2012 at the Hammond Barn

[Bob Carriere]

Back at the barn for some untwisting of steel....!!

Grant has been doing fantastic plastic surgery on the nose of his truck..... replacing panels...... removing years of abuse and twisting of panels.

He worked alone while I was gone so no before, during and after pictures but helped him do a trial fitting on Sunday and was amazed at the corrections he carried out..... the darn things now just falls into place and bolts rigth on.....

Next weekend we tackle my frame.

Took my rolling frame for a ride last SUnday....... last time before I tear into it.... and managed to ride it to the top of the wood chip pile in the back field....but again alone with no pics.....

Wonderful Summer so far.

Bob

[RHClarke]

Today was blistering hot at about +30oC (you Aussies can stop smirking - for us Canucks, the swing from -30oC to +30oC has it effects). Despite the weather, it was a good time for some rust therapy. I spend the morning taking on the weeds that grew in my absence, while Bob spend the best part of the morning in the big field mowing the weeds. The heat and the dust drove him back to the barn in time for lunch.

The hot, sweaty and dirty gang drove to Rockland for lunch at the local bistro- I always get a kick out of the way the locals sneer at us when we saunter in for our repast. Once they get used to the smell, they tend to ignore us. The gals at bistro put up with us as we tip well.

Back at the barn, I convinced Bob to move my pilot model HUP roof over to the door of the barn where I can start working on it. After a careful rigging job, the roof was flown to a set of racks near the front of the barn. There, I surveyed the rust damage. The center portion of the roof skin will have to come off as it has rusted away from the ribs and is quite thin. The good news is that the hand-tooled curved sections are (for the most part) intact. I then started to take out some of the dents along the roof line.

In the meantime, Bob and Grant cleaned out the front of the barn so that Bob could start his science project. In no time at all, Bob backed his truck out of the sea can and into the barn. Grant got back to work on his CMP nose (or front clip). The transformation from the old to the new is quite amazing.

As I was leaving the barn, Grant was setting up for some sandblasting. Bob was preparing to strip down a 60+ year old gal. Stay tuned for updates to the Great Hammond Strip Show.

Photos:

1 - Grant at work
2 - Flying pilot model roof
3 - Setting up the work station
4 - Bob coming out of the closet
5 - Wrapped up until next week

[RHClarke]

The mercury hit +30oC early this morning so most of the activities at the barn were completed indoors. Bob continued to agonize over his 3/4 inch deviation to the front frame rail horns. He removed the floor of the cab (with the help of the lovely Joyce) and was in the process of undoing every nut and bolt forward of the transmission. Bob indicated that the rear rails are aligned and the mid section rails are aligned. The easy by-stander's diagnosis: bent frame rail. I am sure that Bob will have an answer soon.

While he was disassembling his ride, I hauled the 45 HUP outside to do some maintenance. I was surprised to find a puddle of eerie green liquid pooled on the tarp underneath the truck. I had a coolant leak. The underside of the water pump was wet, so off came the radiator and the water pump.

The gasket showed some seepage had occured near the top right bolt - the one I use for the alternator adjusting bracket. Apparently I did not tighten the bolt enough when I last removed the alternator. No worries. I fashioning up new gaskets, and after cleaning all mating surfaces, coated the gasket material with a thin coat of silicon sealant. After drying rapidly in the noon day sun, the gaskets were mounted and the water pump put back into place - with snug bolts this time. By the time I got the rad back in place, it was time to go home. The better half worked early this afternoon. No complaints as the air conditioner at home beats the one at the barn any day.

Bob might pipe up with some more news about his tear-down.

Photos:

1 - The scene of the crime
2 - Cleaned up water pump
3 - Fuzzy pic of Bob pondering his next steps

[Bob Carriere]

...except that it is hot ansd sticky.

With the barn doors open at both ends..... and laying down on a folded cardboard over the cool cement floor was not so bad.....

...... in fact after Rob left I laid my head on a roll of paper towel and dozed off for a few minutes....... just lying there under the truck..... nuttin cooler than that.

I removed the bumper and unbolted the front U shape cross member that holds the "arches" ..... the cross member sprang forward about 1/2 in. but no effect on the frame twist.

Next step will be to loosened all the bolts to the large crossmember under the rad and also loosen the crossmember that holds the engine......

I have now removed the rad and removed the front tire/wheels and the axle are resting on leveled jack stands resting on the bottom of the flange to the egg cup.... the only point of reference I know to be exactly the same height from the floor.

Frame seems to be twisted upperward on the LH pass. side by at least 3/4 in.

Twist seems to be from the T case cross member forward..... this truck had a huge snow plow made from a cut off section of rivetted curved boiler plate.
Frame had a crack on the pass. side which was ground V shaped and Mig welded........

I tried lifting the driver's side but the axles lifted off the axle stand before any noticeable changes could be seen/measured on the frame.

I had to remove the floor to access some fo the bolts and also to reduce the possible rigidity induced by the floor.

To do a reverse twist with jacks I may need to released the spring packs from the spring perches.

Not glamorous work but needs to be done....... I am starting to know this baby inside out from the many assembly and disassembly done so far.

Nut gonna give up yet !!!!!

Bob

[Private_collector]

Bob,

It sounds like you are having a nightmarish time, trying to remedy that warp.

At least you know what you are doing. I would have to give up & get a replacement. Either that or hand it over to someone else to fix, with all the $$$ that would go along with that.

Makes for interesting reading, but heartbreaking none the less.

[RHClarke]

late reports from Hammond indicate some damage to shelters. Repairs will take place tommorrow.

[RHClarke]

Well, the damage was not as great as expected. The wind did manage to shift a few shelters and did a number on a few of the plastic tarps and the original shelter material.

Clive's shelter took the biggest hit, which was surprising as it was in a treed area out of the wind. Grant's two shelters located along the laneway to the barn shifted slightly and there was tarp damage. The "Ted's Truck" shelter and the 45 HUP shelter suffered damage to the material. Ted's Truck shelter is slightly exposed behind the barn. Its exposed side shifted inwards about a foot. The 45 shelter had the modular tent roof blown off exposing the sunworn material underneath, which tattered in the wind. The front "door" separated where the tie downs meet the frame and split from top to bottom in the center.

Bob did the initial damage assessment and repairs, but it looks like more tarps will be needed. Clive's shelter will need major adjustment, but its contents are OK. The 45 shelter now has a new front "door" - a cat piss stained end section of a modular tent. Hopefully the stench will fade by the next visit.

Some of Bob's trees didn't fare well, and Bob spent the afternoon collecting dead fall and broken limbs from his trees near his front yard. He said that he filled a 3/4 ton trailer with blowdown. All in all, we got off lucky. It could have been much worse.

Photos:

1 - One of Grant's "walking" shelters
2 - Clive's "expanded" entrance
3 - Two destroyed trees - guess which way the wind was blowing
4 - The 45 shelter - now entirely wrapped in mod tentage