After my haircut... And indulging in a delicious chicken, feta and spinach pie for lunch...
I came here... To ModFab.
I had finally decided that the gears on my bus were...
At the most inopportune moments...Unmanagable... And a traffic hazard...
When I couldn't change gears quickly enough because they were being contrary...
And no matter what I did wouldn't be found!
So this place just out of Warkworth had been highly recommended...
And as I was passing...
I came to this workshop to seek help and advice.
Some people say driving an old Bedford is an ugly experience...
They remember them as school buses grinding up the hills.
But I was convinced things could be better than that...
And Farnie and Leon here, thought so too.
Farnie is a master mechanic...
I had been told he could repair or make anything.
That turned out to be true.
So here I am... Parked up in the driveway outside his workshop...
Home away from home in the sun this morning.
I was jacked up...
A big board put underneath...
So a trolley with Farnie on it can roll under.
You will remember... From pictures of my previous repairs...
That the motor is accessed from underneath and inside...
So it's always a major disruption to take the inside engine covers off...
This time it was more than that as the gear stick was located further back so the carpet had to be removed.
And the floor... Because the bolts and nuts holding the gears in place went right through the floor.
When Farnie tried the gears he was amazed I had driven it anywhere...
So I didn't feel quite so much like a dizzy bonde after that.
His first plan was to take out some of the links which were loose
and caused too much movement in the gear shifts.
Then relocate the gear lever closer to the handbrake.
Mmmm... I muttered to myself as I peered into the depths...
I've put lots of pictures as you people who know and love Bedfords...
Or Izuzu motors really,
just might like to have a 'closer' look...
And know what you are looking at!
I could see what had been causing the problem...
The bus is a 1970 Bedford... The Engine is an Izuzu 6BD1 of the late 1980's early 1990's era.
The gears are Bedford gears, fidded with when the original Bedford petrol motor was taken out
and the Izuzu diesel motor installed.
I learned that the Izuzu motor in it's original vehicle was accessed from the outside - a bonnet that lifted up, or the front cab lifted off the vehicle to expose the motor - easy access.
It's when they are put into a Bedford vehicle that they are crammed in and difficult to access for repairs with no outside opening bonnet... It is all making sense to me now!
There were links and rods and bushes and pins everywhere...
Which caused the gear shifts to be difficult and not easily found.
Here is some part of the gears in the vice... New bushes... New pins...
Whatever they are! I couldn't see them...
It all looked a black greasy mess to me...
But then what do I know about such things? Nothing!
And here on the workbench... If you look carefully...
You can see the abandoned gear stick with it's silver knob.
I think the bit of metal sticking up out of the vice is what is attaches to.
So tonight I have a great gaping hole in the front, inside my home.
I have covered it up with a big old drop cloth to stop the draughts...
And I'm glad it's not a cold night.
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