Tip # 1. was sent in by Vance Sprock who was having problems finding Girling Shocks for the rear of his Bristol FSF .

 Here's some pictures of what he did to adapt USA made Shocks to his bus.

The shocks are great, it make the bus ride so much better. It is like night and day, on ride quality. The fronts were easy to retro fit. The shaft diameter is 7/8", so I had a sleeve made to make it 1". USA made shocks are 3/4" or 1", not 7/8". The rear was a bit harder as you saw. I had a guy make those brackets. The threaded rod and top plate are one piece and the tabs are welded on. Its looks a bit like overkill, but better too strong than have it break. Oh, the rear shock lower mounts are 1" threaded studs, compatible with USA stuff.

 This is the information on the type of Girling shock and if you want original type here's the info for  it.

Here are the photos of my Girling shock absorber. The number on the
shock is 64054593C. My bus is a 1965 Bristol Lodekka FLF.

we can obtain this part delivery to us about 5 to 7 days
 and the price is £85.00 sterling plus shipping cost. Please let me know
 if you require the part .Regards John.

this is John's E-mail address jrose@volvosouth.co.uk

Types of Window Glazing used in Bristol Buses

  Rebuilding Brake slave cylinders

 I was able to get the parts needed from Neil Trump in England , look in the supplier page for his ad, Bristol Parts.

 The cylinders were leaking from the inner seals

 Housing                  inner plunger      top cup          guide          "C" clip          clevis and rod

                         Lockheed seal           outer seals

       Large outer seal   bellows                                                        clevis pin

  left  Housing with out mounting plate

 This is a fairly easy rebuild

 First remove from bus frame this takes a 17mm,18mm, 21mm socket and a Crescent wrench, note the clevis pin has a flat this does not unscrew it is for holding the pin when taking the nut off , One side of the bus had a hole like pictured and the other did not. To remove the mount and cylinder from the frame there are three bolts, the left hand unit is mount on the out side of the frame rail and the left is in the frame rail a bit harder to get off. Disconnect the hydraulic line from the cylinder then unscrew the bolts that hold the entire unit to the frame remove the clevis pin first . then slide the unit back and off the frame. opposite to put it back in.

 Disassemble the cylinder by removing the big "C Clip from the end of the cylinder then pull out the upper seals and "T" shaped guide then you might be lucky to just pull the cup  out , I was not I used a propane torch to heat the cup to "blue" and then let cool and the cup came out fairly easy.  once that  is out you can blow the  inner plunger out of the housing with air. Once that is out remove the little "C" clip and remove the top washer and spring and bottom washer, then the torn rubber cup.

CLEAN ALL PARTS AND hone or sand with 400-600 grit sand paper the inside of the cylinder smooth. Clean and paint out side of cylinder.

Assembly 

 I used a little red  sealant to seal the washer to the brass part, then I assembled the inner Plunger opposite of how it came apart with the new seal. then wipe inside of cylinder with brake fluid and wet rubber seal then slide into housing. Then assemble the upper end seal with new washers and reassemble into cup then push cup back in place and large "C" Clip. Then mount outer seals large cup first and I tied them in with wire ties. then bellows make sure you leave it a little loose so you can move the inner rod when hooking it back up to the bus frame.

 That's it no big deal with all the parts there and allowing parts to dry it took me about 30 min. to rebuild one cylinder.

revised 08/25/06