First up we are off to sunnier climes, Florida to be precise, where 739J the former STL175 has spent her time since 1994, the humid climate having taken its toll... To svae the vehicle being loaded on a container ship, we need her to be able to drive to qualify for a ro-ro boat. So one of our chaps was despatched and after 48 hours had it running. All things being equal later today he will oversee the loading of its departure from Florida and onwards to the docks in Georgia. I will keep you posted on progress with some more detail on the journey when shes back.
Couple of pictures to try and show the strides that have been made in both the improvement of the area the operational buses are garaged and their all round presentation. The new arrangment means that all the buses are far more accesible then they have ever been and we ae able to get any bus out without having to move numerous other vehicles. They are also away from the body and restoration bays which helps with far less dust gathering on the vehicles. Also a full time member of staff dedicated to presentation, restoration and cleanliness has helped no end.
But sadly this has been a period about engines... RT1499 overheated badly on the road during the October heatwave which left the engine in a poor state. As such whenever we reach that point we take a vehicle off the road, as a tired engine is repairable, a blown one is not. So 1499 had its engine removed and had a replacement out of scrap RT3865 put in. At the same time we alos fitted an isolator to 1499 to save on battery wear and also an alternator to replace the old style dynamo. This was all completed within 10 days and 1499 is now fit and sounding great. The tired engine will go away for recon this week and be swapped over with the now ready engine for T499, when complete the reconditioned engine will go into RT624 which has been off with its own engine issues for to long.
And to make the point about 624 still being in sick corner here it is... However its engine will soon be back with us, the parts for RTL453 are due in anytime to get her back on the road, and the PS1 engine went away for recon this week as the Cub engine (below) was returned to us. Hopefully this run on needing engines reconditioned will now end and we can catch up on putting them back on the road!
Lastly the Cub engine, which has been our bottle neck on this project for sometime now is back with us. We are hoping to have it in and fitted by the end of the week. If all is well and systems are all good, we can hopefully push on to finish the project relatively quickly.
We are also now working on a new vintage/hire website which will be going fully live shortly and where this blog will then move to allowing for more interaction and photos to be put up, quicker and easier but I will post all the details up here, once the move is ready and some one has explained it to me!
Until then Cheers for now
Steve
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