31 Seater Projects - Norms Buses - Monthly activity

Norman Julian 4th Aug·
: These are the machine screws and nuts I ordered last week.
: I used to sell nuts and bolts which included these type around 15 years ago.
: BSF and BSC bolts in general were being fazed out even back then.
: Whitworth bolts in Australia are getting more scarce and in most cases have to come from England which these are.
: I can't get over how expensive they are, and these are only zinc.
: I did get a quote for gal and stainless and just double the price on that invoice for those.
: These 1/4" ones have to go into an existing thread but I didn't order any for the top tank because I will use ordinary AF bolts for them.
: The 5/16" nuts I ordered will replace the rusted ones that hold the radiator together.
: These nuts and bolts are too expensive so where possible I will use AF bolts.

Allan Cowan
: why use Whitworth UNC are same pitch, much cheaper
: Norman Julian
: The thread pitch of what I needed is 22tpi and the UNF was 24tpi so it isn't the same
: Allan Cowan
: you mentioned Whitworth / BSW , except for 1/2" is the same as UNC. still available and cheap.
: Allan Cowan
: Cannot read your invoice , how much ea are the BSF, they are the only hard to gets....
: I have an old Ward lathe and make a few odd nuts and bolts, not usually worth it for steel unless real odd stuff.
: Norman Julian
: You may very well be right but the 1/4" that I wanted are 22tpi and only available in Whitworth.
: Allan Cowan
: 22 tpi is 5/16 BSF not BSW, (1/4 BSW is the spanner size )
: Allan Cowan
: how much are the 22 tpi costing, and what lenght...
: Norman Julian
: Yeah sorry you caught me on the hop.
: The 5/16" x 22tpi are the nuts.
: The 1/4" screws are 26tpi .
: The UNF size available is 28tpi.

Norman Julian
: The head bolts for the TD5 have a similar problem.
: Double threaded studs which are 7/16".
: 12tpi on one side and 16tpi on the other.
: The standard size for BSW is 14tpi.
: The bolts are being machined up.
: Allan Cowan
: Norman Julian
: 5/16 nuts are a bit dear, 7/16 12 tpi seems a bit unusual
: Norman Julian
: Here are some of the engine bolts.
: 7/16" 12tpi on one side and 16tpi on the other

Norman Julian 6th Aug
: Today I focused my attention on the front seal.
: I'm normally pretty patient but this seal wasn't going to come out without a fight.
: After gently trying to work it out I said bugger it and punched a screwdriver through the front side of it and wedged it out a bit at a time till it fell out.
: Just as well I got a new one this one was cactus, and not because I got to it with a screwdriver.
: LOL
: The rubber inside that suppose to help seal it came out in pieces.
: It was perished beyond belief.
: Anyway, now I can put the new seal and crank pulley back on.
: The crossmember and engine mounts then can be done.
: I have nearly everything for the radiator now so I can reassemble it.
: Everything is painted that I'm going to paint.
: I also started getting some of the crud off the front of the engine.
: I had to use an old chisel to get most of it off.
: That job will take some time to complete.
: I don't think a powerful hot water pressure sprayer will get some of this stubborn crap off.
: I put the new seal alongside the old and the new one is a little deeper.

Brad Dunn
: Good work ive been through these processes a few times.
: The engine gunk is best scraped and dug out with wide blade screw drivers and blunt chisels, theres no silver bullet, I usually pressure was best i can and degrease.
: Then go to it scrapping.
: Keep up the good fight mate��
: Norman Julian
: Brad Dunn
: yeah it is a thankless job.
: I really hate dirty engines.
: Brad Dunn
: Norman Julian
: they end up clean and you can really see whats going on too.
: The thanks you get comes later as you maintain it and your hands stey relatively clean and everything is easier

Norman Julian 8th Aug
: Easy day today.
: I made the new gaskets for the radiator.
: This composite material is good for temperatures around 120 degrees and can be used for most general uses especially around sumps and tappet covers etc.
: It is 1.5mm thick so I wont bother using any sealant.
: I still have to make new flat plates that sit on the top tank cover and go right round the cover to help stop the cover from flexing.
: (I'm only guessing there).
: The bottom gasket holes have been drilled and the new bolts I got are in position.
: I did put a spring washer as well as a flat one but the screw is still a little long.
: I need to cut about 3mm off the thread.
: I'm still thinking about how I will seal the tubes.
: I even thought about very old technology.
: That is a last resort but I think it could work.

Norman Julian 13th Aug·
: It is starting to come together.
: I have spent an enormous amount of time on this.
: The tubes alone took about 3 weeks on and off and they aren't finished yet.
: I have a shroud that has never been on and no guarantees that it will fit.
: This thing without the tubes is extremely heavy and I have to put the grill on the front and then face the shroud down and put this radiator on top to bolt it all together.
: No easy task.
: I wont paint the shroud till it is on the bus.
: Damage and scratches would almost be a certainty.
: I have placed a few tubes in position to show you how they go.
: To make the job easy I will put the tubes back in after everything else is done.

Garry Macoid
: That's a work of art, be good to see together��
: Norman Julian
: Garry Macoid
: none of this is seen.
: Garry Macoid
: Norman Julian
: ahh but it will look stunning sitting on the bench all together��
: Chris Dempsey
: It looks like you retubing a steam locomotive boiler with that tubing
: Phil Steele
: Brad Dunn
: Skills��
: Robert Stevenson
: Have you found a solution for the rubbers yet?
: Norman Julian
: Nothing certain yet

Norman Julian 16th Aug
: Before I put the frame of this radiator back together I remembered I didn't take the rubber seals from the top tank. Unlike the bottom these were a different proposition.
: The rubber was really hard and broke away in most cases.
: 2 hours later after getting them out and using the dremel with a wire brush to clean the inside of each brass fitting it was ready to assemble again.
: The system is pretty straightforward, that black inlet at the top of the radiator is connected indirectly to the waterpump.
: Water is pushed into the top tank which holds water and by way of gravity the water finds its way down the tubes to the bottom tank.
: It gets circulated around the bottom tank and goes out the bottom outlet you can see back into the engine and because the waterpump is pushing the water out of itself and into the radiator water is forced around.
: The wire loops on each tube in theory catch the cooler breeze as the bus is moving and help cool down the water going down the tube.
: The fan on the engine is the primary cooler.
: Modern engines have thermo fans to regulate temperature.
: During the winter these engines could probably idle all day and not overheat.
: In summer though it would be a different story.
: The climate in England would have been ideal for these engines.
: Big radiators for these engines is a must.

Norman Julian 19th Aug
: The other job that I needed to start was the replacement bushes in the engine mounts.
: There are 16 of them.
: These first 4 are the hangers.
: I had to cut the old bushes out of these engine hanger mounts. There was some corrosion in one of them.
: It was probably one of the ones that's closest to the front exposed to more of the elements.
: The others seemed to be fine.
: A few weeks ago I cleaned all the rust off these but as you can see they are starting to rust again.
: I will paint them as to make them look a little better.

Norman Julian 20th Aug
: I have had some success of sorts with this seal.
: After a conversation with 2 suppliers of this seal, I did get a slightly narrower one sent but it is inbetween the first one I received and the original.
: The whole thing is a headache.
: I compared the wear in both the old pulley and replacement and the wear on both shafts are in 2 different places.
: Which probably means 2 different types of seals anyway.
: I will use the narrower seal and see how it goes.

Norman Julian 20th Aug
: Thanks to all the followers for suggestions with the seals for the radiator.
: I have ordered a metre of this stuff.
: It is of a good quality and can stand up to most chemicals and extreme temperatures of water.
: The inside diameter is irrelevant but the outside is.
: It is supposed to be 15mm or 5/8".
: This is a USA product so I hope it is what they say it is.
: I will be cutting it up into small sections and drilling out the hole to the right size.
: If this works I will have to order a little more to finish the job.

Ben Summers
: Hey Norman
: let me know how you get on with this please.
: Stephen Rooke
: Me too Norman
: Norman Julian
: Wont be easy. Each cut section will be approx. 6mm thick and I have to do just under 100
: Stephen Rooke
: Norman
: how are you cutting them. Bunnings sell a cutter in the plumbing section that will cut it square.
: Norman Julian
: Probably use a hacksaw then place each end on a linisher to get it flat, smooth and square.
: Mark Ellery
: Ben Summers
: you can get hose cutters which will give the a square and clean cut with out distressing the surfaces

: Ben Summers
: Cheers Mark.
: Stephen Rooke
: Ben Summers
: Stephen Rooke
: Pipe cutters. Bunnings

Norman Julian
: Who makes them Mark?
: Robert Stevenson
: They may not be suitable for such a short length though. They will distort if there isnt enough hose on each side of the blade. Ive tried cutting short lengths of conduit with similar tools and it always resorts back to the hacksaw. Maybe get a bit of dowel inside and then turn them against a blade to get a nice cut.
: I was just in my shed looking at the insertion rubber I have which is the right thickness, and was contemplating how to punch some out.
: Mark Ellery
: Robert Stevenson
: there is some merit to this, I know the knippex and Wurth ones are a very accurate fit for the blade and I have been told the T n E ones are two, the secret is a razor sharp blade
: The best three are Knippex, T n E and Wurth

Andrew Blacklock
: Who did you get the new one off
: Norman Julian
: Mr Motor Parts.
: Robert Stevenson
: My old mate mechanics used to have to fix engines during the depression.
: They replaced bearings with leather.
: Wore the crank down.
: But was still going.
: They used to carve pistons out of Ironbark too, but thats another story.
: Daniel Laws
: But it's not pure rubber,
: Norm there are all sorts of additives to prolong its life
: becomes a bit like a belt sander after a while.
: Norman Julian
: Daniel Laws
: hmm interesting!
: Thanks mate
: Daniel Laws
: all sorts of grit gets picked up and into the face of the belt
: Stuart Brown
: Eventually any surfaces with lots of "traffic" will wear
: The front stone staircases in my High School were fascinating to my practical mind
: There is two staircases opposite one another in the centre of the building finished in 1921.
: One is for students and one for teachers and quite obvious as to which is which simply due to different traffic volumes.
: Norman Julian
: Stuart Brown
: ah yes but that is a lot of different pairs of shoes attacking the concrete or hard surface.
: This is only one rubber source against one metal source.
: In your theory if we changed it to just one pair of shoes how would it end.
: LOL
: Robert Stevenson
: Why do butchers strop their knives on leather?
: Trying to remember something from my engineering courses.
: It was something like using hard stuff to grind away soft materials, which seems obvious, but there was something about using softer materials to grind away hard surfaces, which required some thinking at the time.
: Norman Julian
: In any case it is just one of those little curiosities in life!
: Stuart Brown
: Norman Julian
: Ute Traps are another example.
: Protect the surface in the beginning then their movement wears it and can over a long enough time wear the steel, not just the paint.
: t>

Norman Julian 21st Aug
: The weather is woeful at the moment, so very little is being done.
: I did however work on the engine mounts for the crossmember.
: Here 4 of the 16 get used.
: Because all these rubbers are the same length some cutting down is required.
: Measuring some of the old rubbers internal diameter against the new there is a few milimetres difference.
: Not being a firm fit means a fair bit of shaking going on.
: Should be noticeably different the next time I start her.
: Lastly you can see 2 forks with a thread at the end of 2 protruding sections.
: One photo shows masking tape still on one.
: These are what the radiator sits on.
: In another photo I have included a picture of the radiator frame which shows a hole in the side of the frame and a nut top and bottom of it.
: That is what the bush slides into.
: The fork goes into the hole in the bush.
: This help stops excess vibration.
: Speaking to the guys at the museum they are something that has to be remade down the track.
: I will be looking for a replacement before that happens.

Norman Julian 26th Aug
: After a week of bad weather I can move along with the 3 different jobs I have going.
: This one now I had to sort out the grill.
: The frame is distorted, it doesn't stay flat so it needed bracing at the top, middle and bottom. The new top bracket was fitted and works fine.
: All the distortion now was in the bottom.
: The problem was solved with a new brace at the bottom, it pulled back together nicely.
: I'm not sure if there ever was a bottom brace originally.
: I had to put spacers in the middle row of screws to raise the grill up to get the grill to sit in the right place when the shroud sat where it was supposed to.
: Because the original shroud was basically gone at the bottom, I had no idea of how the whole thing aligned.
: It is all guess work at the moment.

Norman Julian
: I changed jobs this morning.
: Thought I would put this seal in and noticed this.
: The original is 1/2" deep whereas the new one is 3/4" deep.
: Because there is a shoulder inside the cover for this seal to sit on it will stick out about 1/4".
: Has anyone else changed one of these recently.
: I text the guy from ABC Diesels and he said he was going to check one of his engine timing covers and see for himself. He also said that he has sold quite a few from this new batch and I was the first to question it.

Norman Julian 27th Aug ·
: Today was another good warm day for painting.
: I finished off the bits that needed to be done before assembly.
: This whole assembly is the engine mounting cradle.
: It consists of the crossmember, standoff engine mounts and engine mount brackets.
: In this position you are seeing it upside down.
: I had to work out what length to cut the mount rubbers allowing for compression when tightened up.
: This whole thing weighs about 80kgs.
: I also started stripping old paint off the grill before I start doing some more welding here and there to allow for mounting of the shroud.
: The other thing I painted was the crank pulley nut.
: This and the pulley have to go back on before the cradle goes back on.
: I painted the inside of the nut several coats.
: I only have undercoat on the outside because I need to tighten it up.
: If I had paint on it . . . well you know what would happen.

Norms Restoration - 31 Seater Projects

1953 Leyland OPD2/1 [2818]

2020

Mechanical Aug