HCVA Rally one last pic

I forgot that Liam had sent me this picture and I like it, it's 1930 waiting in line out of the Fire Museum

Liam Brundle

Historic Commercial Vehicle Association - Golden Jubilee Rally

On Sunday the 3rd August 2014 the Historic Commercial Vehicle Association (HCVA), which I have been a member of since the day I picked up 2413 from Tempe, held a rally to mark 50 years of the association which has had at it's heart the preservation and restoration of historic commercial vehicles.

While the HCVA established the Sydney Bus and Truck Museum (now Sydney Bus Museum) in the 1980's, the museum operations were split off in 2008. The focus of the HCVA are events for enthusiasts and private preservation and restoration projects (like mine hehe)

I was hoping to carry out 1930's engine transplant before the rally, however this was not to be, so instead the rally became the current engines last hurrah!
Some pictures from the day

ex 2304 NAMBUS at Olympic Park

The line up on the M4

Some sunnier photos of NAMBUS

 The convoy

MO 1964 alongside MO 4420, both former Fearnes buses

The line up on the road out of the Fire Musuem

All in all about 25 buses turned up for the day which was quite an exceptional number!

2413's shakedown......

To start off with, a Newcastle friend who is also currently restoring a mkII Merc - 2127 has got access to alot of archive material and I was able to find out when 2413 was actually overhauled, it was completed in May of 1988.... a bit late to have her done for the 25th anniversary of the original job, but I'm sure I will beat the 30th anniversary hehehe

So, the 'new' engine is in 2413, time to give it a run and see if there are any bugs......

A friend of mine had built his own house at Peakhurst and had purchased a 6 metre high scaffold for the job and he was going to sell it, when I heard this, I realised it would be perfect for getting onto bus roofs, much better than placing blind faith in a ladder.....
The deal was done and what a perfect excuse to go for a long run in 2413
So myself, PJ and LB all headed up to Oakville one Saturday morning, then headed for Peakhurst

Get's kinda boring on the motorway, but it was nice to be taking her further than from the back gate to the front gate at Oakville....
There had been a niggling thought in the back of my mind (as well as others who knew '13's history) she has suffered from fuel fungus off an on for as long as I've owned her and it reared it's head during this trip!
We ended up pulling off the motorway, and getting to the bowser just before the fungus clogged the fuel pump - I crossed my fingers for the remainder of the journey......

We arrived at Peakhurst, my friend and his three year old son were out the front, dad mowing and son doing the same with his own tools (and imagination).
When the bus turned up I don't think he knew what to make of it all......
But we loaded all the pieces onto 2413 and the son got to sit in the drivers seat - now this boys grandfather may well have driven this bus many times during his own time at Kingsgrove, my friend took a picture of his son in the seat and apparently now he wants to look at the picture all the time!

Since it was my weekend on at work, I got myself dropped off at home and 2413 went down Kingsgrove Rd for the first time since withdrawal from STA service

Out the front of my place - and from on high, hmmmmm that roof needs another clean

2413 heads off into the sunset

Apparently there was another fungus issue on the way back to Oakville

So looks like the next job is changing the tank over - fun, oh well at least it's done then

At the moment 2413 is waiting for a spot for me to park her under cover and really get into her, seems like I might not be the first (but have owned my bus the longest) bus to get into overhaul livery - but probably the first into proper Chullora overhaul livery.
Newcastle carried out overhauls at Hamilton workshops, while they had the directive on how to outshop their overhauls, they did things differently up there, such as leaving the doors Rivera White rather than changing the colour to Basilica Blue (mimicking the mkV mercs being delivered from late 1987 through to 1990) so 2413 waits.... she's since swapped spots with 1930 in this shot

I guess I'll give them a wash

Not because anything's coming up, but because it'll probably help get them clean for next time quicker!

3069 was freed from being amongst a line of 8 other buses, at the top of the line (but now in a spot where it won't get rebuired) - This one will need more than a broom/brush and water, a hot pressure wash is what I have in mind after the air bag is fixed and the rear nearside hatch goes back on

2413's Transplant.....

Ben Parker

Well the first transplant happen, turns out the engine that was in 2413 was a block that was built up at the Balmain Dockyards by Sydney Ferries during the period after the closure of Chullora Bus Workshops in 1989. These blocks were painted in a deeper green than the green that Mercedes Benz paint their engines when new, engine reconditioners repaint the engine a similar green, other European manufacturers tend to also paint their engines green, Volvo is a different shade. But the engine that had been in 2413 looked more like the green of the hull of a Sydney ferry except it had been lightened up.

The next weekend I was there to add new belts and new filters and new oil and by the end of the day it was going

Just needs some further engine dressing - reattach the engine bay light and refit the oil pressure and temperature gauges, finally some paint and it should look great

On the exterior, the bumper was reattached (re using the one off 1930) and now it's ready for a shake down run to Peakhurst

Next to get a transplant is 1930, here's a video of the engine running

2413 is ready Doctor........

Hoping that the engine change would happen kind of quickly after myself and PJ got 2413 from "around the back" at the yard - gave her a wash and hoped...
Christmas came, then holidays and there were a couple of other things needing to happen first- the weekend just passed it was decided would be THE weekend it would happen

Mother nature had other ideas..........

After a very dry December and January this happened

Rain rain and more rain, however ever the optimist I thought maybe, if I go up, we might be able to make a start and the forecast was for 'morning showers' this was after Friday was meant to have showers and yeah it was cloudy, but not a drop of rain. But the rain seemed to keep on falling all Saturday......

Where my buses are, yes there are sheds, but they're full of other stuff, the transplant has to happen in the open - for that you need a nice dry day.










Then next day, it was wetter than the Saturday, but nevertheless, at the end of the day, we went around the back, to jump start her, seems she has a bad bad case of fuel fungus, hooked up the jump batteries and nothing, took a pump prime and some other mechanic trick to get her to kick over......
So we're replacing the tank with a clean tank that came out of another mark II Merc obtained from Veolia (they've all been clean so far!) Also looks like I'll have to do 3069's since Waverley is notorious for having fuel fungus issues - if 2413's tank is able to be cleaned out with no hassles, I'll use that, however 3037 had similar fuel fungus issues and the tank from it was not worth salvaging. Failing that, there's a tank under 'the shed'.

Got her around the front, then I went to open the nearside rear hatch and it fell apart on me! The frame had rusted out.
Another diagnosis - the viscous fan has had it, apparently the engine's been cooked a few times as well (I put that down to yet more shark jumping!)

A few photos from yesterday

2413 beside former m/o 8175 then 1039 MO fleet number 172 at Busways, which saw service in South West Sydney before being transferred to the North Coast where it was withdrawn from - now it operates charters

2413 makes it's way down the driveway, for the second time since arriving in 2010

Through the lake

Up on blocks

Face to face with 1184, whose own heart transplant happened at the end of last year

Next weekend I'm at work, so hopefully the weekend after - the engine on the right below, will go into 2413 - the one on the left will go into 1930 eventually