Covid-19 has changed the way that we all go about our daily lives, and vintage vehicle gatherings were just one of the social gatherings which ceased completely for well over a year. Happily, things are returning to some semblance of normality and we live in hope that events like our own Llandudno Transport Festival will pick up where we left off two years ago. It has been very difficult to focus on long-term tasks like bus restoration under the "new normal" in our family and there are additional hurdles in the way. One legacy that my father Maurice left was a large amount of more or less valuable 'scrap' metal that he had amassed over many years in engineering projects at ICT (yes some of it from the 1960s) and British Aerospace. It grieved me to take lumps of round brass bar to the scrapyard, but they were too big to fit the chuck on 'Lottie' his Smart & Brown lathe, never mind parting off! Eventually the long task of sorting the metal was complete (including all the scrap aluminium from the offside of SM106 and many years of drinks can and foil collecting), and with all of the copper pipe from re-plumbing our son's house I set off to G. Lock Scrap Metal Processors in Bangor. I was dropped-on when I was told that it came to £444, so at least its value was realised, if not its potential for being turned into something. There are definitely times when having a load space like that presented by a Renault Espace is downright useful. On the way home I called at the cemetery in Llanfairfechan to pass on the good news.

Scrap metals totalling 250 Kg loaded up. Photo © J.Wilkins

I love scrapyards! Photo © J.Wilkins

Keeping things moving along has been the imperative over the summer. One job crying-out for a quick completion was the pyramid nosing-strip for the bench seat footstool, so the generator was fired-up and some very rough treatment given to the slightly rusty but heavily painted strip recovered from the scrap Merlin at Wythall. A generous coat of primer, of undercoat and two topcoats of matched 'maroon' paint brought us to the point of fixing down with nice, new brass countersunk screws, which were then painted over with an artist's brush. What a transformation!

New screws in the nosing await a coat of paint. Photo © J.Wilkins

Lincoln Green gloss in the window space. Photo © J.Wilkins

Movement towards the reinstatement of the nearside rear windows was dependent upon the completion of the green livery, and that in turn upon the yellow detail, so a suitable, warm day was chosen to flat-down the livery detail all around the bus, mask-off and get out my favourite brush and the pot of Canary Yellow. After that, given a week or so to harden, it was time for masking-off the yellow and putting Lincoln Green around the windows and gutter area. What an absolute transformation! I was beginning to feel quite excited, and determined that completing the paintwork was a priority task. I also spoke to Keith Valla (who has recently had SM88 done in green and yellow) to find out who made the fleetnames for him, as I reckoned it was time for SM106 to become a London Country bus again. It was Viscount International at Woodford Green, by the way, and they do a lot of work for the London Bus Company, so I am hoping it is of the quality one might expect.

SM106's new radiator was built by Advance Radiators of Washington, Tyne & Wear. I have hardly dared to touch it, nor do any measuring for fear that my specification would turn out to have been a very expensive error. That was not a situation that could endure, so I set about hoisting it into place as a first-level trial, but first there was the problem of the fuel filter which was dangling on the fuel line, homeless without its outrigger. The usual problem then prevailed of tight joints with no support to turn against. I was forced to undo the pipes from the distribution plate by the engine and remove the entire run to the fuel shutoff valve. It was then immediately apparent that the new rad was heavy! No surprise there, and of course there is no access above the radiator space, which makes it awkward to lift. In the end I raised it in the bay by progressively lifting one end and then the other while resting it on a pile of suitable blocks or other items. No problems were encountered and after a bit of effort it hung as intended from the outriggers, supported on the rubber bushes and located with the original bolts. Phew! Round 1 to me. Round 2 was looking at the fit of the hoses. I had put thought into this, and specified hose connections at the same distance from the rear edge as the original part, because that was where it had always been. The hoses came to the right places, though the little breather pipe was heading in the wrong direction. Round 2 to me as well, so I awarded myself a cup of coffee. Some new fixing holes for the forward outrigger will be needed, but that was always part of the plan. With the new radiator safely out of harm's way I fitted and closed the new valance panel and turned to a less stressful task. Freeing the pipes from the fuel filter was much easier ex-situ, so I disassembled it and fitted the new filter canister that I had in stock awaiting the day. The old one was still full of red diesel, but it made a welcome change of aroma in the garage to accompany lunch.

Trying the new radiator for size. Photo © J.Wilkins

Fettling the speaker mounting-plate in the top-slide. Photo © J.Wilkins

The original window was installed in bay 4 when I took over the bus, unlike the bizarre hybrid arrangement of glazing in bay 1. The speaker mounting plate had been blanked-off with new plates rivetted on top of both sides. Removal of the plates revealed original green and later Leaf Green paint, and left a set of rivet holes which were not original. Fortunately they did not impinge upon any of the original countersunk holes for fixing screws, so it was a job for Plastic Padding - and quite enjoyable. Then it was all cleaned up ready for painting. Next was the matter of transferring the set of corner blocks from the donor unit which provided the replacement speaker box. A couple of blocks needed re-creating due to damage from rusty screws or splitting of the wood where screws were too close to edges. Eventually, I had a speaker box with a set of blocks fitted ready to offer-up from inside the bus when the window is prepared and installed. Other parts which have turned-up for preparation are the bowls from the door release valves in the entrance and exit headers, so there was a cleaning and abrading session on them to make a viable painting run with etch primer. I also found a flap for the outside emergency door valve at the exit absolutely ready for paint, which was the only part that could be done with a roller, so instead I used a piece of foam cut from the block used for the anti-drumming pads earlier. It made a very good weapon and soon there was a satisfying paint aroma to mask the diesel from the fuel filter.

In some ways the fact that we are not enjoying a long period of fine, sunny weather is a bonus because heat in the garage can be excessive at times. I apologise to anyone who is trying to live in a tent in North Wales, and enduring strong winds, occasional heavy rain, or day-long drizzle blowing over the mountains. Getting on with preparation and painting is therefore indicated, since it won't be possible at the end of the year. First-up were a pair of headlamp fixing bowls to integrate with the spacing pieces which were prepared and installed earlier. Then there was a spell of flatting-down and a lunch-break before my tin of Lincoln Green was opened again. This time I was also putting the first coat of gloss on the panels of bays 1 & 2, so there was some excitement as well as a strong and pleasant aroma. By the end of the afternoon bays 4-6 of the nearside were ready to receive windows, though I shall complete preparation of the speaker-plate in bay 4 before the window is installed. Experience shows that it will be much easier that way. By creating some headspace in my smaller tin I have also prepared the way for mixing (and storing) a batch of undercoat, so there will be catching-up on other jobs around the place soon.

Door valve bowls, or flying saucers?. Photo © J.Wilkins

Long live the SuperBus ! Photo © K.Valla

As I write this I am looking at pictures from Keith Valla, who had arranged to exhibit SM88 and AN264 in Stevenage town centre in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Stevenage Superbus. Not in the bus station but on the paved area by the iconic clock tower and statuary. I am amazed that the paving will support such a load, but of course there is a precedent. I remember well the placement of SM144 in that very spot while the public were given the opportunity to vote for green or blue as the feature colour on the otherwise yellow bus.

At the end of August there was another milestone passed when the lower part of bays 1-2 received a flatting and the top coat of Lincoln Green. I thought hard about the work schedule, and did all the preparatory work and masking before an early lunch, then got stuck in with the paint when there was no incentive to take a break. First I did the engine valance-flap so as to condition the roller on a part that will receive more preparation, and is not actually in best condition, then the top coat of bays 1-2 and the bay 4 door-corner return, before finishing with a first gloss coat on bays 4-6. I did breach protocol by standing back a couple of times to see if I had any runs, and check the overall effect. The nightmare nearly arrived in the shape of an enthusiastic Welsh Springer Spaniel, but she was quickly removed and the other, obedient on-lookers behaved with admirable restraint. They had been riding the cycle-tracks of the nearby Gwydir Forest and called to say hello to Grandad on the way home. There were then a few small pieces to finish such as emergency door release flap, window-speaker front and drip cover before brush-down was called. About 2 hours painting for the whole of the lower panelling of one side of the bus seemed a good rate of work. I then finished with a coat of black gloss on the headlamp bowls which had already received primer and undercoat, so they will be ready for integration at the next session. The other recent task has been classifying the windows which are awaiting installation. Some are spares, and it is obvious that an MCW vehicle has been stripped because one deep, nearside window is fully-glazed. No MCW vehicles were fitted with external speakers, and both deep windows on a PRV have extras in the top-slide. Amazingly, I can now identify nearside and offside windows on sight. It turns out that there are a couple of spares available, but all the nearside glass seems to be in good condition and will be cleaned up for installation soon.

Great disappointment attends the unfortunate conjunction between our annual holiday and the September events of the Epping Ongar Railway, which puts on a great show just when I am particularly unable to attend! I had been looking forward to seeing SM88 in the metal, but I had to make do with assorted Optare buses of Houston or McCalls on the Galloway coast of Scotland - a scenic and civilised area with a surprisingly good bus service in a scenic and civilised country. Anything more might be improperly political, but let's just say that the principal reason for not being in Ireland as expected relates to a 'border' in the Irish Sea which our dogs cannot now cross using their existing EU passports. After a bit of a break, work on painting the nearside of SM106 has resumed with work on headlamps, fitting of the window in bay4 and attaching its speaker box. Another day saw flatting of the first gloss coat on the lower part of bays 4-6, the cleaning-up and fitting of the window in bay 5, and finally the top coat of Lincoln Green to match. I was interested by Ashley Blackman's recent article encouraging owners to get their brushes out, and watched his YouTube videos. I was persuaded to try a bigger brush and tried a ProDec 3" synthetic with soft bristles instead of my regular 2" and was impressed with the quality and finish. It wasn't very expensive, and came from our local builder's merchant!

Fitting the window in bay 5. Photo © J.Wilkins

Another day, another window.... Photo © J.Wilkins

My comments on the condition of the windows were over-optimistic. Some damage to the bodywork in the area of bays 5 and 6 has long been appreciated, but closer inspection of parts shows some interesting features - notably a deep gouge in the aluminium sliding-lights frame from bay 5, and deep abrasion of that from bay 6. The archaeology of bus bodies could be a new field for investigation, but for now a spare has been called into use. "So it goes", as Kurt would say. I also did a bit of touching-up of the yellow band where damage with masking tape had occurred, or green had leaked under. Now we are ready to experiment with a final coat of varnish - weather permitting - but the overall appearance is improving steadily. Cold weather on my next visit meant that varnish was deferred, and another window selected, cleaned-up, and fitted. There was a false start when cleaning the mess off the glass revealed a deep score in the glass, so another unit had to be substituted, but we got there in the end. Slight distortion of the frame meant that it was a bit more of a struggle to fit the glass, but my technique is improving with practice and it was all over by a sensible time in the afternoon, so I was able to stand back and admire the completed near-side glazing. I reckon that is a sight that hasn't been seen since the 1990s, and the combination with Lincoln green longer still!

The forward outrigger in its new position Photo © J.Wilkins

The new radiator meets its keenest fan for the first time Photo © J.Wilkins

After the excitement of refitting the windows, there was no excuse for inaction underneath the bus! It was the work of a morning to spot and drill the new fixing holes for the forward radiator outrigger. Unfortunately, the holes are not on a simple rectangular plan such as you or I would imagine, but the lower pair of holes are on a closer pitch than the upper. "So it goes", as Kurt would say. The only reason that I can imagine for that is that it becomes impossible to attach the outrigger upside-down, which has implications for the attachment of the radiator attachment bracket. The final hole was a royal pain in the back, because it intersected the old one, and thus was difficult to drill out, but I managed in the end with only one broken drill. I have inherited my father's large power drill, which is actually quite a beast with good speed control and other mod-cons, and able to hold a ½ inch drill, which my antique Black & Decker will not. Having removed the radiator again, I spent a while offering up the hydraulic fan drive chassis to look at the fit. I was delighted to find that the makers had fulfilled their brief, and the new rad is exactly 4" longer than the original. I now have to find a man who will extend the motor mount by the same amount so that it can be mounted on the new radiator. After lunch I played with unloader valves (of which I have three, one brand-new) and air-pipes thereto, including an attempt at joining new, nylon pipe into an original coupling. It appeared to be quite successful, but only air-pressure will tell the truth.

Severe corrosion in my sole sidelight unit. Photo © J.Wilkins

Fully weatherstripped dome looks superb. Photo © J.Wilkins

When I cannot think what to do next, I turn to the pile of rusty relics representing my stock of lamp fittings. For a while I have been tinkering with some new headlamp reflectors and working out how the set of parts come together to make a proper mounting. There have been some fun and games along the way, but after cleaning-up and painting a set of bowls and mounting rings I know how they are supposed to go together, and I even found a (horrendously perished) rubber sealing gasket ex MBA545 that prevents water from flooding into the bowls when driving in rain. The problem was, despite careful attention to rivet holes in the front dash, when the new headlamp unit was fitted onto the spring-loaded adjustment posts the lamp unit was not horizontal. One was better than the other, but in the end I had to extend the curved slots so that the reflector unit could be rotated by a good few extra degrees - but it worked OK. While working at this I idly wondered what about the sidelights? I realised I hadn't seen one in the pile of junk, but I was wrong. Good condition or what (see image above)? Rust so bad the unit has fallen apart! Work to do there, I think, and replacements appear to be much, much rarer than hens' teeth. That set me thinking about rear lamps too - ditto. A good while back I was assisted by my son to insert the weatherstrip around the front ventilation air-intake units, but I have never attempted to insert the locking filler-strip, not least because I would need his assistance again, and after the first time he does not seem so keen to come to the garage and play any more. However, with a bit of gentle tinkering saw the offside unit was properly fixed, to my amazement. The weatherstrip around the destination blind glass had developed a white bloom, which I did not like, and I was nervous that the rubber would have taken up a permanent set because it had been in place for a longer time. I purchased enough new material (IRS1295 and LF1B filler) from COH Baines to do front and rear domes and took out the glass to install it afresh. The benefit of experience is that it all went swimmingly, if not quickly. It took three attempts to get it going correctly. It's funny how the 'progressive' method goes wonky and cannot be set back on track, but if you start it straight and take care it all slips neatly into place. The filler went in very smoothly and it looked great. The nearside air-intake was determined to misbehave, but I realised that I could wedge it behind with an appropriately sized piece of wood and it was no trouble thereafter. The decorative effect of the properly-fitted weatherstrip is excellent, and it really looks the part.

Home-made, ultra-stubby screwdriver in habitat Photo © J.Wilkins

The offside indicator casting is installed fully at last. Photo © J.Wilkins

Another dome-related endeavour which has been stalled for a long time is the offside indicator casting. It was fitted into place with great jubilation, but just as quickly there was a reversal when the internal wiring snapped due to flexing in the electrical connector and required re-terminating. Not easy to sort out, it was put aside. Each time I thought about it thereafter I had forgotten the reason, which was that the lamp holder fixing screws are deeply corroded and painted over, so the cosmetic appeal would be ruined even if the outcome of screwdriver torque was a success, which I doubted. "So it goes", as our old friend Kurt would surely have said. What was needed, I decided the other day, was an ultra-stubby screwdriver that could work entirely within the casting. So I made one by cutting down the handle of a cheap Halfords stubby screwdriver, as well as cutting its shank in half with my angle-grinder and forming a new blade on the end, As if by magic the job was done! Tidying the wiring so the reflectors could be hinged back to their proper position was quick, installing the orange diffusers was quicker and the locking strip just needed its pair of screws for a conclusion.