Tag Archives: body frame

1/1/2022 – Year summary for 2021

The last two weeks have seen the completion of repairs to the O/S frame, the last of the rusty screws and nails removed and the holes dowelled.   The last of the new flitch plated have been fitted.   The repairs to the cantrail have been sanded level and the rest of the frame sanded and prepared for painting.  The unpainted woodwork has been primed and the a start made on painting the whole of the exposed frame with grey top coat.

As it is the first day of the year, a summary of work completed in the last twelve months is appropriate.

The nearside of the bus from the entrance rearwards has been structurally completed, all windows panels are in place and beaded.  The rear corner panel has been cosmetically filled and finished in undercoat.  A new mudwing and liner was fabricated and installed and the wheelbox cover stripped, painted and refitted with new mountings.

The roof has been completely stripped of all paint and repaired where necessary to make it watertight.

The roof over the entrance and nearside front wheel has been repaired and is ready for cosmetic finishing, including a new valance over the entrance steps.

A new rear number plate box was fabricated and installed, along with new bulb holders and wiring for the stop and tail lights. The boot doors have been refitted and primed.

The destination box glass has been removed and a replacement obtained.  Some repairs have been made to the wooden frame that supports the glass.

The entrance step light was repaired and repainted ready for fitting.

The boot was finished internally with new lino.

Work has now commenced on the offside with all windows removed, frame repairs completed above the floor and the frame partially painted.

 

 

 

19/12/2021

This week’s work summary is once again focused on the offside frame.  The panel to the immediate rear of the front wheelarch was removed  to enable frame repairs to continue; this included the step ironwork for the cab entry.  All the side-rod lower extensions have been removed, a small amount of heat being required to release the the through bolts that pass through the ends of the floor bearers.  Exposed metalwork above the floor line had been treated with Vactan.  A removable section of the frame around the fuel tank filler has been unbolted to allow access to other parts that needed to be replaced and to allow easier removal of the fuel tank.

All of the window verticals and the waist rail have now been dowelled and all rust screws and nails hopefully removed.  The horizontal rail above the windows remains to be finished and painted.  The new woodwork of the wheelarch frame has been painted, along the with the sections of the frame joints that are awaiting new flitch plates.  The remaining flitch plates,  including the wheelarch reinforcement have been made this week and are in the process of being painted ready for fitting.   I also removed the beading above the (incorrect) cab mudwing.  I had hoped to save this and reuse it but at first sight it appears too far gone.

Cab entry step, kick-plate and beading.

10/12/2021

The lack of recent posts belies the basic monotony of current work on the offside frame.  Mostly it has been the removal of rusty screws and nails from the frame above the floor line. This has progressed as far as the cab door and is virtually complete in terms or plugging screw and nail holes with dowels.  The horizontal framing above the window openings has received some new timber to replace the odd bit of wet rot but this needs further attention and screw removal before it is finished.  An emerging fact is the offside frame has been much less carefully finished than the nearside; stupidly long screws and large nails have been used to fix the panels. On the positive side, above the floor it is generally in good condition.  The rear wheelarch has been repaired with new timber exactly as it was and naturally this is quite different from the nearside.  The next job when the upper frame is complete will be removal and refurbishment of the fuel tank, which appears to be the wrong tank.

New timber in offside rear wheelarch frame.

Dowels replacing rusty screws and nail holes in offside framing.