First task of the week was to prime the roof where the drip rail attaches over the emergency door and apply filler to the rearmost window and a part of the roof at the end of the drip rail which had become distorted. I also attended to a dent in the rear curved panel above the waistrail at the same time. When the primer was dry, I completed drilling the holes in the drip rail, then temprarily mounted it so I could drill the attachment holes in the body. I sanded the various areas of filler and applied another finishing layer. The filled window was then primed with red oxide and the drip rail permanently installed above the emergency door. The forwardmost plain window, which had started to show signs of rust, was rubbed down and primed with No.1 rust beater. Attention then turned to the final set of wheel rings; these were wirebrushed, primed with two coats of red oxide and a partial coat of black gloss applied. A visit to Geoff Brown, metal-shaper extraordinaire, proved fruitful and he agreed to make the parts for a new front mudwing. Final job of the week was to start reassembley of the cab door window.
All posts by Nigel
9/3/2025
First task of the week was to measure up how much flat beading is required to finish the bus. This was ordered and delivered the next day. As the weather was unusually warm and dry, I next turned my attention to the remaining wheel rings. I wirebrushed, primed and painted another two sets, leaving one pair to do. In a spare few minutes I cut another short piece of vertical flat beading for the waistrail. As the warm weather continued, the opportunity was taken to continue painting the wheel rings and the cab door. What was supposed to be the final coat of paint applied to the inside of the cab door did not go on well, due to being insufficiently thinned. This will be dealt with as oon as it is hard enough to sand. A final coat of brown was also applied to the short deflector piece above the O/S rear window and to the cab window frame. A coat of silver was applied to the underside of the O/S rear wheel arch in preparation for rear wheel fitting, which will happen as soon as the tyres are fited. Attention to a lump in the bottom of the rear O/S window created a hole which I have no option but to repair with filler, as attempting to weld in this poistion is too risky. So the exposed edges were treated with No.1 rust beater primer in preparation for this. Work then turned to starting to reattach the roof sheet edges over the O/S windows; this included priming the saloon ventilator cover with No.1 rust beater and cutting new drip rail for the emergency door from “J” section.This needed curving slightly which required heating in the centre, then using the MW gearbox spacer that I have for this purpose in the vice. This was pretty much the last job of the week, apart from filling the first mounting hole for the drip rail.
2/3/2025
A slow start to the week. I completed the O/S waistrail beading by adding a short piece of the flat section up to the emergency door. I still can’t get a straight line across the emergency door, but it will have to do for now. Still struggling with the front mudguard too. Not sure quite what to do about that. I painted another coat of brown on the inside of the drivers door and window frame, thinking it was warm enough. It was not; the aluminium panel on the driver’s door is fine but the woodwork is decidedly patchy, so will have to be rubbed down and done again. Unexpected dry day allowed me to wirebrush two more ring sets for the wheels; these were then primed with red oxide; when that was cured, several coats of black were applied from a rattle can. Whilst that dried, attention returned to beading and I stripped the old paint from the ‘S’-shaped piece that fits aft of the last window on the O/S. I then gave the short rain deflector piece that fits above it a coat of brown on the inside. Final job of the week was to add two short, vertical pieces of beading between the waistrails just behind the emrgence door. Noted that I have only 8m of flat beading left, so will need to measure up and order more.