Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 02-24-2018, 06:56 PM   #1
Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Brunswick, GA
Posts: 150
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: TC2000
Engine: 5.9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 84
1999 TC2000 Blue Bird 15 window project

AAAND we're off! Made a 400 mile trip to pick up our new bus yesterday, and the ride home was largely uneventful (albeit slow). The major items of note are: 1) it's got an occasional wicked front end shimmy - usually around 50-55 mph. Bearings were cool the whole trip home, so I will be checking for worn tie rod ends and king pins. Other thoughts and ideas are welcome. 2) Several of the lights behind the multifunction instrument panel are burned out. Had to use a flashlight after dark to see the speedometer.

Today we started removing seats and got 3/4 of them out without too much headache. Only 1 or 2 of the nuts had rusted - most of them I removed with a socket in my drill from the top without a helper below. Ended up with about .75 in change and a Bluetooth earpiece.
Attached Thumbnails
Left side.jpg   Interior.jpg  

TrailLifeBill is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-24-2018, 07:57 PM   #2
Bus Geek
 
Robin97396's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Willamina, Oregon
Posts: 6,409
Coachwork: 97 Bluebird TC1000 5.9
Doing good. That's just not fair that you can unbolt your seats from the top.

You were right, that bus had way to many seats in it. That's a beauty.
__________________
Robin
Nobody's Business
Robin97396 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-24-2018, 09:10 PM   #3
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Posts: 67
I'm jealous. What engine and tranny? What mileage? I'm looking for a long bus with rear engine, preferably the 8.3 Cummins. The only one I've found is a 90 passenger, but high on price and miles.
Dave in Tucson is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-24-2018, 10:09 PM   #4
Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Brunswick, GA
Posts: 150
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: TC2000
Engine: 5.9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 84
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave in Tucson View Post
I'm jealous. What engine and tranny? What mileage? I'm looking for a long bus with rear engine, preferably the 8.3 Cummins. The only one I've found is a 90 passenger, but high on price and miles.
Engine is Cummins 5.9 - since we're flat landers, I trust it'll be fine. Tranny is Allison 643 (still have to verify this - going by auction description). Miles was 116,647 - but I just put 407 more on it so around 117 and some change. Has air brakes and storage underneath.
TrailLifeBill is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-24-2018, 11:05 PM   #5
Bus Geek
 
Robin97396's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Willamina, Oregon
Posts: 6,409
Coachwork: 97 Bluebird TC1000 5.9
I get kind of queasy thinking about sealing 15 windows on one side.

I'm sure you're going to do great with this build. It's sounding good so far.
__________________
Robin
Nobody's Business
Robin97396 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-24-2018, 11:28 PM   #6
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Posts: 67
Well, I've located my ideal bus, it's a 2000 SafTLiner ER 84 passenger with 169k miles. It has a Cat 3126 7.2L mated to a MD3060 trans. I'm really looking for this same bus with the Cummins 8.3L. Gotta love that under storage!
Dave in Tucson is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-11-2018, 08:27 PM   #7
Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Brunswick, GA
Posts: 150
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: TC2000
Engine: 5.9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 84
OK, two weeks in - we've gotten all the seats removed, and have begun the arduous task of removing a bazillion rivets in the ceiling and inner wall panels. Lessons learned: 1) the much discussed air hammer method of removing rivets is the easiest. However, the trick is in the grind of the chisel. It needs to be almost as sharp as a wood chisel. Also, an 8 gallon air compressor capable of at least 4 cfm is necessary. I tried it with a portable 3 gallon compressor, and almost ruined it trying to keep up. 2) The wall rivets are much easier, and can be removed with a hand sledge and sharpened cold chisel. I can do them with about 6-10 medium blows in as many seconds.

Found a couple more hidden treasures - a 1978 dime from Netherlands, and a 1999 vintage un-opened bag of Cheese Puffs in one of the storage bins. Hadn't found it earlier because evidently they never used the bins and they were pretty well siezed up. Had to spray the mechanisms with lithium grease and they finally gave up the booty inside. Cheese Puffs, anyone??

Oh, and I took it to top off the fuel tank after the 400 plus mile pickup. Was stoked to find that we averaged 10.6 MPG including multiple idles. Have started a log so that I can watch for trends and get a better average over time.
Attached Thumbnails
ceiling rivets.jpg   unriveting.jpg   dime.jpg   cheesepuffs.jpg  
TrailLifeBill is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:55 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.