2413 restart.

Back while everything was still at Terrey Hills, I had organised through SW a body builder to see to a few knocks and damage on 2413's - when I got her, there was a hole in the top nearside corner, no doubt she had hit something - this let water in, while he was at it, Nick fixed the offside corner at the front and the offiside rear corner - seems she had suffered a hit that had damaged both fibreglass panels

Unfortunately Nick was never able to finish the work because 2413 ended up being boxed in, in that yard and then when it cleared up again, he couldn't get her started - no one could, it would seem that 2413 didn't like being there since after that, she'd either not start (and flatten the jump pack) or if we got her going, the theory was she was sucking in too much air, it seemed to be the symptom everytime - start her up and wait for the engine to get going cylinder by cylinder (ironically at Oakville kicks over first go...)

Then at the beginning of 2010, she was moved to Oakville

Mat Barber

Then trying to offload my 'excess' buses took precedent as well as being on the committee of the Historic Commercial Vehicle Association (HCVA) while also being on the Management Committee of the Sydney Bus Museum (where I am still Safety Officer) and helping with the move from Tempe to Leichhardt, I did not see her for a while - indeed during that move the registration on 1930 lapsed.

A few people did start saying to me "poor old 2413..." one even started to compare me to a famous (in bus circles) Randwick resident - needless to say the criticism was warranted and I'd try brushing it off. 

While her body is in pretty good condition as well as her transmission - her engine has always been a concern, basically she had 'jumped the shark' so many times in her later years at the STA that by the time I got her, her engine was on it's last legs. Late in 2011 I also priced the cost of a rebuild kit for a Mercedes Benz OM407h engine - the best price was $2,200 with others creeping up towards $3,000 (of course Mercedes themselves it was more like $3,500!)

I often wondered, starting her up in summer, would there be a four wheel drive red truck out on the road with sirens and lights on, coming to investigate?

  I thought I would be a restoration purist and learn more about these things and assist a mechanic I knew in rebuilding the engine - that idea soon faded as there were rumours of an auction by the STA of parts they had salvaged off buses they had been sending to scrap since 2010. So with that in my mind and having heard from a colleague at the Museum that these parts did exist - engines, transmissions and body parts, that they had transported loads from Leichhardt to Tempe for the STA. I held out on purchasing a rebuild kit for 2413.

2413 had ended up being buried at Oakville, the last bus near the boundary fence! One day, there was a little bit of a shuffle and I put my 2 cents in - I wanted 2413 out of where it was - I wanted to get it restarted! 

If you look closely - just behind the front is a Leyland Buffalo (?) certainly a Leyland - that has been down there many years

Edison Keung

I got her out of that corner (ironically 3026 sits there now) and into the active line, however, after all that she only ended up just over one row and up one bus - but still in view when I went there, not hidden - I started on little inside jobs, removing the mid 90's ad frames and it was odd - instead of the pegboard underneath being 'baby poo yellow' - it was more a beige colour found on later mk4's and the mk5's

The next job was removing the seat backs and bases - the mk2's have mild steel seat frames, they were originally powder coated - I have a feeling this process was repeated when overhauled at Chullora and for the fifty that had full refurbishments at McGraths in the 1990's. Some preservationists have chosen to do the seats first, whereas I, I'm waiting until 2413's under the awning to do it - the seats have been stored in the mkI shed - some will be swapped out given their poor condition, but most will return.
The one stainless steel seat frame will be replaced with a mild steel one out of 2202

As the Oakville yard stood, 2413 was in one spot, ex 2202 was in another, with ex 2184 behind it - the owners of 2184 wanted to part it out, 2202 needed to be moved 

So out she came and that was the day I got 1930 going again as well! (that's the one with the mucky roof). The nearside rear corner had been taken off by the owner of 2209 (before I owned 2202) and used on that vehicle which is also being restored at the moment. To get to 2413, 1930 had to be moved as well - so I took the opportunity to start sprucing her up for her October long weekend outing.

2202 was then pushed back into the spot occupied by 2184 previously (by the fence) and 2413 parked in front of it

A few months later - during a shuffle to get one of RC's Leopards out - 3092 and 2413 got the closest together that they probably have since they were depot mates at Kingsgrove and Tempe!

For while I had given up on the rumoured parts auction, but then, in late August there was word that it would finally be happening on the 14th of September - I attended and ended up spending a couple of hundred dollars more than the cost of a Mercedes Benz OM407h engine rebuild kit I ended up with eight pallets, three had engines on them, one had a spare transmission for 3092 and one Voith transmission for the landlord - one MAN engine and two Merc engines - one for 2413 and one for 1930, both had been rebuild in the two thousands by the STA, but yes for my two O305's, they can be re engined for under $1,000! 

(Yes they're an unknown quantity, but from what I can tell, they were kept for a reason)

Securing these parts put a new determination into me to get 2413 well and truly restarted, so in the middle of October myself and PJ went up to the yard and gave her the most thorough wash 2413 has had, certainly since I have had her!

There's a first time for everything! Previously I had got others to hop on the roof of my buses (one person in particular seems to have no fear!)  but I decided no, it's my bus, my project, I should be the one to do it! I'll admit it's looking alot whiter than it does here - but the lichen are for the most part still there...... each little breeze up there felt like a howling gale so I got off as quick as I could - I purchased scaffolding off a friend who is built his own house - the next time I'm up that high - I'll be stepping off that scaffolding, a final clean before sanding and paint, I'll use a hot pressure washer instead

So after it's first wash in probably three years - we took her up to Pitt Town for a drink (yes she's registered, can't you see all the labels ;) )

 Out the front of the yard after wash (turns out she was a bit dry in the radiator too). This was the first time she'd left the bounds of the fence since being moved from Terrey Hills to Oakville

At the BP at Pitt Town - funny thing about taking buses to small servos - they always know who you are!

On the drive back -
a bit of a posed corner

The report back from PJ was she does all the right things, makes the right noises - just has a very tired engine.

Right now, I'm just waiting for the 'heart transplant' to occur, I'm looking forward to doing whatever I can to assist there - for that to happen some parts need to goto the landlords 'apple shed' which will give more room in the area under the awning. Also they have an Atlantean coming to supply an engine to one of their restored Atlanteans - which will also goto their other location - which will open up the 'top road' for the first time in a long time!

The next blog post on 2413 will be about her transplant :)

That Scania!!!!

I just realised that I forgot to mention in my previous post - the Scania K92 that I purchased with another with the idea of putting it on TV plates - well yeah it seemed like a good idea at the time. It was a 1986 bus - so youngish, much younger than the Leopards and the mk2 were by a good 5 years, also it sat 49 people, better than the 43 offered by something from the STA - however it had a CAG transmission, basically the grand dad of all the computer aided transmissions that are in most long haul trucks as well as coaches was a let down......

We were thinking it was an OK buy, we brought it down from Brisbane in mid 2009, it performed well on the highway, then we thought, lets take it around Sydney at peak hour - so the rego was still current, there was a club meeting on, we took it through the city it along with the other two (at the time) were then based at Terrey Hills - in what turned out to be one of the last 'outings' from there, after then, as things turned out, we started clearing out and moving to Oakville.
The CAG transmission turned out to be quite a handful in CBD traffic (try it out properly!) so the decision was taken to sell it ASAP - that turned into 4 years

The bus was 897 GRA, purchased from Agnes Water Bus Lines based in Agnes Water Queensland (up near Seventeen Seventy)  in August 2009, before that it was in NSW based in  operated by Roachcoach of Ulladulla, the Sussex Inlet services were later bought out by Sussex Inlet Bus Service registered as MO 4916 - they sold it to Queensland. Before that the bus was with Busways and came as part of the takeover of Peninsula Bus Lines of Umina and was regsitered MO 0581 - ultimately it was built for Brisbane Water Coaches in 1986 - there were quite a few K92 Scanias built for operations on the Central Coast, a fair proportion originally having CAG transmissions, some converted to ZF automatics early on - some later, some sold off ultimately by Busways early on - others being converted to ZF transmissions and remaining in service with Busways for many years to come - indeed there are still three in service with them

Nevertheless the bus went with me from Terrey Hills to Oakville - in hindsight it should have stayed at Terrey Hills and sold out of there!
Here are some pics of the first clean I gave it

 


Indeed the bus in the background is a former Busways B10M, also Central Coast based

The Scania turned out to be somewhat of an epic - first the power steering pump fails. The partner in the bus sources an aftermarket new one - one slight problem, Scania had two series of engines, with different cogs for the power steering pump, we had the older, so ended up having to get a new cog off Scania - ok gets fixed, then on a test drive, fuel lines get clogged with salastic - seems someone had done a dodgy fix to the fuel pick up and it had worked for a while, but now had come undone. So it was iffy as to if it would start.....

Then we had the wet summer of 2010/11, one fine day (although it had been raining so there was mud in the yard) the Scania was being moved out of the way when it ended up in a soft spot - and yeah...... it sank into it, it took months and months for the area to dry out in that time I had sourced a new pick up off a K92 that was being scrapped in Wollongong (thanks to Mr Shareabirthday!) and after that replaced the part, then once the tow truck was back online and the ground had dried out, we got it out

The bumper was rather 'decorative' and one side needed to be cut off with a gas axe the bolts were that rusty.

Anyway she had a quick clean up and was sold to a gentleman from Echuca who operates an earthmoving and harvesting business - he has Scania trucks with the same engine - will use it for a while, ultimately he has a spare set of mechanicals for his trucks

Phil Bugby

The Scania all cleaned up before sale

Goings........

Over the past year or so, I have gotten rid of a few buses. I got involved in a charter business a while back, it worked for a little while, but then for various reasons, it folded up. Out of that I gained a pair of 1982 built Leyland Leopards - and in mid 2009 purchased a Scania K92, this bus turned out to be more a milestone than anything else. Power steering pump failures, fuel pick up failures and on top of that getting bogged in the yard and staying there until the ground softened up again. Then yes 2199 which I nearly put on in this business, but it never eventuated.
The decker became too far gone - the body became much worse and after one half decided to get out (after delivering very little) I was talked into letting it go for parts. Today it's engine and gearbox less in the yard.
The Canberra merc shed also started to become a bit of a worry, a couple of the pillars started to bow - plus another bus had come into the picture to replace it, ex m/o 1486 ex m/o 2202, had been withdrawn from Veolia Transport in August 2011, then a fellow preservationist had secured it - supposedly the transmission had blown up on it and he wanted it for the transmission sump on his mk1 shed (that we both use) ex m/o 9778 basically ex m/o 1789 way back when - it was the last mk1 Merc with any route operator in Sydney. I hear you say it should stay as a runner? However it was withdrawn after an accident with a motorbike, alot of the undercarriage has been damaged. It was auctioned off and towed to Oakville, unfortunately when it was being positioned, the transmission sump had a hole ripped into it.
So we have two sheds between us, of course they've become full of items gleaned since 2007

Here are a few shots of the buses

The Leopards 

This was TV 5400 - previously m/o 5260 at Westbus after I had 'dragged it out of the swamp', it was sold to another preservationist based down in the Wagga Wagga / Junee area and was eventually registered on historic plates

After a much overdue wash

And finally after leaving Sydney for Riverina region

Both photos - Matt Crouch

Nevertheless, it's twin ex TV 5402 - previously m/o 5245, it had failed it's HVIS inspection - the brakes were deemed too low, new pads purchased, but then the poor thing developed a problem with it's Clayton valve under the drivers cab - it's a piston that pops up into place when the bus starts and there's a little gasket that fills a gap when air is fully built up.
In typical 'each bus is individual' theme, you'd think it would be the same on both Leopards, no, on old 5400 the was a large checkerplate access hatch, on old 5402, there was one small one, we ended up making a much larger one, to make servicing this valve easier for the next person to do it
Then we started it up and she moved!
I still have this bus and I really want to get rid of it (any reasonable offer accepted ;) ) here's a picture of 5402 a few weekends ago - we started her up to gauge what she might need (brakes looked at really)

The Canberra Merc 

ex 646- ex ZIB 646, BUS 646 later m/o 6409 with Ruttys in Wollongong and ultimately with Premier Illawarra where I purchased it in July 2009, it came across from Terrey Hills to Oakville (so everything 'worked') in March 2010.

"The shed" with 2413 both at Terrey Hills, being prepped to goto Oakville

On it's way to Oakville - the photo taker was right, it was it's last run.....

Mat Barber

The spot where the shed ended up and stayed with ex 5400 beside and beside that, ex MO 0305 from Fearnes - with the mk1(mk2) shed off to the extreme left, from this pic, only ex MO 0305 and the mk1 shed remain where they are


During the parting out

 I'd emptied it out - either into the mk3 mk2 shed - ex m/o 1486/m/o 2202, or whatever was left in there - went with the bus! at this point I was thinking of the Canberra guys with their Canberra Merc #661 got them a few windows and my bus had retained it's original light cluster which they got

After this photo was taken - the rear door was cut off at the hinges and the big rubber bumper taken off in preparation for mechanical parts being removed

The void where engine, transmission and radiator once were

Ever wondered what was inside the hub of an O305 (and O405) ? That oily rod is the axle

My spare engine and transmission - this might head up to my parents place on the north coast (so I know where it is!) 

Other useful parts off this vehicle were....

A spare radiator, spare visco fan, spare diff (slightly higher speed @ 90k instead of 80k) spare steering box, spare adjustable steering column (turns out 3092 has one!) spare rear axle rods - never know....

Just a few more air valves to strip off and she'll be ready for her last skull drag.......

Bye bye Canberra Merc!!!!

Above 3 photos - Edward Parker

2199

I never really had any attachment to this bus - originally, I was going to try and run it on TV plates, but this never happened, when I got it, it had a few niggling issues and thanks to Ed P, these were fixed, it basically has strong mechanicals, the engine and transmission were rebuilt by Premier Illawarra in house. It received a coat of grey paint after it had a graffiti mural down one side - it was used by a local orchestra at the time - so probably that's why it was painted grey.
I had put feelers out and given what I had put into the vehicle, I wanted to get as much as I could of it back as I could, being originally a Newcastle bus, I aimed my feelers to there, it also nearly went to the bus museum as parts, but then someone who had been helping out my landlords with odd jobs around their fleet, made an approach and Ed P sweetened the deal a touch for me as well. It was sold to him and off my hands at least.
Just this month he and Ed P have painted it up in the mkII UTA livery and will have it's debut in Newcastle on the weekend of 16th and 17th November - particularly the 17th where it will join a few other Mercedes Benz O305's (possibly a MAN SL202 as well) on the Newcastle foreshore for the Mercedes Benz Classic Car Club's All German Day.

 Above - 2199 being readied for transfer from Terrey Hills to Oakville with a good clean


Left - 2413 and 2199, washed them both side by side

Below left- 2199 from the rear (compare to it's new look)

Below - interior of 2199

2199 resting at Oakville, with original headlight bezels, I put the more modern black ones on when I thought it had a chance to go onto TV plates










Taken a few weeks ago - 2199 nearly finished, looks great

There are some better photos of it on the new owners Facebook page
And whoops I cut the top off the front pic!

3026

I purchased this bus from the Manheim auction in November of 2012 - originally I was going to goto the auction with the aim of getting a mk4 to cannibalise for 3069 and 3037, however I saw this bus and it was all original on the inside, thought 'I can't let it go to be a motorhome - or worse, scrap!' so..... I bid for it - unfortunately it was the first of five over the block and nerves got the better of me and I bid too high (not too much but still) - I am currently in negotiations to sell it to someone who will preserve it.

And the interior time warp

 

 

The Decker

After hoping I could get this undercover (after being outside for 20 years), without the other party, I felt lumbered with the old girl. It was put to me that to restore it, it was too far gone, so the engine an gearbox were removed and sent to Tasmania to go into a Red Decker Co Atlantean while the 680 engine out of that vehicle was rebuilt (also was able to trade in back rent!). The landlords tried to sell it engineless - but had no luck, so it was towed back from the road and remains there......

So as I finish this post, I have had 11 buses ekkkkk only want to keep 4 really (ex 2202 might hang around while it still has a use)