the full story, part 7
We may cherish old buses but the most modern of technologies
continues to be intrinsic to my ongoing project. Project? It was never supposed
to be a project. But now it is. Lots of money + a long period of time =
project!
Anyway, thanks to the marvel of the worldwide web, whilst on holiday in Croatia I was able to keep in touch with the mechanical wizard otherwise known as Mark Cockram while he tackled all things Leyland. Mind you, this technology also means you can see your money disappearing at a very fast rate…
Incredibly, ‘Mary’ passed an MoT with a steering box hanging on by two nut-less bolts (I thought the steering was somewhat slack, but I had no experience to know that this wasn’t normal!). Mark also had to replace a fair proportion of the brake components, a king-pin or two, the main exhaust silencer, parts of the air system, anti-roll bar bushes, suspension bump-stops, mud flaps, four tyres – items you would have thought would merit at the very least an advisory on the MoT. ‘Slight oil leak from steering box’ was the only comment.
Perhaps most alarming was that two or three of the wheel rims were the wrong size, meaning that the wall of one inner rear tyre was running within half an inch of a chassis component. Not a great thought at 60mph.
There were three visits to Mark between July and November 2013, between which we had some great family days out and two jazz weekends taking some of the guests and musicians. At these, I ran some mini-excursions, which were very popular – trips round the villages. How marvellous to be in a position to give people these little treats.
One very special occasion was an invitation to my sister-in-law’s sixtieth birthday. It was special because it was a birthday she thought she would never see, having been diagnosed with advanced cancer less than a year earlier. My wife Rosie, my step-daughter Katrina and I went down to Canterbury on a perfect day and took 35 of Hilary’s friends and family over to the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch railway. A proper day out with people who really appreciated what it was all about. Step-daughter Fiona joined us with her husband and three children and I could not have been more proud to look up at the passenger mirror to see them all waving at ‘Grampy Tim’.
But the event of the year, at least in terms of the project, was the visit to Showbus at long Marston, near Stratford upon Avon; the journey organised by John Wakefield of the Cambridge Omnibus Society. Not just the acceptance of a new, preserved bus ‘on the scene’…read on…
After the three-hour drive and having found our allotted slot, I set up the display board and went off in search of tea. On my return there was a tap on my shoulder. “Are you Tim Phillips?” “Yes, indeed”. “My name is Charles Marshall.”
CHARLES MARSHALL!!! The very man who, as MD of OK Motor Services, ordered my coach from new in 1982 along with her five sisters, LFT 1X to LFT 6X. The very man who had helped me to identify various archive shots including one, “…judging by the sun, it’s the 12.15” and the essential knowledge that a Mrs McGuigan sat in seat A1 every Sunday, March to October, on OK’s weekly ‘mystery tours’.
I was due to drive one of the showground circuits. “Do you mind if I join you?”. Do I mind??? Now where could I get hold of a red carpet at short notice?
So there was I, in September 2013, driving a coach full of people including the man who specified it thirty-one years previously. Gosh, I drove carefully.
Better still, later in the afternoon I was to meet a man who regularly drove my coach in service and three lads who used to go to school on it. Full House!
By mid-November the last visit to Mark was over and the last jazz weekend of the season had been a great success. The total spent on purchase, restoration and repair to date had just topped £17,000. I had met a bodywork specialist who was looking at £600 per side re-panel and re-spray, perhaps £1,000 to attend to the fibreglass front and back…maybe £3,000 with the VAT. Well, not quite what I had planned but £20,000 for a fully restored 53-seat coach seemed pretty decent to me.
Estimated date for completion - even if he prioritised his commercial work - end of January. What could go wrong?
Anyway, thanks to the marvel of the worldwide web, whilst on holiday in Croatia I was able to keep in touch with the mechanical wizard otherwise known as Mark Cockram while he tackled all things Leyland. Mind you, this technology also means you can see your money disappearing at a very fast rate…
Incredibly, ‘Mary’ passed an MoT with a steering box hanging on by two nut-less bolts (I thought the steering was somewhat slack, but I had no experience to know that this wasn’t normal!). Mark also had to replace a fair proportion of the brake components, a king-pin or two, the main exhaust silencer, parts of the air system, anti-roll bar bushes, suspension bump-stops, mud flaps, four tyres – items you would have thought would merit at the very least an advisory on the MoT. ‘Slight oil leak from steering box’ was the only comment.
Perhaps most alarming was that two or three of the wheel rims were the wrong size, meaning that the wall of one inner rear tyre was running within half an inch of a chassis component. Not a great thought at 60mph.
There were three visits to Mark between July and November 2013, between which we had some great family days out and two jazz weekends taking some of the guests and musicians. At these, I ran some mini-excursions, which were very popular – trips round the villages. How marvellous to be in a position to give people these little treats.
One very special occasion was an invitation to my sister-in-law’s sixtieth birthday. It was special because it was a birthday she thought she would never see, having been diagnosed with advanced cancer less than a year earlier. My wife Rosie, my step-daughter Katrina and I went down to Canterbury on a perfect day and took 35 of Hilary’s friends and family over to the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch railway. A proper day out with people who really appreciated what it was all about. Step-daughter Fiona joined us with her husband and three children and I could not have been more proud to look up at the passenger mirror to see them all waving at ‘Grampy Tim’.
But the event of the year, at least in terms of the project, was the visit to Showbus at long Marston, near Stratford upon Avon; the journey organised by John Wakefield of the Cambridge Omnibus Society. Not just the acceptance of a new, preserved bus ‘on the scene’…read on…
After the three-hour drive and having found our allotted slot, I set up the display board and went off in search of tea. On my return there was a tap on my shoulder. “Are you Tim Phillips?” “Yes, indeed”. “My name is Charles Marshall.”
CHARLES MARSHALL!!! The very man who, as MD of OK Motor Services, ordered my coach from new in 1982 along with her five sisters, LFT 1X to LFT 6X. The very man who had helped me to identify various archive shots including one, “…judging by the sun, it’s the 12.15” and the essential knowledge that a Mrs McGuigan sat in seat A1 every Sunday, March to October, on OK’s weekly ‘mystery tours’.
I was due to drive one of the showground circuits. “Do you mind if I join you?”. Do I mind??? Now where could I get hold of a red carpet at short notice?
So there was I, in September 2013, driving a coach full of people including the man who specified it thirty-one years previously. Gosh, I drove carefully.
Better still, later in the afternoon I was to meet a man who regularly drove my coach in service and three lads who used to go to school on it. Full House!
By mid-November the last visit to Mark was over and the last jazz weekend of the season had been a great success. The total spent on purchase, restoration and repair to date had just topped £17,000. I had met a bodywork specialist who was looking at £600 per side re-panel and re-spray, perhaps £1,000 to attend to the fibreglass front and back…maybe £3,000 with the VAT. Well, not quite what I had planned but £20,000 for a fully restored 53-seat coach seemed pretty decent to me.
Estimated date for completion - even if he prioritised his commercial work - end of January. What could go wrong?