31st of July 2008

KGB 120:The Carburettor is back and has been re-attached to the vehicle. An attempt was made at starting the vehicle on the 22nd of July but a faulty HT Suppressor in the Distributor prevented a spark at the plugs. However a new one was acquired on Monday and this vehicle now runs, and sounds very good considering its years sat outside. The main focus now is to get the back axle re-attached after the flywheel has its nuts tied. This will make the vehicle mobile with a running engine for the first time since the mid 1990's

XSA 620: This vehicle is running well. She is currently out at weekends on the 'Basin Rambler' a free to the public service. A new exhaust silencer has been acquired for her but it won't be fitted until after the running season.

RRM 634X: Ian has been cracking on with RRM having re-bled his injectors it was decided to remove the old exhaust and put on the new one. Some of the bolts were being difficult but we got them out eventually! Now RRM actually sounds like a Leopard as the silencer bore is correct! Ian has also taken away the wheel stud ring from his wheel drum so he can get some new studs.

7th of July 2008

KGB 120 : The Scammell has now has its back axle fully re-built with replacement brakeshoes being fitted and the hubs cleaned out. Currently we are awaiting the return of the Carburettor so we can continue on with getting the engine started. The cab fittings are also slowly going back on the vehicle.

XSA 620: Not much progress here as we have had her up to Stonehaven for a rally and out on the Caledonian Railway's Thomas events, currenty she is running well and long may it continue.

RRM634X: Ian has re-installed his injectors and we are awaiting the completion of a rocker cover gasket before a start-up is made. Also we have removed the front N/S wheel drum so we can separate the hub and drum. This will allow us to put on the original drum which was removed due to sheered wheel studs.

5th of June 2008

KGB 120: The Scammell is once more progressing forward, Bob has been busy building up the back wheel hubs. He has also sorted the thread on the N/S stub axle that was found to be damaged. It is hoped that this job will be finished soon and this will be something else ticked off our list.

XSA 620:The N/S wheel bearing has been re-assembled. The bus is also back on the road, after a visit to Meffans of Kirriemuir we found out one reason why our engine may smoke like it does. We have since cleaned out the air intake which had depostis of oil in it. Now XSA is a cleaner vehicle exhaust wise.

RRM 634X: RRM has had a new set of injectors purchased as it was deemed the old ones are not working efficiently, tho it has been discovered that the leak off pipes are different on the new ones. These will have to wait to be fitted, tho in the mean time the current ones were cleaned up and have been put back in, they still await being bled.

XSS 43Y: 543 has had its roof sanded down further and its roof vents removed for some repairs. Ian Forbes has also been working of the fibreglass front panel which requires some repairs.

29th of April 2008

XSA 620:The N/S wheel bearing has been dismantled as the quality of the grease was found to be inferior. This will allow for a thorough strip down and re-paint of the wheel hub which will allow the removal of a good few layers of paint. It has also been decided to replace the outer bearing as it seemed to have worn a lot more than the inner.

28th of April 2008

KGB 120: Work is continuing on finishing off the welding on the cab fittings for the Scammell. Hopefully this will all be completed soon. With the Carburettor still leaking we have decided to send it off for repair, this will be done within the next few weeks and will allow for significant progress to the vehicles engine when it returns.

XSA 620: A Cash desk has been fitted to the drivers door of the vehicle, to bring the vehicle back to 'as withdrawn' condition. Also the front N/S wheel has been removed for cleaning and painting and the hub cover has been removed so a Bakelite badge can be fitted in place of the sticker that was there before.

RRM 634X: This vehicle passed its MOT last Monday and has been prepared for its running for the CRDG's annual diesel Gala see www.crdg.co.uk for more details.

14th of April 2008

KGB 120 : The Scammell, has not progressed very far since the last update, mainly due to the fact that we have discovered a leak in the carburettor. A company has been found that will sort this problem for us which should result in the vehicles start-up.

XSA 620: The headlamp bowls have been re-fabricated and now have been re-fitted to the vehicle. The engine has been re-bled and she is now running very well.

RRM 634X: The wheels were put back on yesterday and the brakes adjusted so we could take the bus out for a test run, which was successful.

XSS 43Y: Work is progressing on the body work, the front panel has been removed for repairs and the roof is in the process of being sanded.

Ian builds up air pressure before performing a brake test	XSA outside the garage with headlights re-fitted

27th of March 2008

KGB 120: Andrew Kennedy delivered most of the pieces that he had in care for the Scammell, which included the triangular headlamp shroud, the number plate and some other fittings for the vehicle. Both doors have been fitted to the vehicle in an attempt to asses the work needed to finish off the cab and its associated fittings.

XSA 620: The Compressor and fuel pump have been re-fitted to the bus again, as one of the gaskets was found to be damaged and caused a slight leak. This has allowed an assessment of the condition of the compressor to be made and it has been decided to overhaul a spare. The inserts for the headlamp bowls have been re-metalled and all that remains now is for the bowls themselves to be finished. A start has been made on cleaning up the engine and re-spraying it with Engine Aluminium. This will take a few weeks and make the engine a much cleaner piece of kit to work on.

RRM 634X: The N/S wheel bearing assembly has been treated to a brand new bearing, as the old one was thought to be of poor condition. Ian has been cleaning out the dirt and grit from between the brake shoes that has accumulated over the years of use on the farm.

Ian Forbes, removing his brake adjuster after cleaning the brake shoes,	Scammell with Numberplate and Headlight shroud
Bob does a bit of welding on one of the headlight rims.

15th of March 2008

XSA 620: The Headlamp bowls have been taken out for restoration. Their condition was not apparent until the headlamps were adjusted at the MOT. Also a set of cylinder heads have been put onto a work bench so restoration can start on them

Headlight bowls out for re-plating	Spare cylinder heads ready for re-conditioning
Front with headlights out

10th of March 2008

KGB 120: The N/S door has had its inner panelling removed for investigation, this door however is in better condition that the O/S and will only require a clean down and re-paint.

XSA 620: It was felt that after the MOT we would finish off the work still to be done on the Fuel pump and compressor so this unit has been removed once more for work to continue. One of the side hatch supports has been re-attached to the frame of the vehicle as it had become loose. A new professionally created number plate has been fitted to the rear of the vehicle, a vast improvement on the temporary one made over a year ago! The compressor on XSA is showing signs of age, though still works it has been decided that another unit is to be stripped down and overhauled for eventual replacement of the current unit.

RRM 634X: RRM's rear hub is being cleaned up and stripped down to asses the condition of the inner bearing. Also the brake shoes have been cleaned down and all the working parts are receiving a through clean, years of being a 'berry bus' has left its deposits on this bus!

Compressor unit stripped for overhaul.	Where the compressor and fuel pump live cleaned up

6th of March 2008

XSA 620: This vehicle successfully passed its MOT test yesterday!

2nd of March 2008

KGB 120: Filling and sanding of the nose and body has continued.

XSA 620: The fuel pump saga is nearly at an end with it all sealed up and not leaking after testing, all that remains is for all pipe work to be tightened fully and the fuel system bled, with an MOT booked this work will be completed shortly.

EWG 22L: Nothing to Report.

RRM 634X:The N/S rear wheel hub on RRM has successfully been removed today, marking a step forward in the completion of the rear axle works. A clean up of all parts and a fresh greasing should see the hubs serviceable for a number of years to come.

XSS 43Y: Nothing to Report.

Above: Fuel pump mid service.

17th of February 2008

KGB 120: The cab has been re-attached to the chassis after extensive work repairing the rotten plate work and the cracked body filler. The nose has also been attached  temporarily so filling and sanding can be completed. The Engine has still yet to be started though the problem is being narrowed down to the Carburettor.

XSA 620: The Handbrake has been adjusted as it was felt that it had slackened off a bit. Today we had a short run to test this and another problem came to light, a leak was found in the bottom of the joint on the fuel pump casing. This meant that the pump has been partially dismantled so a new gasket can be manufactured. Thankfully this was discovered today as there is only 2 and a half weeks till the Vehicles MOT!

EWG 22L: Nothing to Report.

RRM 634X: Ian Forbes (owner) assisted by Ian Laird continued on with the nearside of the vehicle, success, the hub now is thankfully moving and should be off within the next week!

XSS 43Y: Nothing to Report.

Scammell cab re-attached

30th of January 2008

KGB 120: The Scammell is still progressing but throwing up a few niggles, the engine is still not starting, for reasons unknown, though it may be linked the the carburettor. The welding work in the cab is almost complete, with most of the roughest areas having been filled and sanded flush. All that remains is to re-attach the cab to the chassis, for work on the cab to be completed.

XSA 620: Further work has been done to the vehicle to keep her in good running condition, an oil leak from the gear box was sourced and hopefully cured, the vehicle has also benefited from a new tyre being fitted to ensure an MOT pass. An MOT has been booked for the vehicle, so the next month the focus will be continuing the check to ensure she will pass!

EWG 22L: Nothing to Report.

RRM 634X: Ian has completed the re-assembly of the rear hub and work continues apace to get the wheels back on. It has been decided to do the same on the near side to ensure there are no further problems.

XSS 43Y: Nothing to Report.

In other news ATG and GVVT member Andrew McCombie has bought Leyland Tiger D718 FES for preservation from Stagecoach Strathtay. His intention is to restore the vehicle to Citylink livery in the near future. It is currently kept at the GVVT in Glasgow, Good Luck Andrew!                   

Above Final major piece of Scammell welding.	Above: Tyre for XSA being painted
Above RRM's wheel hub after re-build	Above, Andrews tiger enroute to Glasgow

14th of January 2008

KGB 120 : The Scammell has been slowly progressing along with the re-plating of the cab. This Job is nearly done and this will allow the cab to be painted and re-attached to the chassis. Cab fittings are slowly being re-assembled which will allow a quick final re-assembly.

XSA 620: A new set of front wings have been purchased for XSA and they are currently being fitted (with great difficulty). The opportunity has been taken to change the destination blind in the vehicle which will allow for some different photographs.

The brakes were also adjusted as one of our pre-MOT jobs and after a short test run, we are happy with the results.

EWG 22L: Nothing to Report.

RRM 634X : Rear hub has been re-assembled after it was established that the inner bearing had collapsed, which had caused serious problems on its last run. A new bearing has been purchased fitted and will undergo some tests within the coming Months.

XSS 43Y : Work continues apace.

27th of October 2007

At the start of the Month we had a shunt about of buses, allowing us to review a couple of Jobs.

XSS 43Y: 543 required turning so it was decided to get this done before winter work progressed, Jed and Sandy have fully stripped down the nearside paintwork down to bare metal and have removed the windows. Now their focus is onto the offside which will be prepared to the same standard.

EWG 22L: EWG was started for the first time in a couple of years and started on the second attempt (I think)! The Leyland O.600 roared into life and sounds super for a vehicle that hasn't been on the road for over ten years. The opportunity was taken to remove her cracked window in anticipation for the new one sourced for us by the GVVT, thanks to them for their help! We have found a few niggles with the running gear on this vehicle but nothing that cannot be sorted easily.

RRM 634X: RRM was taken out for a short run to check its brakes as they have been causing a bit of trouble with overheating, a full strip down of all the brakes has been proposed and work has recently started on this.

XSA 620: XSA was given a short run to ensure she was ok for her trip to Glasgow on the 14th of October. On the trip XSA preformed superbly and had quite a few people commenting on her, all supportive saying it is good to see her back on the road! XSA has done over 1000 miles since MOT and long may it continue. A programme of winter works is planned though nothing major that will see it off the road for any length of time.

Left: EWG's Window gets chipped out!                        Right: Owners and their buses, missing are G Mitchell and I Laird            Photos J Scott.

8th of September 2007

A lot has happened over the past few weeks.

The Basin Rambler has finished for another year. Loadings each week rose and the passengers were commenting on the run.

The Group were asked by the Caledonian Railway (Brechin) Limited to Provide a bus for their 'Day Out with Thomas Event' XSA 620 did the honours on Saturday and part of Sunday whilst RRM 634X started the Sunday but due to technical problems she was swapped for XSA 620. The weekend was very successful and we carried lots of delighted children of all ages!

The Scammell Scarab though neglected during the Rambler weekends has now had its chassis re-assembled. The work remaining now is to check the condition of the engine, fire it up and re-instate it. Some cab re-plating is still outstanding but this should be completed in the next couple of weeks.

XSS 43Y (543) has been sanded down to bare metal on the nearside in preparation for its re-paint, with only the offside to be completed when she gets turned round. The Engine has been re-built and successfully fired up. All going well she should be turned round within the next month.

Left: 543 Stripped for re-paint                    Right: Scammell Chassis re-assembled.                                          G Muir

31st of July 2007

The website is finally online, it has taken a few months due to technical difficulties uploading files to the server. Now this has been fixed the site will continue to be updated and grow.

The groups vintage bus service has operated successfully for two of the four weekends it operates. The service calls at The Caledonian Railway Bridge of Dun Station, National Trust for Scotland House of Dun, Montrose Mainline Railway Station, Montrose Basin Wildlife Centre, Montrose High Street and the Montrose Air Station Heritage Centre. The Vehicle in use is XSA 620