People are very quick to criticise from their armchairs.

The problem with the middle doors in the KC is that Stephen was referring to the opening and the various structural items taken as a whole and not the exact size of the doors itself. We do not have parts for this and you cannot take the parts from scrapped KC's.

To re-insert middle doors the frame opening is not the same as the front and you cannot simply take a front door and put it in the middle. There is a vast amount of other extra engineering work needed as Mark Phipps, I am only too sure, would be too happy to tell you. He has done a superb job on his KC 49 but it was an absolute nightmare and at one stage he ran the risk of the middle of the vehicle collapsing on him.What he did was, in my view, a near miracle and he had far more engineering ability than we have and good for him!

As for the nit picking over the meaning of the word "most" maybe we should have said "most of the last years" but the truth is that they ended their lives in this layout, they spent a lot of time in it, and as such it is a perfectly valid way to

You can argue until the cows come home what period of the life of a bus it should be restored to, but you can only have it in one period and we have picked their school days, especially as the dual door was never used! And when you pick one, some nit, is going to come along and say you should have picked another!

Our first priority is getting nine KC's in brand new condition and now that we can paint we will do these next. They will end up like 129. For the record the vehicles currently undergoing restoration are:

KC 129
KC 147
KC 152
KC 153
KC 157
KC 159
KC 160
KC 169
KC XXX

KC XXX is another surprise KC being restored as well to 100% condition.

As to KC 162 we do not know what will happen her She is in bad way but restorable. KC 134 and KC 155 are being scrapped.

What I think is remarkable and amazing is that nine KCs are preserved and as these are the only Irish designed and manufactured buses they are indeed a vital part of our history. You can criticise all you like but I say we have done a fantastic job in saving these and in such condition.

I hope this clears this up and finishes the matter.

Michael Grimes

-Complete repanel
-Re-Lino Re-Trim
-high quality paint job
-Engine and and transmission Recondition
-Fully working systems
-Frame treated for rust

Only then can a bus be proclaimed 100% Condition. As for anything else its just a just cosmetic improvement or Disimprovement depending on the quality. Saying a bus is "Fully restored" can only be if some or all of the above is met. Saying a bus is in suberb condition (as is the norm here) means that it must be in working order, in a decent condition and clean. If its not that, face facts and say that it is knackered needs attention.

Taking the message, let's see now if we apply it to KC 129!

1. Complete Re-Panel. Not needed. Defective Panels (3) replaced.

2. Lino re-trim. No lino.

3. High Quality Paint Job. Complete High Quality re-Paint inside and outside.

4. Engine and Transmission. New engine and Transmission fitted and I mean new, not overhauled.

5. Fully Working Systems. Change one bulb. Everything else worked.

6. Frame Treated for Rust. You must be living in a dream world. Not possible with a KC but in any event was not done first day so why now if you want to keep it original?

Just look at the photos and she is as good as the day she came out. By the way she is in working order, decent condition and clean.

Is there any more you would like?


Michael Grimes

P.S. Same rules apply to all work.

Where did the new engine and box come from? What spec are the engine and box i.e. horse power, model type? Do you have name and address of the firm you used?

Nice try in trying to trick Michael into naming his source for the new power plant/transmissions.!!!!!!!!!

And what would you do once you had those details, theoretically speaking it would be quite easy to go and put in a bad word to the suppliers about the KTM & Michael and thus screw up any other restorations that are in the pipeline.

If he is a good customer the supplier wouldnt believe someone he doesnt know over the KTMs hard cash.

Whats the big secret?