1982 Ford B600 gas (first bus)

[K Ford]

I have been searching around for a while for a good starter bus. Playing on Craigslist one day and found a 9 window ford for sale. As of right now it is owned by a private school and is getting a new starter put on it (it went out on my test drive). Of course it ran fine when i took my mechanic friend but went to take it home and it was locking up. Going to convert it into a mobile office for my iPhone repair business I have and party bus. I figured it would Be a great rolling billboard and lots of fun for my friends and I. Already bought a toilet, lazer lights, speakers, amps, and a red bull fridge, Chevy astro front seats and two dancing poles have been givin to me.. I will be posting pics as soon as I get this beast home. I have been lurking on this site for a while now on some ideas and see all the creativity everyone has. Main question I have is any known problems with these that I should look for? It has the carb motor in it. When it runs kind of has a whine to it like a power steering pump but that's not it. Any clue on what this coule be? Thanks ahead of time for everyone's help and looking forward to joining the skoolie family.

[chev49]

you will have to check all pullies and the alternator, etc.
also make sure you dont have a vacuum leak.

[K Ford]

This bus has been a dream of mine for a long time and now it is here. my friends and i sat in the driveway last night brainstorming on all what we were going to do to it. first things first, the seats are coming out and replacing all the floors and to the paint shop, colors will match my Vette (black and lamborghini green). Here are a few photos of her as she sits now.. got her home and took off most of the lettering and cleaned it up a bit. thank god that noise goes away after i start to drive it (the whine noise i was talking about before). i drove it to work yesterday to show everyone and even took it to twin peaks.. all the girls cant wait til its ready to go. I have lived at my house im in now for 7 months and only met one neighbor now that i brought this thing home i have met quite a few more.. oddly enough thye are wanting to see it finished. and they all wanted pics in front of it..

[chefjuke]

Nice find. Have fun with your project. I have a '79 B600 Ford/Carpenter which I am in the midst of refurbing myself.

I agree that the whine sounds like it may be a belt issue, especially if it goes away once you get up to speed. You'll want to check/replace all the belts anyway if they haven't been replaced recently.

Other than that, depending on the engine and the condition of things, there's not anything major I could point you towards looking out for beyond getting to know your bus, both engine and running gear.

Get a full service manual for your engine...usually can fine one on ebay or around.

Check the things that wear out after 30 years...hoses, wiring, etc.

Check all the running lights and take off the lenses and check the sockets for rust/corrosion (i got stopped last year and just got a warning because one of my taillights failed because of corrosion buildup).

Take the time now that you have her to check everything...each switch, pedal, lamp, everything so you can note anything that either isn't working or needs upgrade/replacement.

The better you know your bus, the better you know what to expect and can plan on what you may want to fix/upgrade in the future.

Cheers,

[ol trunt]

Nice straight bus. Maybe I missed it but what year, what engine/tranny, how many miles, how are you going to fix it up? etc.

By the way the Chief's advice should be acted on. The more you know about the machine the better it will serve you. Have fun!

[Stuff]

looks nice!

[K Ford]

Nice straight bus. Maybe I missed it but what year, what engine/tranny, how many miles, how are you going to fix it up? etc.

By the way the Chief's advice should be acted on. The more you know about the machine the better it will serve you. Have fun!

ITS A 1982 Ford b600. not sure on motot and trans.

had a question on the roof mount ac units and generator.. i want to do two ac units on top but need to know how big of a generator i need to buy to power them both. here are the links i have been looking at on ebay. thanks for any input on this

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DuroMax-10000-W ... 6000851359

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DuroMax-4400-Wa ... 2ebc8ce467

http://www.ebay.com/itm/COLEMAN-13500-b ... 4d&vxp=mtr

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DOMETIC-DUO-THE ... c8&vxp=mtr

Im buying the paint and beer for this weekend or next so she can match my car. should look great when were done.

[chev49]

i would suggest 6k one for 2 ac units... and dont start both ac units at the same time...

[K Ford]

Did a little more work to her over the weekend. I pulled out all the seats but the one with the heater under it and started scraping up all the old flooring. Going to paint the rusted floor next weekend and just put some nice wood over it. And I got on eBay today and bought $450 with of led lights for the inside and outside. And also test fitted two of the clear light lens I saw on another post and they fit and look great. My HOA had a problem with me parking it in my driveway so I had to move it down the street to my uncles wrap shop in town. So that will cut down on the hour or two here and there I was getting done with it Being in my back yard. Once I get the seats to the scrap yard and floor prepped I will take some more pics. Next thing to buy will be paint then the generator and two Ac units.

[K Ford]

Making more progress.I ordered all my paint for the outside and all the prep stuff i need. going to paint it simi gloss black. not sure if i want to do a green roof or white for the texas heat. I got all the floor scrapped up and sprayed rust converter all over. pulled the last seat out and took rear heater out. swept and shop vac all of the floor and is now ready for the floor. quick trip to lowes for some isulation and treated wood and we are on our way. My brother (Evan) and our newest family member my brother-n-law (Daniel) came over to help me with all the work i wanted to do today. could not have done it without them. Daniel had a hall pass because we all found out friday he and my sister are having a BOY! so happy about that.
floor before

rust converter doing its job

rust converter done

the rest of the junk taken out

Evan grinding off the last bolts

Daniel laying down the new floor

finishing up the floor

quick trip to the truck stop to get her weighed for registration. came out to 11k lbs


Hoping this weekend we can either paint it or we can frame out the seats how i want them. now i see what you guys were talking about how the floor is the hard part. now on to all the fun stuff. more picks to follow..

[proconsul100]

bus looks good. looks like yours is a Wayne as well.

[bansil]

where did you get your rust converter?
I stopped at Lowes and no luck,I am not going to use 5000 little bottles and a paint brush
.
.
.
I actually tried the eastwood spraycan..with so so results on another project and at $100 a bottle for the big jug,I want to go with a sprayable method I can use a bug sprayer for

[GreyEagle]

Good looking bus......... Nice lines on the bus and not too big...

1982 was a good year...

Back when Ford built things to last,

kinda like the bunny ....... It's just keeps on going, going, going......

[K Ford]

where did you get your rust converter?
I stopped at Lowes and no luck,I am not going to use 5000 little bottles and a paint brush
.
.
.
I actually tried the eastwood spraycan..with so so results on another project and at $100 a bottle for the big jug,I want to go with a sprayable method I can use a bug sprayer for

I googled it and ordered it off the phone.. not sure which company. ill post a pic of the botttle tomorrow if i can remember to take a pic of it. works great. i used a wagner to spray it on. if you roll it on it will go alot further.. i feel i wasted alot by spraying it. everything is still really strong on the bus or so it seams.. besides the carb. got to rebuil it this weekend. its sqirting gas all over the top of the motor. glad i caught it now.

[lornaschinske]

where did you get your rust converter?
I stopped at Lowes and no luck,I am not going to use 5000 little bottles and a paint brush

I have a "recipe" I got from a guy who restores vintage cars. It's kinda like POR-15. That's what he says.