With the mechanical work completed and the exterior finished, the bus has now been painted. Peter Mitchell is the painter and he has done an excellent job inside and out. The seats have been fitted, Tam has finished all the remaining work around the stairs and the back platform and all that now remains is the renewal of the wiring at the control box and some other work in the driver's cab. We have decided on a launch date of 19th August and everything appears to be on target for that date.

The mechanical side of the restoration has been straightforward. The mechanical units were all in basically sound condition although they have all been overhauled more than once during the working life of the bus. Although many parts needed replaced due to normal wear and tear, nothing was found to have been bodged during its long working life and nothing had any significant corrosion with the possible exception of the fuel tank. Everything came apart the way it should and everything fitted back together with the minimum of persuasion. It was a pleasure to work on such a well-engineered vehicle.

Things were not so straightforward for Tam and his team. The body frame had suffered significant corrosion and large sections had to be replaced. Tam reckoned the design of the body was over-complicated and did not lend itself to an easy restoration. But the job has now been done and the bus is looking resplendent once more.

Thanks to everyone involved and thanks especially to the Heritage Lottery Fund for making it all possible within a short timescale.
 

One of Davie Philp's ex-BRS Albion HD57 eight wheelers which has given up
useful parts to help with the restoration of 1877.
 

The bus is now in undercoat.
 

Peter Mitchell turns his attention to the inside ......
 

..... and then to the platform area.
 

  Tam fits the 'hand'! That's the right turn indicator.
 

The seats are fitted. The tops should be chromed, but we'll come back to this
at a later date.
 

Robert Hood from Goulburn, New South Wales, has arrived to help us during the
last week on the run up to the launch date. His first job is to take a spanner
round everything that has been taken apart in the last year in case anything
has been missed.
 

The completed bus takes to the road for the first time. Robert reckons it runs very well and he should know since he owns a CX19 himself and is a regular driver at Tempe. The engine appears to have plenty of power and the brakes work well. When warm the over-size clutch disc was not fully disengaging, but a little adjustment has improved the situation and we are confident that it will get better with use. The final shade of green has been the subject of some debate both here and Down Under for those who have had a preview and it may be that we'll have to revisit this in the future.