To Dismantle your Shed

THE FACE OF THE BUS; ALMOST THE ONLY THING WHICH TELLS THE CASUAL OBSERVER THAT THIS IS AN ALBION YOU'RE LOOKING AT, MATE. AFTER 68 YEARS THE BADGE IS SADLY LACKING IN LUSTRE.

THE RADIATOR BADGE WAS CEMENTED IN PLACE TO PRESERVE IT FROM SOUVENIR HUNTERS. CRAIG CAREFULLY PRISES IT AWAY, AND IT WILL BE SENT AWAY FOR RE-ENAMELLING IN VITREOUS ENAMEL.

THE GARDNER 6LW WOULD NEVER WIN A BEAUTY CONTEST, BUT IT BEATS EVERY OTHER DIESEL ENGINE EVER BUILT AT FUEL ECONOMY. BUILT BY L.GARDNER AND SONS LTD., BARTON HALL ENGINE WORKS, PATRICROFT, MANCHESTER, IT WAS USED IN BUSES, TRUCKS, RAIL VEHICLES AND SMALL SHIPS, AND COULD DELIVER UP TO 17mpg IN A DOUBLE DECKER BUS APPLICATION.








First remove the external steel cladding. Then remove the cross beam, noting which way up it was fitted. And so on, until your bus will fit inside.

With 1615 safely ensconced in the shed, some research was undertaken to establish how to go about obtaining spares for the Gardner engine, to enable it to be given a full overhaul. My friend Michael Myer of North Shore Diesel Injection Service at Woy Woy is a specialist in Gardner engines. Woy Woy on the Central Coast just north of Sydney is surrounded by small fishing harbours and inlets plied by ferry services, and many of these vessels are propelled by Gardner engines in their marine form, so Michael is not short of work. He advised firstly to find the engine number, on the upper surface of the crankcase, in front of the injector pump, and beside where the front cylinder block mounts. And to establish if the crankcase is iron or aluminium alloy. If iron, the bearings will be hand scraped babbit metal, not modern slip-in shells, and will have to be updated. It is aluminium (phew) and the engine number is 31935.
While he was at it Craig established that the bus' Chassis number is 60004D. In Albion's weird and wonderful model and chassis ID system, all the 60000 series numbers to 60500, with suffix letter to be added, were allotted to the CX19 Venturer, starting with 60001A, then B,C, D, etc. up to L (I and G were not used after 1938), making a group of ten, then came 60002A,B,C, etc. So by my reckoning, 60004D is the 34th chassis produced of model CX19. I await correction by an expert in the field.