the full story, part 2
By mid-November 2012 I had become the proud (?) owner
of a leaking, flat-batteried, tatty, sign-written and internally rusty 1982
Leyland Tiger Plaxton Supreme V and the only good thing is that she is parked
for free safely and securely off-road…but not under cover.
The parking is on a business park where I work and there is a non-commercial motor engineer on the site so, although I realised what he can do would be limited in terms of ‘big stuff’, his general engineering assistance would be invaluable.
Having viewed the inside and behind the radiator grille (first removing the dead brambles therein…), his first comment was, “Don’t you want to start with something in better condition?” I was beginning to realise that at around two grand I had paid pretty much scrap value for scrap, not for a viable vehicle.
We considered why the batteries may have been drained and concluded that it could be down to any number of loose or damaged wires, short-circuits etc. and that if we re-charged the batteries and isolated them before and after each use, they’d remain charged through the alternator. She couldn’t go out on the road (no MoT, no tax) but she was insured and the business park is big enough for some meaningful driving. So; family, including grandchildren, were invited along for rides
My wife Rosie and I set about some remedial tasks, which will probably have seasoned preservationists gasping in horror. Realising that sealing the gutters was a priority but that it would be a while before I could get her anywhere to do it properly, I cleaned out the gaps and applied domestic window frame sealant (brown!). We attacked the lettering with everything from hair dryers to chisels – ultimately successful but in a few places we now have a good insight to the layers of previous liveries! The unpainted replacement panels were masked and spray painted with cans of domestic-duty Plasti-Kote products. We had a go at refreshing some of the black window seals and rubber bumper bars.
But all the time I was of course itching to drive her to gain experience as well as keep the batteries charged. On a deserted Sunday afternoon there is enough room on the business park to get up to third gear and maybe 30mph so over the next couple of weeks she was stopped and started several times.
Then one Sunday two of the grandchildren (and their parents!) asked to come over so we arranged a time and I got to the business park in time to get the old girl up and running and do a bit more practice. I arrived to find great black ‘mascara’ runs from the window seals and brown rivers from top to bottom where the frame sealant had mixed with rain before it had fully dried. But hey, the kids won’t mind.
Disaster! She wouldn’t start, and failing batteries were the obvious reason. Then I had a brainwave; I had breakdown cover. So I rang the insurers and checked I was covered for a breakdown where she lived. Yes.
So I postponed the kids and an hour later thanks to a 24 volt jump start she was running. We checked lights and other electricals and they seemed to be OK so I assumed I had left something switched on to cause the battery drain. The engineer advised me to keep driving her about to recharge the batteries. What an excuse! So the kids were summoned and we spent the next couple of hours essentially driving around in various circles.
I felt we had turned a corner, as it were. Real passengers, real gear-changes, giving pleasure to others and I now had enough confidence and experience to park her tidily with those passengers on board. And thank goodness I did, because when I turned the key to stop the engine…nothing happened. The engine just kept on a-running.
Simples – just switch off the isolator. No effect.
OK, take up the engine cover panel in the saloon and locate the throttle cut-off. Can’t see it.
Stall her – not with an electro-pneumatic semi-auto box you won’t.
Operate the manual fuel valve under the side panel – not working.
So I had a coach ticking over that wouldn’t stop, no lights, no gears, no heat, no idea of how much fuel was left, the gathering gloom of a winter Sunday and worst of all the shops would soon be shut so no wine tonight!
The parking is on a business park where I work and there is a non-commercial motor engineer on the site so, although I realised what he can do would be limited in terms of ‘big stuff’, his general engineering assistance would be invaluable.
Having viewed the inside and behind the radiator grille (first removing the dead brambles therein…), his first comment was, “Don’t you want to start with something in better condition?” I was beginning to realise that at around two grand I had paid pretty much scrap value for scrap, not for a viable vehicle.
We considered why the batteries may have been drained and concluded that it could be down to any number of loose or damaged wires, short-circuits etc. and that if we re-charged the batteries and isolated them before and after each use, they’d remain charged through the alternator. She couldn’t go out on the road (no MoT, no tax) but she was insured and the business park is big enough for some meaningful driving. So; family, including grandchildren, were invited along for rides
My wife Rosie and I set about some remedial tasks, which will probably have seasoned preservationists gasping in horror. Realising that sealing the gutters was a priority but that it would be a while before I could get her anywhere to do it properly, I cleaned out the gaps and applied domestic window frame sealant (brown!). We attacked the lettering with everything from hair dryers to chisels – ultimately successful but in a few places we now have a good insight to the layers of previous liveries! The unpainted replacement panels were masked and spray painted with cans of domestic-duty Plasti-Kote products. We had a go at refreshing some of the black window seals and rubber bumper bars.
But all the time I was of course itching to drive her to gain experience as well as keep the batteries charged. On a deserted Sunday afternoon there is enough room on the business park to get up to third gear and maybe 30mph so over the next couple of weeks she was stopped and started several times.
Then one Sunday two of the grandchildren (and their parents!) asked to come over so we arranged a time and I got to the business park in time to get the old girl up and running and do a bit more practice. I arrived to find great black ‘mascara’ runs from the window seals and brown rivers from top to bottom where the frame sealant had mixed with rain before it had fully dried. But hey, the kids won’t mind.
Disaster! She wouldn’t start, and failing batteries were the obvious reason. Then I had a brainwave; I had breakdown cover. So I rang the insurers and checked I was covered for a breakdown where she lived. Yes.
So I postponed the kids and an hour later thanks to a 24 volt jump start she was running. We checked lights and other electricals and they seemed to be OK so I assumed I had left something switched on to cause the battery drain. The engineer advised me to keep driving her about to recharge the batteries. What an excuse! So the kids were summoned and we spent the next couple of hours essentially driving around in various circles.
I felt we had turned a corner, as it were. Real passengers, real gear-changes, giving pleasure to others and I now had enough confidence and experience to park her tidily with those passengers on board. And thank goodness I did, because when I turned the key to stop the engine…nothing happened. The engine just kept on a-running.
Simples – just switch off the isolator. No effect.
OK, take up the engine cover panel in the saloon and locate the throttle cut-off. Can’t see it.
Stall her – not with an electro-pneumatic semi-auto box you won’t.
Operate the manual fuel valve under the side panel – not working.
So I had a coach ticking over that wouldn’t stop, no lights, no gears, no heat, no idea of how much fuel was left, the gathering gloom of a winter Sunday and worst of all the shops would soon be shut so no wine tonight!