2011 at the Hammond Barn

[RHClarke]

Originally Posted by Phil Waterman

Hi Rob What are you doing about replacing the captive nut/ caged nuts? Do you have replacements and if so how are you welding them in the pitch welder or plug welding them? Cheers Phil

Hi Phil (or should I say Father Phil?),

For those broken cages that are readily viewable, I replace them with others taken from other donor body panels or parts. Most donors pop off with a few taps of a hammer and chisel. These are cleaned up, drilled and tack welded into position. One of these days I will copy the Ford boys and try metal glue.

For those hidden broken cages found inside galleys and channels on the underside of the truck, a simple nut replaces them. I'll knock a few bucks off the selling price of the HUP if and when I sell it - along with a full disclosure...

So, in some ways I am being true to the design, in others, just plain lazy. I'm not sure what the Church of CMP punishment would be for doing this, but since I am a Protestant, I am not too worried.

OK, Phil. Fess up. What have you been doing with your broken cages?

[Bob Carriere]

..... I keep locking them in the barn..... but whenever I unlock the barn doors both captive nuts keep running away..... Rob and Grant can be a handful to handle.

Bubb

[RHClarke]

Originally Posted by Bob Carriere

... I keep locking them in the barn... but whenever I unlock the barn doors both captive nuts keep running away... Rob and Grant can be a handful to handle. Bubb

Pot. Meet Kettle. Glad to hear you made it back. Any pics of the latest heist?

[Bob Carriere]

Just got back form the latest recovery.

Tired but happy, Joyce was my able assistant this time.

I recovered the spare CMP that the Port Colborne High School was liquidating to buy tires for the truck they have restored.

Grant of the Hammond Musketeers acquired this one.

Drove down to the Welland area with Joyce..... we havd a planned visit with Dad...ex-merchant marine... to be 85 next week..... so November 11th had special meaning.

Joel, teacher at the school and one of his friends, and I can't remember his name for the love of God, and Rob Rittner where there for the send off.... also to see who thsi old coot was that was pciking up the old CMP. Loading was relatively armless with the winch and the help of two strong boys.....

The came the fun... the cargo box was not bolted to the frame and the box was full of treasure..... all loose. So we stiched them in place with rope, chains and cargo straps.

I set off on the back roads heading due West by North.... well I kept the sun in my back and promptly got lost..... but I figered if I can keep going West for a while dan turn right and left again I would hit lake Ontario sooner or later..... ran a stop sign while reading the map... but that's the beauty of back roads.... no one is around and if so they stop to see who the idiot is taking all that rust home.

Finally got up to speed around 80 KM.... now Satruday was Sunny but awful windy..... the open cab of the 13 was like a drogue 'chute.... the tranny kept shifting in lower gear and sucking fuel like crazy.... bosst would get up to 40 pounds thent he waste gate would open and the turbo freewheel.... so I slowed down.

Before leavign the Hotel and hitting the 407 at 120km I opted for removing the rood and the back of the cab and tucking everything under the frame on the trailer. That was a big help..... went for about 20 minutes..... drove around a single car crash on the QE that was pretty bad.... then my tail gunner yeld the instrument cluster is trying to take off...... so we stopped and ofund only one screw holding the sheet metal assembly in place.... off it went to the back of the truck..... the rest was easy.

Weighted a bite more than expected with all the extra bits in the box..... I burned twice as nuch fuel coming back as I did going down for almost teh same mileage.... travelled around 110kmph to follow traffic.... mainly highway trucks.

Joyce drove part way back and did very well with the trailer..... but now wants shotguns mounted on the front fenders of the Ford for crazy drivers that kept cutting her short....

Tomorrow I unload and unstich the load.

See pictures attached...... two nose pieces.... doors inside box.... full engine cover with BOTH round covers in place...... engine turns free.... very good wooden steering wheel......and some strange doors with windows..... any ideas what they might be..... have a look at the pics..... they have inside and outside door handles....

Boob

[Bob Carriere]

,,,, any ideas....?

Buub

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Bob Carriere

,,,, any ideas....?

Buub

Buub,

Are the doors off the last type HUP, the plush commander / staff car?

H.

[Bob Carriere]

Hi Hanno

Totally unexpected find amongst the cab 13 assorted parts.

They look like HUP doors..... and to my knowledge only the last 45 model had the built in windows...... the top section is held in place by tapered screws typical of the factory set up..... they are buried in there so could not see all the details.

Will have pictures later today.

Bob

[RHClarke]

Originally Posted by Bob Carriere

Hi Hanno, They look like HUP doors..... and to my knowledge only the last 45 model had the built in windows...Bob

After looking over the doors today, I believe them to be off a Heavy Utility - Personnel but not the late '45 HUP model. The doors are the earlier model with the "sunburst" reinforcement pressing on the inside panel. The late model '45 doors have the large metal lubrication and electrical (if memory serves) schematics screwed to the inside of the door on the flat upper part of the panel.

Best guess - late '44 or early '45 HUP doors.

[RHClarke]

Mother Nature is playing games. This morning the mercury only went down to 2 oC and by noon, it was up to 10 oC, making for excellent working weather at the barn.

My morning was spent with my Bronco hinges. After a careful measuring, I cut off the excess length from both sides of the hinge. Once this was done the MIG welder was put to use to fill in the original holes in the hinges. Bob arrived just after the first hinge got shortened and he supervised the welding procedures.

Grant made his appearance shortly after and got busy inventorying his latest treasure trove - the high school CMP. Bob headed off to cut some more logs for the coming winter, and I helped Grant off-load the truck.

At noon we piled into Bob's Ford for lunch in Rockland. Bob decided that we three grubby types should sit down for a nice breakfast meal, so he found us a Bistro to eat at no less. We are used to folks staring at us, but today was different - I guess we didn't fit the profile of the Bistro's regular patrons... We sat in the back of the restaurant and chatted with a nice lady sitting at the next table, who turned out to be one of the co-owners. She was very nice and her staff were very friendly - even with Bob's teasing and joking.

On the way back to Hammond we discussed the weather situation, and surmised that what we don't get in November, we will surely get in December to April. In any case, the weather was fantastic. Back at the barn, Bob mounted the winter tires on his truck and changed its oil. Grant continued to catelogue his newly acquired parts, and I decided to rescue a set of HUP rear fenders from the body sitting on pallets in the big field.

Photos:
1 - Comparison - original (long) modified configurations - top view
2 - Comparison - side view
3 - Before shot
4 - After shot - prior to dressing
5 - Prepped for plugging the original holes

[RHClarke]

Not so long ago, we recovered a HUP body from the deep dark woods. Brian Gough put us on to it and even showed us where it resided. Now it graces the back field waiting its turn for restoration. I have a desire to add an ambulance to my project list. The ambulance appeals to me because I have yet to see one - restored or otherwise.

The HUP fenders were rotting away from the moisture, so it was a good idea to remove them and store them in a drier environment for future use. Most of the fender bolt heads twisted off with the rachet and socket set, but others had to be chiseled off. This took about an hour to complete. The fenders were bent somewhat, but this was nothing new. Back at the barn it took about 15 minutes to straighten out the fenders and to bang the metal back roughly into place. I'll finesse the metalwork later this winter.

One fender needs some cosmetic work, but he other needs a good amount of patching. They, along with the other two project trucks will keep me busy this winter.

As is usual this time of year, it gets dark early. So I headed back to the city to get my MLU fix. A good ending to a great day.

Photos:
1 - Fenders - condition as taken off the body
2 - Fenders - side shot
3 - Fenders - post surgery (read hammer and dolly) - showing heavy damage
4 - Fenders - still more work required, but in much better shape

[Stuart Fedak]

Not that I have ever used one, but this seems the sort of reason for getting an English wheel for making fenders........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St0hb6vjfTM

Perhaps BoB can add one to his collection of toys for Christmas......... I wonder if starting with one of the fenders from Princess Auto would speed up the process........

Keep up the good work....... I just tarped up the Iltis in the back... no more work on it until the spring time......

Cheers!
Stuart

[Bob Carriere]

I can always ask......BUT.....

....... who will show me how to use it.....?

.....working on soft aluminum compare to 12 gauge CMP fenders is VERY different......

..... I have seen 3 day course offered in the US for $1000..... and they are beginners courses.......

......... I fear you need some natural instinct..... like an artistic flair..... like a scupture would have......

....tried my hand at body work years ago...... with tons of bondo....finally got one side fender done smooth..... real nice........ but was never able to do a matching reverse curve on the opposite fender.......

....... I will admit to my limitations...... that is why I love working CMPs....sheet metal is thick.... easier to butt weld..... you can use a big hammer and work out your frustrations..... most panels are flat...... original welding is not always neat ..... so easy to surpass in what we do..... most bends are 45 or 90 degrees.....

I actually used a large English wheel at Centennial college in the 80s..... teacher was an old panel beater from England.... tons of sheet metal tools had been donated to the college by a patron ...... the English wheel was a massive cast C shape device that was over 8 feet tall.... in 3 months I did manage to make a boat shaped spare tire wheel well for a 39 Desoto.... from 6 seperate small sheet metal pieces....... not really applicable to CMPs but it was fun.

Ah to be young again......

Bob

[peter simundson]

Here's a picture of that book I have spare.

Peter S

[RHClarke]

Bob was first off the mark on Saturday morning. He took his wife's SUV to the local tire shop to get the tires rebalanced. I arrived shortly after he took off and got to work on a project from home - rebuilding my B&D WorkMate table top.

Grant was taking care of business. Later that morning, Bob arrived at the barn and stored some wheels that were taking up space inside the barn. Other items were removed with a view to giving us some room to move over the winter. This will be an ongoing process, but should result in some more elbow room. On the way to lunch we stopped in to pick up some steel from a local distributor. Bob is going to make a set of metal wheel ramps to replace the rotting wooden ramps as the old ramps cause too much excitement when used.

After lunch, I assembled parts for my "Sunshine" roof hatch repair. We take advantage of a local machine shop to do custom work that we are too clumsy to do. In this case, I had our friend rebuild one of my hatch roller arms. A new step rivet and a brass roller bar were machined and then attached to the arm. The quality of work was outstanding.

Later I found the two sections to my '45 HUP partition wall. Both are welded steel frames onto which plywood panels are mounted. The plywood is usually held on by flat pan head slotted 1/4 inch/20 screws that attach to "T" nuts. The "T" nuts were used to keep the profile of the wall somewhat smooth as it was covered with a green liner. After the quick tour of the partition, I put the lower portion in the back of the HUP.

Later, Bob fired up the tractor. We towed another tractor to its winter storage location and then hitched up his roto-tiller attachment. Bob gave his garden the once over and then worked the tiller over the rough part of the road to the barn.

After that fun, we detached the roto-tiller and hooked up the wood splitter. On the way to the wood pile, we loaded the bucket with M37 parts. The parts were off-loaded to my 3/4 ton SMP trailer and then were tarped for the winter.

Bob split wood for the remainder of the afternoon, and I headed back to Ottawa early to finish up my domestic "to do" list.

Photos:

1 - Vestiges of our last snow day
2 - Roto-tiller ready
3 - Hatch cover roller arms - the first arm has the new ball and rivet
4 - Replacement roller arm bushings and support
5 - HUP lower partition wall test fit

[Bob Carriere]

Well things have been quiet around the barn and I am back home.

Had a heart attack on Wed. and decided to drive myself in to the hospitsal after work..... did my Xmas shopping on the way over.

Got an angioplasty yesterday and now back home with a 3/16 scar on my wrist. will need to follow up for further restrictions but should be in the barn this weekend.

Amazing what the medical profession can do today.

Just one word of caution to you macho guys....... if you have massive heartburn or any other pain in your chest....... don't be silly and risk being a ninny and go to the hospital.... at worst they will send you home red faced with a bottle of antacid..... at best they will look after you pronto.

You should see the face of the receptionist when I casually walked in the ER and answered to the polite question.... How can we help you...? I think I am having a heart attack...... then the dust flew......

So diet, follow up, actively pursuing my CMP hobby and we'll be fine.

I had a angioplasty 25 years ago...... this one should last 20 years and the next one 15..... that should give me time to work on my trucks.

Life is sweet....!!!

Bouncing Bob

[RHClarke]

Originally Posted by Bob Carriere

Well things have been quiet around the barn and I am back home. Had a heart attack on Wed....Life is sweet....!!!Bouncing Bob

I'm impressed that the doctors prescribed CMP therapy. See you Saturday.

[Stuart Fedak]

Originally Posted by RHClarke

After lunch, I assembled parts for my "Sunshine" roof hatch repair. We take advantage of a local machine shop to do custom work that we are too clumsy to do. In this case, I had our friend rebuild one of my hatch roller arms. A new step rivet and a brass roller bar were machined and then attached to the arm. The quality of work was outstanding.

The Hammond crew may be interested in taking the Hobbyist Machine Shop course at Algonquin College. I took this course last year, and will most likely take it again this February. You get to learn on the lathe; milling machines; grinders; press, etc.... The instructor last year was great........

The course is very unstructured. Many of the students are in the day machinist program, and are working on class projects. Others are the full range of beginners to seasoned machine shop types, working on personal projects. A great way to learn how to make things on the lathe, such as the brass ends on your roof hatch roller arms. In fact, you could get into the manufacture of reproduction parts for trade/swap.......

I finally have my small 3 in 1 combination lathe/mill/drill set up at home. I know Bob has a nice commercial lathe at the barn. Lots of potential with that machine. Great for making reproduction bolts and various fittings.

ref http://xweb.algonquincollege.com/woo...spx?id=MAC0001
HOBBYIST MACHINE SHOP
Course: MAC0001

For the Machine Shop handy-man and handy-woman hobbyist, students can construct their own projects with a helpful instructor to assist in hints and strategies. Students must provide their own blueprints, supply their own material, and projects must be kept to a minimal size. The College provides all layout tools, drill presses, lathes and milling machines. Students may bring their own cutting tools, if desired. Please note that all students must supply their own safety glasses and safety footwear which MUST be worn in shop at all times. Students must have basic machine shop experience.

Cheers!

[Bob Carriere]

Hi Stuart

Sounds interesting ..... just to have access to the equipment..... not to mention the network that can be developed with other more skillful individuals.

I have a small metal lathe in the basement...... circa 1938 sold by Ogilvie store on Rideau....... 6" Atlas with all the screw cutting attachements..... set up with a variable speed DC motor. ...... But I am not to good at working on it. Been practicing using solid plastic and nylon blanks from Canus plastic.

Getting some basic instructions from the course would be wonderful.

I need to fabricate the tie downs for the leather straps on the 2B1..... they are made of brass and look like miniature capstan winch drum.

Will need to check what the hours of the course are and how they fit with my commute.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Bob

[Stuart Fedak]

Bob,
I found it well worth the cost and the time. Good to learn on various machines. I also needed the instruction on the whys and hows of shop safety using such equipment. It is very easy to get injured with lathes and mills. Better to be yelled at by a skilled instructor before things happen, than yelled at by the ambulance crew..........

While in university, I had worked in structural steel shops. Having seen what can happen, I have a healthy respect for safe operations. There were a lot of fellows with missing fingers..........

When I took the course, I did not have a project lined up, so just worked on a tack hammer. That project gets you to do a lot of processes on the lathe and mill. I can see on the CMP, there are a lot of fittings and parts that were most likely made on a lathe.

If I take the course, I will most likely make a mount for a lathe cutting tool. I will also make some lathe keys and other things that I need for the lathe. I am interested in tool making. On the Iltis, there are a few speciality tools needed for repairs. One is a device for removal of the wheel bearings, which is a job I need to do on some salvage hubs. I prefer to do it correctly, rather than beat the bearings out..........

Anyways, check out the dates and times and see if they work for you. It would be nice to get a few ROTters in the course.....

Cheers!
Stuart

[RHClarke]

It has been an interesting few weeks to say the least. Bob was down but not out with his ticker acting up, Guy had some parts of his leg replaced, and my knees decided to pack it in for a few weeks. I am not sure how Grant has been faring, as I saw him once these past weeks. Bob seems to be doing quite well, Guy is on the mend and my knees have improved. So much for the walking wounded.

Barn wise, Grant moved his truck out of the barn and into its winter storage shed. Bob moved the trusty tractor into the barn. We cleaned up around and in the barn so that we could actually work in the barn now that the cold weather is upon us. Bob and Grant nailed together a new wood crib to replace the large crib that fed Lucifer. Lucifer's feed was changed from a fiber (wood) centric diet to a fat (oil) centric diet. The wood starts the fire going, and the oil keeps us nice and warm.

When my knees allowed, I trekked to the barn to work on some of the Pilot HUP parts. Anything that could fit into the cabinet sandblaster got cleaned up nicely. This past Saturday was very quiet with Bob out Christmas shopping and Grant at work. Guy was out to show off his new cane, and my knees have returned to a less sensitive state. The weather was quite nippy (-10 oC), so I fired up Lucifer.

The rest of Saturday was spent cleaning dirt out of one of the support channels that run the width of the rear compartment by the rear door. With the aid of an air nozzle and a trusty Shop-Vac, I managed to clean out years of sand, gravel and cement that had accumulated. The bad news was that the cleaning exposed where the cement reacted with the metal and moisture to eat a hole in the channel. This hole did not show up when I did the frame off sandblasting of the truck. After some poking and prodding, a good sized lump of cement came away with a good chunk of rusted metal. I'm not much for upside down welding, so I think I will line the hole with metal glue and press a metal plate over it. The underneath part will be sprayed with rocker panel coating. The final task of the day was to remove two metal bars that had been welded to the rear of the compartment. These bars were welded to the tabs that hold the two wall mounted bucket seats in the HUP.

Once that fun was completed, I took the HUP for a run over the snow covered trail. The braking and clutching action reminded me that the knees were still a bit sensitive, so the joy ride was called off and I returned the HUP to its shelter. Unfortunately, I had to head home early so that the missus could get to work early - this being the busy time of year for retailers.

Hopefully, Bob and Grant can fill in some of the blanks over the past few weeks.

Photos:

1 - Sandblasting fodder
2 - The boys playing "crib"
3 - The barn - a study in winter
4 - HUP repair site
5 - The hole in the channel

[Bob Carriere]

....and no heat......

Lucifer needed bypass surgery...... the oil line got plugged...... pipe thread for the line going through the firebox had the thread stripped so we invented a new better way of dripping oil into the fire....... took most of the day but it is now loaded up ready to be fired on my next day off.

Moved another crib full of firewood to the house ready for onloading into the basement chute.

Grant and I went for breaky at the restaurant only to run into some folks I work with at the office...... funny she didn't recognise me at first ... not wearing my usual suit and tie.

Ran out of time and energy but had enough to bring in the Xmas tree and let it thaw out a bit before decorating this week.

Another weekend gone. Back to the salt mines tomorrow.

Bob

[Grant Bowker]

Yesterday was an exercise in making the basement of the house stink by painting the driveshafts. not worthy of photos.

They are now sitting on the floor next to the completed transfer case. 4 of the 6 bearings and races needed replacing along with all input/output seals and speedi-sleeves on the yokes. The previous owners had a love of RTV sealant and used it in place of all gaskets when they put the case together. The lack of gaskets made most bearing adjustments too tight, the front drive hardly turned. I now understand why the manual advises to keep the shims for each cap together as a starting point for adjustments. It makes life much easier if you work from a "too thick" shim pack to "just right" rather than the other way round - I didn't understand how much easier until after doing the first adjustment the hard way. Also after the fact, read the manual for the C60X and realized they had a different (better?) procedure - rather than trial and error they tell you to place the adjustment cap onto the shaft and bearing (no shims) and measure the gap between the cap and the housing. Also, it is surprising the difference in feel having the seals rubbing on the shafts makes. The manual is right that bearing adjustments should be done without seals in place to be able to feel for drag and free play.

One of today's tasks was working on repairing my hedge trimmer. It isn't needed right now but on the last hedge for the year (had to finish with an electric trimmer - don't want to do any more of that) it sheared the driveshaft at a weld just after the centrifugal clutch. The stub of the shaft remained threaded into the clutch drum located down a well in the housing that made gripping the stub next to impossible. I used our tested technique of welding a nut on to provide a grip. I was nervous about the heat from the weld cooking the seal and lube in the bearing so had an air line ready to speed the cooling after welding. Once the nut was welded and cooled, it was a fairly simple matter to jam the clutch drum in the housing and put a socket on the nut to back out the nut and stub. The same technique has worked on multiple bolts sheared flush (including throttle bellcrank studs corroded/frozen into the block). Now to buy a new driveshaft and put it in place.

[Phil Waterman]

Hi Grant

Sealing the shims on the transfer case has come up before, at the time I did the transfer case on the HUP I could not find the shellac type sealant that had apparently been used originally. Well I think I have found a source for it in the Permatex line http://permatex.com/products/Automot...c_Compound.htm has anybody tried this and is it a very thin liquid that will seal without adding thickness?

As to repair of the hedge trimmer, isn't repairing it, it let alone have the skill necessary to carry out the repair going against the new consumable based product design. All kidding aside I hate having to replace something the logic tells me can be repaired.

Cheers Phil

[Grant Bowker]

For the moment, the shims were stacked dry. If leaks develop I will give the sealer a try and let you know. Another way might be to buy shellac flakes and disolve them in alcohol to make your own sealer. One source of shellac flakes is http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/pag...at=1,190,42942 but there have to be similar woodworking supply companies in other countries.

For the hedge trimmer I definitely want to repair rather than replace. It's a long reach gas powered unit, pretty much commercial strength. It wil do 1/4 inch all day without noticing it, is rated to cut 3/4 inch and can work it's way through 1 inch cedar. It has also been known to cut chain link fencing that was hidden in the hedge, not my favourite sound but it has happened. I hate to think what it could do to a finger. The speed of production compared to even a fairly good electric trimmer has to be seen to be believed. Aside from the general principle of not liking to toss something that still has life and the challenge of making it right, a replacement would be $US500 plus shipping online, probably twice that in Canada (have I mentioned that I don't like some Canadian retail practices?) - I would rather put the money to CMPs.

[Bob Carriere]

...they all do.

Grant..... I purchased some shellac at Sterling flea market a few years ago..... still good in the old fashion glass bottle.

Bob

[RHClarke]

The Night Before Christmas - the Hammond Barn version
With apologies to Clement Clarke Moore (author of the original poem)

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the farm
Not a creature was stirring, not even at the Hammond barn.
The trucks were parked by the barn with care,
In hopes that St Blitz soon would be there.

The Rotters were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of split rims danced in their heads.
And the cats in the shelters, and the mice in the packs,
Had just settled down for a long winter’s nap.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
Bob sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window he flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to the barn down below.
When, what to his wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature CMP truck, and eight tiny beer.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
He knew in a moment it must be St Blitz.
Swerving and bouncing through the snow he came,
And he belched, and farted, and called them by name!

"Now Keiths! Now, Labatt! Now, Pilsner and Victoria Ale!
On, Carlsberg! On, Coors! On Dublin X and Black Label!
To the top of the barn! To the top of the wall!
Now drink away! Drink away! Drink away all!"

As dry heaves that after the hangover do us try,
When he meets with an obstacle, bounced to the sky.
So up to the barn-top the old coot flew,
With the truck full of beer, and St Blitz too.

And then, in a twinkling, Bob heard a distinct tap
The popping and spinning of a small bottle cap.
As he entered the barn, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St Blitz came with a bound.

He was dressed in coveralls, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with grease and soot.
A bundle of tools he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a mechanic, just opening his pack.

His eyes-how black rimmed! His dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like dumplings, his nose like a raspberry!
His stern little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

The stump of a cigar he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of naval jelly!

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old git,
And Bob laughed when he saw him, and almost did shit!
A wink of his eye and a twist of a cap,
Soon tossed him a beer that landed in his lap.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the tool boxes, then turned with a smirk.
And laying his finger inside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up Lucifer’s chimney he rose!

He sprang to his truck, and to Bobby did whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But Bob heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Motoring to all Rotters, and to all Rotters a good-night!"


I won't be giving up my day job - yet! Merry Christmas from the Rotters!

[Bob Carriere]

Rob...... thank you......


..... what a beautiful ditty...... I mean poetry to my mind !!!!!!!


Yes the barn has been very quiet these days ...... but will fire up Lucifer on Tuesday ......... and get ourselves in gear again.


To All ...... a Merry Xmas and Healthy Prosperity for the New Year.

Bob

[Wpns 421]

I knew the Barn had hidden(on purpose) talents but I must say Rob very well done. Carolle and I want to wish all the Barn creatures a Happy holidays and may yea be blessed with many new toys in the New Year.
In our world this has been a hectic year, moving twice, building the new house and just getting settled in. We are planning on building a new garage this year and we would like to host a gathering of MVs and there owners. The Merrickville area is great and has lots to do, our new property is 20 acres and we should be able to make a trail to try out the MVs. We will put out a tentative date for our gathering in February.
It will not be in May as I am taking Carolle to Paris and the Normandy coast for two weeks. So Bob we will have to sit down and coordinate for the Barn BBQ.
I have just started working this week and it really feels strange after taking a year off. My hours are flexible and I basically work when I want.
I know I have been offline lately(poor Internet service) but did anyone get any new toys. We are always looking and lo and behold the Jolly old fellow posted a truck for sale in Smith Falls at a very reasonable price and we now own a new M1009 in good condition, we will pick up the truck on Tuesday.
Who said there is a cure for this disease?
Happy Holidays and a prosperous and Happy New Year
Gilles & Carolle

[RHClarke]

This last morning of 2012 started off with a slushy ride out to the barn. Along the way I had the pleasure of the company of a very frightened lady who kindly drove down the center of the road at about 15 kph with her four way flashers alit. She may have been wary of the slush, but she refused to give quarter! I finally did pass her and felt a bit of sympathy when I saw the look of horror on her face as slush from my car and the line of following cars coated her windows as we passed. She should have stayed at home...

The barn yard was coated with fresh snow and looked very nice indeed. After firing up Lucifer, I spent the next half hour removing snow from a good number of shelters. The recent freezing rain left a good crust on top of a layer of soggy and heavy snow. Clive's shelter required the most effort to clean (as usual), but with Grant's help, all of the shelters were cleared of snow.

Bob arrived with a truck load of goodies bought off EBay and other online resources. He must have been a really good boy this year, as Santa left him with some real nice presents. The wrappings were tossed in to Lucifer's maw which added to the cozy atmosphere in the back of the barn. The remainder of the morning was spent cleaning up.

After lunch we decided it was too nice not to take the trucks out for a spin. Bob and I fired up our charges and spent a good 20 minutes plowing through the snow of the back 40. Bob was amused that I could get all four wheels of the HUP spinning, but once they dug in, I was away like a scalded cat. We tooled around the field and then headed back to the barn at full tilt. While it was not really cold out, the open cabs did feel a little chilly on the ride back.

Once back at the barn we test fit the Bronco hinges to the HUP rear door. After marking hole locations, I drilled out the door side of the hinges. A quick session with the tap and the hinges were ready for mounting. The door was fitted to the rear opening and looked good until we tried to open and close it again. The bottom of the door was binding on the door frame. The lower hinge was the cause of the problem – its bushings looked like they were worn. So, Bob, Grant and I had a hinge BBQ trying to get the hinge pin out. Even after repeated heatings and hits with a drift, the pin remained in place. I decided that the hinge would soak in oil for a few days before we tried again.

Since it was New Year’s eve, I had to head back to Ottawa early to prepare for the annual celebration at home. Thus ended the last day of 2011 at the Hammond Barn. We most certainly look forward to 2012.

Photos:

1 - We live a sheltered life at the barn - with lots of snow
2 - Bronco hinge being prepared for their new life as HUP hinges
3 - Test fit - rear door of the HUP
4 - Bob exiting his storage container - a spectator event
5 - The trucks in the back 40