Most people who find an old car buried in vines in the woods assume it is a parts car at best. The man behind @LowBuckGarage took a different view of a very strange old Hillman Husky.
He says it started life in 1956 as a small station wagon and served that way until the late 1960s. Then, in 1967, someone turned it into a farm tool.
A Station Wagon Turned Log Skidder
“The car was chopped in half and then it connects to an old worm gear drive rear end,” he explains. In that form, the Hillman became a log skidder.
It had been sitting in the woods until recently, covered in vines and thorns, with signs that rodents had moved in. When he picked it up in Rhode Island over the summer, he found rust in one cylinder and an engine that would not turn. To make matters worse, the axle split on the way home, so he limped it to a storage unit and left it there for a few months.
Months Of Soaking Pay Off
Before leaving it, he had filled the cylinders with oil. When he came back, he tried turning the engine with the fan belt.
“Whoop. That just freed up,” he says, sounding surprised.
The oil looked remarkably clean, and draining the pan showed no water, so he kept going. A seized starter drive freed up with penetrating oil and a gentle push. He also takes a short detour to show that this type of starter motor spins the same way no matter which battery terminal goes to ground, a handy fact on a positive-ground car like this one.
Next, he cleaned corroded ignition points with a worn-out sanding belt. He also scraped crusty plug-wire terminals with a small grinding wheel and rigged a gravity-fed fuel supply. After a few tries and some breaks to let the starter cool, the engine fired and kept running on most of its cylinders.
Driving On Half The Controls
With a new fuel tank, a cheap electric fuel pump and a switch replacing the alligator clips, he got ready for a drive. The setup was far from perfect. The gas and brake pedals won’t budge, and the clutch pedal moves but does nothing.
Its original seat fell out on the way out of the woods, so he rigs up a makeshift bench seat. Then he puts it in gear and lets the engine do the work.
“We are officially driving this vehicle,” he says.
The Hillman crawls in reverse and forward, though something underneath jams with a crunch when he tries second gear. He backs it off and keeps going. He says he had planned an engine swap from the start, because he never imagined the original engine would run again.
What To Try Before Giving Up On A Seized Engine
His approach offers a few low-cost steps to try on any engine that has sat for years:
- Pull the spark plugs and fill the cylinders with oil, then give it time. Patience can free what force would break.
- Drain the oil pan and check for water before you try to start it.
- Clean points and electrical contacts. Corrosion alone can kill a spark.
- Use a temporary fuel supply rather than trusting an old tank and lines.
- Let the starter cool between attempts so you don’t burn it out.
Where The Hillman Husky Stands Now
He doesn’t yet have a job for the old skidder, but he plans a few repairs and upgrades. The water pump leaks, and the first item on his list is clear.
“A clutch. I definitely want a clutch,” he says as he parks it.
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