your friendly coach company.

Here we have details of our AEC Regal.

We are trying to repair and then use our 1937 AEC Regal which was new to Summerbies of Southampton, later bought by Spratleys of Mortimer and then bought by Lou a lovely Gentleman from Tadley who used to work for Kents Coaches at one time,.

The coach has a Harrington body which suffered Bomb damage during World War Two. and was repaired with aircraft Aluminium.

Lou refused to sell the coach to Mervyn some years ago, before kids had managed to break in and damage windows and interior of the coach. Sadly Lou passed away and the friends and family of Lou approached Mervyn to see if he was still interested in purchasing the vehicle as a project. And so here we have a progress report of how much we have done.

 We have taken the coach apart inside to replace the floor covering and roof lining. With our Thanks to Nick we now have our moquette and have had the seats recovered and await being refitted to the coach. The wood fillets are out and have been sanded and re-varnished by Barry Randall and Dudley. 

The Wheels have all been removed and had tyres put on them which have tread, unlike the ones that were on the vehicle that were flat and bald.

The headlights and side lights were sent away for refurbishment and after a long wait for their return, they are looking like new. 

The Windscreen frames are re-glazed and await re-fit once the body work has been painted.

Various parts have been found via the internet and like minded enthusiasts to whom we are very grateful. 

The spare wheel/Tool box locker's floor had fallen apart due to rust. James cut away the rotten metal and treated the remaining metal with rust remover then made and fitted a new floor.

The front wings are off and have both been repaired as has the engine side cover. Many thanks to Bert.

 
The Chassis has been sandblasted by James and painted by Mervyn. 

Mark has run the wiring through to the back end. 

We have a new cover for the switch box with thanks to Paul and we have found replacement dash gauges.

 
James has changed the front springs after sending one away as a pattern and getting a new set made.

We have stripped the front brakes, the linings have been replaced. The front brake cylinders have been honed out and new seals have been fitted.

We tried to obtain a new socket for the rear hub nut's the size being 116mm, after talking to a Firm in Australia James decided to make his own as it would be quicker. the rear hubs have now been removed the bearings checked, brake linings cleaned, and new seals and felts made to reassemble the axle.

We tried to start the engine so we could flush out the old oil which resembles Tar and then give it a fresh start but unfortunately the plungers in the injector pump seemed to be sticking so the pump and injectors were off and have been sorted out by Dave ready for another try. We have refitted the pump and injectors but have yet to get the engine going.

Whilst the injector pump was off we had the dynamo refurbished as it was not charging. This has been put back on and we hope it works. Also the side plates were removed from the engine as we were warned that a build up of rust is often known to settle there, This was the case and so now the engine is a lot lighter.

The rubber hoses for the vacuum system and the water hoses were all very perished and the hose clips all rusting away so all have been replaced with new. The water pump face was removed as a build up of rust had settled inside the pump. and the radiator was flushed out to remove any debris that might have been inside as the radiator cap had been missing when we bought the coach.

We have removed all of the broken windows and have had new glass cut ready for installation. The louvers have been removed and the glass needs to be replaced in some, also their frames have to be chromed.

We have contacted a firm for new window rubbers and have now received the new rubbers and locking strips ready to install the Glass once the bodywork is painted. 

The side mouldings have been removed by Barry, Paul, Joshua and Joseph then they were cleaned and polished ready to be replaced when the coach has been painted. 

There is very little wood in the construction of the coach but, there were a few pieces that needed replacing and so the ceiling had to be removed, New wood cut and shaped and while the ceiling was down we replaced the rubber gutter pipes just in case they leaked then the ceiling put back in place.
The sun roof has been taken off to replace the rollers and to re-upholster the under side and varnish the wood trim. 
James has cut the new timber for the new racks for inside the coach so they are nearly ready for him to upholster them.

We acquired new lights for the racks as they were broken at the same time the windows were broken. 

There are quite a few parts that need to be re-chromed, door handles and ashtrays etc, and we have a firm in mind to do that for us.

Chris, Joshua and James have been busy sanding down the bodywork and James has Sprayed etching primer on the coach followed by  undercoat but there seems to be a problem with the top coat paint which is being investigated.

Bert made a new light box for the Rear lights and number plate.

James has sanded the whole of the ceiling through the coach and purchased the special glue to adhere the moquette to the sides of the ceiling and also the cream vinyl through the centre of the ceiling.

We recently removed the starter motor and had it refurbished due to it's lack of enthusiasm then refitted it.
More to report as and when, Thank You for Your patience.  

Click Here to see the photos!