I realised that it would be necessary to cut into the roof cladding in order to determine the full extent of the corrosion in the steel reinforcement over the door, so this was partially done yesterday and completed today. The plan is to repair this by letting in joggled replacement sections using structural seam sealer and countersink rivets then finish with a skim of filler.
Some sections of the the rotten steel were cut out today, primarily to allow access to the T-shaped steel flitch plate that reinforces the joint between the top of the door pillar and the cant rail. This is quite badly corroded so a new one will be made. With this out of the way the rotten wood can be cut out of the door pillar and repaired.
Repairs by welding will be made to the steel section over the door and window 1 by welding with 1.5mm ZIntec, ordered today for delivery on the 21st.
The previous two days I spent making the ash repair section for the entrance pillar. This is completed and fitted as shown in the picture:
Entrance pillar repair.
Other work done includes plugging more screw holes with hardwood dowels and sanding these off flush. Work is now concentrated at the top of the pillar where there is a steel plate and bracket under which the pillar has rotted. This requires the removal of the drip rail above the entrance and the wired-edge panel that finishes the top of the entrance, which is extensively corroded as can be seen in this picture:
No significant progress over the last few days all though there has been a lot of work. I removed the entrance bulkhead window and the panel facing the steps the day before yesterday so that I could cut out a rotten section of the rearward door pillar where it connects with the waist rail. The steel reinforcement at this point had completely corroded away but replacement is straightforward as the end of the waist rail is intact and solid. I made a replacement wooden section to replace the rotted section but during the final cut the bandsaw blade broke, ruining the piece and I don’t have a spare blade – on order. Other work has included drilling out rotted screw holes and filling them with 6mm hardwood dowels glued and hammered in. Work at the moment is centred around making the nearside frame sound ready for repanelling, which has to be done from the bottom perimeter rail upwards.
Below is the corner plate that needs to be replaced.
Very rusty corner plate!
Close-up of corner plate and probably my thumb, showing there is really very little metal left at all.
Restoration diary of a 70-year old AEC single-deck bus and the trials, tribulations and adventures of our 1966 Bristol bus.
