Otter LRC CM4647296 comes home

[David Dunlop]

Nice find with the Ignition Switch, Jordan. That original one left no clues at all it had been stamped with its ID.


David

[Jordan Baker]

The original breather tube is all fixed up. It’s not perfect, however it came out pretty good. I ended up having to cut the tube at the crease and then slowly work the metal back into shape. Once that was done I welded it up then sanded down the welds to get it smooth.

I had tried to bend new tube using sand but it did not work well for me. In the end I’m glad it didn’t work as it meant the original ended getting rebuilt.

[Jordan Baker]

Todays allotted time in the shop (kids are napping) I managed to get the original battery tray removed. It was held in by 4 carriage bolts. I tried removing the nuts but the bolts ended up spinning around in the wood. In the end I used a Zip disk to cut the heads off the bolts. Yes this did mean that I had to cut into the wood and produce copious amounts of smoke in the shop. However the wood was too far gone to use again. Lots of dry rot had taken place.

The wood shall provide a very nice pattern to make a new one. I should also be able to use all of the original metal parts. It’s a simple construction of three pieces of white oak with a tongue and groove slot. Two metal angled pieces along the long top sides. One the end there is two flat bars with the vertical retaining rod and counter sunk holes for screws. It’s refreshing to see true 1” thick pieces of wood.

The last picture shows just how much crud came loose from the tray’s removal. The area had been vacuumed prior to removal.

[David Dunlop]

Hi Jordan.

Is this tray for the wireless batteries, or the vehicular ones?



David

[Jordan Baker]

David,

The Otter used two 6v batteries in series to make 12v. The batteries were used to power both the vehicle and the radio. It also had an oversized generator and heavier wiring for the charging circuit to allow for a quicker charge back into the battery.

[Bob Carriere]

..... did the 270 GMC engine not come equipped with a PCV connection like later 216????

Just curious and anxious to see your rebuilt batt. box.

[Jordan Baker]

Hi Bob

Yes the engine came with the same style of PCV connection as the 216’s. The breather tube I fixed up is the inlet. It has an oil bath air filter on the top. It’s very similar to the standard CMP ones except that it has a screw top as well that acts as the filling spot for engine oil.

And…… back to the future….errr battery tray

The battery tray is all rebuilt. The original metal parts were all sandblasted and fitted onto the wood to ensure all is good. The new wood was made to the same measurements as the original including the tongue and grove joints. Now to try and figure out what the four small holes on the angle iron were for? The last mystery is what colour was everything?

[David Dunlop]

Jordan.

Assuming because these two batteries are dual purpose for vehicle and wireless, were they just the bare, rubber cased batteries held in place with a metal top frame and wing nuts on the two posts?

Could the small holes be to secure retaining chains for the two wing nuts? If so, perhaps both front and rear angle iron strips were drilled the same so installation was not critical.

David

[Jordan Baker]

David,

This is the only photograph I have come across showing the batteries. There does appear to be a cover over the top.

The stowage diagram only shows the batteries and a basic tray.

The Illustrated Spare Parts List CRAC-02 is quite limited on the illustrated parts.

[Jordan Baker]

Two sets of wheel rim nuts ready to go. These were all sandblasted then 24hrs in Evaporust. Followed by cleaning out the threads with a tap. The wheel rim studs had been over painted with the POR15 when I painted the rims. This meant running a die over the studs to clean up the threads. Interestingly most of the nuts had remnants of red paint under the crud.

[Jordan Baker]

Hard to believe it has been 4 years already since this vehicle was cleared from customs and picked up.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Jordan Baker

Hard to believe it has been 4 years already since this vehicle was cleared from customs and picked up.

Time sure flies, but you make very good use of it! I'm very pleased this Otter is in your hands and being restored as thoroughly as you do.

[Jordan Baker]

All four towing shackles removed and dissembled. Thankfully no heat was required. The Milwaukee impact driver did amazing work on the bolts and nuts getting everything removed. The shackle bolts did need to go in the shop press. These parts will all clean up nicely.

[Jordan Baker]

Towing clevis all sandblasted and cleaned up. Other than the four 9/16-18 castle nuts, all of the original bolts and nuts will be used. Interesting manufacturing marks were found on two of the clevis bolt heads. I believe they are “B D” I’m not sure what company that would have been.

[Jordan Baker]

Todays job was to remove the engine hand crank hole cover plate. Only one of the bolts had to be cut. The nut had been crudely welded in place and the force of the impact driver had snapped the weld. Due to the weld blob I was unable to get a socket on it. So I resorted to zip cutting the head and cold chiseling it off. The original bolts were those dome headed counter sunk ones anyway. So I wasn’t concerned about cutting an original bolt.

[Jordan Baker]

The other bit accomplished today was removing the two engine cover panels and hinges. These were all held in place with the domed countersunk bolts. Thankfully they all came apart easily. Much easier thanks to the use of the course thread than the BSF thread as used on Universal Carriers.

I modified a slot attachment for the impact gun by grinding it down thinner to fit the slot on the bolts snug. Using a socket or wrench on the nut side I was able to use the impact driver and get them removed. On some I used an old broken screw driver to hold the screw head side and impact gunned the nut side.

There were four hinges to remove and 16 bolts. All will be reused on assembly. It was also great seeing he Hamilton Bridge part numbers turn up on the hinges after sandblasting.

[chris vickery]

Hi Jordan
I’m all for originality but does the structural integrity not concern you when reusing 70 year old fasteners? I can see using them
in areas where there is little stress or minimal force but I would never use them on any area requiring them to perform to engineered specifications.
Even leaf springs can be questionable, as spring steel grows weak and brittle, especially once it is pitted. Ask me how I know…
Thoughts?

[Jordan Baker]

Good points Chris.

Safety is always a top concern when it comes to putting a vehicle on the road. I do evaluate all my fasteners when I’m doing the rebuild. Anything questionable is replaced. In the case of these boss head (domed countersunk bolts) there is many of them and they have all been in great condition. When I rebuilt the CMP I found one of the steering knuckle bearing cap screws had a split down the length. It likely had been that way from almost new. Had it caused a problem? Probably not however it was replaced.

One interesting bit I’ve found on this vehicle is that Hamilton Bridge seems to have used the oversized or heavy nuts on pretty much everything.

[Jordan Baker]

All four of the hood hinges were sandblasted last night. The hinge pins were all nicely worked back and forth while soaked in brake cleaner. Now all the hinges move back and forth effortlessly.

[David Dunlop]

Hello Jordan.

This item has me wondering since it strikes me as a very odd item.

Is it an original factory designed item or a simple blanking plate item retrofitted later in the life of the Otter?

If the former, I could see it being 'hinged' on one end and slotted at the other to be secured with a wing nut to help keep dirt from plugging access for the crank. If the latter, it would suggest a hand crank became redundant at some point in the Otter production, but then why go to all that trouble?

Interesting what one can find on an 80 year old vehicle sometimes.


David

[Jordan Baker]

Hi David

The blanking plate for the hand crank hole is a factory item. It shows up in a lot of period pictures. The C15TA also used the same plate. I’ve included a few pictures. Some are factory shots and others are from the field.

It is a cumbersome item to remove as one of those boss head bolts need to be totally removed and the other loosened. Then the plate can pivot. I suspect that is why there is also a number of pictures of these plates missing. The Otters in Sicily with 4th PLDG all seem to have the plates removed.

As for hand cranks being redundant, sure the technology had come a ways in terms of reliability, however, I can’t think of any Canadian WW2 vehicles that didn’t come with one?

[Jordan Baker]

Bit more progress was made tonight. The armoured nose was finally removed after hours of work. The boss head bolts proved to be a chore but they all finally let go and came out. Not knowing if the nose would stay put once the last bolt came out, I secured it with a sling on the gantry crane. A few, thankfully old, paper wasp nest were found inside the nose. The nose will now be put aside for sandblasting in the spring. The inner shroud was fully intact and will clean up quite nicely.

[Jordan Baker]

A few more pictures.

Once the shroud was removed the radiator is easily accessible. I’ve also included a few pictures of how the armoured body was attached to the frame and the engine crank bracket. I’m also quite pleased that most of the bonding straps are all still in place. Lastly the plate welded to the left side hull body plate. This was where the voltage regulator mounted. The remains of the shielded wiring ground are still attached.

[Bob Carriere]

..... the radiator support has a complete top section similar to civialian GM of that period...... in contrast the CMP has that same part with the top section cut off and referred to as the horse collar..... also your rad filler neck is similar to the cab 11 but cab11/12 had them on the pass. side yours is driver's side....

did your truck have a fan shroud???

Sure is built solid!!!!!!

[Jordan Baker]

Yes there was a fan side shroud. I’ve included a drawing from one of the Service Information Bulletins. Thankfully these drawings provide a lot of detail.

Interestingly the radiator has what I believe to be a Dutch rebuild tag on the top of if. I’ll try and get a picture in the next day or so. It was only ever half visible due to the way the armoured nose fits on.

[Bob Carriere]

.... I was wrong, it looks more like regular cab 13 rad.... your dis-assembly process is fun to follow on the forum....... it is just so massive!!

[Jordan Baker]

Radiator removed from the chassis. It’s quite the heavy duty mount that it sits in. Nice to see all the KG#3 paint when taking things apart. Interesting Dutch rebuild brass tag on the radiator top tank. Also some hand painted white numbers on the top of the tank. Appears to be 1953 and 254.

[Jordan Baker]

Lastly some updated pictures of the engine compartment now that the radiator is removed. It is nice to see spots of the GM chassis black and then over painted with KG#3.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Nice find! Bloksma Radiateurenfabriek (radiator factory) was a medium sized company founded by Mr Bloksma in 1920. In the 1970s they had 15 branches, which were later sold to the branch managers or amalgamated into Bloksma's Nederlandse Radiateuren Fabriek (Netherlands Radiator Factory, NRF) (https://www.nrf.eu/about-nrf/our-history/)

[Jordan Baker]

Hanno

Any idea if this makers plate could be dated?