Daimler Double-Decker 366 restoration update 1

In February 2013, we handed over a 1940s Coventry Transport Daimler double-decker to local bus enthusiast Roger Burdett, on a restoration loan.

This vehicle, original fleet number 366, was built to wartime austerity regulations, and as with many such buses, required extensive renovation after the war.  As such, it was re-bodied by Roe Bodies in 1951 and continued to be used by Coventry Corporation Transport for a number of years, before being donated to Coventry Transport Museum in 1971.

Inevitably for a vehicle that is over 70 years old, and has had this kind of life, the bus is now in need of major restoration – work that we as a museum do not currently have the resources to undertake.  So when we were approached by well-known bus enthusiast and collector Roger Burdett, with the offer of completely restoring ‘366’, we jumped at the proposition. 

At the time of the loan, our Curator of Vehicles Christiaan van Schaardenburgh said:

“We are a very small team looking after a collection of well over 200 vehicles, not to mention hundreds of cycles and motorcycles, and we would never have had the resources to give 366 the attention it needs.   We are therefore really thrilled that Roger is taking this project on, with a view to getting this delightful and popular vehicle back on the road.  We have known Roger for some time now, and as well as being a great friend of the Museum, we have seen his work on similar projects and we know that he’s going to do a great job on 366.”

And Roger said:

“I’m really looking forward to getting stuck into work on this fantastic bus – next year will mark 100 years since Coventry Transport first put motorised buses on the roads of Coventry, and my aim is to have 366 ready to take part in the centenary events for that anniversary.”

Roger has now had the bus for a few weeks, so we asked him to give us a rundown of how the work is going:
“Unfortunately the cold weather delayed work on the previous vehicle in the restoration pipeline, meaning that we were not able to start on 366 as soon as we would have liked, however I am pleased to say that we are now full steam ahead, spending around 50 hours per week on the vehicle.

The engine appears to be very sound, other than a cracked engine block.  To avoid a total engine strip down, we are going to remove the engine in June and then trial weld the crack at my premises, using skilled welders who currently work on the vehicles.  If this is not successful, the engine will need to go away to a specialist.

We have taken the panels off the rear end, revealing the modifications carried out when turning the vehicles back to a bus from a mobile workshop.  I am still looking for an ‘in service’ picture of the rear end of the vehicle before work can commence.

Rear end minus panels, clearly showing original window shape

The side panels below the downstairs windows will be off by the end of April and then we will see how the ‘wrong’ downstairs windows are fitted.  The frames that are currently on the vehicle are actually from a later bus, so we will have to make a major decision about whether to retain them or fabricate replica originals.

Offside minus some panels, showing wood frame in remarkable condition for 60 years old.

As regards the interior, we have examined the floors, which show some wear and cracking of the lino, but I feel that we can repair-paint and polish.  The seat frames are incorrect for the body (we can tell because the seat legs have been put on supports upstairs, rather than being bolted to the floor) - but we will not be replacing them.  The seat trip moquette is as used/very similar to London Transport (LT) RF and RT models.  I have clubbed together with a number of LT vehicle owners to have a new run of moquette made, and this is due for delivery in mid-May.  This will enable to seats to be re-trimmed, but with vynide borders, rather than the original unobtainable leather.

We are transferring destination blind mechanisms and blinds from Coventry 94.”

Downstairs saloon with seats removed.

Well done to Roger and his team for making a great start on this massive project – we will bring you further news of the restoration as the project develops.

1960 Hillman Minx has a makeover

Many of you will remember the 1960 Hillman Minx, which was recovered from a garage in Coventry in February last year.  This lovely car was displayed in the Museum’s reception area for several months, exactly as we found it - ie very dirty and dusty, having been stood in the owner’s garage for around 18 years before coming to the Museum.

Since the vehicle came off display towards the end of 2012, it has been given a huge amount of attention over a number of weeks by Andrew Thomas, one of the Museum’s Historic Vehicle Technicians, and is now positively gleaming on the outside, as well as being in much better shape mechanically.

Having initially cleaned the Minx, Andrew found that the vehicle’s bodywork was, for the most part, very sound for a car of its age – but that it was affected by a large amount of surface rust on certain areas, particularly underneath.   Dirt and corrosion was also present throughout its systems – typical of a vehicle that has been standing for many years in a damp environment.

The detailed work that Andrew therefore undertook was to strip the rust from all affected areas, using a mixture of wire brushing and chemical rust removal, followed by treating the underside of the car with a mixture of WaxOyl and Dinitrol, to help to protect this area from further rusting.    He then drained the fluids from all of the vehicle’s systems, and repaired or replaced a number of badly corroded parts – such as those shown in the cooling system below. 

Having made all the necessary repairs and ensured the integrity of all of the vehicle’s systems, Andrew then started a process known as ‘inhibiting’ the vehicle, to protect it from any further corrosion occurring whilst it is standing within the Museum and not being driven.  ‘Inhibiting’ involves fogging each of the car’s systems with an appropriate vapour phase inhibitor.  This can be either water-based or oil-based, depending on which system is being worked upon.  The chosen inhibitor is introduced to the system in liquid form, which then turns to vapour over time.  This vapour sticks to the inside of each component and travels around within each system, coating every part with an anti-corrosion substance as it goes.  

Black brake fluid being drained before inhibiting.

This process is a very new one in the world of classic cars, having previously being mainly used on aircraft and military vehicles, to provide long-term preservation whilst they are in store.  We at Coventry Transport Museum have trialled inhibiting a number of parts on other vehicles, but this is the first time that a full vehicle has been treated in this way.   We are extremely pleased with how well this has worked so far, but of course the proof will be in the pudding when the vehicle is regularly inspected over the coming years.  One thing we do know - the vapour technique ‘reaches the parts that other processes can’t’! 

We have been working with other transport museums around the world, to share ideas on how best to inhibit different types of museum-based vehicles, and we know that they will be pleased to see the results of this work on such an interesting vehicle.    We also hope to begin using this technique to protect systems on many other Museum vehicles over the coming years.

One part of the vehicle which we sadly have not yet been able to make-over is the front grill – as you can see from the photograph below this grill is very badly corroded, and would be almost impossible to repair to a good standard.  Instead we are hoping to find a replacement, rather than spending many hours on something that may not do justice to the rest of the vehicle.

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See the difference for yourself, as the Minx will be back on display in the Museum’s reception from Monday 18th March onwards.  We’re sure you will agree, Andrew has done a fantastic job.