The panel work below the emergency door opening and the beading to the left of the opening has been fitted . The lino on the floor at the edge of the opening was rotten so this was cut back about 6″ and replaced with new lino which is a bit thinner, so I faced it with some diamond embossed tread plate and painted it to match the golden ochre on the floor. The cast step edge trim was derusted , primed and reinstalled. This needs another coat of paint o protect it properly. The wheel housing cover which was previously poorly fitted was undone and jacked into place and new fixings used. The cab step had a final coat of paint; all that needs to be done now is to paint the handbrake lever and pedals. A start has been made on making up the replacement fuel pipes in preparation for refitting the cab floor.
The interior of the destination box has been painted white and the matt black areas have been painted also.
The front dash panel (exterior) has been primed and sanded ready for undercoat.
The cab paintwork is largely finished now, only a few odd bits to do including a second coat for the main (front) floor panel and the O/S cove panel which has a hole and small dent to be attended to. The first and second from rear O/S bays have lower panels fitted now, also the curved waist corner panel and the first bay waist panel are all on too. The stainless corner bumper/embellisher has been fitted and the beading that finishes the rear panel has also been fitted.
Painting the cab continued this week. In between I touched up the matt black in the destination box. When it was too cold and damp to paint on Friday, I folded up the first offside panel after the rear corner. I intend to attach this so I can fit the corner embellisher and finish filling the corner panel. I also added some detail to the wiring diagrams, printed the amended diagrams and put them in a ring binder in the boot. By Saturday I was applying final coats to cab paintwork, but found it was still drying very patchy. Seemed better when I put more paint on.
Restoration diary of a 70-year old AEC single-deck bus and the trials, tribulations and adventures of our 1966 Bristol bus.
