I completed the replacement hinge assembly by adding a 3/16″ shim between the hinge and the base to position it correctly so that the control box will sit square on its base. After that, work has contentrated on wiring the lighting and 24v supply to the multicore cable terminal mounted on the cab rear bulkhead below the floor. Connections that need to be made in the cab-mounted control box havebeen sheathyed and routed into their correct positions ready for reinstallation of the control box. The control box itself has had attention: all the terminals and nuts have been cleaned, the 2BA terminals having new brass nuts. The main battery switch has had its shaft painted black.
All the wiring has now been tested, including the brake light switch, horn and button, and the panel light switch both at the cab end and in the boot where appropriate so I am happy now that its all correct. Also tested now are the starter motor cables, dynamo cables and the starter sloenoid cable.
Work continues in the cab. By the end of the week a good deal of the cab had been undercoated. Diagrams for wiring and cable runs were produced for the cab and boot.
Absence and illness are the reason for the gap between this and the previous entry. Last week I made the steel striker plate for the boot door catch and made and painted the steel cover plates for the body mount openings in the boot. Last weekend Rebecca helped me fit these as I was unable to get my head into the boot due to a bout of Labrynthitis. Over the last few days I have stripped, straightened and painted the two sections of rain deflector for the nearside. The small shaped piece that fits above the last window towards the rear has been fitted along with all the wooden triangular supports at each window dividing pillar. The long piece, at over 15ft is very unwieldy so I have only painted the inside in the ochre colour, ready for fitting.
Whilst I was painting the rain deflector I also painted over the sealant applied around the edge of the boot floor lino.
Restoration diary of a 70-year old AEC single-deck bus and the trials, tribulations and adventures of our 1966 Bristol bus.
