Let the fun begin.2

So here we are it's a bank holiday afternoon and not a sole in the place Calum and myself start with the clean up so we can see the state of play.

With brush in hand we begin by clearing the interior of the leopard the seats still in good nick and the racking up above full of spear parts and the odd item that really has no place among them we crack on and begin by moving the seat bases to the rear of the bus.

Picking up any rubbish as we go already it feels like we are making progress and the sun is shining down as we work with the promise of a nice cold pint keeping us going we crack on and talk of the day when this old beast will see the light of day again.

Calum tells me the engine is sound and that were he to bung in the batteries it will turn over first time and wouldn't that be something i think to myself if that engine runs then we are half way there.

Just the restoration of the exterior to concentrate on and a good clean inside we may be onto a winner here I smile and carry on brushing down the floor as I go.

Let the fun begin.

The start of things to come

So as I say this is going to be a long journey and many pain staking hours will be shed.

So our story starts in June 1974 where Barton Buses takes delivery of our leopard and straight away it is rushed into service.

During its life time it becomes a recognised icon on the streets of Nottingham with it's distinctive design and by nature of its name the growl of it's engine it becomes a popular and reliable sight on our streets.

In 1994 all leopards are withdrawn from service and retired some going to new owners and some going sadly for scrap this Leopard however finds a new local owner in the form of Two Taverns Coaches based at ruddington in Nottingham there it continues its life for another seven years after which it is then retired from service and put into the hands of a private preservation group and this is where we come in.

The people that will restore and preserve our leopard and the people that will bring it back to life so once more the Leopard will truly roar again.

Leopard restoration part one

At this point i have only just begun to understand the complexities of the whold blog and restoration thing needless to say that what I can say is that we have a long way to go.

This is the story of 2 people and one bus and the trials and uphill struggles that we will encounter along the way.

So let us begin>>