Home again home again jiggidy jig.

I'm not really sure what that means but we use it all the time with the kids. We had a great time in Ottawa spending Xmas with the Keeler klan. Today I was able to get back in the bus and do a little more damage. More floor work! Now everything on the raised portions behind the drivers seat have been removed. The floor of the center isle is still down, that too will eventually come up. She's still kinda cool inside but the propane heater really helps out.

It's Christmas time in the city.

A frosty evening, but I managed to get out and do a little work on the bus. I had been hoping to get at it all day but being this was the day before we left to spend Christmas in Ottawa for a week, I had a few other things to do first.

Tonight was just more interior work, pulling up the floor. A little heat and it was toasty inside.....well OK not toasty but after a while my nose stopped running and I couldn't see my breath anymore. All things considered....it was great!

Notice the propane heater!!


The passenger side has an under floor storage compartment, accessible from the outside. But I don't have a "key" for it so I have never opened it yet. I say "key" because it really is just a square peg about 1/4"...but I just haven't gotten around to fabricating it yet. None the less I finally got a peak inside when I pulled the floor up on that side tonight. In there were two extra headlight pots, a couple of pieces of SS fluting, and a tire iron......a tire iron! That would have come in handy when we went through the whole broken breaker bar scenario ........ehhhhh crap. Live and learn, live and learn.

On the road again!

Well I am sure you are all very tired of hearing about the tie rods but this will be my (hopefully) last post about them. They are in, or "on" I suppose! After much kerfuffle, I spent a bit of time today and re-installed everything. After putting the tires back on we took her for a spin. It's great, no more herding down the road!
We'll see what tomorrow brings!!

A slow meander...

I'm sorry to have not been posting this past week. It has not because I have "forgotten" or lost interest. Quite the opposite. Like many parts of the country we have been in a deep freeze this past week. So work outside has been on hold really. Being that I don't even have shelter let alone a heated area means that I am at the mercy of the elements. It's been a slow meander lately.
The good news is I have been plugging away at some smaller stuff like windows, and floor plans. I have also had meetings with the local rep from Detroit Diesel to chat about the logistics of re-powering the ol' girl with a diesel. Throw in on top of that- it's the holiday season so we have been doing allot of singing. Here is a recent gig we did for CBC radio, a "Cowboy Christmas", basically cowboy short stories read by some local TV,radio and stage celebs and we were part of the musical entertainment.


We leave for Ottawa for a week next Tuesday, so I'm not sure how much I'll get done between now and then. I'll keep you posted!

Good news!

It's been a good week and we're only two days in!
I got some glazing channel ("U" shaped window rubber) samples yesterday from a company in the USA. They fit!!! So rather than have to take the hit and have the rubber seals custom made I can by them from this company by the foot!
Second bit of good news is the Tie Rod saga. Randy took the time this week to go hunting. After two places where the parts guys (who in one place happened to be Randy's former student-small world) had looks of bewilderment and amusement he was finally directed to a third place where we struck gold.
After much silent contemplation by the parts manager, he said..." Bring me back the tie rod and we'll see what I can do" So today he returned with all the parts. The manager disappeared for about 45 min. Only to return with new tie rod ends and an old tie rod "tube". This weekend a little strip and paint and then we are go!

I just don't get it!

Here is a photo of the tie rod and the drag link under the bus. I have to get new tie rod ends and thus had to remove all of that.Soooooo.......

Why not clean it up, remove all the rust, get 'er looking pretty!

After spending a couple of hours in the workshop stripping the rust and crud I got a nice clean shiny drag link and tie rod ends. Proud of my achievements I showed Michelle....her expession told all. With a puzzled look she said "This is all going to be under the bus right?....
I just don't get it!"

Rookie Mistake

You know there are book smarts, and then street smarts. I like to think that I have a bit of both. Now I'm not suggesting that I have street smarts in the terms of living on the streets in tough neighborhoods. What I'm saying is that I think I have some real life practical experience...I consider myself "handy".
Last Sunday two well educated men, both practically and academically, decide to remove the tie rod ends on the ol' girl. First order of business, remove the tires....simple right?

Passenger side....piece of cake
Drivers side?....Impact wrench seems to do very little, the nuts seem to turn about 1/8 of a turn and then stop. I break a breaker bar trying to get the nuts to release.

So yesterday I decide to go big. I spent a day during the week returning the (obviously defective!:) breaker bar, get the biggest ratchet I have ever seen. When I try it out....nothing.

So....time to use the book smarts and create leverage.....large pry bar, pipe clamps....

And?....nothing....just about break everything again.
As I sit there getting frostbite and reciting every swear word I know in a repetitive mantra. I spot this on the nut.

Yes it says "L".... the passenger side on inspection, says"R". Why would they be stamped- unless they are different- you guessed it, it is reverse threaded. Street smarts are better defined as "experience". I just got a shot of that.

She looks so cold...

Skin and bones

As we wrestle with the underside, work still continues on the innards. The ceiling is gone, the walls are gone, the platform is gone, now it's time for the floor. It still surprises me but the floor is plywood. Yes you hear me...plywood. I wasn't quite sure what I thought it would be made from but it wasn't plywood.

I guess like in a car I was expecting sheet metal, but ....NOT!
It's hard to say if this is the original stuff, if it is then it is in great shape for it's age. The plan is to pull up the floor so when it is sandblasted it can be cleaned as well. It also allows me to better visualize the spaces underneath that are potential homes for clean,black and grey water tanks.

Yay for the pickle fork!

So Grey cup Sunday was met with tepid success. Although Randy suggested that I get a "spreader", I didn't really know what I was up against, so I didn't realize the importance of the tool. Odd when you think that I'm all about "the right tool for the right job"

So on Monday (during yet another snowstorm) I traveled all over the city and got myself a new "spreader" or what they are affectionately called in the trade a "PICKLE FORK"
You can imagine my frustration when I got home and the F#@##$ thing was 1/8" to narrow for the big bad bus tie rod. But after I got over myself and thought a wee bit outside the box, I realized....I didn't have to search high and low for a big-assed pickle fork. That's why Mr. Dewalt invented an angle grinder!

A little heat, a little persuasion, and presto chango!
Yay for the pickle fork!!

It started so smooth....

Well today was set aside for a little bus stuff a little Grey Cup stuff....
And like Saskatchewan things started so smoothly.

I was at Princess auto on Friday and got my hands on some axle stands, and a 20 tonne hydraulic jack...awesome! So Randy came over and we put the ol' girl up in the air.

Pulled the passenger side wheel off, I felt like part of a pit crew with my impact wrench.

But this is where things turned south, getting the tie rod ends off was next to impossible. A large part due to the fact that I didn't have the most important tool...a "spreader" or a "pickle fork".

In the end on the passenger side we were able to remove the tie rod still attached to the steering arm, the drivers side was a complete no go. At least this will allow me to go with tie rod in hand to show the parts counters. I'm starting to think dropping the whole front end out and replacing it with a mid 80's or newer school bus front end might be the way to go.

I bought a brand new breaker bar...damn thing broke. I guess I misinterpreted what it's job was.

Tie Rods and guck

One of my mechanical issues is the feeling you get when you are driving the bus......well your not really driving.....more like herding a large elephant down the road. The tie rods have been a known issue since I first had the bus inspected by Chris down in Montana. Getting parts to fix it is a whole different adventure!

When I crawled under the bus to inspect the tie rods, I thought.."hmm, they don't look that bad!"

They actually look quite clean,...a little too clean.....so I looked to the other side.

Ahhhhh, now that's more like it, there is some good 60 year old wax/grease/tar/guck


This in fact is the worse tie rod on the drivers side. The clean one, I found out later in an email from Chris, is the one he had removed and cleaned in an attempt to locate new tie rods. This weekend I hope to do the same, pull the tie rods off clean them up and see if they can be repacked or replaced.

Tear out complete...kind of

I have been picking away at the tear out of the bus, but I have to be honest, it's a slow go Mon-Thursday. By the time I get home from work the sun is already setting, then dinner, dishes,kids to bed. So it's 8:30 before I would have the opportunity to work. Needless to say little gets done. Most of what I have achieved has happened on the weekends...which makes for slow progress.



So I was more than eager to accept the offer of my good friend Randy when he graciously said "You know if there is ever anything I can do to help with the bus, let me know I have a bit of time." Little did he know.....I had the list made up by the next day! Randy has taken a few days and come out to 'putter' on the ol' girl. Recently he finished the tear out of the rear platform. Originally the half wall that you see above went all the way up to the roof, thus separating the engine &luggage bay from the coach.

I want to recreate the wall and provide space for storage of skis, bikes,luggage, also potential space for some RV infrastructure. Pumps, tanks, etc.


Next on the list for Randy is the flooring.....

Perfect justification!

I guess Michelle feels this way about shoes. You need the right shoes for the right outfit, and yes although you could make due with a different pair of shoes you already have...it makes it harder, it takes longer. You need the right tools for the right job. I get it!

This is my latest pair of shoes. As it is not easy to simply replace any weathered or beat up parts, I have to re-use what I can when I can. This is a vibratory tumbler used to clean and refurbish parts


Before....



During.....




After............'dem some nice shoes baby!

I always wanted to be a stripper....not!

A whole lot of little pieces that need to be stripped

When they say this stuff is harmful if ingested..I don't think they are kidding!

I figure the bus has had three interior colors, or colors 1&2 were a paired base and top coat

#1 Yellow/tan

#2 Dark Green

#3 Milk Chocolate Brown

The stripper works great on the smooth surfaces, but the louvers will need to be blasted.

They don't make 'em like the used to.....

Pretty cool really, the turn signals lenses are made of glass...a multi-colored and partitioned glass.

The one above is the rear passenger side stop and turn indicator.

This is the turn indicator from the front. Due to the age and materials these things are just about impossible to replace.


I got super excited last night when I was doing my usual look through ebay. There was a rear indicator lens in perfect shape....but it was the wrong color(all yellow) and it was for the passenger side. The rear one I need is for the drivers side.

Molassis

Yes it is November, and when the weather gets cold....things slow down. I finished pulling the remainder of the roof panels out. Now I'm working on removal of the curved metal interior skins that you can see running the length of the bus from the sides. Under those is the same period insulation...corrugated cardboard. Removal of the center strip of lights and then the platform in the back and she'll be ready for blasting.
I have a meeting on Friday with a company to help me with the steering and possibly paint and body. I'll keep you updated!!

Glass

Here we are, one of 14 windows of the bus....she's a little cracked!

As most of you who follow this blog know, I'm having a hell of a time finding these seals/moldings/"U" channel. This one is the one which holds the glass in the aluminum frame

This one is the seal between the entire window unit and the bus wall


These pics are of the trim that sits against the stationary window and acts as a stop for the sliding window.
I have checked just about every place I can think of both here in Alberta and on the Internet. I now am to the point of contacting extrusion manufacturers and having some of it custom made....not cheap.
So if anyone has a line on this stuff PLEASE let me know!!

Eat,Sleep, Sing

There is no new bus news this week. Another week has gone by with little done to the bus. A whack of what I call hunter-gatherer type stuff. Procuring "parts" is always an adventure. I think I have talked to just about every automotive glass shop in the city(with no luck). I had a chat with a mechanic at one of the transportation companies and he put me on to a few manufacturers. I might have to get a custom order of rubber extruded "glass 'U' channel". At least I know what it's called now. This weekend is our chorus concert...which I am producing...thus the main reason nothing has happened on the bus.

Look up...look way up

I've been looking forward to seeing exactly what we have under the panels on the walls and the ceiling. I had an interesting find when I finished taking the walls down. I got everything out and realized that I could see the stainless steel panels from the inside....meaning there was no "skin" underneath. I made the quick assumption that someone before me had pulled the panels off, found rust, cut out the affected 20" of skin and then screwed the SS siding back on.
However, I have found a wonderful resource in the Flxible community on Yahoo groups. There you can talk to allot of guys who have been there & done that. They assured me that not to worry in the Flx allot of ordered buses with SS siding had no skin under the siding....so I relaxed.



This weekend was the roof, It was a little tricky, and I saved all but one of the roof panels I pulled out. Unfortunately none of them are re-use able but I can use them for templates to cut new ones.
The exterior skin was sealed from the inside with what looks like tar.....that's going to be fun!


I couldn't help taking a pic of this. The ceiling insulation was cardboard, all pre-cut and labeled !





I was trying to get a good shot of the center roof lights that run the length of the interior. Allot of old brittle wires and 12volt incandescent bulbs. My plan is to go to low amp LED lights!

Stripped down

The night before we the "inspection" I felt a compelling need to powerwash the underbelly of the beast. Maybe it's a left over guilt from your mother saying "wear clean underwear, what if your in an accident and the doctor sees your privates?!" Well our old girl was about to get a good once over down under and I thought it should be clean.
Tricky part is that she's fairly low to the turf! This is no back country rig. So to get ample room to clean off the slack adjusters we had to back her up onto make shift ramps/blocks. Michelle if your reading this it was WAY safer than it looks.




As you know from the last post, she didn't cut the mustard on the inspection, not a surprise but now I know exactly what I need to do to get her up and running. In the meantime I continue to poke away at the interior. I won't be ready for the next step until I get her down to the bare bones.


Pulling the wall panels and the insulation...after shes' been sitting in a barn for 10 years...you can just imagine the evidence of previous inhabitants

Speaking of insulation, there are two layers in the bus. The first is a fiberglass insulation, under that is 1940's style......cardboard

One side(passenger) done next is the drivers side, then on to the ceiling!