15/12/2024

Not much achieved this week.  Acquired a spare tyre.   Retrieved the wheels from Marcel the sand blaster and moved the tyres around to accommodate them in the front shed.  The paint for the wheels arrived on Friday but I’m still too unwell to do anything with it yet.  Hopefully next week.

8/12/2024

Started the week in the boot, permanently installing the boot light and wiring as far as the junction box for the switch.  In between I moved the spare wheel rim to the front shed for pickup to be blasted and also gave the cab door window another couple of coat of primer, flatting in between.  As I had run out of pclips, so couldn’t continue wiring,  I turned my attention to the offside inner wheelarch lining, priming it ready for silvering.  Next, I stripped the remaining brown paint from the cab door and prepared the woodwork  for primer.  I also stripped the remaining paint from the aluminium parts of the cab door.  The small section of wind deflector over the offside curved window was stripped next, then primed on one side.  I also gave the cab window frame a final coat of primer, ready for undecoat.   Having a little time to spare, I cut back about a foot the erroneous bit of beading from behiend the emergency door and made a replacement piece.  This needs to be drilled and fitted when an odd hour is available.  The wheel rims were collected from Treadfirst at Shire Hill on Thursday and delivered to Marcel at Terriers Farm, Thaxted, for sand blasting.  I also acquired a spare tyre from eBay for £50, so that was handy.  Returning to electrics, the six-way junction box for the boot turned out to have two 0BA brass grub screws missing and when replacements arrived I had to turn them down, using a slotted nut as a collet,  as they were slightly too long.  The last job of the week was to cut the holes in the rear waist panels for the arrow-shaped left and right indicators.  The bases for these can be installed ready for wiring, once the panels have been primed and painted.

1/12/2024

I started the week by moving the nearside front wheel into the front shed ready for collection, then finished the rear seat back adding a bit of piping where it abuts the body.  I also cut down the top bar of the cab sdoor window to match the new bits, which was mostly good except for a bit that needed fettling, then primed the whole frame.  I also started on the process of installing the boot light, giving it another coat of Alum White (which turned out to be cream!) then installied the bulb holder, wiring and a bulb which tested first.    A major job was taking the wheels to Treadfirst in Saffron Walden to have the tyres removed ready for blasting and painting.   I then turned my attention to cleaning out the boot, which was thick with dust, in preparation for fitting the boot light, switch and steel plate for supporting the rear seat back.  I next assembled the boot lamp and, having determined where the switch was to be fitted, I mounted a junction box in the boot for it.  Then I made and painted  wooden plinth for the switch.  Final job of the week was too start installing wiring in the boot for the boot ligh and other electrical equipment.

Restoration diary of a 70-year old AEC single-deck bus and the trials, tribulations and adventures of our 1966 Bristol bus.