1929 Hupmobile project

[Guest Dean_H.]

Thanks Backyard, Unless you're willing to do it your self it might be too costly. I put about 100 hours into this axle modification. ...What does the typical shop charge - fifty bucks an hour? Of course, a real mechanic may do it faster :-)

For me, it was definitely worthwhile, you can't put a price on safety. I drove the car about fifty miles yesterday and found it much more enjoyable. It's still slow on hills, even if it's just a slight grade, speed will drop to 45-50. No big deal, that was my top speed before. On Heckar Pass I had to shift down to second gear, the original set-up could make it to the top in third. However it did lug the motor down before, but now in second gear the motor sounds happy. So overall, a nice improvement.

Here is a break down on old and new speeds.

RPM old MPH new MPH

2870 47 70

2660 44 65

2450 40 60

Another added benefit, it runs smoother with less vibration. Which I chalk up as the result of a better driveline. The original driveline didn't have needle bearings, not even brass bushings - metal to metal. There's a housing that encloses the entire u-joint and is filled with gear oil. Obviously, the gear oil would throw it out of balance. Adding to the problem, the low gear ratio had it spinning a million miles an hour. The new drive shaft was a big improvement, and is quickly noticed by the smooth operation.

[F&J]

This is just a thought.

If you are a little lacking in power. I would think the factory timing settinds as well as total advance was based on the really poor gas back then. Also jetting sizes in the carb?

Maybe someone you know has the skills to tweak it a little. A tiny bit of torque would help.

[Guest Dean_H.]

Yeah, the power is a little light, I'll probably just live with it. The factory settings on the timing was not a concern for me. I simply set the the distributor linkage to allow me to advance it more than needed. While driving, I can advance it until the power starts to drop off. Of course I'm careful not to operate with engine ping. But it is handy while climbing a hill to tinker with the timing to get optimum performance.

As for the carburetor, it has an adjustable power jet. In fact, I used this carb because of the adjustment feature. It allows me to tinker with the mixture for optimum carburetor performance.

I have no complaints on how the motor runs. It starts easy, idles perfect, accelerates without hesitation and sounds good. The limitation is the rated power. The literature I've read, indicates 70 horsepower. I'm quite certain it's putting out all 70 factory horses, but it's a heavy car. I can accelerate up to seventy MPH on flat ground, and holding 60 -65 mph is no problem. But hills slow the car down, which is expected considering the circumstances.

Overall, the new gear ratio makes the car a lot nicer to drive. I prefer to cruise around 60 mph and be more of nuisance on the road than a hazard. Other cars are not caught by such surprise when approaching at speeds of 70ish.

[Guest Dean_H.]

I've been driving the wheels off the Hupp in the last few weeks. The new gear ratio makes it so much nicer. At 60 MPH the motor sounds like it could go forever. It's a ton of fun. I've been running with my headlights on quite a bit to prevent the generator from overcharging the battery. On a trip the other day, I noticed the amp gauge a little higher than normal. When I got back home, I found one of the headlight bulbs had burned out. I bought these bulbs from a Ford model A vendor, they didn't cost much, but the quality may not be the best.

Here it is with only one light, fortunately I had a spare bulb. (I need to order few more)

The bearings in the rear end were lousy condition. I didn't want to dish out the big bucks for all new bearings without knowing for sure how it would work, so I had put it together with the worn out bearings. After a few hundred miles, it became clear this rear end is a keeper so I disassembled it to replace the bearings.

The pitted rollers are visible in this pic

Timken makes the finest bearings on the planet

The carrier bolts had bend tabs to stop the bolts from turning. Too many bends had finished those, I decided to just drill the bolt heads and use safety wire.

Here it is back together, I put some grease on the gears to inspect how well they mesh.

When I got the rear end finished, it was raining, so I decided to adjust the valves. They were all still good except for one, which was out a couple thousands.

I road tested the car on Saturday, everything seem to work well. Today I washed it and went for a fifty-ish mile drive with my wife. The car runs like it's new.

Here, we stopped in front of the old mission in San Juan and snapped a couple pictures.

It sure is a beauty. I must say, I feel bad, there just isn't enough of these old Hupps left for everyone to have one. Some of us are just lucky I guess.

[alsfarms]

Hello Dean, It is nice to see that you spent the time to restore and then use your Hupp. Have you considered taking a few moments and doing a video clip and then put it up on You Tube for us all see and hear of your Hupp starting and driving? Keep up the good refinements.

Alan

[TexRiv_63]

Dean,

Great job as always, it is nice to see an old car used and driven as it was built to be. You have helped the hobby in two ways. First by the detailed coverage of the restoration which has inspired a lot of folks to keep working on their own projects, and second by getting your car out on the road where people can see it and realize old cars can do more than sit on a show field. Congratulations!

[dictator27]

Lucky on two counts! Lovely and supportive lady and nice looking car. Following the restoration has been interesting and informative.

Terry

[Guest Ctskip]

I just came upon this thread while looking over the AACA site. I must say in all my years being what I thought was a gear head and hanging around in machine shops most of my life. I have never seen anyone with the knowledge and fortitude and patience as you, Dean. You are a tribute to, not only, the hobby and the art, but a tribute to American ingenuity. Thank you for instilling that in most of us here. You have gotten kudos and accolades but they don't measure up to what you have accomplished here. You are a credit to mankind and I would like to thank you for all you've done, for not only the sport, but for those who think that maybe they can do it. You have shown them, not only in your words, but backed it up with pictures what is possible. I'd like to say, if I may, we all owe you a deep gratitude for all you've done. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are a credit for mankind to follow. I'm in awe. This thread and this site should go down in history as a tribute to human ingenuity and sheer determination.

Thank you,

Skip

[keiser31]

I agree with Ctskip....I only wish that I had found the time to stop by and meet you on the way through California last week.

[Willys77]

Hi Dean - Your Wife! & all of you Posters on "Dean's Hupp Site":

Just found this post & just now finished going through all 37 pages. It's a "bit" later now, than when I started! Very, very inspiring; informative & my vocabulary fails me from time to time.....& there really is nothing I can add that hasn't already been said.

"Feelings" come to the fore; I'd guess, more so than words. (Can I say that? Guys with feelings!)? When one has an "orphan" car, rather than a common one, it's great to see something different resurrected. Glad you used your talents & abilities to get this fine old bus back on the road. If I knew when I was younger; what I know now - & owning a 1933 - 1936 WILLYS 77 certainly qualifies as an oddball car - I'd have apprenticed as a machinist!! Keep us in your loop, Dean. Look forward to your next project. Glad you are happy with the results of making the car more user friendly, this will no doubt inspire the "next" project. Rename this post, administrators - lol!!!! MAHALO! tt.

[Guest Dean_H.]

Thanks so much. But keep in mind, this was a team effort, without you guys the old Hupp would likely be half finished in the back of the barn. The thread helped me stay motivated and thanks to all who posted, made it a lot more fun. Another benefit, it's been great therapy, the doldrums are gone and driving it now is a blast. It's all good, I owe everyone on this forum a dept of gratitude. A big Thank You and pat on the back.

A video would be nice, I'll have to work on that.

Yesterday afternoon I took it for a spin up through the Silicon Valley. I needed to go to Santa Clara (about 40 miles ea way). Rough traffic, eight lane freeways and everyone in a desperate hurry. This would be the ultimate test for the old Hupmobile. Turned out to be an easy drive. Acceleration up to sixty five is easy, if I keep it floored I can slowly get to seventy. And if I keep it floored for about five miles it'll eventually make about seventy five. Unfortunately cars in the bay area go like crazy, so I pretty much ran flat out the whole way. It drives very solid, I can let go of the steering wheel and it goes straight down the lane. No shaking or shimmy at any speed. I'm also quite impressed with the brakes, it takes some pedal pressure, but they will stop the car. Overall a real nice driver.

[Guest Dean_H.]

I had pin stripes painted onto my car today. I practiced quite a bit in a futile attempt of pinstriping it myself, but finally gave up and hired a pro. After making a few calls I found a dude in Turlock that is highly recommended. Turlock is about a hundred miles from me and on the other side of the Gabilan mountain range.

A storm just passed us and the temperatures are below normal for this time of year. My car gets hot on long hills like Pacheco Pass but since today was only about 70 degrees, I figured I'd go for it.

On a normal year the grass would be bone dry by now but you can still see a little green as I start going up Pacheco Pass. We've had above average precipitation.

I have to shift down to second gear (about 35mph) but the smoking truck ahead was only doing about 15 mph and I blow by him. :-)

At the top of the hill is a huge pump Impeller at a turn out. That is San Luis reservoir beyond the car, it is basically a large storage tank for the California Aqueduct system. It was built in the 1960s and the water is pumped in. This is an impeller from one of the pumps.

I finally make it down to Turlock and Jerry starts to work on my car.

The stripes are looking great, at this point I can see I went to the right place.

Back on the road heading up the east side of Pacheco. The wind was really blowing today. This side of the hill get's less rain and looks a little dryer.

Climbing Pacheco, Part of the San Luis Dam can be seen in the left part of the picture.

[Guest Dean_H.]

Almost to the top of the hill.

I love the way this road was built, carving right through rock. The original road went through the area that is now covered in water. This new bypass road was built in the 1960s through treacherous terrain. No job is too big for America!

All down hill from here! The water temp got close to 200, but never boiled over.

The stripes came out nice, unfortunately it's hard to see in the pictures.

And the last one. thanks for looking.

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

Dean, once again, a fantastic job. You have every right to be proud of your Hupp.

A pacheco pass story. In 1957, as a 20 year old know it all, I left San Jose, heading back to MO. Hooked onto the back of my 1952 Studebaker Commander was a 33 ft house trailer. Not an RV, but a full live in home. I didn't know I could not do that. Well first Pacheco, {clutch} and later, Tehachapie, {bearings} taught me a lesson. Ahhh, the memories of youth!

Ben

[29pickhupp]

Hi Dean

Great to see more pictures of your car being driven. From what I can see in the photos the pinstipes look great. It must be interesting driving up and down the big hills in your area.

John

[30 Hupp]

Nice car,Dean!

Haven't had mine out of the garage yet this Spring! Finally, after two year's, I found an overhaul kit for the Stromberg U-2 carb...now need to find the time to pull it off & overhaul it!

Dale

[Guest showcar]

Hi, I'm restoring a 1932 Hupmobile that has been disassembled by some one else

I'm working on the mechanical brakes, I need a photo of the assembly as its

mounted on the backing plate. I have the brake shoes, springs and flex cable

but seems something is missing to spread the shoes in to the drum under braking.

any one with photos or a parts list would sure help. Thanks Rick

[stealthbob]

I just went through and read every post in this thread, the one thing that stands out the most to me is....it is something of a Restorer's mission statement. I am what one would consider new/young at this. I can't say with enough passion that you Dean have inspired me to do better and to understand that anything can be accomplished with enough fortitude and discipline. For that I thank you.

You said this a couple of pages back and it's something we all should think about when attempting these projects that enter into our lives.

The big question people tend to ask is "how much is it worth now". I think they expect me to say it's worth twice as much as I have into it. I'm afraid that's not the case. I didn't keep receipts and never added up costs, but I'm pretty certain I'm upside down in it. I did not do it as an investment, and don't care. This was the best for me. There is a lot of satisfaction of restoring a car and I highly recommend it.

That's a restorer's mission statement if I ever did see one...hell I want a bumper sticker that says that!

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

Stealth, make that bumper sticker and I will buy a couple!!

Your comments are spot on. Dean did a fantistic job, and ,without meaning to ,set a high hurdle that most of us can only hope to attain. Again, THANKS Dean.

Ben

[Guest Dean_H.]

Thanks for the comments guys. One of these days I'll have to go back and read this thread myself. I hardly remember writing that stuff. :-) It was certainly a fun project and I learned a lot. The car never misses a beat, with a few thousand miles now, it's pretty obvious Hupmobile made a decent car in 1929. And that sort of surprised me, I had figured cars this old were more novelty than reliable transportation. On my first few drives with the car, I carried a box full of tools, good walking shoes and a cell phone. That's all over now, I don't even think about it.

I changed the oil in the transmission a few days ago. It was dirtier looking than I would have expected. I had put new oil, but the gears must have been coated with tar or whatever from sitting sixty years. Also pulled the spark plugs and found all of them to be text book clean. Evidently I must have got the fuel mixture about right.

The wiper motor never worked too well, so I took it apart yesterday and found the seal on the slider piston was hard and brittle. I drilled out the rivets and install some new leather. After getting it back together, it works real nice. Here is a picture of it in action, I set the camera shutter speed slow to show movement.

I've noticed the cooling system is a bit weak while climbing long hills. The fan is set low on the radiator as can be seen in this picture.

Check out this picture with the engine running about 1500 RPM.

Where the fan is located it pulls the newspaper against the radiator. But beyond the edge of the fan, air flows in the opposite direction and pushes the paper away from the radiator. Without enough MPH to overcome the air moving forward through the radiator, my old motor starts to get hot. I think I might attempt building a fan shroud and see if that helps.

[Guest Brand O]

Am I too late?It's been since May since you posted on here.....I really enjoyed reading all your posts though....I hope to one day fix up an old Hup like you did...Mine is missing most of the body , but is complete from the firewall forward and all of the running gear is there ...Thanks for all the great info....I found it very insperational....

[Guest danceswithpumps]

GREAT thread! Thanks for all the pics of your work. A Great car made better than new. My Granddad had a Hupp Century like this only with wire wheels.

Rod

[Guest Al Brass]

Hi Dean,

I very much enjoyed your restoration story and pics. My dad restored what must be a very close sister car in New Zealand in the early 80's (s/n A130030) and I thought you might like to see some pics. He left the car to my sister and brother-in-law and he left a '14 Model 32 he was working on to me.

Regards

Al

[dalef62]

Dean,

I didn't know you were parting out your Hupmobile.  I just got an email saying you were parting it out and selling the hubcaps and taillight for $300.00. 

Damn scammers!!!!  LOL   

Dale

[dave72]

Dean. I loved what you did with this car. I'm buying a 31 hupmobile model S in about two weeks. It's running and driving but there was still a ton of information that you were gracious enough to share. Thank you. I hope you are still enjoying your lovely machine

[Jeff Perkins / Mn]

I remember this one from way in the past. This thread was one of the best I have read about a restoration. It is in the same league as some more recent ones, such as ones by @Lahti35 and @Matt Harwood.