THE SCOTTISH VINTAGE BUS MUSEUM -
BDJ 67
DETAILS
Body: Double-deck,
Park Royal
Engine:
First
Licensed:
Lathalmond, 2007 (Jim Methven)
BACKGROUND HISTORY
HISTORY OF THIS VEHICLE
(Photo: GS Collection, 1960s?, St Helens)
I have been in touch with Geoff Sandford who was the first owner of the
bus when bought for preservation in 1971. 67 was one of 40 RTs bought from AEC
by St Helens in 1950 and 1952. 67 was one of the first batch. Geoff bought the
bus for £120 from Hull Corporation where it served the latter half of its time.
Its total mileage when taken into preservation was 770600 miles. Geoff spent 2
years and used 15 gallons of Nitromors to remove all of the old paint. St
Helens did a top end overhaul on the bus free of charge and took £100 to
repaint it. A sign writer charged £7 to do the fleet number and St Helens
lettering.
(Photo: Allan Condie?)
The bus looks every part a London Transport product apart from the paint
finish and has all the quality fittings of the standard RT. Whilst in service
with Hull Corporation the vehicle batteries were moved from under the staircase
to metal bins below the lower saloon seats. The original destination screens
came with the bus and include "Knotty Ash". Not a plantation of
inferior trees but the home of the once famous " Diddy Men". The bus
proved to be a good runner and never gave any trouble to its owners. It won
"Best AEC" trophy on the Trans Pennine Run. Geoff sold the bus to the
late Ray Henton in 1982 but kept an interest in the vehicle. When Ray was in
poor health Geoff continued to look after the bus and has a keen interest in it
to this day.
(Photo: Jim Methven, 2007, Lathalmond)
I am
thankful that Ray Henton's family has gifted the bus to our Museum. It is an
interesting addition to the collection and will help fill a shortage of general
use vehicles at Lathalmond. The bus has been in preservation for 36 years now
and its value most likely exceeds its purchase price a hundredfold. Geoff
Sanford is in regular contact with me and is considering a trip north to make
sure we are still looking after his baby.
Jim Methven
St
Helen’s Corporation was the only operator to take RTs to almost full London
specification. Their maverick manager, R Edgley Cox, saw the opportunity to buy
this type of vehicle due to the lower overall height (14’ 3”) than most
standard buses and 15 were bought in 1950 with a further 25 in 1952. They gave
years of service; indeed some went to other operators after withdrawal,
including Kingston-upon-Hull Corporation, where BDJ 67 finished its working
career. Allan
Condie
RESTORATION DETAILS
(Photo: Jim
Methven, 2007, Lathalmond)
The
St Helens RT has now managed to get a space in the workshop annex and work has
commenced to get her ready for MOT. Roland Williams has checked the bus over
and given me a two page defect sheet which lists some 35 medium to minor
faults. The bus has been off the road since 1999 so there are a few leaks and
sticking parts to sort. Fortunately Bob Paterson has agreed to keep me right on
the mechanical items which would have had me stumped.
Since
work commenced on 4th April I had started at the bottom on the nearside. I am
told that AECs suffer from leaky wheel hub seals and this one is no exception.
Sourcing new seals has been difficult but thanks to Dave Hoare I have one
fitted to the bus already. I have a further two metric equivalents which were
made for the job from a local supplier. The drag link has been adjusted and the
exhaust flexi repaired. I have sourced 6 new drive belts which are needed for
the compressor and dynamo and Jasper has located a spare wheel from Museum
stock. By the time you read this I should have the belts and the offside wheels
fitted with new seals in place.
Jobs
still to do on the bus include: jammed window vents, sticking emergency door,
missing mud flaps, dead switches and failing ones and some insecure body trim.
You never know; it may be ready for the Open Weekend.
April 2008
After passing its MoT Jim Methven encountered a
few teething troubles with the compressor and sundry air leaks which he has
attended to.
Dec 2007
Jim
Methven advises that work on this bus proceeds with a headlamp conversion
fitted which now gives a road legal double dip/beam. The air discharge valve
has been repaired and appears now to work satisfactorily. The clutch pedal
valve was leaking and a stripdown has removed offending crusty deposits inside
it, the bus now holding air for hours rather than minutes. The steel window
pans were corroding and to stop further decay were rubbed down and primed,
Peter Mitchell kindly applying the final paint coating. The bus certainly looks
a lot smarter as a result. Next step is a brake test followed by an MOT if the
readings come up correctly.
July 2007
More items
from the defect list have been rectified and Jim Methven has reached the
'Electrical Items' heading on the 'to do' sheet. A lot of the wiring problems
were easy to repair, however it was discovered that the bus headlamps were not
fitted with a focussed high and dip beam system. As with many older buses and
LT vehicles it has a single n/s lamp for low beam use and high beam brings the
o/s lamp on through plain glass. This system is no longer accepted for current
road use and moreover the lamps are not a matching pair; consequently a correct
set of RT headlights are being urgently sought. Unfortunately this holdup is
likely to prevent the bus being MOTd in time for the Open Weekend.
May 2007
Since entering the workshop in April Jim, supported by Bob Paterson, has been
making his way through the tasks listed in Roland's inspection. The bus is in
fairly good condition (i.e. not doomed!). The first major task is to renew all
of the wheel bearing seals which have failed or are about to do so. New seals
are difficult to come by but have been sourced and ordered up. Additional
repairs are likely to take a month or so yet to complete, after which it can be
submitted for MOT.