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          1962 Bristol Double Decker Bus Project

         Started restoration in March 2004                            

    This Bus is in very good condition and needs very minor work on the out side. It has a few broken windows that have been fixed with Plexi glass, I will be replacing them with glass.

    So far what I have done is , rewired all of the circuits so the exterior lights and head lights working. I want to get this bus in driving condition and convert it into a Motorhome with bedrooms upstairs and kitchen and living area .Downstairs will be restored to original condition.  I have found a source for the original seat material and pictures of what this bus was painted like originally. It was Green & Cream then Blue & Cream ( Midland General colors ) that's the color it's going to be. and get rid of this horrid orange -red, and the signs on it. 

 The engine in the bus is a Gardner 6 cylinder diesel , the transmission says it's a 4 speed  transmission.

 

 

 

         Same Bus repainted Midland General Color Scheme

                                   Oct. 21, 2006

 

 

 

                                                         THE NEWEST UPDATES ARE FROM THE TOP DOWN

Nov. 5,2008

 I knew it would not last too long and I wanted to get to Hershey, and did. But last weekend I needed to get a flat tire fixed instead of taking the tire off the bus I figured I would drive it to Honesdale about a 15 mile trip one way, Well going through town I heard a POP and clank, not know what it was I just figured I ran over something but to prove a point the clutch pedal just dropped to the floor. I knew what it was right away after that. But didn't at first think it was that bad till it happened again a block from the tire place so I pulled over to the Salvation Army parking lot and lifted the steps again and took a better looked  with a flashlight and found the problem.
   Looking through the small hole in the casting of the bell housing I could see the left hand side of the welded withdrawal arm broke clean off.   So I sat and thought how could I get the bus back to the garage and fix it there.

 The problem is the engine runs counter clockwise so the finger that was left came off the wear pad as soon as I started the engine I had to figure out how to hold it in place to the left side.

well here's what I came up with

 

 What I did was take a piece of rod about 1/4" in diameter and bend it so it held the left hand wear plate to the top and tied the grease line to the wires . I had to bend the rod around so it had tension on it to hold the Bridal Box to the right side of the withdrawal arm .  I was able to drive the bus home and into it's winter quarters. Today I worked on removing the transmission again, this time it's easy, I know what I did the first time.  I'll have more pictures later this week. I am figuring since I can not seem to find a replacement part I am going to have to make one from scratch.  As I do this I'll take pictures of each step.  Glad I have a machine shop.

More to come

August 8, 2008

 It's nice to Know how

  It sure is nice when you have the skills and the machines to get your parts done .

 I picked up the re-welded parts this afternoon around 2 and I have finished re-machining them and it's only 8:15 PM.

Here's some before and after pictures

BEFORE

AFTER

From a glance you can not even tell where it was welded. I will probably repack the bearing and then re assemble the entire unit. I tried to get a new bearing but everyone I called said they are not made any longer. But the one I have seems to be fine, I just flushed out all the old grease and will repack it in the morning with fresh bearing grease. I use white or blue lithium Grease for bearings.

August 2, 2008

 Some more pictures of the damaged parts      Note the huge hole worn right through the housing 

    and the broken wear plates on the Bridle Box  Part # 114 LDN

 The wear plate part number 204 LDN I have remade

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  The Withdrawal Lever  I am having welded at a shop that specializes in this sort of restorations. There will be some machining that will have to be done with that also I'll post pictures here when I have them back before and after machine work.  The levers part # is 104 LSN / 102A

 Ok I have been searching all around the globe for the replacement parts none can be found! Seems that this part is in demand so here's what I'm going to be doing about it so that others with Lodekka Buses with Gardner engines and  Bristol transmissions can get these parts.

 Once I have all the parts here and re made then I will make molds of the housings and drawings of the machined part and then have a few made up in cast steel .

 I think I can get them made locally.  and I'll do the machine work in my shop.

 July 29,2008

 The fun begins again!!!

 I have taken the bus to 4 shows this summer and I was on the way last weekend to a Fireman's Parade in Hancock, NY a 28 mile drive well I didn't get very far, I have been having a problem with my clutch staying adjusted, I guess I found the problem when the bus started to make all sorts of noise I was able to coast to the side of the road and get it off the black top Thank Heaven for that.

 So there I sat and I figured something slipped out or something like that well it wan not that. It was towing time again, But God must have been with me that day , I called the fellow that asked me to come to the parade and the following morning I got a call back and he said the Assistant Chief of the Fire Company owns a Big Rig Towing business and said he would tow the bus for me. I saved a bundle using his company. The Picked the bus up by the wheels. it was a fast and clean job, they took it to my friend Hank's place he has a concrete area behind his barn.

  Monday was great we go the bus there and two of m y friends came over Monday night and we took the transmission off and found the problems. One was the withdrawal lever broke in 3 pieces and the Bridle box has some damage to it, the wear plates are broken and there is a big gouge in the side of it.  I'm looking for replacement parts now.

Here's some pictures of the broken parts.

If you have never done this it's not that bad I was thinking it would be hard to get the transmission off while in the bus. But using our heads Al and I got it off after Al jacked the bus up and put it on blocks and then we used an engine hoist to hold the transmission till we could remove all the bolts and nuts, you have to remove the speedometer head and the linkage from the shifter and the spring from the clutch arm and the arm itself. Once that was off it was an easy thing to pull the transmission off the back of the bell housing, then lowering it to the ground and backing up the lift so the end of the shaft came free of the clutch and engine, That was a lot longer than I thought it was but we got it out.

 As you can see it's filthy in there and I'll be washing that out with engine cleaner and water, the parts of the broken arm were just sitting on the bottom thank goodness for that , It could have been swept up into the flywheel and starting ring.

 everything in there looks ok, But once it's clean I will tell if I need to replace any of the levers.

Well that's it for now, I hope I can find the parts I need soon so I can get her back on the road.

Feb. 17

   I just came in from starting the engine and letting it run for a while today was a good day to start it up. It started right up after re-priming the engine with fuel and I let her run for about 40 min.  It's great to hear that engine run with out the horrid knock it had and smoke.

 Just a little up date on what is planned for this spring on the bus. I am going to get the control panel rebuilt and then maybe the interior electrical system will work. I am also planning on rebuilding the upper deck camper area with new wood paneled walls, wall to wall carpeting, New electric and a new improved kitchen with  stove top and a 12 volt,110 volt and propane refrigerator and sink all in one area. I'm going to add another sleeping area up front where the "DUCK" seat is located and remove the heater that is there and install a gas furnace there instead. I was thinking of putting a free standing gas fire place in the back but felt I needed something vented instead. Being that the old heater was over the front vent might work out OK to vent the new furnace down and out that hole with out putting new holes in the bus.

 Right now the bus is out back where I had it last year but not as close to the shop as it was and not on a tilt. It should come right out of there with out a problem like the last time. I also have to replace the front tires since one is flat and the other is low with air. I have one spare so I'm ok for now.  I plan on changing the tire and then drive the bus to the tire shop and have them replace all three tires with 10:00 x20 Radial steering tires and later in the summer take the bus back to get 4 new 9:00 x 20 Radial Driver tires.  This will make driving the bus so much smoother.

I am also planning on adding 2 battery tenders to the battery compartment and a inverter to 110 volts.  I am also adding a 10 gallon under bus propane tank to where the air tank was for the rear suspension since mine was removed a long time ago and they left the hanger there.

I have a lot of new things to work on but I'm getting there . I am also going to get the lower deck seats recovered this summer , not sure with what kind of material but anything will be better than what is there now.

Keep you all posted as things get done. and pictures of the process as they happen.    

Oct. 14

 Just got back from a great week in Hershey, Pa.

 Here's some pictures of the bus and a stretch Lincoln on my Booths. I drove the bus for 7½ hours at a slow pace of 30 MPH to the show  , loved the whole trip, too bad I could not hear when I first got out of the cab, it's a bit noisy in there all cooped up for that long time.  Have to get ear muffs for the next trip.

 As I told folks at the show I have a 4 speed transmission, butterfly, mouse, dog , and camel. I was not in Butterfly that much or mouse but needed them on some really steep hills up by my place.

 Here's some pictures of how Peg and I fixed up the upper deck.  Improvements will be made over the winter and next summer.

 

 

 As I call it the "DUCK" seat has a new look Peg made a slip cover up to cover the ripped and falling apart leather seats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

    The eating area was made by removing that single seat and taking one of the other side of the buses seats and screwing it into the rail. If you have not tried to remove these upper deck seats and have no reason to DON'T they are screwed in very well to the floor.

 

 

 

 

 Looking towards the front of the bus, futon on the side was used as a bed by Al a few nights and then converted to a couch the rest of the week. The little white counter top had our stove on it and a microwave . 

 

 

 

 

 Looking towards the back of the bus this is a large custom made futon mattress to cover the width of the bus and 4 ft deep, It's on top of a Water bed frame with 6 draws for clothing storage.  The little white chests were for other storage since the bus has the limited room and no in wall storage these worked out great.

 

 

 

 

 

 A shot of  52 JAL and Al's '74 Lincoln Stretch Long bed truck which he sold there.  it was one of those typical Hershey Days rained off and on. Got cold.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Looking out of the top deck window at all the folks walking around in the rain and still buying what they were seeking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Giant Center in Hershey

 

 

 

 

 

      For next year I would like to invite any one that wants to bring their bus to Hershey to let me know before Jan. 2008 and I'll get spaces for them limited to two more buses besides mine we can park them straight in or on an angle. What a sight different buses lined up on the club spaces. the booths are 30 ft long by 10 ft wide.  We have 4 spaces now 40 x 30. Could get more if needed. 

Sept. 15

  Today I did some stuff I have been wanting to do for a while. I hooked up a air cylinder to shut off the engine. I hooked into the lines in the front of the bus that go to the air gages. Then ran to a 2 way air switch so when you activate the switch it shuts off the fuel and then repositions the shut off switch to the run position. Works great, here's a picture of the cylinder.

 

 

 I tied the hoses to the air cleaner housing to keep them out of the way of the shaft that drives the alternator.

 

 

 

 

 

   I also mounted the newly insulated inner cab panels and re mounted the seat, That still has to come out once more while I insulate the cab floor and make a boot for the pedals and e-brake.

                               Here's a picture of the finished engine             

   Note the silver insulation on the inner side of the cab panels.

 Still have to paint those brake fluid bottles they look horrid ! I guess High Gloss Black .

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 Tomorrow I start removing the rest of the seats upstairs and then build the bedroom area and work on curtain rods with Peggy.

Sept. 14

 Some good news at last, The engine is in the bus ,I have sealed the leaks into the sump using 2 large bottles of Barrs Stop Leak.  the engine runs great and sounds great I'm trying to figure out how to make a recording of the engine and put it on here so you all can hear it purr. I have topped up the transmission with 90 weight oil and the engine oil will be changed again to fresh oil before running it on any trips.

 Peg has painted the covers for the side holes and I'll be putting them on later today or in the morning once they are good and dry.

 I feel better today after fixing those leaks , Still don't know where the water came from but glad they sealed up.

Tomorrow Hank said he would come and we would take the bus for a spin up the hill and back to the shop. I am also trying to fit a small air cylinder to the side of the engine to shut off the engine the cable just does not want to work right. Pictures will follow as I do these upgrades.

 Peggy is chomping at the bit for me to finish removing the seats upstairs so she can get on with the curtains. I'll be doing some of that this weekend also, I have that dent in the rear top corner to fix and the window frame and then it's repaint time again, I figured I would repaint the entire bus again so it looks good.

Sept. 12

 I fixed the leak this morning by making a band-aid of rubber sealant and a hose clamp seems to be working, I then found another leak and I hate to say this there is a leak somewhere in the heads.  I have water in the oil.  I think those bolt holes that leaked are the culprits But for now I'm just putting some Aluminum flakes in the radiator letting the engine run and it sounds great and hope for the best. and then once I'm sure they are sealed I'll change the oil once more and hope again that they are fixed time will tell. At least she sounds great I'm going to look into adding sound to this page to see if I can let you all hear her run.

 I have the inner walls of the cab to put in and the seat , It looks funny without the bus in front of the shop.

 Hank and Al came today and helped prime the engine and adjust the clutch.

Sept. 11

  Today I had a few things non bus to do so I did a small but very important job . I installed new heat shielding on the inner panels of the cab the ones right next to the exhaust pipe.

 

 

  This is what was left of the original insulation I think it was asbestos

  Not sure but when removing it I wore a mask and gloves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 This is the panel after removal  note the rust

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Same panel after wire bushing and applying a little paint and some glue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Finished panel with webbing to hold on to the edges a bit better.

 I used 1/8 x 1/2 pop rivets to secure the web and the heat shield material, This you can get from any good auto supply place. Al gave me a piece he had left from a truck he just finished Restoring. it's about 3/8 thick with a reinforced aluminum covering very hard to punch the hole through .

 

  I also Mounted the radiator and filled it with water and the antifreeze that came out of it.  There is one leak, I  drained it down and tomorrow I will attempt to solve that small problem, I did put a can of aluminum flakes in the water but I'm going to try and correct it properly, This connection leaked before fixing the engine and I thought I had it sealed, the flanges in the housing were not the greatest shape lots of corrosion. I might just dry it out good and seal it with plumbers putty, hate to do that but it might be the only way till the flakes work their way into the voids.  I can always remove the putty later.

 Hank and Al are coming up around Noon to help me prime the engine and start it up. I also need their help with adjusting the clutch.  Almost finished.

Sept. 9

  Today was a very good day, I tightened down all the bolts on the engine mounts, worst one is the one in the rear front frame mount , You have to remove the stabilizer bar to get to that one.  Peggy helped me with the two in the rear where I have to hold the nut from the cab and she tightened them up for me from the back. worked out great.

  I hooked up the fuel lines, clutch, air line from the compressor, shut off cable fuel peddle, exhaust pipe, starter, and a few other little items. Tomorrow I hope to get the radiator mounted, and filled with water.

 

 

 A look under the bonnet. I still have to mount the covers to those oval holes. and repaint the bottles for the brakes they didn't look as bad before the picture. Have to spruce them up a bit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I had to  make this stabilizer bar because Bob cut the original.

 

 

 

 

                                                         I wanted to start her up today but that will have to wait. I have to find a few more little items  like an over looked hose on the engine that I thought was good but Hank and Al feel I should replace it . and I need a new breather hose from the air filter to intake.  and I was hopping to get the replacement radiator core rods from the UK but I think I'll have to mount the radiator and when they come take it off to repair it. Silly to wait now. I should have her running by Wednesday

     Once she's running again I'll move the bus to the other drive way and start the interior upstairs.

Sept.8

  Well this has been a very good weekend. Yesterday Hank and Al came over around 10:30 am and we worked on putting the engine back into the bus we had it mounted on the frame mounts by 2:30 PM with a break for lunch. Bob Martin from England came to see my bus he was a day early, We were going to go look at buses in my area together so I put him to work as a photographer of this momentous occasion.

 

 

 

  We had a little problem because the motor shifted going into the frame but we managed to get her in there ok.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Hank is in Red Al is with the cap.

 

at this point we had to change the position of the winch and pull the engine back towards the garage and re-block it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  The crew hard at work trying to straighten the engine out and get it past the frame .

 

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

  A look from the back one of the problems we were having is the drive way is higher than the garage floor so we were pulling uphill then the bus is sitting on a angle down hill, so when we go to the point that the center of gravity was just before tilting back the engine decided it did not want to go back in. and tilted. 

 

 

 

 

 

   Half way in 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                All the way in and a good place to stop.

Sept. 3

 Engine is together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                Now I just have to figure out how to get it back  into the bus.

Sept. 1

  Well today I'm finishing up the tappet settings, the injectors and lines and covers. I have a few small things to fix like the connection rod between the timing lever and injector pump. That was broken. I have one other little item I noticed was missing when working on the engine the clutch brake has some sort of bolt & spring assembly that engages the brake while shifting I have drawings but can not quite figure out how it works, If any one reading this knows please contact me and let me know or better yet a picture is worth 1000 words.  Please e-mail me at markgold@nep.net 

Right way for the fuel filter to go on. The one that was in the case I don't know how fuel even got through it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not much space between the thermostat housing and fuel filter housing, Had to loosen the fuel filter to screw on the lines.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note how nice everything looks repainted

 

 

 

  Injectors and lines all installed and water pipes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Injector lines go on only one way so you cannot mess that up.

 

 

 Note how nice the exhaust manifold gaskets get held in place on the rings of the castings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

        ALL DONE!!!!

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

Opps for got the covers in the heads. Peggy is filling them with some black paint so the Gardner stands out they should be dry tomorrow.

 

August 26   

 Well today was a great day. I got the heads back yesterday and today I assembled them and installed them. This first picture is of the resurfaced bottom and positions of the intake valves, I marked the valves to make sure they ended up facing the exhaust side of the block as noted in the manual.

They failed to sand blast the out sides when they found they leaked in the bolt holes I'm hopping the sealant will seal them up. and I'm going to add a couple of cans of aluminum flakes to the water when I fill the radiator just to be safe.  So I wire brushed them before repainting them.

 

 

 

 

 Believe me when I say putting in the valves were not that hard but you have to be careful to get them screwed in to line up the cotter key holes just right and making sure the keepers on the intake valve were seated right. Thank You Ray, at the D. G. Nicholas Co's machine shop for doing a great job on this engine. And for putting in the valves.

 This is one of the heads after I put the rockers back in, I was not going to do this , But decided that it's easier to fight the tightening of the nuts than it is getting the rockers in with the tappet rods and valves installed.

 I gave the heads a light coat of paint on the insides but not too  much to foul the valves.

 

 

 

 

 

 This is with just one block on  the instructions said not to tighten the heads down till you have both of them on the blocks to make sure they line up along the manifolds Glad I did, I had to adjust this one a tad.

 

 

 

 

  This is with both heads tightened and aligned to the specs. Note the water return pipe on the side, finding the right size hose here in the states was a real challenge , But  Thanks again to Ray I got the hose.

 

 

             This shot is with the top water pipe installed and ready to receive the thermostats the engine has two one large one small for bypass. Also in this picture is the rebuilt water pump installed and hooked up to one of the lines.

 

 

 

 

 The other side is shaping up well also , I also installed the injector pumps and the rebuilt fuel pump. Glad I decided to do these things while the engine was out. Now I'm waiting on the Dymno to come back from the re-builder. I have repainted all the lines for the oil and fuel Black , Looks sharp!

         

          Working through those little ports to tighten up the head bolts was a real treat. Glad that the toque was not too much on the 1/2 bolts 83 ft/lbs, and on the 3/8 bolts only 29 ft/lbs.  But still when you can not get a socket on the bolts from the top because the rocker arms are in the way you have to guess if your getting them tightened enough. I will be going over everything again tomorrow when I'm not so pooped.  I have a few more oil and fuel lines to clean up and install but she's coming together really well.

 I have to time the valves yet , but after re reading the manual I found that the timing marks are on the fly wheel , I thought I would have to remove the transmission but after re reading the manual a few times I found a paragraph that said there is timing marks that can be read through an oval hole in the side of the rear on the injector side of the engine , found the oval but have to figure out how to clean the flywheel through that little hole to read the markings.

 More to come tomorrow.

August 21

  Still waiting on the heads but moving right along, I have mounted the glands that seal the water passages in the block and head , put on the head gaskets, put all the studs in the blocks.

  I cut the spherical seal off the impeller shaft. I unscrewed the blades from the shaft and then mounted the shaft in my lathe machined the seal off then re-assembled it and put the new seal in it looks like it will work just fine.

 You know there is always two ways of doing things the right way and the wrong. Well I went looking today for the studs for the head and found this batch of studs totally wrecked, When you remove a stud from an engine  you use a stud puller and don't clamp to the threads, Well that where Bob took them off from why ? Who knows ?  Now I have more  proof of what a incompetent mechanic he is.   And I'm stuck with these bad parts.  I managed to find just enough for the rebuild some were a bit hard to get in and thread on a nut But the ones I picked out look as if they will be fine.

   Then I put the oil sump back on the engine starting to look like I'll have her back in the bus  by the first week of Sept.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Tomorrow I will start putting the oil lines and filter housing back on. Do the little stuff and then when the heads finally get here I can do the valve setup and rocker arms etc.

August 19

 Well I have been doing a little more on the engine these past few days.  I hurt my back again last week so I'm limited to what I can do , I can not stand long so I have been working the bottom end of the engine, I installed both blocks using a chain hoist to lift and position them, then lying on my back I hooked up and tightened  the big ends to the 104ft/lbs that they are supposed to be at, then undid each and checked the clearance not trusting that Bob did that right 4 out of 6 were ok, I was lucky the Model T mains are just about the same size as these are and I had shims from them that I ended up using to make the clearance right in the two Bob had wrong.

 

 Bare block  with the chains for lifting and a can of STP for pre lubing the cylinders and mains

 

 

 

 

 

 

            One Block On

 

 

 

  Second Block on

 

 

 

 

 

 

A look up from the bottom all cotter pins back in big ends, I found out that they stopped putting the pins in the mains from my UK contacts.

 

 

  Sealing rings and inserts in place waiting on the heads.

 I heard on Friday they tested good after the valve seats were replaced and they had to mill one of them  So they should be done this week

 

 

 

 

 

Main oil lines are back in and the keepers are on the nuts this time. Found them in the leftover parts Bob returned to me.  Note I also cleaned off the red silicone from the pan, Not sure if I'm going to use that junk again or make a gasket and use gasket cement.

 

 

   I also was trying to repair the water pump but with out instruction I ran into a problem  The seal I received from the UK was different that the original one in the pump, So I looked at the other pump and that had this kind of seal but the impeller shaft was different, The good shaft has a spherical seating cone on it and the one from this pump that was broken does not. I'm wondering if I should machine the cone off and use the packing that came with this other seal or just leave the cone on and use it with out the upper packing.  So I'm at a stand still on the rebuild of the pump till I hear from the UK.

 

 

 Note the impeller on the right  has the cone and impeller on left does not. Just has the other packing on the shaft.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  water pump housing new seal installed

 

 

 

well that's it for today.

 Tomorrow  I will tackle the fuel pump

August 12th

 Today I rewired the cab again since I moved the location of all the wires to the rear of the cab instead of being in my way when sitting in the seat. My Knee always hit the box. I also added a few things like signal indicators never could tell when the blinkers were on and which side.

 Here's a picture of the circuit Boxes I used .

   I also repainted part of the cab Blue it looks better this way

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also worked on putting the rings on the pistons.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

August 8th

  I  just heard from Gardner Marine Diesels that they are shipping my parts today. And I heard from Hasting Manf. they shipped the rings yesterday, So all is coming together, I just called D. G. Nickolas and the heads should be done this week.

  I have been painting all the parts that needed painting and polishing the aluminum parts so it spruces up the engine.

 I have to make a pulling bar on my skid and figure out how I'm going to get the engine back in the  bus, I decided not to run it while it's out of the bus since if it falls over I'll never be able to stand it back up. 

 I am planning this after noon to paint the cab and re do the switches in the cab so they are on the side of the cab instead of that box I put in the way of my knee and shifter. I plan on installing a fuse box on the back wall of the cab then run everything to that.

 more later.  

 July 29

   Just finished checking the head to piston clearance on all the cylinders glad I did, I found that I do not need the shim that someone placed under the blocks. With the shim I was .026 over the limit for the clearances, Now with out it I'm right on the nominal of .0444 all my cylinders except one are .040-.046 Number 1 is .051 which is still in the max limit.  So glad I checked, seeing the shoddy work Bob did in this engine I'm going to recheck the clearances in the Big end of the connecting rods ,   The book is not that clear on this but it says to tighten the nuts to full torque and then back off one side if you have .005-.007 clearance your Ok if not file the shims till it's right. Nothing about if they are too tight but common sense says to add shim stock till it's right.  So that's today's project , I ordered the rings and gaskets this weekend so they should be getting here this week or next. Then it's rebuild and remembering time, I have tumbled all the bolts and nuts to clean them up and get all the crud off them so I just have to pre lube them and start assembling parts, I also ordered a rebuild kit for the fuel pump and water pump, while it's apart I might as well do those then I know all if good in this engine not wanting to ever have to pull it out again. 

   I had to change one of the rings to a larger size since they were out of stock on the one I thought I would use so I have to take the pistons off the rods again and re-groove the top ring to a deeper depth or  maybe I can set the rings up in my lathe and grind them thinner.  Not sure I want to do that it's only .015 deeper and I have plenty of material on the pistons to work with.

  I think I will have this back on the road before the end of August it will be nice to be able to drive the bus, after all this aggravation. And then I can start on the interior I and going to get seats from N.C. Vic Rabb said he has plenty of Bristol Seats in great condition with my type of material on the So that's what  I plan on doing once I raise some more money.  The upper deck will be converted to a Motor home , Peg gave me some great ideas of how to redo the table , the one I put in is too hard to sit at. Too tight at the stomach . She suggested building a cabinet against the wall with the oven and stove top built into that and the shelves inside for storage and the front be hinged to lift up and make the table, and just carry folding chairs to sit on. Great idea. As for the bed area I originally thought to put the bed across the back but after talking with Bruce Henderson when he visited last week I decided to change the bed around so you can enter it from the side and make a small end table wardrobe on each side . Moving the bed out away from the window a little and making the bed have end posts to replace the uprights in the way . I'll have a 4 poster bed in the bus. Cool!

     Under the bed will be my water supply and maybe an AC that will blow down stairs and a vent for upstairs. and a vent from the heater down stairs. Might hook the AC into the same vents.  I plan on putting a small toilet and sink downstairs and a kitchen sink upstairs in the same cabinet the stove goes in if it will fit without a problem.  Then a small pump on the water system or just pressurize it with a small air pump I have. Not sure what I'll do there yet.

  I plan on putting a seating area in the front of the bus and a recliner in the area across from the table with a flat screen TV and DVD player mounted in the area above the steps,  I figured where ever I stop will have power or I'll eventually put in a below floor generator. I'm also installing in front of one of the rear wheels an under floor propane tank from Camping World . I'll bring the bus to them to install it.

  Those are my plans and I hope to have some of them done for Hershey this year THE BUS WILL!!!! BE THERE this year.

 July 20

  Good news I just picked up the blocks and they are machines and honed , The measure just a tad over size at the tops but the bottom is right on spec.

 As you can see I'm using one standard block 4.250 and one oversize block 4. 280. I think they cleaned up nicely and I am waiting for the heads to be finished , I was told next week but I have heard that before

I just ordered the rings this morning and I'm waiting on a price for the rings and shipping.

 I also contacted Gardner Marine about the parts I need from them so things are starting to come together and now I have to push the electric guy that is doing the generator for the engine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

June 26

 Just a quick note. I'm still waiting to get the heads and blocks back from the machine shop. They called the other morning to tell me one head is leaking through two bolt holes but that's all. I told them to do the work on them and then re check them. I can put sealant in the two leakers to seal them up.

  I have re grooved the pistons and I am just waiting  on the final size of each cylinder after honing to get the rings But I'm fairly sure of what I'm getting . I'll have to size them as I put them on.

 More to come shortly.

June 08

 Got some bad news the other day and have been doing some pondering on it. Seems when the heads were cleaned they found cracks in the heads. But after getting an e-mail this morning from Gardner Marine in the UK , Micheal feels that if the heads were pressure tested and didn't leak I can use them. So Ray at D. G. Nicholas Co. in Scranton, Pa. is going to do just that pressure test if good redo the valve seats and re test if all works out I will still use these heads if Not I will need a set of the head castings, I feel it's worth the gamble to find out if these are good to use than try and get new heads and start all over they cost of the heads from Gardner Marine was £650 or $1278.88 on today's market each , That's not going to happen since you still would have about $400.00 for shipping. or more.

  I have located some LXB heads but I'm not sure they can be used on a LW.

      So for right now I'm in limbo I am waiting for some funds to order the parts needed and get the blocks done and heads if they check out ok. I also found rings from Hasting Mfg. that will fit if I re groove the pistons which I had to order a tool today to do. I set them up in my lathe and they are true so that's one good thing. Now if everything else will fall in line I hope to get the parts ordered next week and rings and get this engine back together in a few more weeks.

May 30

 Just a short note. After talking with folks from Hasting Rings I found out that I will have to re groove these pistons in order to use their rings. Not a problem, The standard rings they carry close, to what should be in these pistons is .1235 wide , most of the grooves in my pistons are .090 -.100 wide, Not standard in or metric rings and if I use these that they have in stock they are only $5.95 each against getting Gardner made rings , for the 3 ring pistons, and leaving one ring out.

 This makes more sense. I am going to be taking the pistons apart tomorrow and work on re-grooving them so when the rings come in and I get the cleaned blocks and heads back I can get going in the other direction ( putting this back together). I am hoping to get all the parts this week and then When I start I can get the engine back in the bus right before the end of June would love to have it for my birthday on June 23rd but I doubt that. There are 4 car related events going on that day and a street fair in Honesdale.  But I'm not going to push it, Need to take my time and do it right.

May 28

  Well today I took off the cover on the water pump------------------I found the cooling problem or at least another one of them but the main one I believe. See that tiny square piece on the bottom of the picture,  That is the drive for the water pump that was broken off and you can see that the water pump got stuck or was frozen at one time and bent the fin.  Glad I have that spare parts engine that pump looks ok, But I think I'll get a rebuild kit for it so I know the packing and bearings are OK.  While I have it out is the time to rebuild in not to get the engine in and find that it leaks.  When I start putting everything back in the bus , I decided that I'm going to make a greasing system on all these little parts with a manifold in the cab so I just have to squirt grease in that one place and it goes to all these parts through ¼" Plastic tubing. No more hunting for the grease points .  I noticed there was the one on the water pump and shifter housing and clutch , these are fairly hard to get to when the inner walls of the cab are on. So all these plus some others will get these lines.

 well that's another little thing done , Now to order parts and get this going back together.

May 27

 After talking with Neil Trump on the phone the other night I have decided with his help and a friend Graham an ex Gardner engine re-builder that I'm going to use the .030 oversize rear block and pistons and the 4.250 Standard front block , Graham feels that the slight difference of weight of pistons will not harm my engine and I'll be in good shape using all the same 4 ring pistons So Today I'm flushing out and honing the oversize block and measuring it's height since both blocks have to be the same and with the shim under the blocks of the this engine and none on the original engine I have my suspicions that the blocks are two different heights.

 I plan on Purchasing the piston rings from Hastings Mfg. in Mi. I am sending them a list of ring measurements today hoping that they can find or make what I need. They seem to have them listed in their web site at http://www.hastingsmfg.com/   . Just not sure of the type I would have to use. 

May 23

 Last night I took the 2 older blocks from the original engine outside and pressure washed the rust out of them in hopes this will cut down the cost of having them cleaned and boiled out , I will do the heads tonight.

 I got about 3 pounds of rust and sediment out of both blocks they look fair and I think will hone out nicely, One block has a part broken off where Bob or someone either dropped the block or hit it with a piece of machinery.  I'll have that welded back in since it's on the tappet side of the engine and not near the water jacket it should be fine.

 I'm thinking if I can find 3 more pistons of the newer type the skirted type with 3 rings I will use them if not the original pistons from each block will go back in.

May 20
   I have not done that much for a few days but I did manage to get the pistons out of the block and I think Bob screwed me again, These bottom end mains look to be very old not new like he said he put in. Need to do a little research and call the person he said he got them from and see if he really did buy new main bearings.  These look old and worn on their edges.  In any case I now have 12 pistons 3 of the newer type  and 3 that are wrecked, and 6 of the older full skirt type with 4 rings. These are what I'm thinking of using.  I ordered the LW rebuild manual on line the other day and should be getting that soon. Then I hope I will have more information on how to determine which pistons are good and which are bad.

 I am thinking of just buying 3 more of the newer type and be done with the old ones till I rebuild the first engine as a spare.

 I also removed all the valves and some from the other engine heads and and have been tumble cleaning them so they can be checked for size and wear.  I am going to check the valve guides for wear and if they need relining or replacement I'll get them also.  no use putting together an engine that is worn out.

 I took the water doors off , not an easy task with most of the screws buggered up . I ended up having to warm up the screws with a torch and then burn out the gasket below to get them loose, then the one or two that I could not remove I had to drill them and use an EZ out to remove them.

 The one block from the engine I'm using was fair , had about an inch of sediment in the block the heads were plugged and the other front block I'm using from the original engine had m ore in it bus is cleaning out well. Being that one is dry the air gun moves most of the rust around the block and is falling out. I am going to pressure wash them and then bring them to someone to be boiled out.

  I also was looking at the damage Bob did to the original radiator. Note the hard copper pipe replacement  , Not great but holds water. I am looking for new cores for this radiator so If any one knows of some where that has them please let me know or of a way of putting a Modern core into the radiator.  the top to bottom measurement of the radiator  opening is 19"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Original Engine Front Block

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

        Rear block from engine I'm rebuilding

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Radiator damage

 

 

 

 

 

 

May 14

 Didn't do much today took the pan off the bottom of the engine and look and see what I found inside. I took the other block off and found that those pistons and rings looked very good so  I'm not doing much except lightly honing them and re ringing them with new rings.

 Tomorrow I plan on taking the oil tube off the bottom end and take out the rods and pistons, I found a shop to boil out the heads and blocks but I have to remove all the studs and the valves etc , I was not planning on doing that but it will give me a chance to see how well the valve guides look and fit.

 When I took the pan off I found out why it leaked so much  oil on a hill, Bob forgot to tighten all the bolts I only found three that were more the finger tight. Thank goodness he use so much sealant otherwise I think all the oil would have just leaked out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

parts of that sleeve that slipped

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Just wondering don't you think there should be cotter pins through those main nuts? Not one in any of the main bolts , Something else to add when putting things back together.

May 12 P.M.

  On pulling off the first bank of cylinders I found that the # 1 piston had no rings left and # 3 the rings were frozen into the grooves letting hot gases burn away the piston top section, The heads are off the other three cylinders and they look great I'm just going to re-ring those.

 Another friend Dick came by yesterday he worked on engines and thinks some of this problem was caused by the heads not being clean and over heating the block and letting everything get too hot and expand in the cylinders.

 I plan on finding a shop to acid bath my heads and blocks and clean the water ways  before I put them back together. 

 

 

 

 

  # 1 Piston Note rub markings and worn away area of piston and no rings

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

top of # 1

Note silicon on the gaskets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 #3 piston top burned away

  Piston rings are frozen in place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

other side of # 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

May 12

 Yesterday and today I removed the heads from the engine, Yep found the problem!

 In cylinder # 1 the liner has moved down about 1¼" and in # 3 it looks like the rings are broken and the top of the piston is crushed and broken. Now on to removing the front block and seeing what else is bad.

 

 

 

 Cylinder # 1

   note the sleeve moved down in the cylinder and the broken top of the piston

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                  

 

 

 

Cylinder # 2- # 3

 note the burnt areas of the top of the piston

 

 

 

 

 

 The other block looks fine but I'm still pulling the pistons to check the wrist pins

May 10

  Ok it's early in the day and I with the help of my wife and a Friend Hank got the engine out of the bus and in my garage. I was as surprised as Hank was that it came out so easy.   As shown in the pictures the skid worked like a charm we had a little hang up when the sump and front of the transmission bell housing hooked on the front axle but with a bit of jacking and re-blocking all came out fine. I have to block under the transmission just for security.

  rollers under the skid and added chains to the front         Pine beam and steel bar across door

    engine coming out                                                                          Me and  Hank

        Here I'm working the chain hoist                                         The Engine out on it's stand.

May 9

 Today I'm working on the rear motor mounts and left side stabilizer the one Bob cut! I know why he cut it but he didn't have to. Since it's already wrecked I am going to cut the nut off the top end and them make a new bar. Then I will have to get a jack under the transmission and support that so I can get the top engine mount off the cross member in the back. ( I'm posting this in the morning before getting to work on the bus.  Check back later to see pictures of what I have accomplished today. Hopefully tomorrow will be the big day of pulling the engine out from under the bus and seeing if I found everything that should have been disconnected.

*********************************************************************

afternoon addition

 OK , I did fine I removed the rear stabilizer bar by cutting it off, once the engine is out of the bus I will get in there with some room to work and remove that cut off bar and make a new one for the support.

 I put some extra cribbing under the front end i just don't trust those jack stands to stay there when the engine is being pulled out.

 I put the cribbing under the transmission and freed the top bolts ( same idea there the support fits on top of the cross rail so it does not just drop when the bolts are removed good engineering there someone actually though this out. 

 I'm all set to pull the engine out from under the bus but Peg came out and said Get Help!!! just in case something goes wrong. I love that gal she's on the ball most of the time. I am setting up tonight the chain hoist and electric winch I have so I can see which will work better for pulling this out, My other problem is the distance to where I can secure the chains.

 What I'm thinking is I have another 8 ft long beam I can put across the doorway in the back of the shop and then run another chain to one of the overhead beams. Then hook the hoist or winch to the chain and run the cable to the bar in the skid I built.

 

Nice Clean Engine                                                                                 Extra Blocks under engine (just in case)

     The Cribbing and skid under the transmission       Only problem area I see the transmission is very close to the frame

  The door to the shop is about 28 ft. from the bus and engine , Pulling that far might be a problem , I'm thinking of using the over head beam and door opening for the chains.

May 8

  Today I managed to get the 8 front cross member bolts out, Bob again in his wisdom used lock tight and locking nuts on these bolts, what a Job the heads were rounded off a little just enough to cause the wrenches to slip and take a few inches of skin with them.  Just a note for anyone else doing this if you take out all the bolts of the cross member it will not drop down there is a cast in ledge that supports this cross member.

 I also removed the throttle linkage. Nice set up they made on that part. I also was able to loosen the rear mounting bolts.

  I made the skid, when you look at the pictures I used 2 6 x6 pressure treated beams 8 ft long, First I screwed 1 x1/4 steel runners to the length of the beams and made them a bit longer than needed so I could bend them up to help get the rollers under them if needed, then I cut slots though the sides using a chain saw for a strap to go through to stabilize the engine, Then I bored two holes one in each beam for a pull bar, the bar measures 1.625. Then I nailed Not sure this was the right thing to do to 2 x6's across the front and back of the skid just to hold them in line with each other. My wife came out and suggested I use jack stands to support the front of the engine, Great idea since they are adjustable.

 Now to finish the rear mount disassembly and figure out how I'm going to support that and lower it to the blocks.  Once all these things are loose then it's getting it out from under the bus and in my shop before it rains on Thursday. I also want to pressure wash the engine before bringing it into the shop, Will do that first thing tomorrow morning.

                  Metal on skid bottoms                                                                        slots through side of skid for straps

 another view of slot                                                                                            Holes part way through beam for pulling bar   

 bar installed and braces on front and rear of skid                                     Metal runner bent up to ease the slide or placement of rollers

  Two Jack stands and 80 ton Jack holding front cross member in place Jack will be removed before pulling

May 7

 Ok here's what I have done so far, I started today by unbolting the U-joint, Clutch rod, Which I found Bob Cut instead of trying to remove it like I did.  I removed the exhaust pipe, starter wires, dymno wires , shifter shaft, floor in cab , by removing the floor section I was able to get to the clutch linkage and throttle which I will disconnect tomorrow, driver seat removing the seat makes it easier to work in the cab plus I want to move it back a few inches

 As it's going I think I'll be ready to try and pull the engine out Thursday, if the weather holds. I still have to build the skid and cribbing to hold the engine a transmission up. and make some rollers.

U-Joint disconnected                                                                                    Starter cables disconnected

 Exhaust pipe and shifter and seat removed                                          Air cleaners and other things disconnected

 

 

 

 

  Clutch rod removed & Rear stabilizers

 

 

 

May 5,2007                    A new beginning

  Today is the day, I started my bus and moved it out front of the garage, found out the fuel pump will have to be rebuilt or replaced.   Ok so far what I have done is disconnect the batteries, remove the radiator and hoses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Front cowl removed                                                                                             Radiator & Hoses removed

  I will be adding pictures etc each day as I work on this engine and removal.

 What I plan on doing is build a wooden skid under the engine lower the front cross member to this skid and pull out the engine when I get to the sump I will jack it up to clear the front axle, I was going to remove the axle but someone welded the nuts on the U bolts. So for get that for now. I am fairly sure I can slid the engine out and jack as needed blocking the engine up well before starting the pull and as I go . No need to have that fall over or pin me under the bus.

Just a note I didn't think the ground was so soft in the yard I did a bit of damage to the rear corner and side of the bus, More work but at least I didn't break a window. Once I have it fixed it will never be parked back there against the garage that way. Straight into the driveway and not on the soft grass.

                Jury Rigged fuel pump

April 16,2007

  Long time since I added anything to this....so here goes "THE PLANS"

             It's REBUILD TIME AGAIN

 As of today I have decided to remove the engine once again from the bus and rebuild it here in my shop. I have thought this over and figured how hard can it be? The big problem is starting the engine and moving the bus out to the front of the driveway and removing the engine, I think I figured that out, If I jack up the front of the bus and lower the engine down onto blocks and get a fork lift to lift out the engine and put it in my shop we should be able to do that fairly easy. My Friends Hank And Al said they would come and help me remove the engine and rebuild it.

 I think it has one bad wrist pin but if I'm going to do this I'm going to check them all  and reline what ever needs doing. I might take the time and send the cam box and injectors back to England and have them adjusted right and cleaned and re fitted with new parts.  Then I know that's in good condition, I am also planning on sending the aluminum head covers and manifold covers out to be polished and the oil lines checked for leaks and chrome plated. I plan on repainting the engine and making it look new.

 Lot's of work and I have the time to do it just need the help to get the engine out of the bus. I will be posting new pictures of the removal and the rebuild of this engine , so Keep watching.

Oct. 22

 Ok Here's what's happening now. I decided to sue Bob for the work or lack of work he did to the engine and bus. I have parked the bus in the back of my shop a little closer to the building that I planed but it's back there and on wood blocks so not to sink in as fast , I'm hoping that the red shale base will hold the weight of the bus with out any problem over the winter. I might still move the bus a little more away from the shop I would like it a bit straighter than it is now. I added two 12 volt battery chargers and maintainers from motor homes to the battery compartment to keep the batteries charged when the bus is not in use.

      I am now thinking of finding a International DT466 turbo diesel &  5 speed Allison automatic Transmission, instead of rebuilding that Gardner again. More speed and easy shifting.

 All in all the bus is looking a lot better. I'm hoping that I can either get the money back or at least part of it from Bob to pay for some of the new engine work.

 I was hopping that I can get this work done during the winter or spring once I can get the bus out of the back of the shop.  It's very wet back there and the bus sinks into the grass a bit. I'm a little concerned about right behind the Church Hall it's very soft there. I need to get a load of gravel in there and spread it on what used to be the driveway area. More expenses but this has to be done any way it's getting too soft back there.

 Just a note for all you guys that are saying what's with those lights in the tow bolt holes and where's the step hole in the front cowl. Well my step was broken off and I could not find another so I closed up that hole ( it always can be added) and the state wanted front signals on the bus so I added them to the tow holes, they can be removed and eye bolts put in if I ever need to be towed that way.  All the side markers are signals except for the big light on the side above the door. There are no roof lights. I added back up Lights and horn, and fog lights to the rear of the bus. More lights the more visible the bus is.

 Ok  so this is where the bus will be for this winter any way, and as Peg my wife said it's not out front any more.

Oct 12

 OK here's what's going on , I have found a new company that will rebuild the two engines I have into one good one, But this is going to take more money so I'm going to do a fund raiser for the bus hopefully with local support I can finally get a good engine in the bus. These folks will tow the bus to their place in Pa. and tear down the engine that is in the bus video taping the findings so I can go to court and sue Bob. I really don't have the money to do this either but I just don't feel right just giving him the cost of building that Model T, for a botched up job. With what I can get for that T I could finally get a good engine in the bus, and be able to drive it in civil events around here and get some other type of funds for it's use.

 So here it will sit till I have the funds.

I will continue to post updates as things progress but I think this will be it for a while.    

Oct 10

 Ok I had some time to wash off the engine and find the oil leak that covers the injector pump with oil, now to find out why it's doing this.  The oil is weeping out of the small ports in the center section of the injector pump and running down and getting blown back on the rest of the engine. Looks to be a weep hole but why does engine oil come out of it, I posted on the Gardner Web site to see if I can get some answers. I am also leaking fuel oil from this same area, Might just need new gaskets.

 I also found another leak this time water where the thermostat house and top hose meets, need to make new gaskets for this area and install a new 180 deg. thermostat in the housing.  I'm still thinking the water pump is not circulating the water. I'm going to pull the old pump off the other engine and rebuild that one first and then pull this one off.

 For right now I'm just going to put the bus in the yard behind my shop and try and raise some more money for it's repairs. I have been thinking I might attempt to pull the engine out of the bus and do the work here, but I'm not really set up to do this right now. So I might just let things slide for a while.

Oct 8

 Ok I'm home from Hershey and had a great time even though it was short those few days I could not get there.

 Today I decided after a bit of praying that I'm going to try and start the engine again, I went and refilled the oil ,water and checked the fuel. It would not start till I had Peg my wife push the starter switch and me bleed out the fuel injector lines , it looks like the pump needs cleaning again, will do that tomorrow.  After doing this it started and actually sounded better than before I think the weird noise I was hearing was the timing chain slipping and I think that is where the knock may be coming from I'll have to do some reading. But of course this  not when the engine is in a loaded situation. So I will have to do a lot of checking to see what's wrong where. It does not tell me why the engine was running so hot though.  I put the axles back in so I can move the bus around and empty out everything that's in it and get the mattress and other camper stuff back upstairs . Now we have time to do that part right.

 Glad it was not blown and nothing seems broken.

 I think I'm going to try and find someone that can make me a radiator with more cooling capacity. This one just does not seem to be enough. I'll have to check around and see who does this sort of thing.

 I still have the clutch to work on it's kind of hard to get in gear.

Oct.5

Leaving for Hershey I'll sort this all out after I get back.

Oct.4

What a nightmare! I left here about 9:30AM hoping to get to Hershey before 3PM , I didn't make it that far, The bus moved along RT.11 fine till I could not get the shift to work right , the generator was not charging the batteries and It died in the middle of the street in Berwick, PA, about 89 miles from home. The engine knocked the entire trip but got worse and louder and was making other funny noises before it quit. I had him towed home again at a great expense. I just hate this after all I have done myself and what Bob was supposed to do. I am really mad now. and all the time it has been in the shop.

Oct.2 & 3

 Day before leaving for Hershey! Bob showed up to replace the injectors, I bought them and had them air expressed from England to me had them for over two weeks. Any way it took us about 3 hours to change out the injectors only to find afterward the knock is still there , It did help the smoking problem.

 I drove the bus to Honesdale to do a test run get the tank filled and get my Handi-capped chair I rent each year for Hershey.  Engine was running hot. Boiled over and I came back here and on Tuesday Morning I pulled out the Thermostat hoping this would help. I didn't leave for Hershey!!

Sept. 29

 Ok I'm feeling a bit better the broken finger is not working like before, my leg has been giving me a little problem but I'm used to that.

 As for the painting it was all finished but When backing into the driveway I hit the building next store and got a small scratch, I'm going to try and fix that but the weather is not co-operating it's raining off and on today.  you can see the scratch in the side just above the last window half way up the telephone pole which I also hit and took off the left hand mirror. All fixed now . He looks great now with the all the windows in doesn't it.

 Today I'm working on the left wheel arch since it was all broken up and in about 6 pieces. Just about finished with that, Yesterday I managed to get all the glass in the Dean's Doors , Cracked one But I will order tempered glass replacements when I get home from Hershey. Bob is supposed to be here Monday morning around 9 AM pressing my luck here with him coming so late.  Hopefully by then I will have everything else done. Need to get two propane tanks filled and some one pound bottles for the stove. I have removed a few seats from down stairs in the rear for storage and a new furnace vented out the back where the Brit plate used to be, I'm planning on getting one and have it louvered so it looks right.

 I just added antifreeze to the radiator ( radiator/ engine & no heater pipes took 4 gallons antifreeze 4 gallons water for a 50% mix).

  

Sept, 24

 Just a little set back , I fell while painting the roof and sprained my left leg, left ankle, left shoulder, broke a finger and left wrist. The ladder slipped out from under me and I fell about 12 ft. landing on the roller tray and paint. Just what I need now. I got the rebuilt injectors and have to get those in the engine this week. I am still planning on going to Hershey if my leg feels better by Friday.  Glad I reserved the handy capped cart last week. Now just to get the lower floor windows in and a new wiper motor installed the 24 volt one is no good. Dead short ! Well Glad I kept the old one that came with the old plastic windshield. I have a small 12 volt one if nothing else but it was very slow.

Well back to resting today and tomorrow I work on the deans door glass and the opener motor.

Sept. 19

 Well it was a nice day yesterday and I was able to get some of the Blue on the sides and front of the bus I still have a few spots in the roof to fix before painting that but all is moving along a bit better. I ordered the replacement injectors from Gardner Marine Diesel in England ( see their page in the supplier list ). I am hoping the weather get's better today so I can finish painting the back and some of the repaired roof. It's getting closer to Midland General looks. I have to find a sign painter for the lettering.

Sept. 13

 Well today it's raining, so no painting. I decided to clean the interior and think out what I'm going to do for a heater, I decided that I have a Hot air furnace from an old camper I tore a part and I'll install that in the rear downstairs under the last seat in the left side so I can vent it through the flap from the old British License Plate opening. Boy the bus is filthy after just sitting around for 2½ years in someone else's shop. I think I'll power wash the inside before repainting the floor with textured paint. I'm also thinking of adding a bathroom downstairs in that back corner, Not sure yet.

Sept. 12

  Well today I removed the broken windows downstairs. Did some un-denting of the sides and rear panels and painted the rest of the bus Cream,  here's a picture so far. the Paint seems to cover this horrid red very well I just have to go back and touch up brush marks and a small amount of bleed through. Seems I can reach most spots standing on my shorter ladder and don't need to rent a scaffold for now, I might need something to reach that missing upper window , which I have a replacement for in the garage. I have enough windows for this bus and a few extra, for spares.

  I found out today those spare injectors I have are no good and I will have to get new ones from England , more money out of my pocket.

Sept. 11

     Today was another great day I did a lot to the bus, I scarped the left side of the bus and painted all the cream around the windows and started to see what I will have to do to fix the left wheel arch , I think I can manage it y reinforcing the original with ply wood and coating it with about 4-6 layers of fiberglass , then do some sanding and that should take care of that problem who ever fixed it last time sure didn't know how to do fiberglass , he put one layer on and covered it with aluminum flashing nothing to reinforce what broke. I guess some folks just don't do things right.  That I plan to tackle tomorrow after painting the right hand side cream, I have a few dents in the aluminum to fix first I was going to try and fill the holes with soft aluminum filler rods and the sand smooth. if it does not work or want to stick I'll fill it with filler.

  I think I'll have to give the cream a second coat of paint before masking it off for the blue. Should take me a few more days to finish the repaint, it looks better already. I know it's not right to paint over the old but when your funds are limited you have to do what you can with what you have.

 I was looking at the interior back roof even though Paul helped me straighten that out a year ago it's caved back in, So I will have to push it out again I'm thinking of removing the rest of the interior ceiling and then do it right, unscrew the screws from out side and replace the wood bow and add an extra in the center of the rear roof area to strengthen it. Then I have a dent in the roof about 8 ft back from the front of the bus on the left side and two of the top corners need to be straightened also. But I'm getting there.  

Sept. 10

     Today was a very good day to work on the bus it was not too hot and not wet so I scraped the front and some of the side and painted the cream on , tomorrow I will probably do the fiberglass work (left front fender and a little on the right side, I have wheel arch trim for the back I have to repair and make two roof vents), install the drivers door glass and start to scrap the side of the bus, and replace what ever glass I can after the window frames are painted. I removed the glass in the entry doors today to put in new rubber glazing and glass. First I'll paint the doors and give them a good greasing, I have to also adjust the door motor the doors do not want to stay closed after the button is pushed it seems to re open them I think I read somewhere they should have a stop I might have it set wrong or it never was set right I'll play with that also. More important while the weather is good to paint the entire exterior.

 I talked with a few diesel mechanics this weekend and they think I should just put injector cleaner in my tank top it off with off road fuel and run the bus at a higher rpm to see if the know will go away, it does sound better than when it was in Bob's shop but it still knocks. I'll have to get some injector cleaner this week and try that.

Sept. 09

 Ok the bus is finally back up here in my driveway and it runs not the greatest but it's getting better. What an experience driving it for the first time not knowing how to shift it or get it back to low ,I kept putting it in 3rd and not first , the shift pattern is very close together and I just have to drive him more. There is a slight knock in the engine and after talking with an injector guy yesterday he believes the injectors need cleaning so I left the spare set with him to get cleaned, the knock and smoke might be caused by these , I sure hope so and it clears up or I'll be known around here as OLD SMOKEY!!!

 When I picked him up it would not start there was a short in one of the wires, we got it started I prayed all the way home that it did not stale out and we could not get it going again. This morning I found the problem from sitting so long some mice moved into the lower control box and chewed through a wire about 90% , I removed that and two other wires and replaced them. It starts now and I will be going over some of the other wires to get the wiper motor replaced with the 24 volt one I have here and the door switches on the outside of the bus need work also.

  So now it's on to cleaning him up and removing a few seats up stairs to make a place to sleep  and a kitchen , this is just till I get the lower deck restored and more money to work with, I plan on driving him to Hershey in Oct. to the flea market and car show not sure I'll show him this year but he will be there for all to see in his new coat of paint.

  So here I am time to get back to the bus and start the cleaning and fixing of the interior lights and other things and cleaning off all the silicone in the windows and door so I can replace the glass sections needed.

August 25

      Well the time is finally here to move the bus back up here to  my shop. It's not running as good as I would like but hopefully I can finish it all up. Bob has health and landlord problems and that in a way has help me more than he will know it's kind of forced him to get the bus back together and I have been helping with things like the brakes etc, and putting the bus back together. In any case the bus will be here hopefully tomorrow and I will have a month to paint it and re do the windows and minor things.

  The interior needs a good cleaning and the roof bow needs to be put back into the roof and sealed. I plan now to restore most of the bus back to original. With Hershey being so close and I have seats out of the lower deck in order to do the wiring etc I think for this year I will just put the mattress in the rear of the bus hang temp. curtains down stairs and get a table and tarp for the awning or buy one of those portable garage units to put up for the shade.  Not sure yet.

 As for finishing the bus so it looks fairly respectable, I am doing a local fund raiser with the Chamber of Commerce and their membership list. I have been waiting to make sure the bus will be drivable before sending out these letters. Now I will do just that once the bus is here test drive then ask for donations. I have the bus insured and registered and it is legal to drive, Glad I did all that a little at a time.  Now for the paint, I plan on painting from the bottom up that way I can mask off the painted areas as I go , I bought a large roll of paper just to do this. I need to get the tape and brushes but I have enough to start with now.  I also have to re fiberglass that front left wheel arch (as it's called in the UK ), I'm thinking of using fender washers and steel as a backing to pull the old wheel arch back to original shape, then re fiber glass over everything and paint BLACK, the other smaller wheel arch needs minor work  and paint.

     I will be posting daily pictures as I go.

 This is a completed rear wheel slave cylinder I just finished rebuilding both rears and I think I'll have one from the front to do later, But for now while I was able to jack up the bus on a hard surface I did both the rears. See the Brake cylinder rebuild story in the Tips pages.

July 29

        Not too much to report except that the engine is in and running , I have rebuilt the injector pump, we had a problem with keeping the fuel in the engine, it seems to want to go back to the tank after stopping the engine and not all cylinders were working right.   I will be writing an article on how to check the injector pump and clean it.  After the rebuild we developed a KNOCK!!! , Not sure what caused it or what we are are going to do to fix it, we think it's either and injector knock or a valve stuck. We will be looking into it this coming week. Bob also has agreed to let me paint the bus while it's in his shop. I will try and get 90% of it done while he's finishing up the brakes etc. As it looks I should be driving the bus by the end of August unless we run into something else to mess us up. The picture at the right is of the Broken injector pump on the spares engine my finger is pointing to the parts I had the most problem fixing. these on the injector pump in the bus were so tight I thought they were one piece. But after looking at this pump found they screw out and in there are check valves which were suppose to open and close , they didn't. So this had to get fixed before we could set the idle to the right speed. More fun figuring out how to check that I have a hand held unit that I made an extension for to fit in the crank hole.  This worked fine for what we had to check. The engine in the Bus was missing a few parts glad I had this one as spares were right there nice and handy. Too bad the truck backed into the spare engine sometime last winter and broke so many parts. Some are repairable some forget it.

I'll post more next week as I get into painting and finding out why she knocks now. didn't before the injector problem. At least that's what Bob said I never heard it running before now.

June 12

   Again it's been some time since I made an entry in this journal, So here it goes, Well Bob has been ill so I have been helping with the bus it seems that we now have a slight problem with fuel flow to the engine the fuel pump will not pump the fuel at a steady stream so I added an electric fuel pump and found that it supplies too much fuel to the line , Now what happens is the fuel get's pumped into the engine and builds back pressure and pushes the fuel out of the supply line. I think I have the solution by adding a shut off valve to the line I can decrease the amount of fuel going to the engine once we have that set we can lock down that valve and be up and running again.  Other than this problem I think we are just about finished with the bus, I pulled off the old air tanks and I rebuilt them by cutting off the ends and machining them so there was a step in the end that pressed onto the new 6" tubing then I took it to someone that knows how to weld better than I could have done and he Mig welded the tanks together than pressure tested them to 300 pounds , I know the tanks are good now.  The are remounted in the original mounts and the lines are all hooked up. We also have the bus up in the air a few inches so we can take the wheels off the hubs and check the brakes, I am also going to be painting the hubs and wheels while they are off. 

  Bob also said I might be able to paint the bus in his shop that would be great. Then it's done except for replacing the windows which I have and redoing the interior.

  Here again my plans are changed last time I said I'm converting the entire bus to a camper well , I had some problems with registering the  bus as as motor home since that occurred I decided to go back to the original plans I had for the  bus, The lower deck is being re-finished as close to original and  the upper deck will have most of it's seats refinished and in it's original places, I might for right now still remove the rear upper bench and one row of seats to accommodate a big bed. for my self and use a porta potty and portable stove. Jerry and I were looking at just attaching an awning to the side of the bus by using hooks and Aluminum bars . More to come soon. 

May 4,2006

            It's been a long time since I posted an update but here it is.

    The speedometer has been repaired by me and new wire ends now can be hooked to the wires in the bus ,I had to disassemble the entire unit and clean and de-rust it. the windings looked good and the magnet was full of junk, this should work. 

     Bob has finally gotten in gear and so has the bus, he found the problem in the shifter housing next to the manifold. What a job to get to , Then when filling the engine with water found all the gaskets have dried out and had to replace then even the ones behind the manifold, sure glad he has small hands, But the big problem is that the engine has Wentworth threads and none of the mechanics tools fit the heads of the bolts.  So as it stands right now the engine and transmission are done. Hopefully we re-did the shut off switch with a cable and got it to work . 

  Now on to the brakes first we have to rebuild the air tanks , we are thinking of just cutting the end off the tubes that are leaking and get new tubes and weld the old ends back in. this looks to be the easiest way to fix them. We also have to build a new air tank for the air ride that tank is missing.  Hoping the air bags are still good.

  As for the inside of the bus, I have decided to convert the entire bus to a RV since the material is so expensive for the seats I plan on keeping the seats and do them a little at a time in Green Vinyl instead of cloth. The lower deck will have a table and benches made from original seats a full kitchen, and a full bathroom with small shower.  Upper deck will be the sleeping and relaxation area, with TV /DVD/ VHS and a computer by the front bench. I plan on having sleeping areas for 4 people up there. I will post pictures as I get things going and as the conversion is being done.

 For now the bus will be registered as a bus. cost a lot m ore than the RV but in Pa we have to go through the reconstruction of the bus to RV step by step accounting for where we get the parts etc. what a pain. 

More to come as we get the project in the works.

Oct. 15,2005

         Getting closer , I have finished rewiring every outside light and now I'm looking for help on rewiring the speedometer head here's a picture of what it looks like, Can any one help with how to wire it , there is red and black wires near where the head is located I think they are for the speedometer.  but where do they go and which one goes to what side?

See those two large holes in the top are these where the wires go?

 

Oct. 8, 2005

  Not much has been done in the few weeks since my last update Bob,  has temporarily fixed it by replacing the leaking core rods with 3/8" diameter hard tubing, Not to my liking but better than nothing. Now I'm searching for new core rods if any one has some please let me know what you would want for them. I need 5-6 of them. , On a better note he has started the engine again and found we now have a clutch problem the engine turns but does not engage the main drive shaft. any hints on what to look for?                                                                  

  I have rewired all the lights on the bus the interior florescent lights now have new wires and the outside lights are now converted to 12 volt. what a pain in the you know what to trace out all those wires that others have added I just ripped everything out and started over , I used 7 lead trailer wire for most of the bus running the wires down the inside of the bus. to save on wire wear . I have added two signal lights to where the tow holes are in the cowl and they pop out if I need to tow the bus. I hope I never have to do that again. Bob is also working on replacing the two brake tanks and getting the brakes free and lubed up. There is a leak in the brake lines somewhere he thinks it's a rear wheel cylinder, we are going to jack up the bus and find out exactly what's leaking next week.  I'm hoping it's just a brake line.

SEPT. 27,2005

 Not a good day as bus repairs go, he started the engine and Kalbam!!!! water running all over the place the fan hit the radiator tubes ripping one completely out and twisting it across about 3 others , I think only this one is wrecked but that's enough, this is a weird radiator it has tubes with what looks like brushes on the tubes to dissipate the heat.  Well that would have been enough to discourage any one , But the bus is a long way from being done, So I went and rented a Cargo van for the week of Hershey and I hope I'll be able to get my big mattress into the truck with an Ice box and the cook stove and Port a potty I have here in the shop and the generator and all the parts this should be fun this trip without the motor home or bus to have room to stretch out in .  Well the bus will be finished but not for this years Hershey and then I'll have time to convert it to either the Motor Home or the Antique plates . Still don't have the title anyway . Well tomorrows another day .

 Sept. 24,2005

 Almost there the engine is back in the tail and head lights are all working the starter is re-hooked up and everything was going fine till we spotted a small oil leak on a rear wheel cylinder , Monday we will tackle that hoping it's just a loose connection or something we can fix easily The front cowl looks great on the bus, I have about 10 windows to fit and then it's on to the re-paint nothing fancy just get it Blue and Cream. My big problem is time I wanted the bus to be finished already but hey if I can get it to Hershey that's all that counts right now. Paint well that can wait if need be.  I have the futon and the mattress for the upper deck and a portable stove and potty. A bucket will work just fine for a sink this trip and living out of suitcases will have to do. I'm not even sure I'm bringing the generator this time. I can use an Ice box if need be .   Here's the picture of the finished cowl on the bus. Note the little yellow lights where the tow bolt holes are I made these front signals  they pop out if I need to put Eye bolts in for towing. The two lower front lights are fog lights and the head lights have high/low beams Halagon bulbs.  I have that left front fender to repair and one of the back skirts are loose but a few screws will take care of that Most of the bus is in very good sheet metal shape there is one panel in the back that should be replaced eventually and a dent it the top left rear corner . There are 3 roof top marker lights missing or broken , I have to fix them, Yep I know they should not be there on this bus but to make it road legal here in PA.  I also did something I hope will allow folks to see when I'm turning I made all the maker lights turn signals also except the two large ones above the doors I could not find large three wire light for that location, another problem I have ran into is the old wiring in the bus is all red or black wires not color coded to see where each wire goes so it's searching with a volt meter and finding the wires. Real fun ! I have to add them and get them all working. It ends up I have to register this as a bus at least for one year , then I can either go for an antique plate or a reconstruction title for a Motor Home. 

 I now have to figure out the speedometer wiring and add a Hubometer to one of the wheels In Pa I need