Has got to be the most awful job so far on an RM!! There's bolts where no human can possibly get their hands to them.

They must have employed Martians at Park Royal when they built them!!

Anyway, should be done tomorrow or Monday. the floor was the original ali type, totally rotted, so is being replaced with a sheet of plywood. It's got to be done by Wednesday, it's up for test at Hastings in the afternoon.

My bus number (if any): RML2532

Panhard beams are not hard to change if you take the B frame away as we did at Aldenham, they are part of the body and were fitted before the B Frame is put in place.
They tried non-dismount overhauls at Aldenham for a while late 60's but gave the idea up as it was nigh impossible to change the panhard beam with the B frame in situ and the overhauls took longer to do!

LT replaced the floor between the bench seats with marine ply, as the wear on that floor was so bad that plating, larger pop rivets, and bolting it in place didn't work, but bolt the ply in place and leave any angle pieces that tie the footstools together in place.

My bus number (if any): RTL 960, RMC 1458 RM 1585, M 961, M 271 and several RTs

You're probably right there Brian about taking the B frame off! I suspect at Aldenham they also tipped the body sideways to change the Panhard box, but we're not Aldenham!!

The floor on mine was the original type and will be replaced with ply. It had 3 layers of ali over the top!

It's not the top of that floor section that is the problem, it's the underside. Due to excessive movement the floor section which is only two thin sheets of aluminium with a top hat section in-between wore away by rubbing on the ledges it sits on. If the top hat was not broken we put patch plates on the edges, and fixed it back in with 3/16" pop rivets, but that wasn't curing the problem.
The next idea was to bolt the metal floor in place and put angles across the gap the floor went into, to tie the floor together. This was an improvement as it reduced the amount of movement and rubbing, and the erosion of the skin underneath was slowed. As new floor sections were being used at a great rate the Development Shop at Aldenham looked at using plywood and a test was made on the practicalities of doing it, including weighing the plywood section. The plywood was significantly heavier than the metal section. The timber floors were introduced which had one advantage in that slats that didn't stick could have the assistance of a panel pin!

My bus number (if any): RTL 960, RMC 1458 RM 1585, M 961, M 271 and several RTs

Removing the B frame and the wheel arch liners give a chance to properly inspect the area around the platform riser, footstools, horns and spring tubes. The moths will have been well fed on a diet of road salt, water, mud and electrolytic action.

Passing a current through the structure from a negative or positive grounded to the body wets their appetite. It doesn't do the paintwork an favours either.

Leave well alone! the B frame ain't broke, so don't fix it!

Panhard box now changed, just got the floor to do. 25mm ply!!

My bus number (if any): RML2532

Job done, the 25mm ply floor secured, the original Treadmaster glued back down, just the accumulators to pump up and ready for class 6 on Wednesday.