A customer mentioned her dad had passed away, and left her some old cars to deal with. She asked if we might be interested in taking a couple of the prewar cars in exchange for hauling off some of the junk cars so she can sell the property. The first of the prewar cars is this Hupmobile. A small frog was mildly inconvenienced by our activities. The engine - a big four cylinder with a crazy long stroke - is not locked up, has compression, has clean oil, clean antifreeze, the clutch works, the transmission shifts, the brakes work and the tires hold air. He apparently had the car running about 5 years ago. However, it is built like a Chevrolet, meaning the cowl back is mostly wood with thin sheet metal nailed to the frame. The wood is all there, but pretty soft in some places. The body is sagging behind the cowl so the front doors won't close. Comprehensive information on Hupps is kinda scarce at a glance and I haven't had much time to tuck into it, but it seems like a Model N, maybe 1917ish? I don't really know what to do with it but I figured I'd get a journal going for it. I may end up selling it, but since it seems like it's so close to running and driving, I'll start there. I guess if I decide to keep it after driving it around the neighborhood I'll need to join AACA or something. Part of me is thinking strip it down and make a big speedster with it but the Hupp four cylinder is not exactly a powerhouse and the body panels are all pretty nice so I would feel kinda bad breaking up the car. The other free car, which, weather permitting, we will be picking up tomorrow, is an early 20s Model T runabout. It's missing the side body panels but everything else looks to be there and it too has the characteristics of a running car. I'll probably make a separate journal thread for it. We have a clear vision for that car and it will be in the hot rod section.
Dang, that's cool. And free for the hauling! Definitely a worthwhile endeavor to putz with that and see if it'll come back to life. I'll follow along with this. What are the other "junk" cars that have to be hauled off? Any other good bits laying around that need to go before the real estate sells?
She doesn't know exactly. They are quite a bit back on the 400 acre property, so getting them out is going to be an adventure and I haven't seen them yet. Right now the only road access to them is flooded and impassable with my trailer. An "old truck" and "an Eldorado" but we don't know if the truck is 30s old or 90s old and same goes for the "Eldo". We also don't know if they are fixable or if they have been run over by monster trucks/ransacked by aliens/etc. There were some other cars around that she was giving away but they have been spoken for - a CJ5, a cute Bronco II, a much earlier T with a homemade horse wagon lookin body and an airplane. I think my buddy Saul is claiming the little T and he is going for an early gow job look with it. I will try to convince him to make an account and post the thread himself.
You can get info on the Hup from AACA library, they have a site for contact info. You do not have to be a member, but it will cost you a few bucks.
That Hupp is a proper touring car, dwarfing the little Model T Ford. Hupmobile was a fairly upscale make at that time.
Checking things over this morning... look at the crazy long stroke on this thing. Newish wiring and spark plugs. The vacuum fuel pump has been bypassed with an electric unit. Everything checks out OK, so I guess the next step is to change the oils and throw a battery in it. Unfortunately it seems like somehow the battery I had that would fit in the holder has migrated to work so I will have to go find that. A "fender bender" back here will require some panel beating if I decide to restore.
Get rid of the electric fuel pump, they are only good for starting fires. The vacuum tanks are easy, don't try to out think them. Stewart made them. Looks like a Detroit Lubricator carb, basically the same as Dodge Brothers used. They can handle pressure from electric pumps. Clean it up and enjoy it the way it is.
The carb is a brass Stromberg M1. The electric fuel pump looks like some kind of aviation item but I'm not sure. Once I get the car running I'll play with the vacuum pump. The wood is just too soft to really use the car as it is. It spent too much time outside after being restored in the 70s or 80s. Right now the wood is so soft in the cowl that just putting pressure on the steering wheel to steer tweaks the whole cowl left and right enough to bind up the doors and pop them out. Of course I recognize this car is really more of a museum piece than a practical automobile but if I am going to keep it I want to be able to go out, start it in any weather and take it anywhere I want to go (groceries, lunch, whatever), so I may have to make friends with a cabinetmaker or fabricate steel framing for the body panels. Or just rip it all off and turn it into a big, slow ass speedster. I have a friend with a 3D printer and one of those scanning gizmos. I wonder if anyone has tried 3D printing replacement structural "wood" for early cars yet... there are very stiff ABS compounds that take screws/nails much like wood.
Looking like the start of a great adventure! T sheet metal isn't too hard to come by. Turtle deck accounted for, they aren't easy to come by in good shape. The fenders look early, maybe teens.
I told Saul the same thing. The fenders and turtle deck being in good shape was exciting. All they really need is a good wash. It's easier to find the side tin than a good turtle deck.
Great save on the cars . There’s a product that’s similar to fiberglass rosin that is used in repairs on wooden boats . A friend on mine used it on a 34 Chevy that he is working on . The wood in the doors was in very bad condition. He got everything line up and clamped into place . Then soaked the wood with the product. A person can swing on the doors now and nothing moves . Not that is recommended . I’ll ask Mitch what it is called and get back with you.
Mitch says this works great bonding the old wood back together. He also mentioned that a little bit goes a long ways . So keep that in mind . Good luck hope this helps you with your project
I think they are gas priming cups. Looks like you fill them and turn the valve to put a squirt of gas in the cylinders. Got an electrical issue to sort out. As soon as you hook power up to the Hupp the starter engages and will continue spinning until you disconnect power. I removed what I thought was the starter primary from the button and it still does it??? Something is obviously shorting out but it looks like all original wires inside armored cables. Went to mess with it today but it was 112 degrees in direct sunlight and between that and the mosquitos I could only stand it for about 20 minutes. Need to get some shade going in the open part of the shop. Shouldn't be that hard to work out but Saul's T has my interest right now. We got power going in it and everything looks like it works, but we went to start it and realized it needs a key which we don't have. Key #71... Lang's has it. Now we wait. I had the thought to just hot wire the T but it looks like original wiring in this car too, which has all bleached white, and I don't know if I'll fuck something up with the magneto ignition jacking with it, so I'd rather just use the key.
Saul is inspired and wants to get an early gow job going. This car is his reference. I'm kind of jealous... Trying to decide if we can drop the axle ourselves. I don't see why it'd take more than a torch, a big vise and a big pipe wrench.
On the rotten/"soft" wood-restoring epoxy: you want one that will take a *very* long time to kick. Like 12 hrs or longer, so that it can soak deeply into the bad wood, just keep lightly adding more w/a brush, until it won't soak in anymore. There are a couple of versions of it out there. Not a bad fix, at all. Unless you want "concourse.." . Good find, good save. I hope you get it going well - & keep it to enjoy. Marcus...
Congratulations on the Hupmobile! Get her running and slowly put her back together. You will love driving around in a convertible!
Oh I forgot, there is a new skill to be learned that will translate over to the AA-woodworking! You can get more tools to boot. There actually is not that much wood in the car-I have a Model A sedan that is all wood and then the metal skin.
We spent some time trying to start the Hupmobile and well, no dice. Engine seems to have compression & we can even get fire out of it but the fire is coming out of the intake... Checked and re checked timing, firing order...... and working on this thing is cementing my love for my Fords Seems like in order for there to be positive pressure coming out of the carburetor there has to be at least one intake valve open on the compression stroke. With the valve covers off I can see the valves are all moving but maybe they are not closing fully... or maybe the timing chain has skipped a tooth somehow. But there also seem to be two separate crossovers from the exhaust to the intake. I assume they are just heating the intake but I wonder if there is some way exhaust could be getting into the intake through them & pressurizing the intake. Other Hupmobiles I've seen pictures of do not have those crossovers (or the big stove looking airbox I removed from the carburetor) so it may be period aftermarket stuff. Haven't made a serious effort remove them and see what's going on yet, but the screws I tried are stuck hard so I'll need to use an impact driver if I decide to. Also there is something wrong with the starter but we're hoping it will live long enough to prove if the car will run good because that's really the determining factor in me keeping it or not.
I think I have the Hup's malfunction figured out. I think these are aftermarket manifolds - and the core of the intake is cracked, so the engine is pumping exhaust into the intake. With the crossovers removed I finally feel vacuum on the carb mouth if I block the opening for the crossover with my palm (as well as on that palm, confirming the crack). However, now, of course, I have a massive vacuum leak. I think I can just make some blockoff plates and send it.
The Jalopy Journal
