The restoration of Bristol Lodekka SRU981, now in the heritage bus hire fleet of Crosville Motor Services in Weston Super Mare, is progressing at the BusWorks. Extensive rot of all bodywork inserts, between the robust ECW aluminium framework, has been found and this will now result in the bus having a complete exterior repanel. Unlike later Lodekkas, even the vertical framework sections have timber inserts. Other work discovered includes rotten platform flooring, particularly under the staircase area. In this view, the window pans have been removed from SRU981 in preparation for further stripping of the exterior between deck panelling.
Crosville acquired this ex-Hants & Dorset bus during 2010 but despite its very tidy paintwork, this had merely 'papered over the cracks' of the rotten timber inserts underneath which had resulted in panelling that was insecure and causing further water ingress.
