Category: Our Vehicles

Our Hayes Teardrop was built long before automatic lubrication became commonly available in trucks and buses (1950s). Given that some of the Hayes’ many grease nipples were hard to access, the common modus operandi in maintenance circles during its service life seemed to have been “squeeze in as much as you can, in roughly in the right area, and hopefully it’ll be enough!” The excess however will mix with road dirt and harden over time. That makes Richard’s job harder. He’s a mechanics’ helper tasked with removing the gunk around the grease points. You can imagine how caked on the grease/dirt mix is– he has to use a chisel to remove some of it!

These photos (by Sue Walker) show the tight space Richard has to work in, and the newly cleaned brake drum.

Our TDH-4512 #730 (along with many GM buses of the time using the Detroit Diesel 6-71) used a unique cooling setup. It can be considered a “mini-torque converter” in that power is applied from the engine’s accessory drive toward the fan assembly. Instead of a solid mechanical connection (like a bolt-on fan) or a friction clutch, the fan hub is filled with oil. Inside the hub, there is an impeller (driven by the engine) and a runner (attached to the fan). As the impeller spins, it moves the oil, which then pushes the runner to spin the fan.

The fluid coupling acts as a damper between engine and fan, preventing any damage to the fan during startup, but it is always engaged. Thus it is constantly pulling air through the radiator, even when the engine is first started and running cold. Running cold could damage the engine. It doesn’t allow it to run efficently and increases smoke being emitted from the tailpipe. The solution to this problem was a series of shutters, or louvers on the radiator called a shutterstat. These were controlled by a small valve which sensed the coolant temperature. Once the coolant became hot, an air cylinder would allow the vanes to spring open, allowing the air to pass over the engine. Without those shutters, a GM Old Look 6-71 would struggle to ever reach operating temperature in cool weather, and the passengers would be shivering because the heaters wouldn’t get any hot water.

It wasn’t an efficient system: the torus fan always turned, shoving air against the closed vanes. So some of the power produced by the engine was being wasted by doing nothing except perhaps produce a loud noise. (With the ‘new-look’ coach, the industry turned to other techniques such as hydraulic and eventually electric operation which would allow independent contriol of the fan.)

So did this ‘torus’ system work? Surprisingly well. If the shutters did fail, they would spring open, and prevent an engine overheat even if that meant running cold. And that feature is what Sean and his team discovered when they replaced the seal on the fan after it failed. During the last years of its operating life, BC Transit mechanics found the radiator plugged. Because 730 was so close to retirement, BC Transit felt a new radiator could not be justified. The answer was to permanently fix the vanes open despite the consequences of running a cold engine. With the new radiator and rebuilt torus fan, 730 has a new lease on life, with the cooling system operating as GM intended!

The torus fan showing the impeller and runner.

You may not realize that our museum collection of buses is divided into roughly two: those kept warm and dry inside, and those unfortunately stored outdoors. As our collection grows, and our indoor storage shrinks in size due to economic pressures, we have to make a tough choice of what goes where. And although vehicles at our valley satellite storage are outside, we try as best we can to mitigate the effects of being stored there.

Last weekend a small crew visited the site, armed with a new tarpaulin to replace a worn and torn one, and generally inspect our buses.

While the other buses (Flyer 3334, New Flyer 3106 and GM 5509) are in pretty good shape, Brill 3405 hasn’t been so lucky. It was the coach with the torn tarp, and condensation is unfortunately causing a concern. And for the record, Fageol M852, although assigned to the valley site, is actually stored indoors there.

Thanks to Sean,Jason and Milan (who also took these photos) for taking time to visit and report back.

At TMS we have two ongoing projects: our ‘museum bus’ conversion of GM 4107, and ensuring the Hayes Teardrop can be driven safely as we celebrate its 90th anniversary next year!

Lawrence has been inspecting the brakes, wheels and steering. This last week he turned his attention to the ‘pitman’ arm. A Pitman arm connects the steering gearbox with the linkage in older steering systems commonly known as recirculating-ball.

When first inspecting the arm, Lawrence was unsure of the amount of wear that was acceptable. Fabricating a new arm would be expensive, but he decided to stop by Scott Spring Ltd in Surrey to ask for their advice. Soon three friendly mechanics, Mac, Kam & Dave, were eagerly inspecting the relic! The conclusion? Though there was some wear, it was perfectly serviceable! They did comment about a missing leather ‘boot’ which helped keep dirt out. Lawrence quickly made a replacement from scrap leather. Originally held in place by wire, he substititued zap ties – probably Hayes Anderson would have done so too, had they been invented!

To all our members and visitors, we wish you a healthy, happy, peaceful 2026.

(If you are wondering where the posts for 2025 are, these have been archived in our library. As explained on the library website, we have moved them to our Google-hosted pages.)

To begin the new year, here is a little item suggested by my visit to the 33rd Annual Gingerbread Lane at the Hyatt Regency hotel on Burrard St. in Vancouver.

Over 40,000 people visit the display of gingerbread “houses” located in the hotel lobby. They are encouraged to make a donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. It is a nonprofit organization that grants life-changing wishes to children with critical illnesses.

Bakers compete for the “best in show” in three categories: Professional, Amateur, and Secondary School.

And why are we telling you this? Because one entry caught my eye.

Unfotunately the bus, baked by Jacelyn & Derek did not win – though they got my vote! – we don’t know much about them other than they probably live on the #44 bus line. The creation was subtitled “the most festive form of public transport.”