the full story, part 3
It’s an odd feeling to be sitting in the driving seat of
your very own ten-tonne bus with the engine ticking over sweet as a nut yet
able neither to move it nor to stop it. With the batteries clearly flat despite
two hours of round-in-circles driving, Leyland’s electro-pneumocyclic ‘box is
not operational…and neither is the solenoid for the engine shut-off lever (the
external emergency button having been removed some years ago – but that was
electrically operated anyway). It’s amazing in such circumstances how all one’s
future project plans and ideas get distilled down to a single, immediate issue;
how do I stop the bl***y thing?
Readers will recall that the day had begun with a jump start via the breakdown insurance. Well, I thought, oddly enough this is also a breakdown – so I called the insurers again. Sure enough I was covered and six hours after he had been called out to get my coach going, the same engineer was out again for a jump stop! But he was at least able to confirm what was already pretty obvious; the alternator wasn’t working and no amount of driving around was going to recharge the batteries.
I asked the (non-commercial) motor engineer on the business park if he would be able to assist but over the course of a few days he had to admit he couldn’t find the alternator, let alone fix it. I needed to get this coach over a pit but with no tax I would have to pre-book an inspection for an MoT for it to be legal to drive on the road. That or get it recovered.
I had already been in touch with Richmond’s Coaches near Royston as their website proudly describes their in-house workshop facilities; but they don’t do external work. However Andrew Richmond was kind enough to make it very clear that I was to expect much grief and expense if I wanted to restore and run an old coach. He said I should try Cyril Kenzie of Kenzie’s Coaches just up the road as they do at least offer bodywork restoration services.
I got in touch with Cyril and this is when the first of a continuing set of coincidences cropped up. In 1964 Cyril had gone up to Scarborough with finishing instructions for one of his coaches at Plaxton’s. Due to the illness of Plaxton’s senior man, he was attended to by Charles Marshall, then a technical representative. They struck up a friendship that endures to this day. In the meantime, by the early 80’s Charles had ended up as MD at OK Motor Services of Bishop Auckland and was responsible for specifying and ordering ‘my’ coach along with five sisters (LFT 1X to 6X) followed by six more a year later (XEF 7Y to 12Y).
So this complete novice had picked a coach for purchase more-or-less at random from a dealer in Kent and now I was in touch with a professional restorer less than 10 miles away AND the man who knew every single detail of the vehicle because he specified them 32 years ago when he and it were hundreds of miles from her new home!
But none of that gets my coach an MoT, and Cyril wasn’t the man to get it for me, so I was on my own again trying to find what I needed. Only then could I get her over to Cyril’s for an assessment of the damage on – and indeed for – the bodywork.
A quick primer for those who don’t know: a bus or coach has to have a Class 5 MoT to be road legal but a Class 6 is required for Hire or Reward; all sorts of commercial testing stations can do Class 5 but Class 6 has to be done by VOSA staff at their own or at a designated testing station.
The internet is a wonderful thing and I made contact with a firm on the outskirts of Cambridge whose website boasts: “We have the ability to deal with the newest vehicles to the oldest. We now offer class 4 to 7 MOT's. Minimum down time and a 100% solution in one location.” Ideal, I thought. So, with batteries charged up I was able to make the 15-mile journey safely in daylight. I had already spoken with the workshop manager and told him about the basic issues, most particularly the alternator.
I arrived at what seemed a rather chaotic yard, consisting largely of a puddle, but was greeted warmly by Bob. He called a couple of younger blokes over and there were mutterings of “Oooh, the TL 11 engine”, “We’ll whip her over the pit and sort the alternator out no problem”, “We make up panels for this sort of thing” and, rather charmingly, “We don’t usually see ‘em with the seats in!”.
She’s in good hands, I thought to myself…
Readers will recall that the day had begun with a jump start via the breakdown insurance. Well, I thought, oddly enough this is also a breakdown – so I called the insurers again. Sure enough I was covered and six hours after he had been called out to get my coach going, the same engineer was out again for a jump stop! But he was at least able to confirm what was already pretty obvious; the alternator wasn’t working and no amount of driving around was going to recharge the batteries.
I asked the (non-commercial) motor engineer on the business park if he would be able to assist but over the course of a few days he had to admit he couldn’t find the alternator, let alone fix it. I needed to get this coach over a pit but with no tax I would have to pre-book an inspection for an MoT for it to be legal to drive on the road. That or get it recovered.
I had already been in touch with Richmond’s Coaches near Royston as their website proudly describes their in-house workshop facilities; but they don’t do external work. However Andrew Richmond was kind enough to make it very clear that I was to expect much grief and expense if I wanted to restore and run an old coach. He said I should try Cyril Kenzie of Kenzie’s Coaches just up the road as they do at least offer bodywork restoration services.
I got in touch with Cyril and this is when the first of a continuing set of coincidences cropped up. In 1964 Cyril had gone up to Scarborough with finishing instructions for one of his coaches at Plaxton’s. Due to the illness of Plaxton’s senior man, he was attended to by Charles Marshall, then a technical representative. They struck up a friendship that endures to this day. In the meantime, by the early 80’s Charles had ended up as MD at OK Motor Services of Bishop Auckland and was responsible for specifying and ordering ‘my’ coach along with five sisters (LFT 1X to 6X) followed by six more a year later (XEF 7Y to 12Y).
So this complete novice had picked a coach for purchase more-or-less at random from a dealer in Kent and now I was in touch with a professional restorer less than 10 miles away AND the man who knew every single detail of the vehicle because he specified them 32 years ago when he and it were hundreds of miles from her new home!
But none of that gets my coach an MoT, and Cyril wasn’t the man to get it for me, so I was on my own again trying to find what I needed. Only then could I get her over to Cyril’s for an assessment of the damage on – and indeed for – the bodywork.
A quick primer for those who don’t know: a bus or coach has to have a Class 5 MoT to be road legal but a Class 6 is required for Hire or Reward; all sorts of commercial testing stations can do Class 5 but Class 6 has to be done by VOSA staff at their own or at a designated testing station.
The internet is a wonderful thing and I made contact with a firm on the outskirts of Cambridge whose website boasts: “We have the ability to deal with the newest vehicles to the oldest. We now offer class 4 to 7 MOT's. Minimum down time and a 100% solution in one location.” Ideal, I thought. So, with batteries charged up I was able to make the 15-mile journey safely in daylight. I had already spoken with the workshop manager and told him about the basic issues, most particularly the alternator.
I arrived at what seemed a rather chaotic yard, consisting largely of a puddle, but was greeted warmly by Bob. He called a couple of younger blokes over and there were mutterings of “Oooh, the TL 11 engine”, “We’ll whip her over the pit and sort the alternator out no problem”, “We make up panels for this sort of thing” and, rather charmingly, “We don’t usually see ‘em with the seats in!”.
She’s in good hands, I thought to myself…