The sign on the door to opportunity reads PUSH

Yay! They are done with Fillmore..............sort of.......not really.

As I lamented in earlier posts I felt that it was my desire to not be "that guy" whom we have all seen at a service desk. You know the one throwing a hissy fit because he wanted the work done yesterday for next to nothing even though he hasn't even brought in the vehicle yet. I on the other hand didn't even want to be pushy and ask "when will that be done?". I felt there had to be a good happy medium and I found it. I simply asked the questions, and held them to the answers.

Friday morning bright and early I went to get Fillmore. The good news is all was done, springs,king pins, front bearings. The bad news is that Tom (Mechanic at Standens) wanted to take off the rear springs again and re-arch them with more camber. He was unhappy with the amount of 'settling' once everything was back together and under load.

After listening to the explanation, I agreed that he could keep Fillmore but there were other appointments that I had to get him to before and after he wanted him back.

So I took Fillmore just down the street to Unlimited performance where they are planning on re-piping the 4" exhaust and trying to help me figure out why I am having issues with my tach and spedo. After that I went to Hydro steer where they agreed to re do the seals on the steering box. I did find it amusing though that they were not willing to remove the steering box from Fillmore, but would work on it if I took it off and brought it in. Thank fully, Tom at Standens was more than willing to facilitate the steering box repair and will remove the box when he has the back end apart once again.

So I dropped him back off at Standens, with the promise to come pick him up again in one weeks time.

News from the front lines

 In an age of being in constant communication, and being what could be considered a bit of a control freak or micro manager, it has a been a huge test of patience to have Fillmore out of my hands and into someone else's control. The good news is that the springs are all done, the king pins were next but they too came with their own issues. The pin on one side were too far gone and needed to be replaced, the corresponding pin was OK but I figured get them both done and then be done with it. The issue was there was no readily available replacements, so we had new ones machined. The pins showed up today!

 So I popped by the shop and had a peak during a lunch break, the front end was all apart just waiting.

 The U bolts obviously had to be replaced, I didn't get to talk with Don today but I will get the skinny on that next week

 While I was there, I got a peak at the new springs in the back.

New springs, new hangers, new pins, new bushings...Looking sharp!!

Invisible Progress

Mr Dickens said it the best"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times"
Fillmore is to a point where I can move him around to gain access to the help I need to get things done and the good news is things are getting done! The worst part about it is, I'm not doing it, I'm not even watching it get done.....and I have idle hands.
Suspension is my biggest issue right now....well suspension and steering, but whats a minor detail like that between friends. Yes as I mentioned earlier the steering was "sloppy"
The good news is that I got Filmore to a place called Standens, and the guys there have been great. They are not daunted by the fact that there is no parts reference number for the work that needs to get done. As it turns out I made the decision after looking at the wear and tear on the rear springs to replace the rear leafs. The front springs are in good shape, but the bushings are shot.

As some of the gents in the flxy community pointed out the pins for the springs are threaded.....and a size and thread that isn't easily found. So we machined new pins and retro fit them to the springs.....as a result it takes more time than expected.
 And so I wait.....

........................................................... and clean and organize

Repair..................                                                        ..........................and organize

Prep and wait....

 And wait.

Easter break

It's been a dry spell for the last month with Fillmore, but like the feeling you get when March morphs into April.....I feel things are a changing. Last night Randy and I moved Fillmore from one garage to a second. The later being "Standens" a long time local heavy duty spring shop. I'm having the springs refurbished and bushings replaced. They were excited to see such an old project back on the road. While I was inside doing the paperwork you could see a few of the guys walking around Fillmore kicking the tires and having a peak.
I sincerely hope that I do not turn out like the Easter bunny and get a surprise I am not expecting here....

UUUUUUUGH!

Oh boy, the waiting game is driving me nuts. My issue is I'm Mr. Nice guy, I need to be the squeaky wheel. I took Fillmore in to the city to have some work done. My mistake was saying to the shop owner that this was a restoration project and when he can get to it would be great. Bad decision. Its been 3 weeks and today I called to be the squeaky wheel, and nothing has been done.
So I am facilitating the process, I am going down there Wednesday night to move Fillmore to another yard to get the leaf springs refurbished, then I'll take it back to the original shop with a strict timeline.
Wish me luck....

Waiting........

Well, the OOPSI has come and gone. My spidey senses were tingling when I took Fillmore in for the safety inspection. I was real confident with the body and the electrical, engine/tranny/rear diff upgrade. As I was driving into the city I worried about the steering, alignment was fine but there was "play" in the system.
Well results are back, and the shop had two comments. First was they were impressed with the engine etc and the electrical work....Nice!......second was not so positive.The steering linkage has to much play and will need attention before the  pass on the safety inspection, as well the bushings in the leaf spring hangers are worn and warrant replacement.
I wasn't surprised, but I was disappointed, even if I knew deep down it was coming. So next step is to investigate the cause of the play in the steering. Is it the steering box, pitman arm, drag link, idler arm? We will find out!
Stay tuned!

Snow Day

There is something fairly therapeutic about a snow day. You can lounge around, drink a pot of coffee and feel totally justified because you can't go anywhere. Sunday was a day like that. I was to be in the city for a rehersal, Michelle was to be at a baby shower, the kids in various directions from there. As it turned out we woke to a bunch of snow, and it was still coming down. All of our respective events were cancelled, and we all just squirrelled away and did "stuff".
Being that Fillmore was still in the city, I turned to cleaning up the shop.

It started with a general clean up, but then I decided to tackle a job I had been thinking about all winter. Granted it has been a mild winter thus far so the priority for this was low. But when opportunity knocks!!
I have two fairly large insulated tarps. I had been using them by throwing them over the bus when I was working on it in cold conditions. But now my plan was to hoist it up the the roof to the bus shelter.

I was in my happy place CBC radio on, puttering around. It was great I was so relaxed that when Michelle started to clear the drive way I didn't even feel guilty! I Tell ya there is nothing sexier than a girl and a John Deer

At the end of the day Fillmore's Hangout is ready for him to come back home. Now I just wait......wait for the results of the safety inspection......I'm having a funny feeling about this.

Sucker punch

 Yesterday, Friday March 1 was the day I took Fillmore into the city for his OOPSI. They open at 8am so I wanted to get there first thing in the morning to avoid all the city traffic etc. So Thursday night I decided that I wanted to back Fillmore out of the driveway, turn him around and then back him in. That way in the wee hours of the morning I would have a clean get away. Fillmore had other ideas. I think he had stage fright. I got up at 6am, did a couple final things to get ready, then.........nothing. He refused to start, "BAM"- sucker punch to the head.The battery was drained to 50%. I don't remember if I left something on OR the battery has a bad cell....I'm not sure. None the less my 8am appointment came and went while I patiently waited for the charger to bring the battery up to firing speed

I actually pulled him out of the shelter with Michelle's Volvo so that we could have a better chance of a jump start if need be, but for now the charger trickles away....as does my patience.

While I waited I decided to dress up a temporary mounting wall beside the driver. I little laminate and contact cement do wonders.

It's far from perfect but it cleans things up and makes me feel better with something to do while I wait for Fillmore to get over it and get on the road!

I also created a little template for the shifter, which I cut out of 3/4" ply for now. I would like to make it a plate in 1/4" steel....but that's a detail for down the road.

FINALLY! At 10:30Fillmore finally decided to give it up and he turned over. After a not so brief stop at the gas bar for a fill. We trundled off to the city. There were a few things that went through my mind on that journey. First Fillmore was on his longest trip since the Cummins was dropped in, and he was performing admirably. Lots of power for the hills, speed wasn't an issue and temp hovered around 175F. Second thing I realized is that Fillmore steering is still pretty sloppy, I wonder if that will be a problem for the inspection. And lastly, as I drive Fillmore he feels BIG, but look at this pic where I parked him at the inspection center. Compared to some of the other motor homes on the road Fillmore is a squirt!

Pura Vida!

 Hola Amigo!

 I usually give a heads up to an upcoming dry spell for my blog, but I neglected to give warning this time. We took off to Costa Rica for a once in a life time holiday opportunity last week. Although our family has been to Costa Rica once before this time was different. This time we were having a family reunion of sorts. Both Michelle and I had our siblings and their families as well as our parents join us all in Manuel Antonio, on the west coast of Costa Rica. Twenty of us in total, and we had a great time.

I could have a dozen blog entries with pictures of our trip, but being that this is a blog about Fillmore I'll keep it short. A proud moment was being a part of a deep sea fishing trip where Jeffrey landed (with a little help from Dad and his uncle Shawn)one of the 5 sail fish we caught that day. Made even more special when Jeff asked me to join him in the ceremonial picture op. because he felt bad that he landed a fish and mine got away!

Now on to things more Flxible...

I was working on placing the window vents in the engine bay, and then moved on to placing some of the stainless steel bolts that hold the fluted panels on the side of the bus.Should be easy right?

Nothing on Fillmore is easy, I would put them in place, finger tighten the nylock nut on and then finish the job with a socket. Problem was I was snapping the bolts like they were made of plastic. At first I thought the thread was wrong on the nuts...maybe I grabbed metric nuts for imperial sized bolts? But no, if that was the case they would be hard to thread right from the get go. These would easily thread on by hand until we reached the nylon retention ring, then things started to get harder and harder....
Of course, the nylon ring. The nuts had been out in the bus shelter, the nylon was cold and really hard!

So I gently heated them up (slowly) in the oven (250F for 10 min). This had two benefits, first the nylon softened and was easy to tighten into place, second was I kept the warm pieces in  my pocket, giving me a great warming bundle on a chilly day!

Bump(er) and Grind

In my younger days, that would have meant a wild night at the dance bar or some one's stag and we're going to a strip club.....but alas I am more mature and would rather spend my "extra" time working on Fillmore.
With the safety inspection date looming I want to temporarily close in the rear flashing around the engine compartment. Re- creating the removable section of the rear bumper.

I started with 3/16" x 2" flat stock. Jeff and I had traced the curvature of the rear engine door, and then it was a very technical bending process.More specifically I used my knee.

Next I cut off the original mounting brackets from the old removable piece and that, with some angle iron, helped to create a new bracket to weld the curved piece to.

Jeff snapped this one, I laugh because it looks like I am spent, but really I was just taking a moment to enjoy the sunshine on my face and listen to birds singing in the trees! February and there are birds singing like it's spring time...THAT is how mild it is these days!

After a little wrestling, I finally got things set up and then welded together!

Next was mods to the flashing. Because of the new cradle and rear position of the engine the edges of the cradle have to come through the flashing. I plan to use this to my advantage down the road but for now, this is as good as it gets.

I need to go to a custom motorcycle shop or someone with an English wheel, I doubt I have the patience to teach myself how to work one....and I highly doubt Michelle would let me get away with that kind of purchase. For now a simple single plane bend of some sheet metal helps to close things off.

Smiling on a Saturday

There is nothing that makes you feel more alive than the light of the morning sun. I love the sunrise, I love the feel of cold winter air on my face, I love dragging my hand down the side of Fillmore as I walk down the length of his shelter, things don't have to be complicated.

 Life is good.

Last weekend I was able to putter around a little. I was on Daddy duty as Michelle and Jeff were out of town. So I managed a couple of hours of bus time before picking Anna up from Dance. When coming home from the city , we past a wonderful sculpture outside the Bow Building in Calgary...we had to stop.

Made of 1.25" steel bar, the shaping of the face with compound bends is astounding. One of those pieces that at first glance looks so simple and "easy", but anyone with any experience with metal work can see the work and creativity that was required. The feeling you get when standing inside the sculpture looking out is hard to describe, but a sense of wonder is definitely in the air.

Life is Good