Jake has been busy painting Mercedes N301XRP and is also hoping to have her ready this spring -although she won't be going to Detling.
We've not had a massively busy month if I'm honest. Paul has managed to get the autolube system working on MLK550L which should make maintaining her a bit easier. Her ride quality has improved dramatically since all the springs have been oiled and greased up. MLK550L will be at the South East Bus Festival this April.
Jake has been busy painting Mercedes N301XRP and is also hoping to have her ready this spring -although she won't be going to Detling.
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For a bit of a change - and because we've not done a lot to them recently - this last weekend we decided to have a fiddle with a couple of the Metrocabs in the collection.
'Rocks' the series 1 was more than happy to start and move (after a blast of 'Easy Start' into her air in-take) despite having three flat tyres. She's definately going to be a long term project as her subframe is rotten but fortunately not beyond repair. TLX the series 2 on the other hand decided she didn't want to play at all and refused to start. She's actually in pretty good condition apart from some shocking electrics and a dodgy starter motor as we found out. We've not forgotten the buses either, PKE809M was run up on Saturday afternoon. She also wasn't her usual self and seems to have drunk a bit of contaminated fuel as she's running rather rough at the moment. In the new year this will be given some attention and we'll see if we can get her running sweetly again. Paul's Leyland Tiger coach B124BOO has been moved along the private roads to new storage as the original spot was deemed to be a bit "too much on the radar!" She's still outdoors for now but Boo is now settling into her new spot in our garden!
To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of jakesbuses.weebly.com - the site that started this one- we went out for a spin in Paul's London Transport Daimler Fleetline MLK550L. Here are a few highlights of what was a very enjoyable weekend. On 7th October a very reluctant PKE807M made her way along private roads to her new temporary undercover storage. She's taken the place of siter PKE809M whilst some work is done on her -namely the hydraulic throttle, fuel lines and a mechanical service. It's hoped that she'll then also be on the road for some point in 2019.
On 1st and 2nd September our buses were kept busy with the Walmer Green Bus Rally and the New Romney Bus Rally.
On Saturday 1st MLK550L, PKE809M and MFN41R were at the Walmer Rally which is organised by Friends of the East Kent. This was also PKE809M's first trip out since 2011 and was a good 'shakedown' run to find any problems. She should have been to the New Romney Bus Rally on Sunday 2nd but a problem with air getting into the hydraulic throttle meant that MFN41R was sent along instead - just to be on the safe side! MLK550L also experienced a hiccup with her fuel system which we think could be down to pattern part filters. On both days the weather behaved itself and the crowds were out to admire the vehicles. Following a few issues with tyres, DMS550's owner Paul has replaced all six on the bus -certainly not cheap. This means she'll be back on the road later this month and will hopefully be attending the East Kent Bus Rally on Walmer Green on Saturday 1st September along with MFN41R and PKE809M.
MFN41R attended Biddenden Tractor Fest on 17th, 18th and 19th August. This was another long run out for her and she performed really well. On the weekend of the 7th & 8th July , MFN41R visited Lydden Hill Racing Circuit in Kent for the Classic Weekend. Not only was it a great weekend sleeping on the old girl but we had the pleasure of watching Cortinas, Minis, Angleas and Capris racing around the track. More pictures and a full report will follow soon.
We've added several new YouTube videos on our site. Please feel free to have a look at our work that goes on behind the scenes.
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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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