Volvo D302PEV was put in for her MOT today and I'm pleased to say she sailed through with no advisories issued.
I did wonder if I'd ever get her back together in time (ie, the MOT was due to be completed by 28th February) but of course it all came good in the end.
Next up for 302 is a repaint back into Harris Bus's original Cream and Blue scheme though I'm not too sure when that will happen as I'm currently still saving money to meet the full asking price for 337 and I'm mindful about taking a vehicle off the road during the rally season as I caught myself out last year by starting on 302's bodywork during the middle of last season.
With 335 off the road and the old faithful 317 having no issues, the current priority now is the purchase of 337.
Monday, 17 February 2014
Saturday, 1 February 2014
Into 2014....
Two things to update on.....
302
The offside bodywork is now complete and all windows are now refitted (I managed source one from PSV Glass to replace the broken one).
Excuse the tight angle; things are often parked tight when I want to take an image!
337
Yes, that's a new number..............and yes that means I have a new vehicle!!!!!!
337 refers to P337ROO - sister to my P335ROO. 337 is in much better shape mechanically and so providing she successfully drives back from Sheffield ok (won't be collecting her till late March), I will be using 337 as acquired during the 2014 rally season.
As is evident throughout this blog, I've had no end of mechanical grief with 335 and it still has issues today with air trapped in the water system, a leaking radiator and a gearbox with a mind of its own that refuses to even think about changing gear whilst cold. 335 is currently sorned and that will remain the case for the foreseeable future.
Here is an image of 337 taken a couple of days ago when I went to view her and agree her purchase:
302
The offside bodywork is now complete and all windows are now refitted (I managed source one from PSV Glass to replace the broken one).
Excuse the tight angle; things are often parked tight when I want to take an image!
337
Yes, that's a new number..............and yes that means I have a new vehicle!!!!!!
337 refers to P337ROO - sister to my P335ROO. 337 is in much better shape mechanically and so providing she successfully drives back from Sheffield ok (won't be collecting her till late March), I will be using 337 as acquired during the 2014 rally season.
As is evident throughout this blog, I've had no end of mechanical grief with 335 and it still has issues today with air trapped in the water system, a leaking radiator and a gearbox with a mind of its own that refuses to even think about changing gear whilst cold. 335 is currently sorned and that will remain the case for the foreseeable future.
Here is an image of 337 taken a couple of days ago when I went to view her and agree her purchase:
Thursday, 28 November 2013
Winter working....
The bus rally season may be over for 2013, but that doesn't mean buses are parked up and forgotten about for six months!!
Maintenance is of course ongoing all the time, particularly the routine maintenance that goes with owning any vehicle; especially a large commercial type vehicle. Winter is also the time for things like bodywork and painting (even though I did start on 302's body during the actual rally season!).
It is 302's turn for some attention; you'll note from my blog post in August that I'd started the bodywork on the offside, and that the condition of the framework was far worse than anticipated.....
Well having done small bits of work here and there as time permitted, I was finally ready to start the repaneling today. Having invested in some air tools and a compressor, I was actually able to complete the work in one day - somewhat different to the nearside which took a week and nearly crippled my hands as I'd done every rivet by hand (all panels are riveted on at six inch intervals on all sides).
Second panel going on; at this point I'm using a couple of special gadgets that hold the panel in place by using the same holes that the rivets use:
Offering up the third panel, again with the use clamps to hold it in position - this is the final check that all the cuts are correct prior to permanent riveting:
The big pain at this time of year is the shorter days (daylight) - by the time I had the last panel on and was ready to go home it was dark. Whilst we do have some lighting at Yeldham, its not good enough to use when working on vehicles.......so I ended up working under my spotlight:
Maintenance is of course ongoing all the time, particularly the routine maintenance that goes with owning any vehicle; especially a large commercial type vehicle. Winter is also the time for things like bodywork and painting (even though I did start on 302's body during the actual rally season!).
It is 302's turn for some attention; you'll note from my blog post in August that I'd started the bodywork on the offside, and that the condition of the framework was far worse than anticipated.....
Well having done small bits of work here and there as time permitted, I was finally ready to start the repaneling today. Having invested in some air tools and a compressor, I was actually able to complete the work in one day - somewhat different to the nearside which took a week and nearly crippled my hands as I'd done every rivet by hand (all panels are riveted on at six inch intervals on all sides).
Here is the first panel being offered up, with the use of clamps to hold it in place:
Each panel has polystyrene insulation between the inner and outer panels - I'm recycling the old stuff which although rust stained, is actually ok to re-use. I also run a bead of sealant around the edges before attaching the new outer panels:
Second panel going on; at this point I'm using a couple of special gadgets that hold the panel in place by using the same holes that the rivets use:
Offering up the third panel, again with the use clamps to hold it in position - this is the final check that all the cuts are correct prior to permanent riveting:
The big pain at this time of year is the shorter days (daylight) - by the time I had the last panel on and was ready to go home it was dark. Whilst we do have some lighting at Yeldham, its not good enough to use when working on vehicles.......so I ended up working under my spotlight:
Sunday, 13 October 2013
Canvey rally
The traditional end of season rally is Castle Point transport museum's Canvey Island rally, and it's the one I look forward to most as I can run in service on the shuttle service between the display site and the museum as many times as I like.
This year was so wet that the field where the display buses are usually parked was deemed out of bounds. Luckily numbers were down due to the weather and so thankfully is was possible to park everything on the hard standing car park area, all be it with some challenging imagination required photographers in order to get their prized shots.
I took 317 and we did indeed run in service. I lost count but I think we did six round trips. Due to the lack of visiting vehicles and thus those taking part in the shuttle service, pretty much every trip we did was a full load - in fact we twice had standing loads!!
This year was so wet that the field where the display buses are usually parked was deemed out of bounds. Luckily numbers were down due to the weather and so thankfully is was possible to park everything on the hard standing car park area, all be it with some challenging imagination required photographers in order to get their prized shots.
I took 317 and we did indeed run in service. I lost count but I think we did six round trips. Due to the lack of visiting vehicles and thus those taking part in the shuttle service, pretty much every trip we did was a full load - in fact we twice had standing loads!!
This image was added to the image sharing site flickr by 'parkandride2007', who retains copyright ownership of this image, and shows just how wet the day was!!:
Monday, 7 October 2013
317 back in the stable
Following the latest breakdown with 335 - will it ever behave itself?!! - and some discussion with the person who bought Dart J317XVX off me.....
I'm pleased to say that I have re-acquired 317.
Having thought long and hard about it, fully weighing up the reasons why I sold the Dart and whether I can realistically keep 3 on the road......how this season has proved that an on-the-road back up vehicle is a must to guarantee attendance at all planned events.......well on balance I decided to take up my option of first refusal should the Dart owner wish to move it on.
As a result, and given that 335 remains out of action, I will be taking 317 to the Canvey rally on 13th October.
I'm pleased to say that I have re-acquired 317.
Having thought long and hard about it, fully weighing up the reasons why I sold the Dart and whether I can realistically keep 3 on the road......how this season has proved that an on-the-road back up vehicle is a must to guarantee attendance at all planned events.......well on balance I decided to take up my option of first refusal should the Dart owner wish to move it on.
As a result, and given that 335 remains out of action, I will be taking 317 to the Canvey rally on 13th October.
Saturday, 5 October 2013
FFS
If you understand the meaning of the three letter title, sorry for the language!!
335 was booked to take part in the Theydon Bois running day as part of the North London transport society's autumn transport bazaar event.
We got 20 minutes down the road from where she's stored and I got a warning light light on the dash informing me of low engine coolant level. Now I had checked the coolant level prior to departure (I check all fluids as a matter of routine) but I duly pulled over and rechecked it - it was still full.
Being as the temperature gauge was indicating that we were in danger of over heating I made the decision to turn round and return to storage. Upon arrival and having sought advice, I confirmed what I suspected - we have air trapped in the coolant system. To top the day off, the radiator sprang a leak about two hours after being parked up.
Looks like the season is over despite the last event still being a week away - Canvey Island on the 13th....
335 was booked to take part in the Theydon Bois running day as part of the North London transport society's autumn transport bazaar event.
We got 20 minutes down the road from where she's stored and I got a warning light light on the dash informing me of low engine coolant level. Now I had checked the coolant level prior to departure (I check all fluids as a matter of routine) but I duly pulled over and rechecked it - it was still full.
Being as the temperature gauge was indicating that we were in danger of over heating I made the decision to turn round and return to storage. Upon arrival and having sought advice, I confirmed what I suspected - we have air trapped in the coolant system. To top the day off, the radiator sprang a leak about two hours after being parked up.
Looks like the season is over despite the last event still being a week away - Canvey Island on the 13th....
Monday, 9 September 2013
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;
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;
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)