The rearmost OS window frame has been repaired and is now in primer awaiting the refitting of the glass with new rubber.
Window frame now completely repaired.
The emergency door was removed to allow it’s condition to be assessed and ready for rebuilding as necessary. This entailed also removing the rain deflector above the windows along the nearside. Other work has been the reinstatement of the cover over the body mounting to the left of the entrance steps.
Cover over body mounting in the entrance.
Work continues on the offside framing with the laborious process of drilling out broken screws and filling all the holes in the frame with beech wood dowels.
Work on the nearside rear corner has been completed now and the panel has been primed and painted in undercoat, flatted and ready for top coat when the time comes.
The stainless steel corner bumper has been refitted along with the beading to the left of the boot doors.
After that, work turned to the offside with the removal of the rear most window adjacent to the emergency door. The steel frame of this was heavily corroded so I have been welding replacement sections to create a new mounting flange.
NS rear corner, finished ready for topcoat
OS rearmost window frame as found, being prepared for repair
I have been concentrating on finishing the nearside rear quarter panel for the last couple of weeks (with interruptions) but at last it is in undercoat after many hours of careful filling and sanding. I applied the first coat of undercoat using a roller but didn’t brush it out and I wasn’t really satisfied with the finish. The second coat was sprayed on and it much better. I will apply a third undercoat and flat that back when it is time to lay on the top coat. I also ground out all the gouges and scars in the stainless steel corner bumpers then polished them. They are not perfect but acceptable. And shiny!
Final job for this entry was the fitting (today) of the last two pieces of vertical bearding for the nearside, so apart from paint the nearside is finished!
Restoration diary of a 70-year old AEC single-deck bus and the trials, tribulations and adventures of our 1966 Bristol bus.
