Ep5: Silvering The Chassis Of A 70 Year Old London Double Decker Bus

RT2629 is London double decker bus built in 1951 but it looks like we have our work cut out restoring this iconic London Bus.
What does it take to keep a London double decker bus on the road?
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!
Also don't forget to check-out all our 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 #rtbus #routemaster4hire

[@trevorpeauk3931]

Fine job gents, to keep these grand old ladies living on......

[@Big.Al.3]

Yet again another fabulous film. The old girl getting a full make over. Well done gents. Looking forward to your next film.. 👍

[@ROCKINGMAN]

As soon as I saw the licence plate I knew it was RT 2629. From 1979 to about 1984 I used to visit the Woolwich Preservation Group at Purland Rd, SE 28. A guy called Gordon Laming ran it and this bus was there. I took a couple of photos of it. They took it to Plumstead Garage open day, 1982 (I think). Many memories of this bus plus all the others including RF's and RM 58 for a short time, 832 J , MS2, and LT's AEC Militant. Nice video.

[@a11csc]

oh the joys of having aldenham lol

[@sharronpotts4613]

Hi Dave you all do a great job in saving a piece of history. Its great to see Tim be so interested in the hard work it takes in restoring a vehicle at his young age. I was wandering if you could do a walk around video of all the vehicles in your fleet and shop.

[@Routemaster4Hire]

Hi Sharron, yes will do that soon.

[@ScrotusXL]

Incredible attention to detail and showing respect for the designers and original craftsmanship that went into these legendary vehicles. The amount of effort and patience making this all “just so” speaks volumes

[@Routemaster4Hire]

Thank you. Glad you appreciate the work we are doing. 👍

[@marksinthehouse1968]

Great job , coming on a treat well up to Aldenham standard .

[@barryuk676]

Where did Tim get all his knowledge from he's too young to have worked on these vehicles when they were in service? Love the videos by the way keep them buses rolling! 😄

[@seancrumby3241]

Zinc chromate on steel First time I have seen that. Always seen it used on aluminum. Nice work

[@rolanddunk5054]

I find it amazing that so many pieces can be removed from the bottom of the bus,. as long as it is well propped up.great video as usual.cheers Roly 🇬🇧

[@jacksugden8190]

Could do with heatwave here today, cloudy 6/7C’s no fun in London, keep up the good work, looking forward to the next instalment 👍👍👍.

[@TheDaf95xf]

That’s a fantastic job on the chassis 🤩

[@Routemaster4Hire]

Thanks 👍

[@davidbassett4577]

Great video Dave .. you and Tim (and the rest of your team) are really doing one of Southall’s finest justice .. grew up with Green RT’s in Wycombe & on 441 to Staines .. and remember being at Barking in 1976 for their last day in LT Service.

[@Routemaster4Hire]

Thanks David 👍

[@ianmaddams9577]

Always enjoy these uploads. Great work as always guys 👍🏻

[@rubbishsignup]

Super work as always.

[@MrRossi1805]

And yes, i love what u do. As soon as covid and other things allow I would love to have (with my 3 1/2 year old son) a ride on this iconic busses!

[@jamesbalchin4640]

Absolutely brilliant again guys

[@athompso99]

Glad to see you're wearing a respirator mask while painting! It *appears* you use disposable N95/FPP2 masks, which is great - much better than what I usually do at home... ahem. Anyway. If you haven't tried them, I recommend trying a cheap P3 or A1P3 reusable mask for painting, e.g. the Drager 3300 or Moldex 7000 series, just as examples. Not only will the reusable P3 masks provide better protection, they're sometimes much more comfortable, and should stay in place on your head better as you're contorting about a bus chassis. Looks like they run around £35-£40 online in the UK, with the first set of filters included. [edit: typos]

[@tonys1636]

Always used a piece of cloth, an old handkerchief or Scarf. Health and Safety did not exist much then. The Motorcycle goggles came in handy as safety glasses despite having split glass lenses.

[@davidwebster537]

Another Brilliant video guys keep them coming

[@GHOOGLEMALE]

I remember in Northolt they used to drive the brand new AEC bare chassis' with driver seat, driver and just a set of goggles. Oh for the 141, 233 and 274

[@charlesemerson6763]

What a fun job. Paint work looked lovely.

[@andrewforeman5716]

Looks great so easy to see any leaks ect with it painted silver well done guy's

[@Routemaster4Hire]

Thanks 👍

[@tonys1636]

Looking just as it would have done on leaving Aldenham after its 3 yearly rebuild, except this time it will have the same body on it.

[@Routemaster4Hire]

Yes although some might argue by the time we have finished it may well be a new body!!

[@michaelkeen5010]

Thanks for the update, great content. 👍

[@Routemaster4Hire]

No problem 👍

[@petersmith4455]

hi Dave, great video, i am sure the engine will get the same treatment !ex AEC, ltd

[@johnclay4811]

Seeing as you have gone to all that trouble why don't you use a phosphoric acid solution to protect the steel before the undercoat well worth the effort and despite what you have may have heard it does work!

[@axelrajr]

That green primer reminds me a bit of the green primer that was available to me in the Navy (US) as an alternative to the red. it was commonly known as Green Death, it was a two part substance and care was needed with it because once it was on it never came off. hope your stuff is as good.

[@Routemaster4Hire]

Hi James, in our experience new paints are not as good as the old ones, because they have removed all the harmful chemicals. So, I highly doubt this paint will be as good as the one you refer?

[@axelrajr]

@@Routemaster4Hire i wish i could agree with you about it being modern but i was in the navy quite a while ago now. and even then, green death wasn't the preference, the red primer we referred to as terra cotta was. might have been related to the stuff for aircraft, not sure. i dont know how hazardous to health the green death was, its thing was that once it was on something, it NEVER came off. coveralls (uniform), your watch anything you didn't tape off, nothing. there is still some green death on the cuffs of my old jacket after 20 years now of wearing it seasonally. had some in a patch i was stripping and painting. the areas with terra cotta (red) primer went down to pair metal normally with the needle gun. the area with the green death on the other hand, the paint came off with normal effort, but the green death was pristine and smooth. two more passes scuffed it up but it was otherwise untouched.

[@russb2286]

👍

[@busfan361weston3]

Great premiere+ I'm first too

[@lindansmith1985]

Very interesting films. I was lucky to drive RTs from Garston country area from 1970 to 1979, a great bus to drive, perfect for the job. Then I was a licencing (deivery/collection) driver at Aldenham bus overhaul works, I realy would pay to work there now if I could climb up to the cab. Thanks for the films,Lindan.

[@muchosmasfrijoles]

Does water get into the leaf springs between each piece? I noticed you are rust proofing only the outside of them.

[@Invinciblemoam]

Have you ever thought about dry ice blasting? You can achieve better results and save on man hours

[@alantraish3368]

Fantastic. How do you guys know what to do when stripping these down ? Do you have manual or something? I’ve just been on the Cravens bodied RT kept by Ensignbus and some others at the rally in Wanstead. These are great buses. My old council Waltham Forest bought some redundant RTs from LT in the 70s for school use. They were painted in the deep maroon of the council livery and had the borough crests on the sides. Used to love going to Sun Trap in Epping Forest in them with the trees hitting the roofs Keep up the great work

[@Routemaster4Hire]

Hi Alan, No manual unfortunately, just lots of head scratching and planning.

[@alantraish3368]

@@Routemaster4Hire Magic pure magic

[@ezaabi8055]

When are we going to get more RT2629 videos

[@Routemaster4Hire]

Next one out on the 4th April.

[@MrRossi1805]

Please, I asked already once, from whom is your music?

[@Routemaster4Hire]

We have answered this question many times, unfortunately it is not a commercially available track.

[@MrRossi1805]

@@Routemaster4Hire ok, publish it - your third commercial leg

[@Routemaster4Hire]

@@MrRossi1805 it’s not ours to publish, unfortunately. 🤣

[@trumpetrider565]

Did i spy one of your buses on ITVs Ipcress File?

[@Routemaster4Hire]

Yes you sure did, more scenes coming up in the next few weeks too.

[@trickifichd2939]

What the point repairing these…

[@Routemaster4Hire]

Because they are an iconic piece of British engineering history!