Otter LRC CM4647296 comes home

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Jordan Baker

I’ve been looking carefully but there is nothing left.

I can help out with the font and size but not what was on what. I can conclude what was on the signal cartridge bin.

[Jordan Baker]

New storage rack divider made. The original was too rotted out to reuse although I did save the original piece of angle iron. I used my bead roller to put the offset into the folded over edge first. Then bent it over in the brake. I then used the shop press to bend it down the rest of the way pinching the flat stock piece.

I also finished the pile of interior bins/brackets and hangers by sandblasting and coating them in metal prep etch.

Speaking of sandblasting I loaded up the trunk with a pile of the larger parts including the turret and basket components and took them off to my sandblaster. Sadly when I got to his place I found out he has retired from the business and sold off all his stuff. I knew this day was coming as he was in his 70’s. A note was left saying where the guy who bought all his equipment was located so off I went to find them. The parts were left with them and I should have them back this week. I had been really spoiled by the guy I had been using. He did the parts at his house and sandblasting was his thing. I could always drop things off and 95% of the time he would call me by the next day at noon saying the parts were ready for pickup. This was pretty much any day of the week including weekends. His prices were always extremely fair and his quality of work was exceptional. I really hope the new guy is just as good. We shall see.

[Jordan Baker]

When I removed the lower turret ring two of the bolts snapped off leaving the threaded portion stuck in the cast ring. So I did the old weld a nut to the stud trick and they unscrewed right out.

[Jordan Baker]

I picked up the parts from the new sandblasters late last week. They did a pretty good job on everything. The turret was given a coating of POR15 then while just tacky I over sprayed with the finish oat of paint. It takes careful timing but the paint chemically bonds to the POR and makes one very hard wearing coating. The lower turret ring was also painted at the same time.

[Jordan Baker]

When I get the chance all the interior panels, brackets, and bins will be getting painted white.

[David Dunlop]

Hi Jordan.

Are you planning to use a POR White on the interior to help with the wear and tear hat tends to accumulate there?

David

[Jordan Baker]

No I’m not. I’m using Armorcoat gloss white. I’ve been pretty happy with how this paint has help up in the past.

[Jordan Baker]

Any colour so long as it is gloss white. The new heat lamp is working well for curing the paint.

[Jordan Baker]

This afternoon I spent a few hours in the shop getting the one new fender installed and welded up. Last week Stew Robertson and myself spent a day at his shop working on getting my three original fenders bent back into shape. We also did the basic press brake work on the new fender I needed to make. Today’s time I the shop was spent getting the edge that fits against the hull cut out and the basic holes drilled in place to get it bolted up. Once bolted up I was able to tweak the fender flares a bit and then get them welded up. I’ve still got to sort out the headlamp mounting holes. But that can be for another day.

[Jordan Baker]

Today was spent getting more holes drilled into my new fender. I’m quite happy with how it turned out.

[Jordan Baker]

I also started on getting the left rear fender fitted in for welding up the flares. These original fenders all had the flares badly smashed in. It was suggested to me to make all new fenders but with this vehicle still being so original I figured I owed it ti keep as many original pieces as possible. The last picture shows what I started with. I’ve still got to cut out and replace where the metal has rusted right through but that sill be for another day.

[Jordan Baker]

It’s been a while since I’ve worked on the Otter. This afternoon I decided to tackle another of the original fenders. This one had taken a beating with entire fender flare rolled into and under the upper surface. The original bend crease was still there but a new edge had been rolled into it. This made it quite the challenge to get the upper surface flat again and not loose the original bend. Below are two pictures of what it looked like when I got the Otter.

[Jordan Baker]

Here is where I am at after a few hours of work. A lot of work was done previously with the fender off the Otter trying to get the pieces close. Once the fender was bolted onto the hull I was able to do the final fitting. Ball peen hammer and a chunk of heavy metal were the main tools. I also made up a plywood jig to continually check my profile to keep everything in place. I’m quite happy with how it turned out. It had been suggested to me to simply replace them as they won’t look as nice as the rest of the vehicle once everything is restored. However I just couldn’t toss them considering how complete this vehicle is.

[Mike Gurr]

Well done Jordan, well worth the effort to keep it as original as possible.

[Jordan Baker]

Last fender getting the rebuild treatment. I had to cut out the rear edge as it was badly rusted out in spots. I also had to weld up the bend along the front edge. The metal had gotten very thin and then was cracking along the bend when the flare was bent back to shape. Lots of weld, grind and repeat.

[Bob Carriere]

Just looking at some earlier fender pictures...... what where the original fasteners...... they look like large slotted screws...... were they machined screws...... 5/16 size x 1 3/4 ???? .....I have spares if you want some.

I have spent the last few very cold weeks in the barn sorting out nuts and bolts and making new bins........ and learned that you can't sort bolts with gloves so I froze my right thumb enough to crack and go numb.

Cheers

[Jordan Baker]

Mig Wire in bulk, funny you should ask as i checked my spool yesterday to make sure there was still some in the machine. Thankfully there is still lots. I buy the largest spool that will fit in the machine.

Ill have to check but I believe they are 3/8 dome headed machine screws. I tried to save as many as I could but in the end most were rusted away too much along the neck to reuse. Ill order some new ones at some point.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Great work on saving as much of the original metal as possible

[Alex van de Wetering]

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

Great work on saving as much of the original metal as possible

I am with Hanno.....well done on savind the original stuff!

[Jordan Baker]

Fender stowage bins under construction. Thanks to the sloped sides of the hull there was some interesting angles to work out. I still need to make the tops and the pins and lock hasps.

[Jordan Baker]

Starting the straightening process for one of the antenna mounts. This one had been twisted at some point during its life. Thankfully I’ve got a second one that is in great shape so I will be able to match them up. First up was cutting the welds and removing the top plate. The top plate was then hammered back into its proper shape. The rest will be for another day.

[maple_leaf_eh]

Jordan, when I look over your new fenders and bins, I am reminded how fragile our old HMVs really are. Sure they look impressive and capable of knocking down trees. But if they break, it is lots of hard work to fabricate or repair what is broken, and that doesn't include finding spare parts when they simply don't run.

[Jordan Baker]

Terry, Good points.

Managed to get the piece all straightened out. I ended up using the shop press to clamp the bent piece. Then clamped on a very large chuck of steel plate to it. This gave me the leverage to bend the piece back into shape and get rid of the twist that was in it.

Lastly the lids for the fender stowage bins are almost done. The pins that hold the lids in place were made up and welded in. These lids did not use any hinges. I just need to make up the lock hasps.

[David Dunlop]

Nicely thought out repair for the antenna mount, Jordan. Your 15-CWT FFW and Otter will be talking to each other in no time.

David

[Tim Bell]

Originally Posted by Alex van de Wetering

I am with Hanno.....well done on savind the original stuff!

Me too - absolutely prefer retaining original parts where possible.

Great job... look forward to the end product.

[Jordan Baker]

Today I got a few hours out in the shop and finished up the antenna bracket mounts. The one bracket had its mount ripped right off when it got badly twisted. I ended up making a new one as the steel had been stretched and torn. I used two magnets to initially hold the new piece in place. Once tacked I added a metal bar and clamped it all in place to fully weld it up. Once done everything was cleaned up with a flap disk.

[Jordan Baker]

Here is the new piece welded all in. I still need to clean up a bit of the weld on the outside.

I also had to add a piece that was broken off the other mount. A new piece of flat bar was cut along with the matching cutout and everything was welded in.

[Bob Carriere]

..... missed you at the OMVA flea MARKET......

[Jordan Baker]

Thanks Bob

Was on acourse that day, otherwise I would have been there.

[Jordan Baker]

Not a bad result from the twisted bracket picture in post 201. It still needed some minor adjustments once bolted on. I got the one side bolted in but the other was out by about 1/8”. I used the 10lbs sledge to nudge it over and get the 3rd hole lined up. I bolted it then nudged it again to get the last hole lined up.

I also pulled off most of the brackets from the rear end that hold the tools. The shovel handle bracket will need a new vertical piece as the original is totally gone. Interestingly the shovel handle bracket, pick axe head bracket and the shovel/pry bar bracket are all the same as Universal Carrier parts. The one even has the CTL number cast into it. I guess when it was a good design why redesign it