First job today was to make an infill piece to the left of the RH boot door hinge pillar. Next, I intended to repair the RH corner perimeter rail. This didn’t look to bad on first glance but once I started poking it I discovered extensive rot in the rail and the filler piece that supports the boot floor. This was all removed and I started to make up the first section needed to rebuild the corner. The pictures below shows what is missing, after and before.
RH rear corner with rotten timber removed
Right-hand boot door frame timbers, before removal of rotten wood, plywood boot lining and before repairs to door hinge pillar and frame pillar.
Still haven’t fitted the wood screws through the reinforcing plates on the outer pillar, must do that tomorrow!
I fitted up the inner pillar today, this really took all day as I had to make several trial fittings with the boot doors in place, This necessitated drilling the hinge mounting holes clear for 2BA temporary screws, then rehanging the doors. Hopefully a good fit will be the final result.
I made up a couple of blocks of Iroko as distance pieces and to repair a missing piece of the perimeter rail before screwing and gluing the pillar into place. I need to make up another distance piece tomorrow but otherwise the next step is to make the small pieces of wood that the door abuts on the pillar.
First job was to fit and bolt up the steel plates that I prepared and painted yesterday. I realise I forgot to put in the wood screws on the outer one, so that’s a little job for tomorrow morning.
I spent the rest of today freeing up the brass hinges on the boot doors, as I need and I want to trial fit them to check everything is in the right place before I finally fix the repair section for the boot door frame. I also spent some time considering how best to rehang the boot doors. They were just screwed to the timber frame with wood screws which turned to oxide probably a good few years ago. So I have decide to drill through the original fixing holes and mount steel plates with captive nuts inside the doors and inside the frame. To that end I ordered the required fasteners at the end of the day.
I have also just realised I passed my driving test 45 years ago today.
Restoration diary of a 70-year old AEC single-deck bus and the trials, tribulations and adventures of our 1966 Bristol bus.
