Work continues on refurbishing the chassis and this will be covered in a separate article. Meanwhile, the front of the vehicle is being attended to. The front body-frame was already distorted when we bought the bus and a subsequent altercation with a tractor didn't improve matters. The first pictures show the panels being removed.
Once the panels were removed and the frame exposed, it was clear to see the extent of damage and corrosion. The steel horizontal and vertical body-pillars were distorted and twisted, the left-hand vertical severely. The steel bottom-rail was damaged beyond repair and a new one had to be fabricated. The steel top-rail under the dash had at some point been yanked down by several inches, damaging the body strut below, which in turn had to be replaced on both sides. The central zinc-coated steel plate under the windscreen has also had to be remade as the original was rusted almost to nothing. Finally, as if that wasn't enough, the tray holding the Pay As You Enter screen box has been remade and new wooden frames to hold the mechanism made. Fortunately, the wiring is in generally good condition.
As can be seen here, good progress has been made. The repairs referred to above have largely been completed; the bottom-rail corners still need some work. The body-frames now follow the correct profile. Once the demister system has been checked and any repairs carried out, the body panels will be fitted. As usual, more updates will follow.
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