The new 1/2" socket set that I'd purchased isn't large enough to fit onto the oil cap off the compressor, it needs a 26mm socket and the set only goes up to 25mm. Undaunted the bus was powered up, definite hissing sounds were coming from the air system, realised that one of the joints next to the pressure bleed valve was loose. Tightened that up, blanked the pressure switch and drove the bus around to ensure that the wheels get rotated.
Decided to use the guages to check what pressure the system was reaching before removing the compressor and inspecting that. Removed the test point adapter from the reservoir and inserted a 1/2"PPT -> 1/4"PPT adapter which conected to a trailing hose attached to the pressure guage. Started the bus up and was pleasantly surprised to note that the system reached about 90psi.
Reassembled the reservoir test point and moved the guage to the presure sensor, downstream of the pressure regulator valve. Started the bus up again and noted that this was reaching about 75psi, slightly over the recommended pressure. Removed the guage and reassembled the pressure sensor in it's place, started up the bus and everything worked as it should do. Also noted that the flexible pipes between the compressor and the solid piping was leaking, tightened the jubilee clips. Adjusted the pressure regulator valve down towards 60psi. Drove the bus around the car park again.
My assumption is therefore that mayo in the valves was causing the problem and that the cleaning done over the past few visits has cured. The compressor oil leak is still a concern, I need to get the filler cap off and check the level next time I visit the bus.
All that's left to do before the MOT is obtain the replacement offside mirror which has been stolen.
Removed the pressure bleed valve, cleaned it up and dismantled it to remove the mayo from inside.
Noted that there is oil leaking from the compressor, where the plate on the side joins with the body of the compressor, probably a badly fitting gasket. The leakage isn't much, but enough to be noticable. I couldn't get the oil cap off in order to check the oil level. Suspicion now is that the compressor could be at fault.
With the light failing I only just managed to get the valve reassembled, didn't have time to use the newly purchased guage to see what pressure levels the system was reaching. Used blanking plug to override the pressure switch and drove the bus around the car park to make sure the wheels don't develop a flat spot.
A slightly later start than normal since Mark was flying that morning, a good crisp, clear, warm winter morning for working on the bus. First up the reducer valve is removed, dismantled and the emulsion of water and lubricating oil in the bottom cleaned out. The sliding shaft is regreased with silicone grease and everything is reassembled. Whilst I'm working in the area the blead valve on the bottom of the air reservoir is cleaned up as well. I power up the bus, still no joy, the low-pressure warning doesn't go out and gears can't be engaged.
Pressure is definitely reaching the far side of the reducer valve since I can hear a hissing from one of the other joints that I've disturbed. To dismantle the joint completely required removing the pipe from the bus and taking the join to a vice where is can be released. A small amount of blue gasket is applied to the collar, the pipe returned to the bus and the joint reassembled. The pressure switch is removed, but found to be a sealed unit so there isn't much that can be done to it. The pin-outs on the pressure switch are noted and a shorting plug is built that forces the gearbox electronics into thinking that the system has come up to pressure.
With the shorting plug in place there is enough pressure to engage gears and driver around the car park. The relief at being able to move the bus is great and it allows the wheels to be repositions so that they aren't standing on the same spot all winter. With the light fading further work is becoming impossible. The bus is moved around behind the factory which is a bit more sheltered, and sealed up for another few weeks. Shutdown procedure is now isolator, drain air reservoirs, seal rear door.
The one part of the compressor system that wasn't cleaned was the pressure release valve that sits between the compressor and the air reservoir. According to the Walker manual there are felt filters in this which could well be causing some of the problems if they've been clogged by the water oil emulsion, furthermore, if there's a lot of emulsion there could be a problem with the compressor. I will have to source some pressure guages, T-pieces and
Marks friend Ed said that he had a couple of pressure guages from an old compressor knocking about, failing that guages are about a tenner from RS for a guage capable of 10bar (140psi) which will do fairly nicely for the gearbox air supply and should be okay for the air side of the braking system. Still need to find out from either the manual or someone on the net what the valves are so that I can get the correct adapters.
An early start to catch the train, see the Kate pages for the reason why. Arrived at the bus a little before 10am. Engine started after the usual couple of that it takes to get the petrol up from the tank. Everything is looking good, brake flag goes up, just waiting for the gearbox to come up to pressure...
The gearbox low pressure light doesn't go out. Looking under the bus I can see that the prop is turning the belts to the compressors. I can also hear a slight hissing which I take to be the bleed valve. I drain (literally due to condensate) the air reservoir so I know it was pressurised. That leaves the reduction valve or the low pressure warning valve as the culprits, probably one of the other has got stuck from not having been used for well over a month.
The concern is that if the bus isn't moved fairly promptly the tyres will flatten since they've been standing on the same spot now for almost two months. However I'm not happy about dismantling the various valves until I've sought some advice on the best way of approaching this from the net. That said, if nothing comes through within the next fortnight then I'm going to have to dismantle the components anyway because it has just to be moved to protect the tyres.
The lights are sortted fairly quick once I nip down the road to the local motor factors. It takes two attempts to get the headlamp bulb right, because it's got a slightly specialised base to fit match the lens assembly which is itself a replacement for the old style sealed beam units.
Spent most of Saturday working on the bus. Main aims for the day were nearside lighting, both headlight and sidelights. Work out why the front wing has dropped so much. Replace nearside indicator with new indicator housing tgat I'd sourced.
Side light was a blown lamp. Need to source a 24V5W lamp from somewhere that does truck spares. Although the bezel is currently painted red it looks like the original chrome or stainless steel is beneath the paint since the paint flakes off when rubbed gently with a screwdriver. Something to bear in mind.
Nearside headlight wasn't connected to it's wiring loom. The bullet conenctors were coiled inside the wing whilst the lamp base had been left connected to the back of the lamp. Checked how the offside lamp base was wired and mimiced that on the nearside. When everything was reassembled dipped headlights were working, but full beam wasn't. Could be a blown lamp, could be dodgy wiring. I'll need to meter it out properly and compare it to the nearside next time I do some work. For reference lamp is H4 24V 75/70W
Cut down some M5 screws to refit the covering where what I presume was the camera electronics had been ripped out. There are three screened orange multicore cables and a grey unscreened multicore cable. The black and red cables which looked like power appeared dead when metered.
Started trying to remove the nearside wing. Noticed that the lower bolts securing the wing were turning freely because the metalastick anti-vibration mountings had deteriorated and sheared. The inner mount was in better condition, but the bolt securing the wing to the mount wasn't even present. Removed the bolt from the radiator grille cross member, noting that both the cross member and attachment point to the wing were badly distorted. Unplugged headlamp cable, removed top bolt and lifted the wing away.
With the wing removed it is clear to see that it has had a good deal of repair work done to it. It has been redrilled, possibly on numerous occasions, for large head repair washers. The aluminium angle section that supports the inner edge of the fibreglass is bent on the bottom three inches, similarly the support bracket for the radiator grille is also bent and showing signs of stress fractures on the joins.
Replaced the wing using a 19mm roll of PVC insulation tape to pack out the bottom outer bracket. This means the wing now clears the wheel by about half an inch. It should be noted that the inner bracket wasn't packed out at all and that this would lead to the wing leaning in towards the drivers cab which would make the tyre/wheel arch distance look a lot closer than it possibly is. The wing had to be pulled into place to match up with the cross member and refitting the grill seemed more awkward than it should have been. Also noted that the grill is missing the correct bolt on the offside and that the replacement bolt just pulls out.
Removed remains of the old indicator housing which were attached by silicon sealant. New housing can be assembled in two different directions, either position 1 or position 4-5. For immediate use it was assembled in the position 1 configuration since this allowed the bottom of the lamp housing to marry up with the existing recess. If it has to be assembled in the 4-5 position, ie. rotate through 180degrees then a fresh piece of aluminium plate to go around the corner will be needed. There is no gasket on the back at the moment, so some mechanism to stop water ingress will be needed. Indicator tested and working although it appears to be a lot more visible from the side/rear of the bus than the front with respect to the offside indicator which is still the original rubbolite unit.
Need to go around and degunk and oil a lot of the springs and hinges. Notably the bonnet catch is very stiff, as are the two air inlets for the cab. The suspension mechanism could also do with pressure wash to remove years of accumulated road dirt. A good clean would also make inspection and repair work a heap easier. I'll make sure I've got a pressure washer on hand when I next take the wing off to replace the bushes.
Sunday, gave Mark and Chrissy a quick lesson around the factory car-park before driving it to Kings Lynn for lunch. Back to the factory and the rear is sealed again in black polythene to stop bunnies making it home. Not sure when I'm next going to get a chance to do some work, but the MOT is due at the start of October so I need to get the lamps working correctly before then, the wing can probably wait a little while longer given that I'm likely to be working afternoons/evenings rather than a full weekend.
Having been to Devon and back I've now dropped the bus in Peterborough where it will staying for the immediate future. Having put in about 12 hours behind the wheel over the last 48hrs it is an absolute joy to drive. I still need to get the hang of gear changes for hills, but the rest is all fairly natural. Driving up the Kings Road, Park Lane, Portland Rd and through to Finsbury was good fun, with thankfully only moderate traffic for a rush-hour journey.
Work to be done:
There's a bus parked outside the flat!
It took a couple of trips around the industrial estate near Ensign to get a feel for driving it, but having driven around the M25 and up the A3 to Putney I can say that it's an easy drive once you're used to the size.
The gearbox has been replace and Steve Newman has taken it out for a spin, it clocks a fairly average 40mph by the speedo, probably 43-44mph in real life. Slightly slower than one would have liked, but in the end it's all down to how the engine has been tuned and I can always tinker with the engine a bit to squeeze more out of it.
Waiting for insurance to come through, just over £200 for 3000miles, with a £150 excess. Hopefully it will all be sortted in time for a pickup on Monday.
Another month waiting for a fast bus to come along. After very little thought I've agreed to take RML2644. It's currently got gearbox that slips in top gear, but Steve thought it was pulling well and would do a decent turn of speed once it's gearbox was replaced. Gearbox replacement, service, etc.. £8K+VAT. Paperwork should be in the post next week, working towards either a Friday 15th pickup, or evening of Monday 18th.
RML2644 rings a bell in my mind. Records show that it's ex-Putney Garage so I'm fairly sure it's one that I've travelled on before.
A quick email to Steve Owen at Ensign buses to find out if any of the Iveco engined units that he's had in over the past month fit my criteria. He's picking up a couple more from Putney Bus Garage next week, which should be good clean examples, so if notihing fits my criteria I might just opt for one of those. It might even still have 14 and 22 route blinds in it...
Got some decent photo's of the upper front area, specifically the interior front curve over the back of the destination blind box, and the fascia securing strips. Have created a mock-up of the front of the bus in my CAD package in order to evaluate the best ways of positioning and securing the snug to the structure. The issue is to do with where the snug top mates with the arc over the top of the destination blind box. If it mates so the the top of the snug is flush with the top of the fascia strip because the arc of the blind box is shallow at that point there is a 30mm gap. If the snug top is mated with the bottom of the fasica strip then where it meets the blind box the arc is a lot steeper and the gap is only 3mm, which could be filled with a seal of the PVC coating. Also of note, the top of the blind box has a grab handle which is mounted at roughly 45degrees and the higher the snug top is mounted the more work will be needed to shape the top around the grab handle.
Still waiting to hear from Ensign buses, they were due to have a batch of Iveco engines buses through last week. I won't pester Steve again untill after the bank holiday.
I've finally found a suitable fabric from the cushions. John Lewis, Cologne fabric in Burgundy. The colour is standard across a couple of other fabrics and household items such as towels and duvets. One concern is that the fabric has a slightly ribbed pattern to it, how to arrange this pattern on the cushions so that it looks right. My gut instinct is to arrange the pattern as radially as possible and to make 3 or 4 cushions for the curved section.
Also looking at blinds, 1.22m blinds with a .9m drop in moisture resistant beige were £30. Ivory light stopping blinds were slightly more at £39. The first batch of work at the front of the bus requires 8 of these blinds. These should fit perfectly given that my measurements of the front windows bay is 1140mm visible area with about 1260mm from pillar to pillar. The two blinds across the front will need to be cut to width, and the blinds in the first bay on either side may well need tapering on the front edge.
Working on the loose assumption that the snug requires 19 cushions, 4 around the front curve, 2 straight cushions on either side, 2 curved cushions at the back, same again for the seat backs, three cushions for the infills. Each cushion requires 24" of Cologne Fabric and 72" of Calico. One sewn in covering of calico over the foam and one seat cushion comprised of Cologne fabric on the top, front and sides and calico on the back and underneath. Zips and piping will also be needed. Therefore fabric costs for the snug are:
| Cologne | 19x24"=480" | @£10.00/m | £120 | Calico | 19x72"=1368" | @£1.50/m | £54 |
Having almost bought I bus I spent the weekend thinking through what actually needs to be done between agreeing to buy the bus and actually picking it up and getting it to storage in Peterborough.
Went out to Purfleet to take a look at RML2712. A nice fast runner somewhere around 47mph. Steve took it on a quick spin up the A13 and back. It gave me a chance to sit in the cab and see how one of these things drives. As long as you're fairly spatially aware to the fact that it's larger than you're average car drive it is quite easy. I would have agreed to purchase the bus there and then, but on slightly closer inspection I noticed that there was some slight damage to the offside rear corner. On a vehicle which is used commerically in London you expect a certain degree of damage, but upon investigating it from the inside I noticed that the stairs had been forced inwards leaving an inch gap between them and the wall. Closer inspection showed that the framework itself was buckled and the engineer that Steve called over reckoned that it was probably 150man hours to rectify. So, in the end a no go, which is a real shame because it had both tax and MOT so I could have driven it away over the Easter weekend.
Still waiting patiently until an RML comes through that does over 45mph, after that everthing else I can happily fix up myself.
Went out to Ensign buses in Purfleet to talk to Steve Newman about buying a bus. He's going to see which of the RML's they've got in stock performs best from a speed point of view since for the use I intend to put it to it will mostly be doing longer hauls rather than stop-starts within town, therefore a higher top speed would be preferable. He seemed to think that it would most likely be a Cumins engine, and was of the opinion that they are easier to service because the majority of the parts are located on the nearside. He also mentioned that keeping all of the original parts and enusring that the modifications made during the conversion were as minimal as possible would ensure a high resale value as and when the time comes to sell it on. Once the current glut of buses has gone, he reckons that the resale value will be back up to the 2002 level which was £12k for a bus.
The price of the bus depends upon length of MOT and interior condition, principally the glass. He would be able to provide and MOT and general servicing. The MOT is £68, but he would do a full inspection and service for £750 flat fee, including parts. Whilst that sounds pricey he reckons that every 4th year some major component will need replacing which would put the price up and it averagese out fairly well. He also provided contact details for insurance quotes and roadside assistance, which will prove useful.
Finally got around to sending an email to Steve Newman at Ensign Buses, they have 20 RML's in stock, between £6500-£8000 +VAT depending on length of MOT and overall condition. Cheaper than when I spoke to him before Christmas. Booked in for a visit next Friday afternoon.
Recieved a mail back from Mark, I can use his fathers factory for parking. The Big Red project is therefore officially good to go!
Had a very brief chat with Adrian at dinner this evening, he's very keen to help out on the interior design as long as he gets to sleep in it when it's down on tour. Ulterior motive I'm sure, but it saves me having to worry about sewing cushions.