First task of the week was to measure up how much flat beading is required to finish the bus. This was ordered and delivered the next day. As the weather was unusually warm and dry, I next turned my attention to the remaining wheel rings. I wirebrushed, primed and painted another two sets, leaving one pair to do. In a spare few minutes I cut another short piece of vertical flat beading for the waistrail. As the warm weather continued, the opportunity was taken to continue painting the wheel rings and the cab door. What was supposed to be the final coat of paint applied to the inside of the cab door did not go on well, due to being insufficiently thinned. This will be dealt with as oon as it is hard enough to sand. A final coat of brown was also applied to the short deflector piece above the O/S rear window and to the cab window frame. A coat of silver was applied to the underside of the O/S rear wheel arch in preparation for rear wheel fitting, which will happen as soon as the tyres are fited. Attention to a lump in the bottom of the rear O/S window created a hole which I have no option but to repair with filler, as attempting to weld in this poistion is too risky. So the exposed edges were treated with No.1 rust beater primer in preparation for this. Work then turned to starting to reattach the roof sheet edges over the O/S windows; this included priming the saloon ventilator cover with No.1 rust beater and cutting new drip rail for the emergency door from “J” section.This needed curving slightly which required heating in the centre, then using the MW gearbox spacer that I have for this purpose in the vice. This was pretty much the last job of the week, apart from filling the first mounting hole for the drip rail.
Tag Archives: wheelarch
23/2/2025
First job was to complete the beading for the wheel arch. In preparation for fitting it and to see what additional material was needed, I trial fitted the mudguard. This, though of the correct pattern, was a very approximate fit but I think I can make it work. It isn’t going to be perfect, but should look ok; it will require some wooden spacers, as did the incorrect one that came with the bus. It still requires some final adjustment, though, as currently it it is resting behind the rolled edge of the front dash panel which, looking at photos of other HUOs, it not correct. I corrected this by trimming the mudwing but the profile doesn’t match exactly, so I have not yet drilled all the fixing holes. I may leave that until after I have had the piece sandblasted and have primed it.
16/2/2025
A slow start to the week, wet and very cold and other tasks were diverting me but I managed to fit the new piece of half-round beading and drill and fix the remaining screws in the top waistrail beading. I then added another 1m long piece to the flat lower waistrail beading. Next job was to mark out and drill and fit the half-round beading that trims the bottom edge of the O/S panels between the front and rear wheelarches. A shrt section remains, which can’t be cut to size until the wheelarch beading is on. A first attempt at curving the beading for the O/S front wheel arch around a brake drum was promising at first, then failed dismally. Annealing the piece solved the problem and I was able to get the curve almost correct before temporary fitting, which was virtually complete before the end of play on Saturday. Just the end that wraps around the front remains to be fixed. Some damage to the edge of the beading will need attention before final intallation, but overall a useful week.