OLD SCHOOL SKILLS

In an era of computerised diagnostics and complex exhaust after-treatment, one business has found an enthusiast friendly outlet for its expertise in keeping older generations of classic vehicles in good working order

When you own a classic bus or coach — especially something decades old from long before diesel engine emissions limits were driven down by a series of six Euro numbers — where do you turn for expertise and replacement parts when things inevitably wear out and go wrong?

Among the Cumbria Classic vehicles that North Western has worked on is lowbridge East Lancs-bodied AEC Regent III UTC 672 new in 1954 and preserved in its original identity of Bamber Bridge Motor Services No.4.
CARL GORSE

Its manufacturer almost certainly no longer exists, today’s successors are unlikely to support it, the manuals you need may only be sourced through eBay or at specialist sales stands on the edges of bus rallies and many of the technicians maintaining modern vehicles are more often found using electronic diagnostic tools than stripping down and rebuilding the likes of a Leyland 680 or Gardner 6LXB engine.

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