March 5

Well a few more pictures this month as lots has been happening. The first part of the month saw most of the offside panelling fitted, the fuel tank cleaned out and refitted, the fuel system drained and cleaned and the air system blown through, diif and gearbox oil were alos changed. Then on March 1 RT8 moved from its long term restoration bay to the main workshops for its engine refit....

Monday and Tuesday were spent getting the engine in, whilst by Wednesday the radiator was being fitted, therefore giving the RT its 'face' back.

Whilst up in the air having pipes and systems connected the progress to the offside can be seen. The 'flared' rear wheel arch with mud guard that has a 'tail' are very distinct 2RT features.
After a failure on Thursday morning to get her running a second attempt was made Thursday afternoon after changing the fuel pump.

On Thursday afternoon we had success in firing her up and she ran sweetly, not stalling on tick over and producing very little smoke. We did video this but alas it appears the blog won't accept the footage so I will try and get someone more clever than me to upload it to the main site. Once the run up was complete, she went back up in the air so that the fuel system could be checked as the supply from the lift pump was slow and the air system was not building as it should.

By Friday morning the fuel system had been sorted and the bus would happily start 'on the button' and tick over at a steady pace. The throttle was checked as was the stop to make sure all was in order, after minor adjustments all was well and attention turned to the air system.

The nearside still requires its lower panels but these were needed to be off to access the small fuel filter that resides just behind the front wheel.

The air system proved more troublesome and as today slipped by it looked unlikely that she would be returned to the restoration bay under her own power. One air pipe blew under the pressure, this was quickly replaced, and on the next run up the air pressure got to the magic 120psi, only to fall back quickly as soon as the vehicle went to tickover.

Another attempt was made which successfully rectified a leak only for a valve to then stay stuck open and thus let the air escape again. So it would appear we failed to drive RT8 out due to one sticking valve but this is now off and being fixed and after Monday morning services for the fleet, attention will once again turn to getting RT8 going. As soon as she does she will go on the brake rollers for a test to see how good they are at the first time of asking and how much we need to do to adjust them to get them up to MOT standard.

So an interesting month, which has seen her move from static project to almost running unit. The priority will be to get all the mechanicals finished next week so that she can return to her bay. At that point the remaining panels, wings and bonnet can be fitted which will just about complete the exterior. With mechanical and exterior done the attention will turn to exterior painting and interior fitting out, so who knows what you will find here next month.....