Dave Rolfe and I were on site today. Dave was dismantling part of the radiator louvre system, as one side was not operating when we tested it with an air supply last week, as reported before, to try and discover why the shutter blades didn't move. Dave subsequently discovered that the seals on the two air engines for this set of louvres need replacing. Testing on the bench didn't reveal the leaks, but the pressure of moving the radiator shutter mechanisms allowed air to leak past the seals on both of them. This means they will need removing from the radiator compartment again which will be a tedious if necessary job.
I topcoated the upper panel that goes in front of the driver's droplight scissors mechanism in No.1 cab, and painted the wording on the change end switch for that cab, then got the curved panel that goes underneath the brake levers to make sure it fits correctly, as it had become slightly distorted after years of storage. I found several of the original fixing bolts had sheared when it had been removed, leaving stumps on the frame. I ground them flat and drilled new holes, before tapping all the fixing holes to M5. Bizarrely, the top of the plate had no fixing holes, so I drilled two new ones, to stop any chance of vibration. To get all the holes lined up and positioned correctly took multiple attempts at bolting the plate in place, then removing it to make adjustments. I also had to remove the bottom mounting plate for the change end switch, as I needed more space to tap some of the holes. Having got all the mounting holes lined up on the curved plate, the change end mounting plate was re-attached. the cover picture shows the greased Driver's side droplight mechanism, with the change end switch mounting plate beneath it. The picture below shows the completed change end switch. (Photos by Andy Rowlands)
