Selling the bus...

I've been working hard on ideas for for my bus & finding that I have the wrong bus for my project. It's beautiful and unique, but I keep wanting to plant windows in different spots and want a square shape for the ceiling. I've sat on the idea for 2 months that I should sell this vehicle and get a different one, and I keep coming to the conclusion that it is time for me to get something more suitable for my design.

So, here it is... I'm selling the beast. for $2,000

Here's the skinny:

Details:
1978 International Harvester
V8 D-150 Diesel Engine
Alison Detroit Transmition AT540
83,000+ mileage
5,300 hours on Hobs meter
Hydrolic braking system
Drivers seat only (no other seats)
It looks like it was a 28 seat thing.
There are 3 windows on each side with the middle area without windows.
About 7 1/2 feet wide, 13 feet tall, and 27 feet long (20 ft from back of drivers seat to back door)
Aluminum body married to a steal floor
New alternator
Collectors vehicle license plates

As for the recent progress in making her a happy machine, I got together with a friend who has worked as a mechanical engineer and electrician on boats, buses, and all sorts of crazy rigs to make sure this is in great shape for it's new owner. We changed the oil and got it running quite smoothly. I even took the thing for a drive across Seattle to the dump to get rid of the flooring I tore out from a couple posts ago. It was fun to see all the heads turning by pedestrians and drivers alike. Haha! I even passed a group of guys dressed in military outfits that couldn't help but smile. I'm going to miss driving by those puzzled and surprised facial expressions.

Also, I finished painting the floor, and put the seat, heaters, posts, and little random things all back to their rightful positions. It looks all shiny and new on the inside.

I've done a couple of things since I've posted last. I've grinded the rust out of the steal floor.

Next, I coated the floor with coroseal. It's a watery white liquid that turns rust into a black primer. It's rather creapy. Take a look:



After all that business, I primed the floor with glossy white Rustolium primer to be extra certain there will be no rusty issues in the future.


Yay! Now it looks all white and shiny! Until next next time.

Tearing up the floor again!

Many moons ago I realized that I made a mistake by painting and sealing the existing plywood. Someone on a bus conversion forum pointed out to me that by doing so, I had trapped any moisture into the wood and on top of the steal floor. When moisture is enclosed in such areas, that means rust and rot! A couple of friends helped me pry the plywood off. There was wet rotten wood, and rusty metal floors beneath them! I'm glad I took the step to look, so I don't end up with a rusty rotten floor ready to crumble a few years down the road!


The drivers seat area is the worst! After I grind the rust out (which practically flakes of in chunks anyway) I may have some metal welded to it for support.


So far, I've been taking some time to grind the rust out. It's been happening slowly but surely, thanks to my friends helping and letting me barrow tools!

Exterior pics

I have it parked in a bus yard and boat work yard I found on Craigs List. There are plenty of amazing projects people are working on here. I've been meeting some talented and interesting people in my new neighborhood.

Clean up and preparing the floor

So far, with the help of friends, I’ve removed everything from the floor except the wood. First, we took out huge steel 18-foot-long benches from the sides of the bus, cabinetry that had been temporarily set up, and a vehicle refrigerator. Then I took out all the little random things that the last owner didn’t want, or thought I could use, including a smelly decaying sea turtle fin.


On the floor, 1/8 inch of rubber (the kind you see on most city buses) was dirty and cracking, so I decided to take it out. First, it was kind of fun taking out large chunks, but later it became tedious to chip away at the crumbs that liked to hang on. Thanks to my friends, this process was faster than it would have been otherwise.


The next thing to remove was the heaters. I was able to get all of the screws out except for 7 stubborn ones. They needed to be drilled out. I have no drill, nor do I have a regular power supply to the bus. So, on a Sunday, I park the bus in front of my apartment (with an extension cord stretching across the sidewalk). My friend took the day to drill out my stubborn screws (thank you friend). I piled the heaters into the front drivers seat so I can clean the years of buildup out of the floor.

The only things left on the floor to take out was a copper pipe for the exterior propane connection, the fuse box cables that went through the floor to the generator and a couple of bolts. I had help through the cutting of the fuse box wires, the copper pipe, and 2 bolts. I had a couple more bolts, but wanted to work on them when I had someone around. I left them alone while I painted the floor with KILZ oil paint and sealed a few spots with silicone. One day I finally just did it on my own. Screwing the wrench on one side and turning the bolt on the other side was the only way I could think of to do this one my own.


In some cases, I needed to secure the wrench underneath and screw from the top, so I jamed the wrench in a spot under the bus and kept it there via small tool holding boxes and peices of whatever would fit to wedge it in it's place.


With my constant movment from the inside of the bus to under the bus, I finally removed all of the bolts off of the floor. Four of them held an empty tank that use to hold fuel for the absent generator. As it's bolts and connections came of, I felt as if I had removed some kind of appendix.


After everything was removed, I ceiled every hole I could see, and painted a second coat of KILZ on the floor.


Currently, I’m trying to decide on flooring. So far Pergo floors sound nice, but I don’t have money for anything. I’ll be doing research on what I can get for cheep.

One of my lifetime goals is to build a quirky and fun space I could live in! Better yet, something I could bring along with me on travels! I figure a converted bus can be the perfect thing for me. The challenge is that I know hardly a thing about vehicles, how they work, or even building a house out of them. I look forward to the challenges of creating this and making it the most livable cozy place I can make it.

First I needed to find the right bus. I had been window shopping buses obsessively on Craigslist for a few months until I saw an advertisement for a 1977 International Harvester Loadstar. The owner was very nice and willing to tell me anything he knew about the vehicle.

He explained that it was an air force shuttle that had gone into a museum for a short time after its Air Force days. It was in the International National Military Vehicle Museum for several months before the museum had closed down. They sold the vehicle to a person who began converting it to a living space. He sold it to another who continued to work on it to become a living space. Now, he is passing it on.

The first time seeing this 27 foot long monster, it’s unique rugged look caused me to fall in love! It had the original Air Force stickers on it‘s dark blue disguisable body color. It looks like it was a medical vehicle of some sort.

As I took the tour of the inside, I had a sense of history after museum life. The walls were covered with 1/8 inch of wood. There was a fuse box installed over the empty box (under the bus) that use to contain a generator. The fuse box looked like it ran an AC unit that was installed in the ceiling and florescent lighting on the ceiling also. Nothing was bolted to the floor, and it was all ready for the next owner to do any type or remodel they wished. It even came with a vehicle refrigerator, a table and a decorative mannequin head by the drivers seat, in case my crazy self needs to talk to somebody while driving.


The owner started it up, and we went on our way. We took a few rounds through the Seattle residential roads surprised we didn't graze any cars. Ha ha! Then it was my turn! I managed not to graze any cars either, what do ya know?! It ran nicely on the larger faster roads, too. It was exhilarating to drive this beast around!

After much discussion and detail picking the unique creature became mine. I can't wait to shape this into my own little traveling world!