External and Mechanical Restoration

 Wheel repainting

In the 12 years we've owned MB90, one job we haven't ever got around to it repainting the front wheels. The lockdown of 2020 gave us a chance to catch up on a few bits when we'd have otherwise been out at shows, so the wheels were stripped, primered and given a couple of coats of fresh paint. The whole bus could benefit from a fresh coat of paint at some point so the wheels will likely be painted again then, but in the meantime it's stripped off the rough paint and got them looking a bit smarter!

Replacement of the radiator grill panel

MB90 currently has one of the later fitted radiator grill panels with just mesh fitted, and nothing to help direct the air towards the radiator. To help improve the cooling, we are in the process of rebuilding the louvered one obtained from recently scrapped MBS464 and this will be fitted when restored. However as you can see from the pictures, it needs a lot of work doing on it first!

Update 7th October 2016 - the louvered radiator grill has now been fitted to MB90 in an effort to try and overcome the overheating problems she's been suffering. Huge thanks to Dick Turpin (owner of SM678) for the welding work he's done on the grill to make it usable once again. Dick has welded a new section along the bottom of the grill and we've then ground out as much rust as possible and given everything a good coat of primer. We're currently running the grill in primer and will give it a top coat of green over the winter.

Replacement of Radiator

MB90 had been suffering from overheating problems throughout 2011 and on her run at Uxbridge in June the problem had got significantly worse. A spare radiator was sourced (with thanks to Keith Wright) and rebuilt to swap in place of the one on MB90. This was carried out in early September and together with the fitment of the expansion valve on the header tank from recently scrapped MBS464, the problem has (fingers crossed!) been solved, although she will get a more thorough testing during the next summer rather than the cooler weather.

Replacement of the fan

More mechanical work was carried out on MB90 during the spring, to fix oil leaks and an assortment of other problems. These were all resolved, and on the way back from passing her MOT, disaster struck, and the mechanical fan drive sheared off from the engine, destroying the fan assembly in the process! This led to her missing a few rallies at the beginning of the season whilst an alternative arrangement was constructed. She now has 2 electric fans which should be more efficient than the old fan, see the below picture. (PICTURE coming soon).

Replacement of the wooden bars

The old bars on MB90 were a bit of a mess with the offside one having had a piece added on for MOT and the nearside one splitting at the back.so we decided to replace them. We managed to source some hardwood for the bars, and then had a lot of trouble getting the old ones off. The bolts were so rusted to the brackets that the bars had to be cut off around them and then the bolts freed off, although a couple had to be ground and then drilled out. The brackets were then cleaned up and painted and the bars painted seperately before being fitted.

Re-assembling of doors

When we acquired MB90, both sets of doors were not fitted. The main fitting was carried out while she was at London Bus and Truck but we still had the difficult job of fitting all the rubber that goes along the edges.