Work has been delayed by a severe heat wave and other problems but I was able to get back to it towards the end of last week. I have prepared to aluminium edging strips to reinforce the window opening of the destination box. The bottom edge was partially rotten so I cleared as much as possible of it away then used wood hardener to strengthen what remained. The aluminium will provide a straight and solid abutment for the glass.
I have been continuing to work on preparing the destination box and cab for paint, today I took out the cab ventilator, which is of the circular “hit and miss” type. I found a replacement outer section on eBay as this had lost all its chrome, whereas the inner rotating part is in quite good condition along with its butterfly knob so I removed this carefully and should be able to build up a decent replacement with the new outer part. I have to manufacture a new right-hand edging strip for the destination box access hatch in the cab, this is also used to hold the hatch up with a gravelly fastener.
The long gap in recording progress has been due to other commitments and some some minor illness. However work has been going on, concentrated around the cab. The following items have been removed to allow access and restoration of these items: the headlight assembly, the driver’s seat, the wiring cubicle and combined control box and main switch unit, the interior light switch bank, bell and flasher unit panel (above the driver), and the horn and cab light/step light switch. A lot of the aged wiring and redundant wiring has been stripped out of the cab, the indicator switch remains. Some replacement high-current cabling to feed the lighting switch panel has been ordered. Two new sidelight units were obtained (very expensive!) which means I have a spare now. The access panel to the destination box will need to be removed as the hing is sagging and it doesn’t close properly. The windscreen wiper motor remains to be removed too.
The plan forward now is to get the fuel tank dispatched for refurbishment, the cab floor repaired, the cab painted and the chassis painted in the area behind the fuel tank.
Restoration diary of a 70-year old AEC single-deck bus and the trials, tribulations and adventures of our 1966 Bristol bus.
