Norms Restoration - 31 Seater Projects

1953 Leyland OPD2/1 [2818]

2020

Mechanical Oct

Norman Julian 1st Oct
When I put the tubes back in this frame it will be far too heavy for me to handle so I put the rest of the small parts back on including hose tube and top holding bracket etc.
The overflow pipe was cleaned of years of discolour and contamination.
It never had a brace bracket near the end so I may put one on just to limit vibration noises.
I spent 2 days on and of getting the shroud ready for painting.
Finally I went around and tightened up all the nuts and bolts holding everything together.






Robert Bothwell
What a work of art - they were made to last in those days.

Norman Julian 2nd Oct
A break away from normal proceedings.
I wanted to put some of these destination rolls up.
I was given quite a few some years ago, so rather then them gathering dust, decorating the shed seems like a good idea.

Norman Julian 2nd Oct
The seals are all in.
A good friend of mine helped me out with a grease like stuff that is called "assembly lube".
It is used where rubber seals are used in gearboxes, clutches etc.
It doesn't hang around.
It burns off with heat and because it doesn't hurt rubber it was a good choice.
Another thing I wasn't looking forward to was wondering how I will deal with the deformation of the ends of the copper tubes.
I looked around for a piece of steel the same inside diameter as the tube.
I was lucky enough to find an old stanley screwdriver that fitted perfectly.
I cut the end off and made it slightly tapered so it would be easier to go in the end of the tube.
I heated the end of the copper tube up with the blow torch and when it was hot enough I pushed the tube into the end of the screwdriver which I had clamped into the vice.
I was going to tap the other end with a hammer but first I tried twisting the tube with a bit of pressure and that worked a treat.
The deformation easily came out.
With reassembling I firstly deburred the end of each tube so as to not damage the inside of the seals and placed more lube to go in a little easier.
Norman Julian 2nd Oct
After what seems like forever the radiator shroud after 3 coats of primer/undercoat and a lot of dents and scratches is ready for its final colour.
Bob Gioia
Are you painting it black or spray chrome?
Norman Julian
Bob Gioia black
Norman Julian
The only thing I have to do now is get the exact distance where the tube sits in the top chamber.
Norm Julian 2nd Oct

Paul Morton
you are going to miss that screwdriver Norm.
Looks like you've had it a long long time
Norman Julian
Here you can see one seal in position but not all the way in.
I used a blunt end of a wad punch which is the same diameter as the seal to make it easier to push all the way home.


Norman Julian 3rd Oct
Well you are probably getting tired of seeing these shots of the radiator but just think of me I'm doing the job. Anyway, today it was a mixed bag with some successes and failures.
Those impressions caused by the overtighening of the nuts in the first place have been a problem.
The ones with miner dents came out easily with the method I showed you yesterday in heating up the tube and forcing it on a piece of steel the same inside diameter, but if the dent is quite deep all you do is fracture the metal.
One photo shows the results.
Therefore because the dent isn't overly bad I decided just to fill it with solder or as the yanks say "sodder".
I needed to fill that dent because the rubber seal can only take up so much.
Around 2/3rds of the tubes are back in.

Norman Julian
This is the one which had the split.





Norman Julian
This shows the lube on the end of the tube.
Norman Julian 4th Oct
Well she is done!
I even made a saddle near the end of the overflow pipe.
This originally didn't have one so not sure if it ever did.
I will give it a water test at some stage to see if it leaks.
There are no less then 115 different places it could leak.
If it does you will hear me from your place.
This job reminds me of an old saying I once heard!
"Patience is a virtue, possess if you can, seldom found in women, never in a man"!
I must be a big girl!
LOL




Garry Macoid
What a work of art,
I am beyond impressed with your skill level and determination Norm,
well done that man������
Norman Julian
Garry Macoid
thanks buddy
Robert John Hood
Brilliant job Norm.
Congratulations Mate.
Robert John Hood
Well done
Norman Julian
Thanks Robert.
The good thing is now that anyone that is restoring one of these I can pass on the contact that can make the replacement seals.
Phil Steele
well done
Paul Morton
Looks brilliant Norm.
Fred Holland
It's a credit to you Norm been a interesting run from start to finish for us all.
Norman Julian 5th Oct
The first coat of the final colour went on today. Second tomorrow.
I was arguing with myself over flat or gloss and flat won.
Because this resto is of an overhaul nature and not like the AEC which is a brand new nature I wanted to do something a little different.
I'm allowed every now and then to do something different.
If I think it looks a little strange I can put a gloss coat later.



Phil Steele
Looking great, yep flat looks good.
John Lidstone
very nicely tidied!
Hopefully silver paint with coating and not black....?
Norman Julian
Silver . . . YUK!
Norman Julian 6th Oct
Back together and apart from the cap is done.
Reconditioned and ready to go.
I'm still deciding what's to be done with the cap.
I have seen painted the same colour as the rest of the radiator but I'm favouring chrome.




Greg McStravick
Beautiful
Garry Macoid
Impressed much, bit concerned that the badge appears to be 15 thou too low on the left side though. ��
Greg McStravick
Garry Macoid
saw that didn't want to say anything
Garry Macoid
Greg McStravick
��
I think I hear Norm reaching for the vernier
Norman Julian
I was more concerned because the bolts are not central with the badge
Brian Blunt
I find the filler looks “wrong” being offset.
I would paint it black so that it doesn’t stand out so much
Norman Julian
Brian Blunt
Too much black I think Brian.
The chrome will help to break it up a bit.
Norman Julian
I don't know why I'm too worried about the black.
Have a look at this radiator.
Certainly an acquired taste.
Norman Julian
I don't know why I'm too worried about the black.
Have a look at this radiator.
Certainly an acquired taste.
Andrew Blacklock
Norman Julian
Newcastle had the best ideas ��
Norman Julian 6th Oct
From this to this.
I'll tell you all now I'm in no hurry to do another.

Peter Hanson
Well done, Norman.
A work of art that you can be very proud of.
Garth Taylor
Brilliant restoration Norm.
Norman Julian
Thanks guys.
Big job behind me!
John Clarke
Magnificent
Norman Julian 17th Oct
With the crossmember now back in as well as the bumper brackets I can put the engine mounts back in.
With most vehicles the engine mounts go only in one place and the engine sits in that position.
With this the only clue to where this engine sits is the hole in the centre of the crossmember.
If you lign the nut on the crank pulley up with that then the engine is central and you can then position the engine mounts.
When I originally took the bumper brackets off there were the 4 on each side bolts to deal with and also a bolt up the top and down the front side of each bracket.
Only 1 of the 4 front and top bolts came out without an issue.
When the time came to putting these brackets back on I decided those bolts are not really relevant so I welded the holes up in the brackets.
There were a couple of reasons for this.
One was that those bolts had a thread pitch that isn't obtainable off the shelf.
I had to drill out 2 of the remnants of those bolts and the second was I don't really think they are needed.
The 4 bolts on either side that support the crossmember as well are more than enough.


Adrian Spencer
Norm in this photo the black horn like cast mount on the right seems to be a complete with bolt sticking out, but in other photos the left side casting is missing the top section.
Is this optical illusion ?
Norman Julian
This photo shows the whole thing engine mounts and all upside down.
It was photographed in this position because it was out of balance in the upright position.
Adrian Spencer
poor eyesight
LOL
Norman Julian
Adrian Spencer
which photo are you referring Adrian, maybe if I could see it I can understand

Norman Julian
The 2 stand off brackets with the threaded stud hold the bottom side of the radiator in position.
There has always been one on either side.
The bottom photo shows the hole on either side of the radiator frame.
Not sure if that answers your question.

Norman Julian
A reminder what it once was








Norman Julian 18th Oct
The engine can once again support itself.

Norman Julian 19th Oct
This is the next part of this engine check that I wanted to do.
This what looks like a compressor cylinder head is what is called an exhauster.
It is part of the braking system.
Behind that on the engine is what I need to get to.
There are 2 of these block plates, one at the front and one at the back of the engine.
If you have been following the TD5 group you would recall that when I took the plates off that engine it had a load of contaminants in it.
It took a lot of cleaning to get it out.
The AEC was similar and this one wont be any different.
It all comes back to what went into the cooling system over a long period of time.
Back to these plates. Unfortunately there are a few things in the way including this exhauster and manifold etc.
There are 2 manifolds interlocking with each other and also fuel lines going from the injector pump to each injector and it is very crowded, so getting to each bolt to undo them to take these manifolds off is very difficult.




Scott Wilson
It is a compressor, air cooled, engine oil supply to it.
Norman Julian
I think the term exhauster is an old term they used.
I'm just quoting from my manual.
It is directly connected to the timing gear.
Yes I guess it is a compressor as such.
Scott Wilson
Norman Julian
Thats an early type chassis, they are vacum, late are air pressure.
Brian Blunt
I think in those days, air brakes were an option.
Standard chassis still had vac or vac/hyd brakes, air was a London and Sydney "special".
Norman Julian
OK folks This information is a little outdated even though this manual is for this bus.
Learning curve for me.
Norman Julian 19th Oct
Apparently these things are pretty rare these days.
Not many buses have them on their engines.
The only thing to remember with these is to unlock them before you start the engine.
If you forget you break the locating dowel off.


Norman Julian 20th Oct
I couldn't live with myself if I didn't do something about this.
I can drill out the rivets and do something with the plate.
Slight panel beating required and then polish it up.
Could be either brass/bronze or copper.
The rivets can be completely drilled out and a thread tapped and screws used.
That's the plan.
Norman Julian 21st Oct
Norman Julian
This is in the off position so the pin can't engage.
I thought about it and realised I put it back together wrong.
Here it is seen correct!
Norman Julian 20th Oct
This is the reason for me taking all this stuff off the side.
I don't wish to take stuff off needlessly but the inside of the engine will be like this one pictured.
This is a picture of the TD5 engine and it had 1/2 kilo of mineral buildup from water flowing through the engine as well as rust contaminants.
If I don't do the whole box and dice, cleaning out the radiator etc would have been a complete waste of time.
It also allows me to have a look inside the engine to see how it fairs after all this time.

Norman Julian
By the way, if you are wondering about the TD5 I am still waiting for the headbolts to be made.
When I get them I can put the engine back together
Lee Hall
This is what was wrong with the original Leyland o600 in my bus and it had rusted through to No1 liner and leaking down between the liner and the cylinder into the sump.
Years of people putting tap water in I think or maybe even dam water ��
Norman Julian
Lee Hall water is water.
Without the protection of glycol or something engines are always vulnerable to corrosion.
It's just that these engines were so over-engineered that they can take more punishment than most modern engines.
Lee Hall
Norman Julian yeah and after all it's 60 odd years old.
How many modern engines will get to that age!
Even the rust in the body wasn't as bad as some of the coaches I've seen rotting away.
Norman Julian
This bus has far more rust in it than the TD5 has and it is 14 years younger.
Lee Hall
Norman Julian
think the older you go the better quality
Norman Julian
It's more to do with its location after it leaves service.
Though while in service a Burwood based bus might fair better than a North Shore bus.
Lee Hall
Norman Julian is Burwood on the coast?
I can't remember what depot 2672 was at but I know it was moved between Newcastle and Sydney a few times.
Norman Julian
Lee Hall, Burwood is middle west!
Phil Steele
How interesting more shock
Norman Julian 22nd Oct
Today has been nothing more than very frustrating.
With what I said yesterday getting to some of these bolts was very difficult.
I had to modify a few spanners to try and fit around some of the obstacles in the way.
There has to be an order to what goes back first, second etc.
Taking it apart the way I did would have been easier if I knew what order.
It is now easier to take the compressor and injector off.
When I first looked at what was under this bonnet I was wondering what that filter on the fire wall with a pipe going down to nowhere was for.
There is a 3/4" pipe coming from the back of the compressor which goes down to the back of the engine just laying there doing nothing sitting next to the accelerater lever.
It looked a bit strange till I worked out it must connect to that other pipe going up to the filter.
This must be a breathing pipe.



Norman Julian
The injectors on this engine are not outside like what's on the TD5 or the AEC but inside the tappet covers.

Norman Julian
The filter on the right starts off with a steel pipe coming off it then there is a rubber hose going to nothing.
If you look you can see a pipe coming from the back of the compressor.
They must join up.
Scott Wilson
Norman Julian
Correct.
Intake air filter for compressor.


Robert Stevenson
Reckon you would be a demon with jigsaw puzzles Norm.
Phil Steele
Good job
Norman Julian 20th Oct
Today has been nothing more than very frustrating.
With what I said yesterday getting to some of these bolts was very difficult.
I had to modify a few spanners to try and fit around some of the obstacles in the way.
There has to be an order to what goes back first, second etc.
Taking it apart the way I did would have been easier if I knew what order.
It is now easier to take the compressor and injector off.
When I first looked at what was under this bonnet I was wondering what that filter on the fire wall with a pipe going down to nowhere was for.
There is a 3/4" pipe coming from the back of the compressor which goes down to the back of the engine just laying there doing nothing sitting next to the accelerater lever.
It looked a bit strange till I worked out it must connect to that other pipe going up to the filter.
This must be a breathing pipe.
Norman Julian 20th Oct
Well today I yet again got sidetracked.
I am at the stage where the injector pump and compressor is coming out but I was warned (quite a few times actually) that it is important to get the pump timing marks aligned with the engine so as to not create issues later when the pump goes back on with timing etc.
I listened to what was told to me about looking out for holes in the rear drivers side of the engine but I couldn't see anything except this thing that was protruding out of the rear of the engine under the starter roughly in the area this hole was suppose to be.
I went back and had a look at the service manual and it had a picture of this thing on the side of the engine.
The book had it down as a "timing plunger".
Well as you can see in the photos I took it apart and cleaned it up and then I could see what it does, and it is brilliant.
There are 3 positions.
The middle position you have to pull up on this spring loaded thing and by turning to the off postion it stays there and holds the pin up and it is not able to engage in anything.
The other 2 settings are "injector" and "TDC" (TDC stands for Top Dead Centre).
These 2 positions sees the pin down in the lower postions on either side of this unit.
Now the drive plate with the ring gear attached has a flat area for this pin to slide on and when it hits the hole it automatically locks in because it is spring loaded.
Depending on whether you want Injector or TDC the holes on the drive plate will be in a different position.
With this device you can turn the engine over by hand in any position you want because it will click in when it is in the right position.
I hope that is clear enough for you.





Norman Julian
Those are remnants of mudwasp nests.

Norman Julian 25th Oct
I put this timing plunger back in and then got a spanner and put it on one of the big nuts on the back of the flywheel and slowly turned it around.
I saw the hole where the pin locates it when in the right setting and she locked on quite nicely.
I took a shot so you can sort of get an understanding of what I mean.
I then looked at the injector pump and you can see the timing plate on the pump which has a bend at 90 degrees and under that you can just make out a line on that large round piece of metal.
This is all shown in this second picture in the middle of that pipe which loops around.



Carle Gregory
land rover discoverys (300TDi) have them too to do the pump timing
well the have 2 temporary ones, one on the crank and the other at the pump
Andrew Blacklock
I got one if those timing tools but never seen one left bolted to a engine permanently before
Norman Julian
Do you think that each bus wasn't equiped with one of these.
They were only put on during maintenance?
Andrew Blacklock
I think just a workshop tool mate
Norman Julian
Andrew Blacklock
That's probably why Scott Wilson
said to me that none of the museum Leylands have any on their buses.
Andrew Blacklock
Norman Julian
I only ever seen a few about mate otherwise they would of been everywhere
Norman Julian
Andrew Blacklock
Well fortunately for me they left it on and had it in the off position
Norman Julian
In saying that I have quite a few old manuals here and they have chapters where they have tools for working on these and others.
This part though has it already on the engine and not in the tools section which tells me it is part of the engine.
Andrew Blacklock
Norman Julian may of been in early models like your ???
Lee Hall
I have one of those.
Was speaking to an old Leyland guy about it and he reckons most of them got thrown out because people forget to put back in the off position and start engine
Norman Julian
Well I have a theory on that.
If you forget to unlock it when you have put everything back together you will break the locating pin off when you start it up and the whole thing becomes useless.
Norman Julian 25th Oct
I'm almost there.
The injector pump and compressor are out.
That gives me access to the engine block.
Now this has to dry out so as to scrape out all the contaminants.
This has been messy but the worst is yet to come.
I have to try and get the oil filter out then off comes the sump.
Once that is done and after a good look around she can go back together.
I did have a pleasant surprise with every bolt holding the 2 plates covering the water gallery chambers came out without one breaking.






Lee Hall
Here's mine with the side of the block cut out��
had to get a crack removed and then metal stitched a new bit of metal in and then machine everything up.

Norman Julian
What are you going to do there Lee.
Make the 2 plates that were there into one piece including the section you cut out.
That way you wont have to drill holes in the new section.
Lee Hall
Norman Julian
it's all done now and running.
Half of the 2 inspection holes are filled now with new steel and made new plates to cover.
She should be a bit stronger now.
The guy who did the metal stitching has been doing it for years but I think it's a bit of a dying trade now.


Norman Julian
Lee Hall pretty
Robert Stevenson
Lee Hall beautiful looking repair job.
Watched a bloke doing it on one of the pommy resto shows.
Intriguing process.
Lee Hall
Robert Stevenson yeah this old bloke that done it was an artist I reckon
Norman Julian 26th Oct
If you remember me doing the front engine mount rubbers, I mentioned that there were rear ones as well.
In the middle of this first picture you can see an angled flat plate with a nut on either end with a split pin through them.
Now on the opposite side of the engine there is another one.
There are 4 plates all up.
Each side has a set.
These are the engine mounts for the rear of the engine.
The drawing included shows it better from the rear.





Norman Julian 28th Oct
I took this tap unit off and according to the manual it is the "primary filter".
A pipe comes from the fuel tank through this filter to the injector pump.
When the fuel is put into the fuel tank there are 2 filters the fuel has to go through to get to the pump.
You can see the condition of this.
Contaminants and water are in the tank.
The filter itself is 80% blocked.
I'm not sure yet of this settup but I will in time.
This is why you bypass all this when finding a vehicle that has been sitting for 20 years without being started.






Norman Julian 29th Oct
Couple more things cleaned up and ready to go back on.
The strainer or filter of the unit which comes directly from the fuel tank and sits inside the bronze cannister comes in two sections sandwiched together with only a 3mm gap between each size.
The outer which is a really fine bronze mesh was completely clogged and I couldn't get the contaminants out inbetween both so I peeled off the outer fine mesh and just left the internal one now which isn't really going to filter out the really fine stuff anymore.
What I will do is the pipe that comes out the side of the tap fitting on top of the cannister and goes down joins to a rubber tube which connects directly to the injector pump.
I will just get one of those cheap plastic filters and join it before it goes into the pump.
I also took apart the tap and unseized it and put new lube inside after a really good clean up.
The compressor filter came up OK after derusting and a new paint job.
All the pipes are plain steel and had to be derusted and painted.




Norman Julian 30th Oct
Water chamber cover plates were a little corroded but not enough for me to replace them.
The worst area may have penetrated about 40%.
Using a hammer and chisel getting off the crusty areas took the longest amount of time.



Andrew Blacklock
Chrome side plates would look cool �� lol
Norman Julian
Andrew Blacklock maybe but needless spending!
There will be money spent in other areas.
Andrew Blacklock
Norman Julian
I was only joking
Scott Wilson
You can always put them on inside out �� Rusty side out, painted in kill rust.
Norman Julian
Scott Wilson why those plates will last another 50 years when glycol is in the engine
Scott Wilson
Norman Julian I'd still kill rust them.
Norman Julian
No paint will go on the plates.
Bad idea.
No one can predict what a paint being submerged in a chemical under a very high temperature would do over time.
I will treat the plate before putting back together though so rust wont return till the coolant goes in.
Last updated
October 2020
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