ENGINEERING REPORT
Colin’s Motors
You may have noticed that during the Summer, Colin Hawketts Leyland PS2, ex. BCT 2231, was present on BCT day. There were two reasons for 2231 being on site. Firstly the engine was suffering from an inlet valve defect. Dave Parry, who as some may know is self employed and kindly works on BMMO Trust vehicles for free, was contracted to repair 2231’s engine. This meant removing the heads and as with most jobs it was easier said than done. The second fault with 2231 was the fan belt tensioning pulley would not adjust because of a stripped thread. This was easily repaired and 2231 was soon on its way. The next of Colin’s vehicles to visit the Museum was his Midland Red C1 coach, 3311. This was present for the Midland Red open day at the end of October and made an impressive sight as one of the three Midland Red just inside the entrance to the Shire Hall. The other reason for the C1 coming to the Museum was for Dave Parry to repair its cylinder head and at the time of writing this work is nearing completion. Whilst the C1 is stored inside our building, one of the Trust’s vehicles, the Crosville Bristol L5G, has taken up residence inside Colin’s very secure barn in Alvechurch, joining not only Colin’s own vehicles but also James Munro’s Atlantean, some of the Volvo Ailsas no longer on the Museum site and my Austin 1100.
Thanks to the Lads
This last Open season, a lot of work has been carried out at the Museum. The engineering team have supported me and the museum. Nothing seems to be too much trouble and it is amazing when we all work together what can be achieved. My thanks go to Dave Parry for looking after the BMMO fleet including the six weekly roadworthiness inspection which come around all too quickly. Equally, thanks go to Mark Priest for looking after the non-BMMO contingent of the fleet. Thanks also to Peter Murphy for help in the welding department. Thanks again, lads, I hope your help will continue!
Antifreeze
It is that time of year when antifreeze testing takes place. Rather than taking samples of the cooling fluid from every bus and seeing what happens when put in a freezer, the Museum has invested in an antifreeze tester. Armed with this Alex Potts, James Munro and myself spent the day on the final open day of the season going round the entire fleet, checking the antifreeze and marking it off on the list.
Southport PD2
Work on the Southport open top Leyland PD2 is progressing well. Tom Cowling now has Alwyne Marsden to help him. Alwyne has a passion for this bus as he comes from the area where it operated.
Winter Parking
The workshop has had a major re-shuffle – well, if the government can have a cabinet re-shuffle now and again then BaMMOT can have a workshop re-shuffle! Dave Parry spent a night planning a way of organising the workshop and the parking of vehicles undergoing work without constantly having to move vehicles in and out to work on them. But don’t feel too sorry for him as the plans were drawn on a beer mat which rather gives the game away. Sorry Dave. Seriously, it was a good plan and it works well. Moving vehicles to achieve this tied in well with winter parking so Pete Murphy, Dave and myself worked on a grand plan; this meant that every bus had to be measured and Pete made cardboard rectangles for each bus and a plan of the buildings. Hence we could try out the combinations to see if it all fitted. Then we did the move for real. At the end of it all nothing was outside a building that should have been inside so it must have worked.
Soudley Valley
The Soudley Valley Tiger Cub has now been painted and is currently undergoing an interior overhaul. Alex Potts assisted with taking out the seat frames, cleaning old paint off the stress panels and red oxiding them. The lino has been taken up and the floor treads marked so we know where to refit them. To compensate for the demolition job inside the bus the outside is going back together, with the Tiger Cub badge and number plate refitted. Paul Gray and Malcolm Keeley have been cleaning and painting the mouldings. Hopefully it will make its debut next season with only the mechanics to sort out.
Kevin Hill
Chapel Lane, Wythall, Worcs B47 6JX
Tel : 01564 826471 e-mail us
A registered educational charity no 507191
