Sunday 5 December 2010

New Metalwork

All the new metalwork that holds the body timber framework together is now finally complete & painted.

The flitchplates for the roof hoops above were remade from the only complete original one left. Others had been made at some point in the past to the wrong profiles and fitted to the outside of the hoops as opposed to internally within the middle of the timber.
Below are pictures of some of the main body plates.


Thursday 19 August 2010

LOTS on the move again!

I'd like to start this time around by thanking LOTS (London Omnibus Traction Society) for awarding GW their restoration grant for 2010. If you'd like to learn more about them & what they do please follow the link under friends.
My business, Historic Vehicle Restoration, has taken on new premises in Byfleet, Surrey and this has given GW the opportunity of yet another new home. So we pulled her out into the daylight again ready for the short move over to the new workshop.


After a very quick & easy move she was slipped into a workshop bay.
Then placed on axle stands and levelled up so that work can continue.

Since then we have been able to make steady progress. The wheels have been removed, along with the rear wings, steering column & box, front axle, Gruss air springs and all the not so great roof hoops!

All the wings and spare wheel carrier have been sent away for shotblasting and had an initial coat of Bonda primer for protection. This threw up all the weak points in the wings and all four will need pieces let in, as they are a little perforated in places.



Sunday 20 June 2010

Assessing the Bodywork

The first thing we needed to do was take a good look at the bodywork as a number of things were bothering me. These primarily being a strip of 2" flat stock that was fitted all the way around the saloon just above the windows in place of the facia, the replacement roof hoops and the reported long term defect of a twist in the front bulkhead.
Starting with the flat stock, we decided to take it out to see what horrors it was hiding and if it was holding it all together! Thankfully the latter was not the case, although a percentage of the woodwork underneath is not in the best of health. The flat stock also prevented the front bulkhead facia from being fitted properly, it would thus require modification. Bearing in mind this is an original piece it is better to correct the underlying problem than add to it.

The next item were the roof hoops, the majority of which have been replaced leaving only 2 original ones upon the vehicle. The quality of the replacement ones is of a very poor standard with a hap hazard internal profile that varies from hoop to hoop. The sticks should also be flitched with metal internally but for whatever ever reason this had not been done and the flitch plate has just been bolted to the outside of the hoops. Although this in itself does not affect the strength, the hoops need addressing so this shall also be rectified.

You can see the flitch plate painted cream on the outside of the hoops in the above photo.
The exterior of the roof looks straight with its leathercloth covering below.

However this is not how Weymann designed the roof, it was originally a taught canvas covering over the framework. The leathercloth was thus removed to reveal that it had been glued onto a not very well laid base of aluminium sheet and mountains of filler, which when taken up showed a very uneven roof framework.

The grey coloured wood towards the front of the photo running lengthwise being the only original pieces. You can also see that the front bulkhead top rail has had a piece let in on the right hand side of the picture.
Which neatly brings us on to the story that the coach has a twist in the front bulkhead. Now was the perfect opportunity to ascertain what the actual problem is. With all the interior panels now removed we can clearly see where the problem lies. All of the horizontal pieces across the front bulkhead have been repaired with pieces being let in from the N/S. Some of these replacement pieces are not dimensionally the same as the timber they are replacing hence a slight misalignment.

Although not easy to see in the photograph above, the bottom front bulkhead rail changes thickness in the center of the picture just after the second grey upright. Unbelievably the splice is just over the metal bracket that adjoins the chassis. We can only make educated presumptions as to the reason behind this, but it is likely at some point GW has sustained damage to the N/S front. It is most likely from a traffic accident, but could have happened due to bomb damage when it was used during the second world war. Due to the photograph below taken on Epsom Downs at the Derby in 1949, by Alan Cross, we know the rebuild work was carried out prior to this point.

It was then felt as we had dismantled this far and what we had found was not of the highest order that the remaining panels should be removed to assess the rest of the framework. This revealed some more damage repair work and interesting replacement.

So all in all the state of the body framework has clearly become very apparent and has helped in making the decisions for the best way forward.

Saturday 10 April 2010

Home Sweet Home

So just as we got safely home the snow did start to fall and at one point quite a blizzard set in, but this soon abated. GW was quickly unloaded and before being tucked away we took the opportunity to empty out the saloon, this also allowed us to do an inventory of everything that came with her. Unfortunately the night rolled in and she ended up spending a night outside, so in the morning we were greeted with these loving snowy scenes.


Tarpaulin removed we carefully towed her into her nice new warm home. It appears having gone through all the bits & pieces that everything seems to be with the vehicle, well all except one item, the bonnet. So if you or any one you know has a genuine Gilford 168OT bonnet I would be really happy to hear from you.
It's funny what memories come back to you that you didn't even know were there. The minute I saw the seats again they were just how I remembered them, although before I saw them I couldn't remember them! Beautifully crafted luxury leather fluted seats, with repairs all over them and when I was cleaning up from behind the back seat I found one of my old toy cars!

Now safely back and in a place where work can take place, the next stage is to figure out how best to proceed with putting this coach back together & ultimately back on the road.

Wednesday 10 March 2010

GW713 Coming Home

To keep all interested parties updated with GW713, the sole surviving 1931 Gilford 168OT coach with Weymann semi-fabric body, I thought I’d start a blog to document the restoration.
Through a series of events that have unfolded, I have now become the custodian of this coach, that my father, Prince, saved for preservation back in 1959, along with Ken Blacker and other members of the Vintage Passenger Vehicle Society(VPVS). GW became Prince's sole property in 1962 and only passed from the family's care to the Science Museum upon the dispersal of his estate in 1984.

I finally collected GW from the Science Museum’s store at Wroughton on 17/12/09. I was accompanied on this expedition by Nick Abbott, Colin Billington and Colin Prince, who helped prepare the ole’ lady for her trip home. This involved changing the O/S front tyre because the tube would not hold air and tying down loose panels.

The low loader was kindly provided by Leon Daniels & First Group and came with a fantastic driver!

The staff at Wroughton led by Dennis Krause were also very helpful and made everything run smoothly on what can only be described as a very cold & windy visit high up on the Wiltshire hills. The only thing missing was the snow, but not to disappoint this came latter as we got home.