The nose knows!

I finally had an opportunity to get to the tip of the problem, the need of this job nosed ahead of the rest.........alright I'll stop. Seriously I had the time on Sunday before I took Jeffrey to golf camp to get to the front end. First off the tow ring was removed, it sat slightly above the level of the skin so I'd have to cut a hole for it or remove it.
I removed it.
I figure that I'll place a couple of tow hooks underneath on the frame later.


Next was to use Bristol board to make a paper template


Transfer the shape to the metal

Dry fit....

And Viola!.......a new nose!

A Clint Eastwood Flick...

I mean we are in Alberta, so not to far fetched to have a spaghetti western theme show up.

We had another beautiful sunny day, a good excuse to spend the day outside. Even if it was on my back underneath the bus.
So if this was Clint talking.... this would be the good. Got most of the final rivets in for the lower curved portion of the replaced panels.

A tricky business this curved panel thingy. Just when you think you have a system and all is running smooth. It'll jump up and bite you. This would be " The Bad" Every thing was going great until I cranked the tie down straps one last time. I also didn't get out and look....or even run my hand over the skin. I was cocky and a dumb ass under the bus assuming that nothing could go wrong. It looks terrible, but I think if I drill out the rivets I may be able to salvage this. I was so discouraged when this happened, I moved on to another challenge (see the last photo)

And yes.... you guessed it. This would be "The Ugly"
But do remember beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Ahhh yes, the next can of worms. I removed the rear bumper, I want to go back to the original style. And of course once the bumper was off....well then the bumper skirt has some dings in it and it will be easier to smooth out when it's off. (famous last words)

Tail Fins

So there are many "little" jobs that just take some time to work on. Like what I affectionately call the tail fins! These are not lights, but rather reflectors that sit at the end of the stainless steel fluting.


The housing that holds them is rusting and in rough shape

So I removed them, put the sandblaster to work....

And applied a little elbow grease....and steel wool.

Not bad, after 60 years they clean up pretty well!

For 40 days and 40 nights........

OK it wasn't that bad but holey crap it has rained (and snowed) all fricken spring!
Today was the first day of sunshine in close to a month.
I seriously thought I might have to call the ol' girl "The Ark"

Anyway, as you can see I have 'tweeked'(not to be confused with tweeted....I don't tweet) the blog page a little....why?....why not? It's fun it's hip......I've had a few beers...

So today was a great 'bus' day. It started with a visit to the local gas station to have the mechanic look at the bus and see if it was a project he might be interested in doing.
He is interested, but it may be a while before it can get on the books.
OK I guess, I have plenty to keep me busy.

Today, given there was no rain, I thought I'd better weld while I can. Both rear quarter panels(if you will) had through and through rust, but the support underneath was compromised as well. So I had to cut out the affected parts and rebuild.

First cut the angle iron....

Not bad, I have the pieces tack welded into place....Shawn don't zoom in.....and if you do stop laughing

After a little grinder action and a coat of POR-15.... she looks pretty good!

Jeff was even in on the planning action for the other side!!

Hurry up and wait.

Sometimes, despite our best laid plans reality deals us a card from the community chest pile that says "Do not pass go....do not collect $200"

This past weekend, fraught with rain, made working on the bus challenging at best. Maybe I'm a wimp....but even dry under a tarp....I don't feel comfortable welding in those kind of conditions.
So instead, I finished the garden.
Sure MAYBE you could say that I am leaving for Manitoba to golf for a week, and MAYBE I was having slight pangs of guilt, and MAYBE that was part of the impetus for me pushing hard to finish the garden.
But I'm going to stick with the Safety Harold angle and say 'I don't like welding in the rain!'

Here it is, the Fort Knox of gardens.

I figure if a deer jumps in, I can get him for supper before he can jump out!
It will be awhile for the next post. So sit back, relax and thank you for traveling with the Sinclair Express.

Nose job

Well spring has sprung the grass has riz....I don't want to know where the snow is!
Some warm weather has allowed me some time to do a little cosmetic surgery.

A broken nose can make or break a first impression


Not an original place for a seam, but it will be behind the front bumper, and there is already a rivet line there. A little time with the angle grinder...

And she's ready for a new nose.....well more like a new philtrum....but that is just geeky dentist talk.