Lady's and Gentleman,

Not wishing to hijack your forum but I need a little advice, I am an Englishman living in the USA (for the moment )and I tripped over RT 4533 looking very sorry for herself in the back of a storage facility here in Kentucky. She seems complete but does have a lot of deterioration and would require a lot of work to get her back to her former beauty. My question is - before I try to track down her owner I would like to know if she is worth restoring ( I don't really have a use for her but she is from home town and I hate to see her the way she is). I have taken a few pictures and I will try to work out how to post them here for everyone to see ( taken with my IPad so quality is not good)

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Tony

My bus number (if any): RT4533

Worth restoring? Maybe. Could it be restored given parts availability, time and knowledge and lots of money is another way of looking at it.
If has been kept under cover then you might be lucky and find it is not just a load of rust and rotten wood.

RT 4533 is an ex Country bus, last overhaul was 8/67 and it was sold by London Country i2/72. It has Weymann body 6113 which is one of the original Green Line RTs when new as RT 3232 (the bus now owned by Ensign) .

First thing to see is if the engine is complete, fuel pump etc and if it starts. See if it has significant rust around the front bulkhead, pull the grab handle in front of the front window on the N/S above the bonnet.

Look at the platform area, look at where the platform bars are fixed under the bus, if that riser is rotten then you are looking at a basket case. also look at the centre of the bus both sides look at the window pans and see if the strap plates(vertical beadings) are falling off, if they are that is a sign of rust and rot under the panels. Will wait to see the pictures before further comment.

My bus number (if any): RTL 960, RMC 1458 RM 1585, M 961 and several RTs

When you see how good an RT can be when restored, it's very rewarding.

It has pluses and minuses on restoring.
One one hand a Routemaster is really easy to do bodywork wise generally needing little more than serious elbow grease, But its Brakes, electrical and wiring and mechanical aspects need some considerable expertise and a good source of parts.

The RT on the other hand is far simpler electrically and mechanically and is a solid as a rock.
But the body structure and bodywork is a real challenge. Not Impossible it requires competent woodworking and metal working skills.
There is good advice from RT and RF owners and a source of many structural parts.

There are some amazing restoration projects on RMs &RTs out there. Some are whizzed through in months others are 25 year projects.

If you want a project and have a good facility to work in. Then go for it.

Gentleman,

Here is the link to the photographs my wife took whilst me and my friend Ed ( ex scotish bus driver ) were looking over the old girl, I am going to get over to look at it a bit more one afternoon this week and I will take more.

The engine is complete, it looks like it was driven to its current location and left about 5 or 6 years ago.

Regards

Tony

http://www.flickr.com/photos/47135998@N02/8490077914/in/photostream

My bus number (if any): RT4533

You know,
That does not look too bad as far as I can see.
The platform looks straight, there are no bulges down the side of he body, I think if the rest of it looks about the same, then its got to be worth restoring.

Regards

Rob

My bus number (if any): RT2291

I must admit I've seen far worse! The curved lower coving panel (in front of the rear wheel) doesn't seem too bad; I have some new spares of these if you decide to go ahead with restoring this bus, and have various other parts recently made which may be suitable.

I have overhauled fuel pump and injectors, brake shoes front and rear, overhauled front brake cylinders and quite a few other bit that may help.

you'll probably find the engine will start first turn and sound as good as she did 30 years ago!

One thing always worries me about newly discovered vehicles that have stood for years is the irresistible urge to start the engine. Don't, take some precautions first.

If the injector pump elements have seized due to water contaminated fuel then the first revolution of the starter motor can so easily split the pump asunder. So mark the drive coupling, remove the side plate and check that the rack moves freely, disconnect the injector pipes at the pump end, connect a gallon can of fuel gravity fed directly to the pump, bleed the air out and turn the pump over by hand. There will be considerable resistance from each plunger return spring, but it will turn if the injector pipes are not connected. It will also spurt fuel from each delivery valve after the first couple of revolutions.

I have never seen a pump damaged in this way,every time I've come across stuck elements they have been stuck at the top of their travel - but who wants to add £2000 to the cost of the job?

If all is OK do not connect to the fuel tank or the header tank (autovac) until both have been cleaned out. Dispose of the fuel in the tank.

That done check that there are no nasties in the air inlet, by removing the rocker cover. Turn the engine over by hand watching the valves to ensure they return properly. Refit the rocker cover.

With oil and water OK the engine can be started, but only run it long enough to know it runs.

Gentleman,

Firstly, thank you all for the input and advice you have given is most valuable. I will be returning to the bus on Sunday to take some more detailed photographs and I will let you know when I have posted them.

I have located the owner and I now have a telephone number, it seems that he has little interest in the bus other than the scrap value.

I'll keep you posted

My bus number (if any): RT4533