Bodywork Session 6 - Day 2: Passenger door pillar & vehicle rear

Bodywork Session 6 - Day 2

Today we start building back the wood pillar between the passenger entrance and nearside windscreen as well as a wooden section between the front nearside bulk head and door pillar.  We also start to remove the vehicle’s rear brightwork in preparation for restoration.

The pillar between the entrance door and nearside windscreen required meticulous planning today as the original had a number of tapered surfaces.  Not only was this an issue but also the location, which required careful restoration as new woodwork was shaped and inserted into place.  Sion’s woodwork was second to none as always as the new pillar was inserted perfectly once finally cut after careful measurement and testing.

Smaller wooden sections are also produced for the left side of the passenger entrance door from what was left from the original section that will sit behind the door panels and bright work.

As Sion progresses on this woodwork once measured and tested, I move to the rear of the vehicle to start removing screws and brightwork in preparation for the removal of panels.  As this is progressed it appears that CRG163’s offside rear panel is one piece, whereas the nearside rear panel is two piece.  Does this mean that at some point CRG163 has been in some kind of incident at some point?

 A new wooden section is put into place instead of the deteriorated section previously in place.

The pillar woodwork is measured and tested in preparation for final positioning.

Whilst we were measuring and testing the new pillar woodwork I couldn’t help but notice the interior of CRG163, the driver’s cab seat and saloon coach seats.

Smaller wooden sections are created to replace the deteriorated section.  This will partly hold the left side panels and brightwork of the vehicle’s entrance.

The pillar woodwork now in place.  This has been meticulously measured and cut to reflect the various tapering required.

Moving to the rear of the vehicle we begin to remove the associated brightwork.  We quickly realise that the offside rear panel is one piece, however the nearside rear panel is in two pieces.  Does this mean some kind of a collision and rectification at some point?

CRG163’s nerside rear panel in two pieces, unlike the offside rear panel which is one piece.

The original rear number plate aperture seems to be a different shape than that removed.

The clean nearside lines of CRG163.