Ep14: AEC Routemaster London Bus Restoration - Job Done But Will She Pass The MOT?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 ก.ย. 2021
- What does it take to keep a vintage London bus on the road?
Built in the 1960's our AEC Routemaster London buses need constant attention, so if you want to find out what it takes to keep a London Routemaster bus on the road then make sure you check-out all our maintenance and restoration videos here on TH-cam...
Filmed in the UK at the Routemaster 4 Hire HQ in Wrexham, North Wales we are passionate about London buses and with 7 vintage buses in the fleet we defiantly have our work cut out!
In this episode we start prepping RM1214 for her MOT test, but soon discover there is more work than we expected and very little time to get things done.
Also don't forget to check-out all our AEC Routemaster London bus restoration videos in this playlist...
• London Bus Restoration...
About Us:
We offer our London buses for private hire.
We are proud to have the privilege of owning one of London’s most recognisable sights - the iconic London Routemaster Double Decker Bus!
Our beautifully restored red London double-decker buses are available for Weddings and Special Events across North Wales and the Northwest UK, they add some nostalgic novelty and a touch of class to any occasion.
For more information, please visit our website: www.routemaster4hire.co.uk
#londonbus #routemaster #routemaster4hire - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
Great shows like this are why I don’t watch a lot of TV anymore. Thanks.
Glad you enjoy it!
Hi Dave, Jess and the rest of the mob. Just came across your videos in the last week or so, and have been totally transfixed by not only the commitment that you guys show, but also by the quality of work produced. The buses look amazing and the sound coming from the engines is music to my ears.
I was born in fifty eight, so seeing these beautiful machines being cared for with such love warms my heart. Keep up the good work.
Ex Hampshire lad now living in Aus.
As a born and bred Londoner and childhood bus spotter in the 60s the only thing I miss are the ads on the busses which I appreciate would be impractical for wedding hire for example having TY phoo puts the T in Britain or Pearl assurance on the sides but thats a part of my memories of beloved RTs and RMs
After being obsessed with the white roundel or bullseye, I'm appreciating the gold lettering after seeing this and a 1974 video on LT operations.
Still favour the roundel. A real shame the RT didn't carry them except in fiction in the movie An American Werewolf In London.
Thanks for showing the wedding hire. Really enjoyed it.
As a Jag driver I thought I had no interest in buses but your videos have been compelling viewing! It's great to see such amazing work carried out so patiently and with so much love and care. I wish you every success in the future, you certainly deserve it! What a team.
Thank you Steve, comments like this motivate us to make more videos. Hope you have a great Christmas.
Brilliant job done, and a fantastic video. I bet the Wedding party had a wonderful time riding her. Thanks for sharing.
Well done to everyone. Another bus saved.
1214 looks fantastic. The quality of the workmanship stands out and more than does justice to this piece of London’s heritage. Maybe one day I will get to North Wales to ride one of them and recall happier days travelling around south west London just as these were being stripped from our streets and replaced with less robust and less charismatic machines.
Thanks Chris.
Hi Dave, How about a video run-down on the fleet. Have really enjoyed this series. Since I got my bus pass I’ve developed an interest in vintage buses. Your videos really do highlight what a masterpiece of advanced engineering the Routemaster is and why it’s an icon. Especially now, we’ve got to go back and rediscover how to make buses that last and can be maintained and repaired like you look after your Routemasters
Great idea, will do one soon.
I have never been on a routemaster and this just makes me want to do it more. Then maybe have a go behind the wheel of one. They are such a beautiful bus to look at and sound great. Thanks guys.
Well done to all concerned another bus saved and totally pristine.
A great new channel to me, I stumbled across this by accident and I`m loving it so far. Great stuff lads keep up the great work.
Well done Dave and team, she looks absolutely superb and great to see her back in ‘service’. Brings back many happy memories.
Excellent presentation very interesting
that looks very well.
Hi Dave, Tim, Hayden et al,
Fabulous to see a genuine RM back on the road, fully licensed to carry passengers too. What a way to end a great series of video's, giving a peek behind the scenes, at just what is needed to get an iconic vehicle roadworthy and back to doing what it was designed, and built for - carrying passengers.😁👍😁
Thanks for making the videos- terrific job on top of actually working on RM1214 at the same time!
How will you top the quality of these videos next.....can't wait to find out.....??
Thanks Peter, glad you enjoyed the videos.
I just love a bus, I remember being told, ifs not Red, leave the bugger in the shed
well done guys glad it passed well deserved .
Thank you Guys.Really enjoyed you videos.Can`t wait for more.
Absolutely stunning. Seeing the whole fleet lined up was superb...but...I still think you need a proper Greenline RCL for your fleet to put the cream on the top. Well done all though...Brilliant !
Thanks Adrian, would prefer a RMC, maybe one day?
Well done team - great pleasure to see EP14 (RM14) restored and looking resplendent - many congratulations.
Well done to all of you who lovingly restored her she looks lovely. Can't wait for the next video.👍👌
Thanks 👍
loved every minute of all the videos in the series and what a great ending
such a rough and expensive restoration, may many passengers board her in the years to come
Another nice film.
Well done to all of you for getting the bus back into service.
Looking forward to your next film. Great to see RM 1214 with South Croydon Garage bits and on her. Especially the 190 blinds.
Thanks for letting us join you on the journey. , 👍
What a great restoration on RM 1214 well done guys.
Another superb video and I was so pleased to see the route 53 blinds as I used to travel on this route from Woolwich up to London and back when staying with my Nan and grandad in Abbey wood.
Also route 180 both were Routemasters. Great to see ! So looking forward to seeing your next bus for restoration.
All the very best to you Dave and your team.
Darn good show you guys. The buses look fantastic and why shouldn't they, you work hard enough. I wonder, is it work when you love it so much ?. Anyway keep the videos coming and we'll keep watching.
Hi buddy its Adam from the sailing brothers. Top video as usal, love this stuff. Keep them coming!!!
Hi Adam, glad you enjoyed it, thank you. Well done on reaching the US, glad you got in before the strong winds hit. 👍
Hope the next bus is going to be the RT in the shop.
Yay, more video's to come! Was a little worried when you said that was it. But as always, you were pulling our leg!
superb
Thank you for a fantastic series of videos, they have been a joy during the pandemic. It just shows how brilliant an RM can be with proper skilled maintenance. It brings back very happy memories of helping the owner of RM1571(a bus and owner that Lord Barrington can tell you all about!) Wishing you all the success you deserve for the future.
Thanks Gary, our pleasure!
I KNOW THAT FEELING BLOOD SWEET AND TEARS
No bad jokes anymore please... 🙂 Keep up the good work ánd the video's!!
Great job team, 1214 looked brilliant on a lovely sunny day. Glad the videos will keep on coming, here's hoping the next job is the RT.
G'day and greetings from Tasmania Australia 🇦🇺 congratulations on a great channel and for keeping these beautiful buses going there is something about them and a fine example of British engineering. Thank you for looking after these old girls and I find them very interesting especially the mechanical aspect, I have subscribed and look forward to watching and following your channel. Kind regards John
Thank you very much John, yes British engineering at its best, sadly this kind of thing is not happening nowadays! New video out this Sunday at 6pm UK time, so probably Monday morning for you.
She looks brilliant ive learnt a few things about how routmasters are put together loo, forward to seeing the new bus.
Bloody hell Tim! I would have thought you would have the decency to move that body (10.43) before spraying 😱
Brilliant work
Enjoyed watching all the video updates and look forward to more on the fleet
I am deeply pleased RM1214 has passed her MOT! Congratulations to you all!! Looking forward to the next video!!
Thank you!
Thanks again and well done! Looking forward to a new series.👍
Ding Ding hold tight, more room upstairs
Well done, guys, yet another great video
Well done lads great work
well done guys well deserved what a year love the sound of those engines all the best ..
Top job! Well done!
Thanks a lot!
brilliant
Well done looks great injoy the videos look forward to your next bus 🚌 👍
Love you guys and the work you do!!!
Thank you, glad you are enjoying what we do.
Well done all,she looks brilliant sounds lovely too.
Many thanks!
Don’t those Buses look the Dog’s Bollocks! Superb!
Looks amazing good day looking forward to the new bus
Thanks 👍
You very nearly had me worried there Dave.
Another great episode, can't wait to see what's next 👍
Glad you enjoyed it.
Absolutely stunning Dave
You and the team have done a absolutely wonderful job 👍🏻
Thanks Ian.
Expensive business running those buses, London Transport would have been proud of you, well done lads, Happy New Year 2022.
Thanks Jack, same to you.
@@Routemaster4Hire Loved the London Transport Green Line RMC’s at Brentwood in 1962 replaced the RT’s, in 1965 had the longer RCL’s, they were good days at Brentwood, remember taking an RCL on the Limited Stop service to Whipsnade Zoo.
Great vid, so glad she passed. Looking forward to seeing the new arrival. 👍
Thanks 👍
love the videos 1214 looks great .
Glad you like them
Brilliant, thoroughly enjoyed all videos.....why are you so far away from Suffolk.
Well done folks😁👍. Btw, Bbq on gas ain't right! 😂😂
You got that right!
Can't wait to see the next project, and hopefully I can get to Wales to ride these amazing buses next year
Thank you, let us know when you'd like to come over?
@@Routemaster4Hire will do
We are having a bbq......blah , blah blah,,,,.lol. Corona, I am sooooo there
I think I saw an RT in the background?
Hooray for the happy end! Though we never doubted you... Just look at that superb fleet, you can be justly proud of what you have achieved. There have got to be among the best preserved Routemasters out there. I wonder if we didn't get a glimpse of your next project lurking behind 1214 at one point; the previous generation?
Anyway kudos to you and I will look forward to the next one.
Yes I too have had my eyes on the RT lurking in the workshop. When I was a kid in the mid 60s I lived in what was pretty much an RT enclave with rtes 12,108,122,124,176 & 185 all Running RTs the nearest RM routes were either the 36 group or the 141. Im hoping to watch that RT being restored to its former glory just like the old days at Aldenham works. I’m certain it will look as spectacular as the rest of the RM4hire fleet.
Thanks Brian. We do our best to offer our clients buses that represent how they were in the 1960's. Thats what we don't have any referbs or re-engined examples in the fleet.
Thank you for uploading your usual high quality video. RM1214 looks absolutely stunning and you should be extremely proud of what you've achieved. I have some questions: 1. Are the front wheels on RM1214 correct for the original bus?: 2. Do you have the rear wheel embellishers and if so, is there a reason (e.g. H&SE) why you don't fit them?: 3. Is that an unrestored RT(L) I see in the background shots? If so what are your plans for it?: 4. Do you have any plans to add a green LT bus (e.g. London Country/ Green Line/ RM Coach etc. to your fleet? Thank you once again for your extremely interesting videos, as I know how much work this entails.
You could do with a RF!
Very cool video as always! By the way, it would be interesting if you also added to your fleet some London cabs as the famous and iconic Austin FX4. Some good restauration videos about london taxis would be great too! Greetings from Brazil!
Thanks Carlos. Yes we have thought about adding a London FX4 taxi but never got round to it. It is a good idea as one would complement the buses, perhaps one day we will?
@Routemaster 4 Hire Thanks for your message! I like very much London double decker buses and london cabs too! You all have made an excellent job on this restoration, it was really a hard task! Well, I will be cheering for you to get a London taxi to your fleet! Good luck to you all! Greetings from Brazil.
That is a job well done Dave! It’s always delighted to see a Routemaster being beautifully restored.
A (probably stupid) suggestion: 16:40, will fitting RM1214 with a reversing beeper makes it safer for people around it in car parks in the future?
Thanks Clarence, fitting a reversing camera is not something we would do as we try and keep the buses in as original condition as possible, although I understand for safety reasons why you would suggest this.
That would by great for safety, but as Dave says not good for originality, also probably quiet difficult as RM's don't have reverse lights (as far as i can remember) so you would need to somehow wire in a switch to the gear selector on the collum or adapt the gearbox for one.
@14:19 Is that a spray can with brake cleaner bottom right ? Needed to clean the barbeque ? Or add some "particular taste" ? ;-) Thanks for sharing ! (No dislikes so far. Speaks for your work.)
Wondered if you might ever add the original “ Disk “ hubcaps to the rear wheels ?
Hi Howard, the bin lids for the rear wheels do not fit on the rims we have on RM1214.
I HADE A FUEL LEAK ONCE IN MY 86 K5 BLAZER MANUAL FUEL PUMP WAS LEAKING
Well done Dave & team in a fantastic restoration of 1214.
A question for you, 2213 has a different London Transport logo, is there a preference of which logo is used for the age of the vehicle?
Hi Paul. Well spotted! Yes the London Transport lettering on both sides of the bus is a little large. The bus came with these already on so we have left them for now. We do intend to put the correct size logos on at some point.
Vintage buses with replacement tubeless rims look wrong to me, I can understand why they are used but they spoil things.
i see it's wearing route 53 blinds and TD running number. It should have a PD running number as TD is Catford garage and PD is Plumstead which is where the 53 ran from (and still do)
Hi Julian. The bus is plated TC with is Sough Croydon Garage. We have ordered a new set of destination blinds for the bus, but at the time of filming these hadn't arrived so the bus was carrying a spare set of blinds, which did not match the garage code plate. But to be honest people who book our buses here in North Wales don't know/care too much about this inaccuracy.
@@Routemaster4Hire yeah spotted it was TC when I watched it a bit later on, as the first time I watched it I took a quick glance, got huge memory’s of RM’s and RMl’s from when my dad was a driver and the point inspector. He worked of Plumstead and then Peckham.
I see in the background a low floor dd
well done sounds really great,will the leaking pump get fixed ? regards peter, ex AEC ltd, Southall. 1969-1979.
Hi Peter. Yes the pump will get fixed, all our pumps go to a company near Shrewsbury for overhaul so its gone there to be sorted.
Hi its probably a silly question... Why does one bus have a white stripe and the other has cream? I assume its different areas. Could you do a detailed video of the specific differences to all the fleet. Some RMs have vents above the cab and some don't. Window arangment ie opening ones and the order they are in. I don't think im a rivet counter but ive been told i am.. Cheers guys
Hi Alan, well spotted. The different colour schemes reflect different era's. In the 1960's when the buses first entered service they all had a cream relief band and lettering in gold leaf, however in the 1980's someone decided to replace the cream band with a white one and replace the gold leaf lettering with white lettering. All my buses have the cream band as I think this looks so much nicer, however Alan who owns RM2213 prefers the 80's look and painted his with the white band and white lettering.
Again the reduced vents above the cab was a 80's modification, so you will find buses with a white band should have the half vents and buses with the cream band should have the full height vents.
There were so many modifications made to these buses, some done during production (like the early ones not having opening front windows on the upper deck) and others done much later during their service life.
If you want to become an official rivet counter, there are books available that tell the complete story of the RM and all the modifications made to these buses over the years?
Do you know what happened to the buses that were at pontins Prestatyn, I worked on building the new chalets around 1974, and noticed that they used routemaster type buses around the camp, often wondered what happened to them
No idea John, sorry.
What is jubelie clip
Why did you leave it to the last minute ?? Exhaust leaks are audible and oil leaks should be notieable on a tell sheet that should be put under every commercial vehicle pro active fault finding. .Unimpressive maitenence schedule.