from Saskatchewan..
If that doesn't strike your fancy,screw a sheet metal screw into the center of the ding,,then grab the screw with the old vice grips ..then grab that set of VG's with another 90 degrees from the first so that you can impact it with a hammer to pull the dastardly ding out..then spot weld the hole closed and grind smooth..

"Beater" Blair

[Grant Bowker]

Alex, thanks for the suggestions, I will consider the heat and shrink method, the screw and heave method will make more mess than it will cure. The large dings are cured, I'm now looking at small dimples that weren't really obvious until I started to sand on the primer..

[Bob Carriere]

Just running at a fast idle....... no throttle..... and only using the front axle as the rear shafts were not installed yet....... will do better for BB3...

BooB

[RHClarke]

Bob's BBQ is in the bag, summer is slowly turning into fall (climate change they call it now), and the focus at the barn turns to domestic chores. Unfortunately, we did not have a chance to get up to the Bancroft area for the big show...maybe next year. Today, we rounded up more metal for the scrappers - you would be surprised at what Bob had lieing about - he was!

We wrangled a Rube Goldberg farm implement - brand name Dion, and nicknamed "Stephane" (after one of our finest liberal politicians) out of the brush and then Grant and Bob cut some odds and ends off of the device for future "artistic" welding chores. We took a break around 3 PM to quaff some of Canada's finest ales (it was quite hot - the beer evaporated rather quickly). A few short stories about CMP collecting later, we were back at it.

I ran the HUP engine again today (this time with the fan connected) and found that old engines like to leak ...everything - including water. Bob recommended that I "pipe dope" the bolts for the water pump (I'll be looking that up later on the internet). Frame clean up and a second coat of paint are in the offing - once the brakes are finally adjusted...and then the great mating of the body to the frame...check is in the mail...

Bob fiddled with his old tractor in preparation for "putting in the wood" - a chore for the upcoming weeks. Grant continued to work on his roof panel.

Between the great clean up and the day to day tinkering, it was a great day at the barn. Hopefully, the weather remains good this fall. Speaking of which, it's time to fill up the van - hurricane Gustav will be driving up the price of gas soon (oil execs love these storms...). More later.

[RHClarke]

"It's raining again..." If it's raining, it's the weekend. More of the rule than the exception here in Ottawa. Grant and Bob had plans to visit Kingston for the OMVA event on Saturday, but it looks like plans changed. Hopefully, the boys will fill in the blanks on Saturday soon.

Today, I got to spend a morning at the barn. It looks like Bob and Grant were busy - there were seven sets of rims missing their collars of 60 year old rubber...there were a bunch of sanblasted and treated rims sitting in the barn, and some wood got cut up in preparation for Lucifer. Grant's roof looks great - even in primer!

After taking stock of the boy's work, I tore down my radiator and attempted to fix the leaking waterpump housing. Taking Bob's advice, I gooped the bolts for the waterpump and retorqued. I also refilled the master cylinder and finally got some pressure (before bleeding). Unfortunately, time ran out and I had to hit the trail back to the city.

Just before leaving, I ran into Bob, who indicated that he might have a foreign visitor this week. I'll let him spill the beans on that item...more later.

[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]

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

[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?

[Phil Waterman]

Originally Posted by RHClarke

Phil, ..... 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?

I encountered shim material on both the Pattern 13 C60S and Pattern 12 C60L never have had the box out of my HUP. Now someplace I have seen something about steering box alignment being a issue with CMPs I'll have to look for the info. Can't remember if it was in manual or service bulletin.

If I remember correctly on the C60S I had very carefully saved the shims but when I installed the body and then the steering box there was binding with the shims and not without so I left them out.

[Rob Beale]

On a C8AX in NZ, but not on others. I think we left them off when we reassembled the truck, and they are in a box somewhere!

I imagine the state of the rubber cab mounts could affect the alignment of the steering column, yet the mounting bracket below the windscreen has slotted holes I think?

The parts list C8AX shows:

5814779 SHIM Steering Gear bracket (between steering gear and bracket) 1

Hope that helps???

Rob

[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!

[RHClarke]

Originally Posted by Rob Beale

On a C8AX in NZ, but not on others. I think we left them off when we reassembled the truck, and they are in a box somewhere! I imagine the state of the rubber cab mounts could affect the alignment of the steering column, yet the mounting bracket below the windscreen has slotted holes I think? The parts list C8AX shows:
5814779 SHIM Steering Gear bracket (between steering gear and bracket) 1
Hope that helps??? Rob

Indeed, it does. Some literature states that to check alignment, remove the brace clamp at the upper end of the shaft - "the steering column should lightly contact the rubber insert in the brace". If not, then shims (PN as you indicated) are to be used by loosening the four bolts at the lower end and shimming as necessary. We are also told that we are "never"...to "install shims at one bolt only".

I will play with the shims this weekend.

[RHClarke]

We got the news today. Chez Marie will be closing its doors in two weeks time. The fellow who owns the house where Chez Marie is located is not expected to bring it up to code, so the doors will close.

Bob, Grant and I had a moment of silence, which was broken by Bob's question: "Now where are we going to get fat?"

It looks like Mike's Restaurant in Bourget will benefit from our presence...fortunately, it is only a few clicks away from Bob's palace.

RIP

[RHClarke]

This morning Ottawa looked wonderful. There was frost on everything. As the sun rose it bathed the countryside in an incredible silver light. Damn! It's great to live in Canada (having fewer liberals around didn't hurt either...).

As previously mentioned, today was a bad news day for the Hammond Trio. However, we worked thru our grief and set about the fall chores at the barn. Bob and Grant concentrated on putting in the wood - I pitched in here and there, but the boys had everything under control, so I played with the HUP. The splitting continued until noon, when we headed out for lunch.



After lunch, more wood was harvested and the HUP got disassembled. The tie-down kit for the HUP is very basic - 12 eye bolts, 24 x 15/16" nuts and six stout metal plates to hold the body to the frame.



The eye bolts are mounted onto hooks on the underbody. The bolts then straddle the frame and the end plates are held on with the nuts (two per eye bolt - one acting as a lock nut). The only fly in the ointment was that the hooks are located in close in areas, such as the end of the frame near the chain locker, and midway on the pax side where the jerry can holder is bolted.



So off came the chain locker and the jerry can holder. As well, the oil filter system was moved further forward to avoid rubbing against one of the inboard bolts. I test fit the two end kits and was feeling pretty good about the fit until Bob and I refit the chain locker. Two of the wooden spacers located at the rear of the box impacted on the bolts. Down came the box - good thing because I forgot to insert the wooden guide blocks in the frame...

After cutting the blocks (which I made on speculation as my originals had turned to dust), we test fitted the box to the frame - voila! It fit. Two Grade 8 bolts were inserted up front and cinched down. That leaves two more to be inserted at the end of the front rails - but I am holding off due to a crack in the metal on the driver side and missing metal on the pax side near the bolt hole. The torture my Metal Mistress went thru in her various roles is still evident today.. I spent about a half hour under the HUP arranging bolts, plates, nuts and spacers. Then I drilled a new hole for the oil filter mount and refit the jerry can holder.

To celebrate the great "mating" I joined Bob for a few more hours of wood splitting. The shimming will have to wait. With the exception of the Chez Marie news, it was a tiring but satisfying day at the barn.

[RHClarke]

Bob and Grant went border raiding on Saturday. The boys will fill you in on that story.

On Sunday, we all went about various chores including more clean up to facilitate snow removal - seems the locals are predicting a good measure of it this winter.

After messing around with a leaky rad (needs to be re-cored), I dragged out the HUP and mounted the front windows just to get them out of the way (a "thank you" goes to John Granger at Speedy Glass in Orleans).



The rest of the day was spent mounting the steering column, which went on with a fight. The HUP steering is held on by a typical steering gear box mounted to the frame. No problems there until it came time to match up holes with the top of the column under the dash. There was no play between the upper mounts, so the lower mount was loosened off. Grant and I aligned the top mounts and bolted them up.



Next step was to attach the steering mechanism to its proper mount. Thin gasket material was used to make up the loss of the original gasket. The arms were connected using one bolt and three nuts - each cinching down a tapered collar and lock washer.



The end result:


I borrowed Grant's Chev steering wheel and gave the system a workout - there was some grit in the upper mechanism, but no binding. All seems well and in the end, I did not use any shims. More testing to follow.

Finally, we can steer the HUP!

[Bob Carriere]

... we were never in Quebec....!

........but did reach the outskirts of OshNahwah.....

Been having a real hard time signing on MLU lately.....!!!

Any ways....... here is the beast in all its beauty....
followed by the former custodian and the new owner..... Bob Gow in green sweater was very helpful in loading the "thing".... it has no name yet...

It was a wet 13 hour drive to and fro..... but luckily the rain stopped just long enough to load....

....more to follow....

[Bob Carriere]

...next batch.....

We towed it to the barn and Grant could hardly wait to start doing some minor facial surgery..... off came the plow harness.....

Cab is a bit crooked but only one boddy nolt is left on the pass. side. Good thing we noticed when loading... the large cargo straps came in handy to secure the cab and box to the frame. Truck is an original... it seems tipper 1943 and so id the Woods box whixh has the brass tag.

Grant had to finally give it a blow job.... correction the mice and wasps nests in the bonnet got blown out......

will probably cocoon the cab for the Winter and store away.....

more to follow.... if the system will let me....

Boob

[Bob Carriere]

.... thar it is.....


...also found in the cab was this piece of shrapnel..... piece of a motor block... it appears to be the camshaft side of a 216...??? showing the rebuilt tag...... not having the Class of Mike in Windsor with his wine glass... we had beer..... Old Milweakpee..... and donated by a neighbour to boot!!!


Finally see what happened to the beer!!!!.... all over the p(r)issteen environment of Hammond......... Mike never did show us what happened to his wine!!!!.....don't Mike we do not want to no.....

Boob

[Grant Bowker]

Generally the new (to me) truck has lots of good features.

The cab is fairly complete, has seat frames, instruments are present (need at lesat some rebuild/replacement), one door only (hinges shot, but the window frame is present on the door). Although the cab looks wonky in the photos, it is mainly because it isn't bolted down properly to the frame (and the springs at the rear of the cab ar in poor shape. The windhield frames seem in fairly good shape, only the left wiper is missing, I forget which matches civilian usage because it depends on which way up they are mounted. There's a solid roof (there was no hatch/hip ring), with less than usual rust at the belt line but with a depressed center that should be repairable. The nose has been hacked to fit the snow plow frame but could be rebuilt as required. Doghouse is there, only missing the round access plate. Data plates are on the dash, shift plates are missing. Steering wheel (wood) is in fairly good shape but a bit weathered. Steering box should be saveable. All panel switches have been replaced with an odd mix of later products.

The dump body still has all of the mechanism (except for a short piece of driveshaft to the pump as well as its data tag. It also has generous quantities of rust (after at least a partial replating of the lower areas) so that it may be easier to make new panels for everything above the framework (some of the braces might be salvageable). The tailgate is also rather beaten up. One tool box remains, needs repair but is a good pattern.

Engine transmission and transfer case are present, precise condition unknown. I think it may be locked into two gears since the shift tower shows signs of removal and we had to detach the rear driveshaft and disengage the front to roll it onto the trailer, but all either turn or should be close to turning. The transmission rear cover has classic cracking.

The frame is pretty well a disaster. Multiple cracks in the area of the front spring mounts with several weld, break cycles visible. I haven't checked all crossmembers for cracks but at least one exists in the transfer case member. One broken front spring, the other has lost its arch. Also a bow is visible in the right frame rail due to loads from the wing blade. Given the number of flaws in the frame I think I should look for a replacement 134" WB frame (the early parts books show the C30 and C60S frames as the same part number). It would be nice to find one with the rails, reinforcements and crossmembers solid, but I think the reinforcements could be fabricated and the frame reassembled if needed.

Does anyone have leads to a useable frame within reasonable drive from Ottawa that might be available?