Today at ABC Bus

[Iceni John]

Today I had ABC Bus flush out all the the old coolant in my bus and refill with 12 gallons of new.   After my fun and games last week replacing the air compressor's coolant hoses, the only other hose that ABC changed was a short piece near the thermostat which had a slight nick in it.   Otherwise everything looks OK (touch wood).   It's a good feeling knowing that all the vital fluids are now up to spec  -  I had the oil changed last year to 40W CF-2, so I hope the engine's now happy.

There's an Eagle conversion parked in ABC's yard, looking for a new home.   I think it's a 10, but who knows?   Scott the Service Manager says that there's still some money owing on it, but it could be worth a call for anyone here interested in it.

There's also a bent Van Hool in their yard.   You can see where the luggage doors' gaps are wider at the bottom than the top, and when you sight along its side it looks slightly banana-shaped.   Apparently it flew 70 feet through the air before it landed, ejecting the driver in the process.   Ouch.

While I was there a brand-new Marathon Prevost came in, complete with a Lexus toad!   It's almost as high as the double-decker Van Hools.   Talk about excess  -  it's all sparkly this and black marble that inside, with acres of white leather everywhere.   Too much!   The concensus among the ABC techs was that it's well over a million dollars, maybe nudging two million.   I guess the current recession hasn't yet reached its new owner.

When I got back to my storage yard I finally fixed my embarassingly-noisy rear heater fan.   Because a bearing was dry, it used to squeal like a pig, actually more like a Stuka dive-bomber after a few minutes on, causing much consternation among pedestrians when I would drive past them.   Disassemble, clean, re-lube  -  it's now silent(ish).   I also pulled out of it two decades' worth of chewing gum, hair, boogers, love notes between pre-pubescent school kids, and who knows what else!   And if you're wondering why I want to get my heater working in May, it's a useful way to help the cooling system in hot weather.   Every little bit helps!

John