Yeldham Open Day

We had an open day at the place where I keep my buses on 8th September and 335 was available for service having had the gearbox specialist in to look at the random gearbox-changing-down-a gear-by-itself issue.

I'm extremely pleased to report that 335 managed two runs to Braintree rail station without breaking down - here is an image of her having arrived at Braintree rail station on the first trip;

August Update

I mentioned in my last post that I was "holding back on recent developments".....

Well 335 has once again been fixed [following the power steering failure] and so I've been taking it out on a few 'proving runs', which gradually get longer and increase the varying road conditions each time. The first half hour run went well and we actually made it back home without breaking down!

We then did a 45 minute run - again no issues and we got home without breaking down. Thinking we might have finally turned the corner and seen the back of the constant breakdowns, I'd planned to do a 1 hour 30 minute run.........this didn't go down well with 335 and it decided, after about 10 minutes of trouble free driving, that once top speed is reached it'll change down to second gear by itself. Arrrggghhhhh!!

I'm currently awaiting a diagnostics specialist to have a look and see what's going on......

Meanwhile, I thought I'd crack on with sorting the offside body and framework on 302 and it I wasn't expecting it to be too bad - should be easily done in a month right? Wrong!!

As the images below show, one of the windows exploded whilst we were taking them out - literally. Whilst we had it partially out, nobody was actually touching it when it went; as I was outside the vehicle getting ready to receive it, I got covered in broken glass and gained a few cuts - lesson learned - in future I'll make sure as much skin as possible is covered when fitting or removing windows! This does however present a serious problem - there's only six of this type of bodywork still in existence, and a couple of bus & coach suppliers have already said they can't help with a replacement........

To make matters worse, it turns out the framework on the offside is actually far worse than the nearside was - in particular there's a structural piece of box section over the rear wheel arch that is completely missing! This may explain why the window exploded.

Sorry about the angle of the two lower images - 302 was blocked in on the day I took them.

Buses Magazine

I'm a bit out of date with this blog but I'm gonna hold back on recent developments for now....

I had a phone call yesterday giving me the 'heads up' that 335 is in September's Buses Magazine, photographed during its visit to the North Weald rally.

Now I was expecting to find it in some sort of panoramic view, or perhaps lurking in the background behind another vehicle that was being featured - so to say I was surprised to see it was the 'main event' was something of an understatement!

Despite all the breakdowns and trouble its given me (and ignoring the fact she actually came back from North Weald on the back of a tow truck), I have to say I'm rather proud to see P335ROO chosen by Buses magazine to appear in their 'Preservation Update' section. It is equally pleasing to read their positive comments and makes all the hard work, time and money that I've invested worthwhile. I wonder if 302 will manage the same feat when its finished????

In the mean time, here's the article in question:

Newbury Rally

I took 302 to Bus & Coach Preservation Magazine's bus rally at Newbury showground in Berkshire - its events this far afield from Essex that prompted me to look at acquiring a vehicle that would be up to the job of long trips.....

I'm extremely pleased to report that 302 performed exceptionally well. Given that it was one of the hottest days of the year and that we encountered several bouts of stationary traffic on the M25 on the way home, a tyre blowout due to the high road surface temperature (a section of the M25 was actually closed due to road surface damage caused by the extreme heat!!) or overheating engine could have been a real possibility. 302 seemed to be very comfortable and soaked up the miles with effortless ease.

The event itself was a bit of disappointment though; given that it had been organised by Bus & Coach Preservation Magazine and that their advert suggested 250 buses could be catered for on site, well I thought the 50 or so buses that showed up was a bit of a poor showing for such an event. The "enthusiasts market" didn't really excite either to be honest.

Will I go again next year? To be honest, probably not.

Next up is the Colne Valley bus rally - will 335 be able to make the 1 mile journey without breaking down?.....

335 naughty again!

335 made it to North Weald bus rally, its first one under my ownership and in its restored original livery (dots excepted!) but only just.....

Just as we came off the M11 to join the A414 for the short drive to the airfield, the power steering failed.

Having found that the power steering pump reservoir was bone dry it was duly topped up with more fluid and the steering "rocked" to bleed the system...........all that actually happened was a massive flood of fluid all over the floor between the rear wheels - we'd found the reason why the reservoir was empty and thus why the power steering had failed.

Given that it will need to be raised in the air to fix the problem pipe, and of course that wasn't practical on the airfield/rally site, the decision was taken to make use of the breakdown cover that I thankfully have in place and get 335 towed back home where the mechanics next door can tackle the latest issue. I'm sure they'll be as glad as I will be one day to see 335 go out on a trip and come back again without actually breaking down - it really has broken down every single time I've taken it out on the road!!

As you can see in the image, she was towed backwards - the reason for doing it this way is that it saves having to remove the half shafts from the the double reduction hubs or disconnecting the prop - this can only be done if the towing lorry has a long enough boom though!

I was already intending to take 302 to the Newbury bus rally on 14th July, though I was gonna consider the possiblity of taking 335 if it behaved for North Weald - this latest incident has definitely made my mind up!!

335 has a lot to prove before I'll trust it to go anywhere........

None to options....

It is the eve of the North Weald rally and I have a choice of two buses to take!

302's nearside body rebuild is complete and the lop sided air suspension issue appears to be resolved.

335 is also up and running again after a new compressor pipe (different part to the one that was replaced at the MOT station) finally allowed the air to build up thus releasing the safety brake. Of course being 335, you fix one issue and another appears - this time failed gaskets between the compressor and water system meant the compressor was filling the water system with air pushing water out through the header tank. The air dryer pack and filter also needed changing - something we already knew from the MOT shenanigans - and this allowed the air system to "unload" once enough air has built up.

Question is, do I trust 335 to make the 80 mile round trip from storage to North weald???!!!!!

I must be mad, but I'm gonna!!........

2 down and one gone

It is the eve of the Clacton rally and unfortunately I don't have a bus to take!!

335 still remains to be fixed (not building up enough air), and although 302's bodywork is still ongoing it too is having air problems in that the right hand side suspension isn't lifting as it should. Maybe its decided to keep 335 company!!

So that's the two down, meaning 317 is the one gone.

317 now has a new owner though will still be parked at the same place as it is now. I'm told the new owner is intending to keep 317 pretty much as she is now which is pleasing to know. The reason I ended up selling after a couple of false starts is that trying to maintain three 'commercial' vehicles was proving to be a bit too much.

The next event is North Weald and I will have one on the road by then!!