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Once again I keep forgetting to keep this thread updated. Here's another picture dump.
The ceiling is pretty much done.
Where we started.
Where we are now. Lots of grinding went into this. The puck lights are installed and wired.
Next up was brakes. The original system was borderline and I wanted a dual circuit system that I would be able to get parts for anywhere. So out with the old.
And in with the new.
This will do for now though eventually it will get the hydroboost system from the donor bus. That will happen when the engine swap happens.
While I was thinking brakes, I pulled the drums and did an inspection and adjustment. Man those drums are heavy! The good news is the bearings look great.
Next up was exterior lighting. I needed brake light, turn signals, head lights and running lights. The wiring for everything in the roof I had already replaced, it was time to work in the rest of it. This is what the back of the switch and fuse panel looked like. Most of that is solid house wire.
The rest is cloth insulated and crumbles to the touch. So time to rewire everything else.
All the circuits for the exterior lighting have been replaced. A new switch panel has been installed. New headlight sockets, new indicators, most of the running lights installed and I installed a set of Hella 500s while I was pulling wire.
The last step to get it roadworthy was the shift motor for the rear axle. Sometime in the last year, it decided it had worked hard enough and quit. Lucky for me, there is a rebuild kit and new motor available so it got the works. Blasted and painted.
New ball screw assembly, motor and switch plate.
With that done and installed, I took it for a drive. Only about 15 miles, but it ran like a champ. Not bad considering it had hardly left the yard in the last 2 years.
I'm going to be taking it to a race the end of April so I need to get some stuff done to make it livable. With that in mind it got some temporary carpet in the front drivers area.
The mattress has been installed.
Foam cut for the dinette mattress.
I have also started working on some of the RV systems now. The 120V system has been checked, tested and put in service. The water heater has been determined to be irreparable, but there is a plan to solve that problem. And the old particle board and fiberglass black tank has been removed for replacement. That will all happen over the next two weeks. I'll try to remember to update this thread when that happens.
SanFord is still getting some love. This week has been electrical and heating water.
The original water heater was a tankless system that was made in the 60s. I had hopes of getting it working. The pilot light worked but without water there was no way to test it.
A couple of days ago, I rigged it up to the water hose and turned the valve. Unfortunately it lived up to its name. It had apparently frozen at some point and was spewing water everywhere. ops:
Time for plan B.
Since I wanted to stick with the tankless system, I decided to install a Ecotemp unit my wife had given me several years ago.
As luck would have it, the cabinet for the original WH was 12" wide and the Ecotemp WH is 11.5. :biggrin:
That meant digging the WH cabinet out of the bus. It left me with a bit of a hole.
New WH, old cabinet.
Looks pretty good in there.
All plumbed in except for the gas connection.
In the midst of cogitating on the water heater, I also did some preliminary work on the 120V system. Everything looked perfect except for the exterior plug for incoming power. I installed a temporary plug and energized the system.
Everything looked good so I fired off the refrigerator to see if it would cool. It took a while, but it seems to be working perfectly. Cold enough to freeze water bottles and that's good enough for me.
I haven't been able to find any information about the refrigerator online. It's a Norcold unit from the 60s-70s at a guess and runs on 120V or propane. I'll use it as long as it keeps working.
Also on the list this week was the black water tank. The original was made of particle board and fiberglass. Needless to say it had seen better days. It was removed to prepare for installation of a new tank.
We now have hot and cold running water. The water heater works perfectly!
The tank plumbing is not pretty, but it works and doesn't leak anymore. Pex is easy to work with, and fast, but it sure is hard to make it look nice. I'm thinking about pulling to top off of the bed base so I can get the plumbing done right but that's not going to happen before the camping trip the end of April.
This is probably the first time water has flowed out of this faucet in 20+ years.
The backdrop of the stove has been bothering me since I bought it. It's just painted steel, and I knew it was going to be a pain in the butt to keep clean. Not exactly high on the priority list but...
While I was working on the water system today, I walked past the SS front from a dishwasher I had just put in the scrap pile. It wasn't quite big enough but it's close enough.
The bottle of Johnny Walker was sitting on the counter when I bought the bus with only a swallow left in it. Anyone want to see what that last swallow of Johnny Walker tastes like? I think it will be staying there until someone drinks it.
Part of getting the water heater fire off was getting the propane system back together. I did away with the built in tank so I have hooked up a 20# bottle for now. We have gas again.
I also lit off the refrigerator to see if it would make ice out of fire.
The rest of the day was spent doing a through cleaning. Top to bottom, stem to stern. To say it was nasty is a understatement. Every surface was covered with dust. All the cabinets were emptied, vacuumed, and wiped down with Pine-Sol. All the parts for the build are now stored in the shop. The next thing to go in these cabinets will be the supplies needed for living in it.
My lovely wife spent part of today working on the curtains for it. I just knew red was the color to go with. They look pretty good from the exterior, but this might be a little over the top. This set may stay, but we will have to do some shopping for something a little less garish.
Dude, It's hard to believe that that is the same bus. I'm very impressed what you and your family have accomplished with a project that probably seemed like a can of worms from day one. That bus is going to provide you and your family with many wonderful adventures and memories for years to come. Congratulations not only for what you have accomplished on the bus, but also for being a great Father..
This afternoon I finally finished up the clearance lights. It's officially lit up like a Christmas tree.
I also did a little work on the refrigerator. When I fired it up on propane, it kept going out and even when it did run it didn't cool much. So I pulled the exterior vent and checked the burner. It was pretty dirty so I pulled it and cleaned it. Then I adjusted the regulating valves to get a decent flame. After running for an hour, it's got ice crystals forming on the cooling plates. Problem solved.
When I cleaned the bus the other day, we just piled everything in my shop to be sorted. While digging through the pile I pulled a old 3/4 ratchet to toss on the scrap pile. It was pretty corroded and had a really short handle. Since I already have one and a breaker bar for lug nuts I was going to scrap it. On a whim I stuck it in the vice to see if I could get it freed up. While lubing it I noticed a gauge built into the handle. It was time for some research. The tool is called a Swench 750.
Google said it's a manual impact. 50 pounds of force on the handle translates to 800 lb-ft of torque! So I got it freed up and working. Time to try it out.
The following lug was tightened by me leaning on a 3' breaker bar. That's about 500 lb-ft of torque. I loosened it with the Swench with one hand, while filming with the other hand. This awesome tool that will be going back in the tool kit for dealing with those pesky lugs. I was amazed at how well it worked.
I couldn't figure out how to embed a video so here is the link. Never mind, it looks like the forum software does it automatically.
When I installed it I ended up with a big nasty hole in the side. I finally got around to building a cover for it. This will be closed for travel and during the winter and open when the A/C is running. It's built out of sheet metal.
Before.
Built.
A little paint helps. I'll stripe this to match the bus so it should't be too obvious when it is shut.
Next up was the incoming power plug. I went ahead and installed a 30 amp twist lock plug. While I was wiring, I tied in the power for the front A/C.
I also built a mount for the gray water tank. I had originally planned for one tank for all waste. I'm ending up with more room under the bus than I thought so I'll be mounting two tanks. One for gray waste, one for black. It's only getting the gray tank installed before the first trip.
And installed it tonight.
I like this better than the original. It's hidden under the skirt.
My wife has been kind enough to work on the curtains. We started with red but it was just too much. These will look much better.
04-03-2018, 08:29 PM
ops:
, It's hard to believe that that is the same bus. I'm very impressed what you and your family have accomplished with a project that probably seemed like a can of worms from day one. That bus is going to provide you and your family with many wonderful adventures and memories for years to come. Congratulations not only for what you have accomplished on the bus, but also for being a great Father.
.
