Journey Begins - 1988 Crown Conversion - Page 3

gmarvel · 10-16-2013, 10:29 PM

Hey Brown Crown,

Thank you for the vents. We picked them up at the CASTO Management Forum this past week. They look great. We are going to use one for our venting pipe for the waste water tanks and another one for the shower area. They will look original!!! We are also going with your great idea and putting 12 volt quiet fans in the two front ventilation vents in the front of the Crown and another one for the ventilation hole we need to create for the shower area. We want quiet ones that suck air!!!

gmarvel · 10-16-2013, 10:54 PM

Welcome to Crown Mania Allwthrrider,

Crown pushers are very rare. I wonder if your district in the Merced area ordered it that way or whether it was originally bought by San Diego Unified. I am told that San Diego ordered some pusher Crowns in the late 1980's and used them on their mountain camp runs. San Diego also has a habit of getting rid of busses long before they get old.

I am very envious of all that under floor space for storage. Putting the engine in the rear gives you all that space. You do lose the trunk space. However, overall, the pusher configuration gives you more storage room. The downside of pushers is that they don't have the stability of mid-engine Crowns.

I also like the fact that you have one of the 40 foot Crowns. I am eyeing another Crown that is a two axle 40 footer. My current Crown is 36 feet, and the extra 4 feet would be great for some of the configurations we would like for the interior. Being a two Crown family would be awesome. Crazy, but awesome.

You are relatively close to Danville, so we could meet up. I would like to see your bus. I will message you to set up a time.

gmarvel · 10-16-2013, 11:33 PM

FUEL TANK REMOVED AND CLEANED OUT

We had the 100 gallon fuel tank removed. It literally had an inch of grime all over it, plus 25 years of sludge built up in the bottom. We had it pressure washed and cleaned out. The shop that did it said they put a camera down it and it looks totally clean inside. We then had the tank totally cleaned on the outside, sanded and primed. It is going to be painted next week after they put the valve on it for the generator fuel line. A picture of the tank can be found below.

gmarvel · 10-16-2013, 11:39 PM

POLISHED RIMS

We picked up some great Alcoa polished rims for the bus. Below is a picture. We will be putting them on the bus after the painting is completed. We got these rims from a yard that specializes in salvaging parts from busses being crushed. We got a sweet price (about 25% of what a new set would cost).

bansil · 10-17-2013, 05:39 AM

ol trunt · 10-17-2013, 10:40 AM

Nice bling. As you probably know, make sure the wheel studs are long enough to allow the lug nut to be completely filled plus at least three threads when you install the new wheels.

gmarvel · 10-18-2013, 12:11 AM

Yes, thank you we know about that issue. We had them checked out before purchase. I look forward (not really) to polishing them to a bright shine, just like I did with my Crown wheels at Long Beach Unified in the mid 1970's. I was a great deal younger and could squat for a longer period of time getting those wheels polished up.

gmarvel · 10-18-2013, 12:42 AM

CLEANED UP THE TRUNK SPACE IN THE CROWN

The Crown is known for its huge rear trunk or boot area. When I was a driver I had mine painted, carpet laid down and a 12 volt socket put in the back so I could watch television on my portable TV during long layovers or field trips to the zoo.

Apparently, this truck had never been cleaned. There was literally an inch of grime, dirt and soot throughout the trunk. Layers on top of layers on top of layers of diesel soot, and 25 years of built up gunk. We steam cleaned it and pressure washed it. It looks a great deal better as the pictures will prove.

The seals around the back trunk doors are probably original. They are brittle to the touch and no longer pliable. There are also huge gaps in the seals where dirt and smoke could get into the trunk. I have ordered rubber seals to go around the entire rear trunk area to keep out the road grime and diesel soot from the interior of the trunk.

We are debating now how to use it properly for storage and also to insulate it so the heat and cold do not transfer into the interior of the bus. Any great ideas would be appreciated.

Below are the pictures I took the other day.

gmarvel · 10-25-2013, 10:56 AM

SANDING ALMOST FINISHED

The sanding project is almost completed. Images attached. There was an area above the passenger door that needs extra attention. There was some corrosion involved in this area. Donna and I want the exterior to be as close to showroom quality as possible. We are still deciding on the exact paint scheme design and colors. Donna originally wanted to pay homage to its school bus roots, and repaint it a high gloss yellow. In California, the Vehicle Code requires that former school busses be repainted to something other than national school bus yellow or SIMILAR COLOR. That similar color phrase worries us. We see former school busses in California all the time with their old school bus yellow color still intact. However, as one state official told us, most officers wouldn't care or even know. However, you will get the occasional guy who wants to be anal about it, and will pull you over. We don't want to spend thousands on a professional paint job only to be told that it still violates the Vehicle Code.

When we finish with the ideas for the color scheme we will post them. We would love feedback from our fellow crazies!!!

Tango · 10-25-2013, 05:45 PM

Apparently like you guys...I actually love International Safety Yellow... however, there a quite a few more states than just Kalifornia that ban anything close to it on any kind of bus. Besides...an older Crown just begs for something classically stylish. Maybe even two-tone. Check out some pix of some 40's interstate liners. I've seen quite a few that had really outstanding paint schemes.

Whatever you go with, make it your own and have some fun.

crazycal · 10-28-2013, 11:31 AM

I got pulled over by a CHP DOT cop because the bus was yellow.

gmarvel · 10-28-2013, 08:34 PM

See, it is just not worth the hassle and expense if you do a yellow paint job and some guy with a badge pulls you over because the yellow is toooooo close to school bus yellow.

gmarvel · 10-28-2013, 08:40 PM

HEATER CORE FINALLY REPLACED

Progress can seem very slow at times with conversions. We found a new heater core for the Crown and replaced it. Black and new. The old one had clearly seen better days and was dirty, old and streaked with gunk.

gmarvel · 10-28-2013, 08:51 PM

SANDING IN THE FRONT AND SIDE PANELS

Attached are picture of the sanding job in the front. In addition, the interiors of the side panels are also getting sanded. I know most people will never see the inside, but we will. So, we want the interiors of the panels to be as nice as the exterior.

Stu & Filo. T · 10-28-2013, 09:02 PM

Your making better time than I am, havn't been able to work on mine in 4 days

gmarvel · 10-28-2013, 09:12 PM

HOLES FOR AIR CONDITIONING - OH GOD!!!

Scary, scary, scary. Oooooooooooopppppppppps is not allowed. We debated a great deal about where to put the air conditioners. We bought two 15,000 btu low profile units from Dometic. We read a great deal from various sources about where to put the units. We decided to put one near the front, in the front 25% of the bus length. We placed another about 1/3rd of the way from the very back of the bus. This should create good air flow throughout the bus in hot weather.

Of course, Crowns did not come equipped with dash air conditioning. We looked at putting in some aftermarket units, but decided it was just too much hassle and experimentation. That is why we placed the front air conditioning unit a little closer to the front than we originally planned (the front 1/3rd of the bus length). Plus, we have been doing some research and 3M has a great clear tinting film for front windshields that cuts UV rays by 99.7% and heat transfer by 60%. With this clear coating on the giant front windshield, we should not get the heat problems usually associated with busses.

The units we purchased include heating elements for those chilly nights. The difference in having this option or not was minimal, so we figured why not go for it, even if we will not use the heating portion very much. We are planning a built in electric fire place/heater unit in the same cabinet that will house the pop up flat screen TV monitor. That will usually provide all the heat we might need. We are not planning to visit the Alaskan wilderness or other bitterly cold places during the Winter.

nat_ster · 10-29-2013, 09:05 AM

If your heading to Alaska, I would be dropping that ceiling, and spray foaming your interior. Without a good thermal break, the radiant cold takes its toll on every muscle in your body. I'm living in a uninsulated bedroom right now. Enduring this every night makes me want to get my bus done sooner.

Nat

gmarvel · 10-29-2013, 10:33 AM

Crowns are not built like other busses. Putting additional insulation in the ceiling requires removing thousands of screws and rivits to remove the headliner. The roof structure has more than just ribbing. It is more akin to a honeycomb of structural support. So, to properly insulate every cell and void you have to remove the headliner. My bus has about two inches of insulation already in the roof. Another Crown conversion on this site had none. So, it must have been an option from the factory.

We intend to place some addition insulation on the headliner before covering it with flexible paneling that will be covered with padded faux leather. That is the current idea for the ceiling.

The boot or rear compartment is also going to get insulated to keep the cold and heat from getting into the interior. The sides are also going to get insulated before getting covered. Finally, we intend to spray foam insulate under the bus. We are told that there are products for that. We want to make sure that the frame is not covered so it can periodically be inspected for cracks. The bus is 25 years old and we are realists.

We recognize that even with all this effort some environments will still not be suitable for our conversion. So we do not intend to visit Death Valley in August or Alaska in January. It is really about how much you want to spend. I am sure that with enough money and effort our Crown could be insulated against the most extremes of weather. Since my bucket list does not include experiencing 130° in Summer or -50° in Winter (I am a Northern California wimp) I think we will be fine.

Stu & Filo. T · 10-29-2013, 10:39 AM

How are you going to run your wiring for the ac units? if your not pulling your roof panels off is it going to be exposed or are you planning on covering it with you leather padding?

gmarvel · 10-29-2013, 01:51 PM

That is a good question. Frankly, I was going to call Brown Crown for advice. He converted a Crown and he had an air conditioning unit on top. I think it would be a bear to thread the wires between the headliner and the roof down to the side chase area (that is where the dome lights are that run down the sides inside the bus. When you cut the holes you can see the gap between the headliner and roof. However, I am concerned about hitting metal ribs and roof bracing. Running the wiring down the headliner and then covering with the insulation and the padded paneling should work. But, again, Brown Crown is my guide on this.

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