Today I was able to install the pillar repair section I made yesterday. Screwed and glued to both the existing remnant of upright and to the boot floor cross bearer and given a coat of primer.
Whilst that was drying I installed the two new gusset plates for the previous pillar repair and bolted them up to the cross bearer and upright.
Finally I made a couple of brackets to reinforce the joint between today’s new section of pillar and the existing part. These will also connect to the horizontal that joins the vertical at this point.
I now need to make up the gussets for this new piece before I can fix the new perimeter rail section at the bottom of the pillars.
This morning I painted a coat of grey onto the new timber on the RH side of the boot door frame and the steel frame that links this to the corner pillar, ready for the corner timber to be fitted. I also spray painted the two gusset plates for this section so this can all be assembled now.
Whilst the paint was drying I cut away the next rotten pillar down the OS and made a replacement. This is also ready for fitting, probably the first job tomorrow as the rest can be done whilst the glue sets.
Painstaking manufacture of various bits of wood have been the order of the day today, including the spacer block between the RH boot door pillar and the corner pillar and the final pieces of the corner boot floor support and perimeter rail. I should be able to trim this to final shape tomorrow, for which I have made a cardboard template from the good side.
Also today I cut the wooden piece that forms the boot door abutment on the hinge pillar. In the process of this I came to the conclusion that the pillar itself is not quite the right profile, which means I will have to add some thin lamination to build it up so I can sand it back to the right shape. More time lost!
Damage to the base of the first OS pillar, showing gusset plate and corner timbers removed,
Restoration diary of a 70-year old AEC single-deck bus and the trials, tribulations and adventures of our 1966 Bristol bus.
