5 October 2006

The bus has now had the body removed which is all stored, as much of it is reusable as we start to put the bus back together again. The first three of the body cross members have now been rebuilt, all in seasoned Ash as they would’ve been when the bus was new and these can be seen in position but not yet fitted to the chassis. The close ups show the old and new steel support brackets which were used as patterns for the new ones to be made. The last rear cross member is next to be built as are the frameworks that run between the cross members, one of these can be seen on the worktop, (along with a happy Peter enjoying his work!) only one end of the steel actually needs to be replaced on this, the rest will be cleaned, treated and refitted to the cross members. Before any of these are fitted permanently the vehicle will be put on stands and have the wheels removed to allow it to be shot blasted and treated, first in anti corrosion paint and then repainted into matt black as they were when new. This will also allow the brakes to be completely overhauled, the wheels blasted and painted and the fitting of new tyres and the original type front AEC covers. The bus will remain on the stands as the body is rebuilt, to ensure that rigidity is maintained and that the bus is level and doesn’t shift as weight is added in different places with new framework via the suspension. The next update will be in the last week of October.