I decided that this was the point to make the new page for the second half of 2014. Partly it is because a milestone has been reached - SM106 has (at last) become a green bus! It's also a curious coincidence that the nearside front indicator ear has a starring part, where at the start of the year it was the offside one.

Offside rear complete below the waist. Photo © J.Wilkins

For my Fairy Godmother: really funky sunglasses. Photo © J.Wilkins

Fine weather that was not excessively warm created an ideal opportunity to cover with a green undercoat the primer that was applied in the last session. My predecessors had succeeded in sourcing a replacement battery compartment cover, but there was a disappointment when I offered it up, as the bottom hooks fouled the bodyside ribs. A closer look revealed that it was subtly different, with different fixing points top and bottom. Reading the yellow crayon on the inside revealed what appears to be a common feature - MCW spares don't tend to fit a PRV body. The crayon revealed intended recipient SM608, but exactly why I am unsure. The lettering C1 was appended, but that sounds more like railway terminology. It is a great shame, since the wrapping of the aluminium skin over the steel-angle frame is not a job for the faint-hearted, or ill-equipped. For now, she will continue to carry her dents with pride, although a lot of the trivial and pointed dings I knocked out between two hammers. That activity took until lunch, so it was necessary to find something else to push along a bit, and thanks to the generosity of a well-known benefactor, the answer was the nearside indicator casting that will carry the orange lens that he has kindly provided. Paint stripper had already been used to remove most of the many layers of paint, but the hard work of surface preparation lay in the vigorous use of wet & dry abrasive paper. It was posed for a picture while still bare metal, and the image strikes me as a remarkable likeness of Doctor Who's foes the Ice Warriors, possibly even more when painted in their green hue. Good drying conditions meant that it could be primed and undercoated fairly promptly, so it was all green and hanging on the line by going home time.

Moving on from the offside rear corner, the logical next step had to be making progress on the nearside to match, so I spent a whole session investigating the fit of the upper quarter panel and making a pair of lengths of moulding to suit. Unfortunately that revealed that I had not maintained a good level around the corner, so it was necessary to take the jigsaw to he bottom of the quarter panel and true it up. In the end it came together quite nicely, but there remains the problem of working out how to finish the vertical mouldings, since it is clear that the side panels fit OVER the corner panels, rather than UNDER, as became necessary on the offside. I suspect that I have inherited a confused attempt, and will have to live with the consequences rather than start again from scratch.

Nearside rear coming together nicely. Photo © J.Wilkins

A kit of parts and work in progress for the door support spigots. Photo © J.Wilkins

As I have been confined to base by various circumstances, a little bit of homework was in order. Years ago, I disassembled the lower pivot spigots for the front door support poles from the spare step assembly that I inherited. As it is in much better condition than the exceedingly rusty and seized-up example that was finally hacked off the rear of the exit bay it seemed obvious to recycle the parts. Remember however that the front doors open to the centre, but the exit doors open to the sides, meaning that the double front-pivot required cutting into its parts for re-use. A trusty hacksaw soon put paid to its integrity, and I found that the base was only welded on the 'outside' and peeled off quite easily as there was little weld penetration. It was soon cleaned up, and the new basplate quickly cut and drilled using the old one as a pattern. That left the big central hole, but a large drill and a round file soon dealt with that, and solved the problem of the rake on the pivot which accommodates the slope of the exit step (which drains overboard). Then it was down to my neighbour Ian and his MIG welder to put it together properly. I think I am very pleased with the result, which fitted nicely when offered up to the bus.

The pipework and cabling associated with the exit door controls is neatly hidden by a box-section that also carries the draught-excluding brush on its outer leg, and the original part from the rear of the exit bay was missing. I have searched high and low to no avail. Until the missing part was replicated, using the forward example as a pattern, the forward area and the external return could not be finished off - and in turn the panelling between the doors is held-up, and the glazing etc. As it is 6 feet long (the height of the doors) it is not a simple object to bend to shape from flat, so a long while ago I sought a replacement, but when the part was delivered it had not even replicated the original fabrication, and I was so disappointed that I vowed to do all such work myself from then on. Fortunately the contractor had charged so little to do it that I swallowed the cost rather than drag out a complaint. The problem remained, however, that I was unable to buy a piece of 1.2mm sheet locally, or even a piece that my trusty Espace would swallow from folk that list a 2m x 1m sheet but don't actually stock half the stuff they claim in their catalogue. So it goes..........

Marking out the metal. Photo © J.Wilkins

The folded edge is complete note the long hardwood bars. Photo © J.Wilkins

With progress at a standstill, I was received a quote for the metal and delivery from old friends Simmal at Bamber Bridge, and it wasn't cheap, but some bullets have to be bitten in order to get ahead. When it came it was beautifully wrapped in corrugated cardboard and in perfect condition - so at least they cared! A year ago we installed new PVC windows at our Whitefield house and salvaged all the heavy, expensive hardwood frames that would otherwise have gone to a skip. Much has already been burned on our stove (and very warm it was too) but the long bits have been kept for special purposes, such as bending long pieces of aluminium sheet. First a 6 inch wide length was sawn off the sheet (the remainder going into stock) and the first bend made at 5/8 inch, folded right over to make a neat edge. This detail eluded the professionals! The only problem was that I only had two big G-clamps to hold the bars together, so it had to be done progressively, which is not ideal but I got away with it. Then, as the metal was narrower, it was possible to hold the bars in a Workmate with the clamps on the free ends, at which point the box section 2½ inches deep was formed. The awkward feature here is that it does not make a right-angle, which is a bit strange. Then the metal was reversed and a bend of about 15 degrees put on the outer flange which fits onto the body framing. The slightly bevelled section thus formed carries the draught-excluder brush. I was done-in after all the heaving and subtle bashing required, but it looked the part and it wasn't crinkly so I went home happy after cutting the fixing flange to match the curved profile of the body side.

Preparing to bend the main box shape. Photo © J.Wilkins

Offering-up to trim the body profile on the flange. Photo © J.Wilkins

The next session was spent in fettling the fit of both sides, rubbing-down as required, priming and undercoating in grey. Oh, you pretty things! (as David B would say) The dogs ended up happy too, with an extra long walk in the woods to celebrate.

Autumn has now arrived, and with it came wind and rain. The water-butt that has been empty for weeks suddenly filled, so in a short work-session the first job that was indicated was to climb on the roof and check that the central gutter was clear. After that it was down to serious work, and giving the exit trunking parts a quick rub over and coat of gloss by brush. Once that was drying calmly, it was time to move on and resume the task of completing the bodywork between the doors. The serious task of deciding HOW it should be done was completed a few weeks ago, so the fiddly details of which corner to nibble away so that the metal lies flat under the beading are established. The other issue was to examine the legacy of door-seal brushes and whether they are fit for re-use. Steve F provided a set of four brushes recovered from SM533, but being of MCW origin they are two inches shorter than their PRV counterparts, though they are in better condition. A real conundrum! The other matter is the fit of the trunking, which was held originally by a couple of flimsy self-tapping screws. Since the support for the inside edge of the corner return angle is not lavish, I decided to make it a bit stronger by opening out the fixing holes to 4mm and using countersunk rivets, which went smoothly once the forward length of trunking was dried enough to handle by its flange (which did not need gloss painting as it is hidden under the corner return. After that it was preparation time for the forward corner return, which needed a serious clean on the inside lower . Obviously the parts were stored somewhere where grease and muck accumulated and dried to a molasses consistency which could only be shifted with paraffin and a bit of elbow grease. When that was dried it was rubbed down gently, still in PRV pink primer, of course, and the bare patches given a wipe of etch-primer on a scrap of sponge. After a spell in the weak afternoon sun it was dried nicely and ready for green undercoat on both sides. A good day!

The forward trunking installed. Photo © J.Wilkins

Pressing the corner return into the correct position with a prop. Photo © J.Wilkins

Another tricky problem is deciding how to finish the corner return pieces at the exit. The 'new' length exceeded by some margin the length that is necessary to fit onto the curved skirt piece and there is no reference available to me to copy, until I remembered the works pictures that are available on the Graham Hill's excellent Park Royal Vehicles web site. I think the nearside shot shows clearly the way it was done, and the corner returns are much shorter than I expected, allowing the exit threshold angle section to protrude fore and aft of the actual step. Anyway, with that guide I simply trimmed the bottom section to length when it was offered up and fixed in the correct vertical position. There were a number of small fettling jobs to be done where the panels overlap, and it is a surprise how long it takes to dismount one of the semi-finished panels, trim to suit and then to re-hang it using the skin-pins which are the key to the job. Once that was more or less tidied-up I dug into the stores and pulled out the original door sealing brushes, which are in a more or less adequate or corroded condition. The other complicating factor is that the stores also contain a number of 'alien' brushes which have been obtained as spares, but which heve originated from SM533 and are both shorter and drilled on a different pitch. Once I had decided that the condition of the originals was not actually too bad, the less than pleasant task of cleaning them up commenced. Uncaring coats of cream-coloured paint have also been applied to the bristles, but since the paint sticks surprisingly poorly it was possible to shift a lot of the mess with one application of paint-stripper ("moisturiser" in the words of a much-published, senior London bus-restorer) and a good wash with detergent and scrubbing brush. One thing is certain at this time of year: while drying may be slow, the paint-brush will be a long time coming. A fiddly session was then spent in offering-up the cleaned section and drilling the necessary fixing holes in the new corner return and hoping for a reasonble register with the box-section trim underneath. Fortunately, when the corner return was removed the holes were mostly in the right place - which leads me to question why they were not ALL in the right place, since the original part was used, carefully, as a jig. After that, it was all removed again so that a coat of bitumastic paint could be applied to all the bodywork that will be covered-up once the panels are in place and rivetted-up.

The door-sealing brush in use as a drilling jig. Photo © J.Wilkins

A final coat of black, bitumastic paint (The spots are the flash on my camera). Photo © J.Wilkins

At this time of year it is difficult to be positive and keep plodding along, but two things made me feel a bit happier. First was the acquisition of a couple of vintage Swift photos, showing SM467 in original green with 'flying-polo' logo, and SM498 in early SUPERBUS guise with a destination blind reading simply "Chells and Bus Station" which makes it quite early in the history of the route. A green Swift, laden with Saturday afternoon shoppers returning to Knebworth and Mardley Hill with unfamiliar decimal coinage in their purses is highly evocative, and will never be seen again. The other was a site-meeting with a view to getting construction of my new garage started, though sadly it didn't get far because (despite all the noise to the contrary) civil-engineers are too busy to get involved in such a tiny job.