The last week especially has proven to quite busy with SKL681X now been moved to undercover accommodation for the first time in many years. She had been laid up with an oil leak and some bits had been robbed off her to keep the others going. However, this was all sorted and she now runs and drives very well with just the oil leak to fix now. Also an issue with Nuw the Titan which prevented her from starting was fixed and she now runs very smoothly. This was traced to a sticking slide bar in the Gardner 6LXB engine. PKE807M was also started and moved around although still lacking a throttle she was driven around on tick over speed. Again, a sticking slide bar and a further issue with contaminated fuel were resolved. All buses were run off an auxiliary tank which was lashed up to the back panel and contained all sorts of diesel injector cleaning goodies. The main tanks will also be treated for the annoying fuel bug which has a nasty tendency to clog up filters and pipes. So once again, everything in our collection is now running and moving by itself again after a fair amount of hard work.
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Don't forget to visit our YouTube page on this site. We've just added several more videos of our buses for you to watch.
This year's run took place on Sunday 29th April. Due to various issues we ended up with three buses but they were three beauties. AEC Regent 6801FN, Guy Arab MFN898 and Leyland Leopard 273AUF. We also had well over 100 riders - our busiest one yet. Shame about the weather though.... Many thanks to all who came along and supported this year's event. All pictures by Paul T.
We have a new Flickr site. Please pop over and have a look at our pictures and follow us. Here is the link, although you might have to copy and paste to make it work.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/157350031@N05/ Paul's ex London Fleetline MLK550L has decided to develop a leak on the power steering hydraulic ram. As most of you will know, the power steering on a Fleetline is an 'aftermarket fit' as the original design didn't have this feature. Certain operators specified it though and later some retro fitted it - sometimes using the pesky Autosteer system. On the DMS it was a large hydraulic ram that provides the oomph to turn the wheel. We've speculated here at SCOC HQ if this is the same system as the Merlins and Swifts in London would have had too... Anyway, Paul has managed to remove it and will see if it can be rebuild rather than replaced. This years run is on Sunday 29th April. We've yet to confirm which vehicles will be in attendance but we're hoping for one of ours there too this year.
For more information please visit the dedicated page on this site . Again, apologies for the lack of a regular or recent update. Unfortunately we are without a regular webmaster and work commitments, family commitments and actually fixing and working on the buses takes priority. Currently we are preparing several vehicles for the forthcoming season. Paul's ex London DMS MLK550L , Jake's Bristol VRs MFN41R, PKE809M and Mercedes 708D N301XRP are all expected to be on the road at various points this year.
DMS550 is having work done on her interior with the last of the residue of the soft trim being removed and fresh paint being applied. MFN41R is due a tidy up and work on her power steering system. PKE809M is also undergoing interior work with rotten areas being replaced and sear frames being painted. N301XRP is currently having her brake pipes replaced as the originals are badly corroded. Apologies for the lack of updates. Things suddenly went a bit crazy halfway through our season and we're just about starting to catch up!
So what have we been up to then? Quite a lot as those of you on our Facebook page will know. We attended the Gears Of Change / War & Peace Show at Birchington in June. Chilli Farm was attended in July and Paul finally lived his dream of getting DMS550 to the Isle of Wight in October. Slowly all the galleries are being updated. MFN41R made her debut at the War & Peace show and it was great to finally get her out and about. Paul has been working really hard on DMS550's rather unreliable fuel system. She's been suffering from fuel contamination which has caused a couple of breakdowns (550 not Paul!). A new tank was sourced and fitted by Paul in the course of a couple of days and although there's been a few hiccups, on the whole she's running a lot better now.
On opening up the old tank a quantity of stones, bits of brick and twigs were found.The only conclusion we've made is that this must have been done during her time in Ovenden's yard with the local kids playing around her. With the amount of debris in the old tank it's a wonder she ran at all. We worked out she's done around 300 miles in preservation over the last few years and all of this with the crap in her tank! |
Current NewsHere you will find out the latest news about our buses and future events we hope to attend. In addition we will add any interesting bus and coach related news we come across.
SOUTHERN COUNTIES OMNIBUS.A collection of retired buses living in southeast England owned by a group of friends. Archives
May 2022
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