Work has continues down the offside with cleaning and oxiding the chassis as far as the cab. The fuel tank has gone away to Hartlepool Radiators for refurbishing and most of the cab fitting and sections of the floor have been removed in preparation for repair and for painting the cab. Two new dynamo output cables have been installed and just await the terminals soldering so the dynamo can be reconnected.
The windscreen wiper motor has been removed and serviced and is ready for a new coat of paint.
The access door for the destination box proved impossible to remove without a lot of effort and in fact all it needed was a bit sanding off the frame to ensure it could be fastened closed.
Work this week has been concentrated on the chassis under the cab, painstakingly cleaning of hardened and congealed grease and filth. The chassis as far as the shock absorber has been treated with Vactan and is ready read oxide, as is the lower part of the cab rear bulkhead. Hopefully by the end of the week I should be able to spray silver onto the chassis.
The long gap in recording progress has been due to other commitments and some some minor illness. However work has been going on, concentrated around the cab. The following items have been removed to allow access and restoration of these items: the headlight assembly, the driver’s seat, the wiring cubicle and combined control box and main switch unit, the interior light switch bank, bell and flasher unit panel (above the driver), and the horn and cab light/step light switch. A lot of the aged wiring and redundant wiring has been stripped out of the cab, the indicator switch remains. Some replacement high-current cabling to feed the lighting switch panel has been ordered. Two new sidelight units were obtained (very expensive!) which means I have a spare now. The access panel to the destination box will need to be removed as the hing is sagging and it doesn’t close properly. The windscreen wiper motor remains to be removed too.
The plan forward now is to get the fuel tank dispatched for refurbishment, the cab floor repaired, the cab painted and the chassis painted in the area behind the fuel tank.
Restoration diary of a 70-year old AEC single-deck bus and the trials, tribulations and adventures of our 1966 Bristol bus.
