Scotts first bus

[newbusser]

OK! After many years of looking and drooling and wanting, I have my first bus

I told the wife that if she wanted to travel in the coming years, she would have to help me get a bus to convert because I was NOT going to do the motel-to-motel thing.....She surprised the daylights out of me and said ok

I found a 1984 Blue Bird All American 40' diesel pusher in VERY good condition for $2000. Motor is Cat interstate 3208 non turbo with 4 speed automatic.( I am not sure yet what kind of auto, but will know as soon as I can get under without swimming, raining here)

I have been told this is not a very common bus as most AA are front motor.

I have just got off the phone with the school district mechanic that worked on this bus for it's lifetime and for a minimal contribution to his coffee fund, he will give me all the old manuals and records he has on it.


Two weeks after purchase, I have all seats out and am getting ready to take up the smelly rubber and make repairs to the wood flooring. I am also considering mounting the black water tank inside of the cargo bay to keep it out of site and keep it safe. Ideas?

I have been drawing up many different floor plans, and have not yet decided on anything except the main bedroom will be in back.

I will post more as I get it done, but suffice it to say I am one happy camper at this point. (Then again, I have not started the registration process or gotten it insured. It will be sitting for a while yet while I work on it. I wonder if my broad-form insurance will cover me for liability while driving my motor home?)

[newbusser]

Oh Yes! and for those of you who are super observant....I ran over my own address marker while trying to back it into my driveway, punching a hole in the almost-new tire. Even that didn't make me mad, until i realized that I don't have a way to take the tire off to get it fixed. Waiting on NAPA for a lug wrench and bar.

Scott

[smitty500]

Great Bus!!! you said there is a wood floor under the rubber? Im not sure about it but I think you will be surprised if there is metal but Im not sure. As for floor plans go look at the photo page and look at every bus on there and you will lean alot. one thing I learned was after removing all seats get some chalk and draw out you floor plan so know what will fit and you wont have to build and tear back down. Also if your going to paint the inside do it first before anything. Enjoy. smitty500

[newbusser]

I'm not positive about the wood. In the Gillig transit bus I drive at my slavery site, they have a thin wood covering over metal. There are some soft spots so I was guessing it was rotted wood, I hope.

I bought her thru a dealer who was selling for school district. I am a little worried about the lack of turbo, but I turn 50 this year and am slowing down anyhow!

Can anyone tell me how the windows come out? there are two screws on each side on the inside, but are there any on the outside? or are they glue/sealed in?

This is absolutly the best site i think I have ever seen for people wanting to help each other. If there is ever a continental gathering, I am definatly going to be there!

[Abbott]

Nice looking bus.

I believe you will find that the windows are easily removed by taking out a few screws. The frames will fall right out into your hands.

[newbusser]

Pooring down rain here today. I sat inside and removed the four screws and very big washers,two on each side, but frame seemed to be stuck. made me wonder if maybe some type of adhesive sealer was used. Or screws from outside. I will have to give it another try tomorrow.
Thanks!

[Lady Franklin]

Granted your bus is a Blue Bird and mine is a Thomas but my windows were not exactly falling out into my hands. I had to remove the cladding between the windows and the sills on the bottoms on the outside of the bus. For a full explanation of my experience check out our blog at,

http://www.fuzzytravel.com/waalner/5794 ... rsion.html

under the heading "Stripping the beast and still fixing the brakes"

Great looking bus! Jealous...a little...

[baadpuppy]

Originally Posted by vanguy67

Hey my AA has a bigger engine than yours though!

Last time I checked, the 3208 was a 10.4L engine (636ci).

That's one seriously nice bus. In fact, it is almost exactly what I was looking for (although I wanted one like that with the 8.3L cummins). Still, I'm quite happy with my Thomas.

Scott, you've got a great bus to start from. Go have fun!

jim

[bus-bro]

I have the same bus, except an '83 with flat glass for the windsheild.

The floor is rubber over plywood on top of a steel deck. Mine had rotten plywood from coolant leaking from splice connections in the heater loop hoses.

The windows are held in by the four screws, but the butyl sealant will hold them in. Gentle prying takes care of that.

The CAT 3208 is a common motor, though you can only expect 500,000 miles from it.

[newbusser]

Thanks for the info! I am going to try and run a knife around the windows before prying to see if it helps. Also, can you tell me where the fuse box is? My headlights don't work and want to start with the fuse before moving on.

Thanks

[paul iossi]

IIRC, federal law mandates that headlights are not fused, but use an automatic circuit breaker instead, the circuit breaker is usually an integral part of the headlight switch with power being supplied from the main buss connection rom the battery to the dash/switch panel. check for pwer into and thru the headlight switch and then follow the wires to the dimmer switch etc.

rethink my advice, check for power and ground at the headlight bulbs first, it's easier than chasing down the harness and switches, and most susceptable to weather induced corrosion, then go to the switch.

[newbusser]

Haven't gotten much work done, have to go to my regular job five days and only get to play two.... i really think it should be the other way around!
In this pic the dog is letting me know what he thinks of my driving skills, or lack of them. I backed over my own 911 marker sign backing it in and punched a hole in the tire.

Right now I am trying to get the fuel gauge to work. When you set it on the drivers side tank it says it is full, when you select the other it says it is empty. I poured ten gallons in each after draining them and it doesn't seem to register. Going to take sending units out today and try to figure out how to test.

[newbusser]

Ok, I think we are well on the way to getting the fuel gauge situation figured out. One of the sending units was bad, so am shelling out $45 plus shipping for a new one tomorrow.

I finally got one of the windows to come out. There must have been a half a tube of sealer holding it in, but pried it out without breaking glass so am pretty pleased. I am going to replace some of the windows in certain spots with metal panels and insulate them on inside. a few in the bedroom area, the bathroom area and behind any storage type areas.

metal panels are free for the taking around here, they call them freezer doors, and you have to pay the dump to take them, so I just keep my eyes open when driving my transit bus and go pick them up after work. (with the owners thanks usually) 20 minutes with cutting wheel and there you have it, panels for covering window openings.

[newbusser]

OK, haven't updated for a while, so I thought I should.

We have been busy inside and out on our bird. I have been pluggin away at removing the rubber flooring to expose the rotten wood underneath.

Looks bad, but is coming along pretty well. I am welding up a heavy , homemade scraper to help separate the rubber from wood and wood from floor. I will attach a pic of the monster tool as soon as it is done. About half the screws holding the trim on will not come out, so am grinding heads off and will use vice-grips to get out what is left behind. On good weather days, I work on the outside of bus. I took off the stop sign and the wire thing hanging off the front bumper. Disconnected ( NOT CUT!) the wires to air control valve for both items, and discovered that I had nothing to cap off the air lines. Trip to hardware store....

After plugging lines and cutting and riveting patch panel over small hole in side of bus where stop sign was, I discovered that my stop lights in back would not go out! Even with key off and out of ignition, they stayed on./ As it was too late in evening, I just thru the battery disconnect switch and went in for the night.

Next day, I tackle the light issue. I looked into the switch panel and could not figure out how I could have messed up the wiring in there. Bright idea alert! I opened the back panel so I could see the lights from drivers area, pushed down on the break pedal, and when I let up the lights went off....kindof. Seems the switch in pedal action is sticking, so now I know what needs to be fixed Nice to know what it is instead of racking brain wondering.

Still haven't figured out the fuel gauge issue, but that might be left for a pro to look at later in build.

Still drawing up and considering floor plans, have a few ideas, but nothing definite. We have decided the shower will sit in the middle of bus because it offers the max headroom, and walkway will be down drivers side to access the bedroom in back. We will also try to have two water heaters, one for shower and one for kitchen sink. These will be gas fired and on demand.

I am also playing with the idea of creating a plumbing nightmare. I want to think about using grey water to flush toilet. I would need an additional tank, but storage room is not an issue, I have under belly cargo holds that will provide the space with a lot of bracing. I think I would have to plumb from sinks and shower into grey water tank, and then have a demand pump to the toilet and into black water tank. I will have an exterior drain for grey water for when we are at RV dump facility, but the option of using this water instead of fresh is appealing. Any ideas about this? has anyone else done this, or is it a common practice?

As always, thanks to all the experience out there that inspires us all.

Scott

[baadpuppy]

Scott, I've had a similar problem with brake lights staying on in my thomas.

Turns out my brake pedal doesn't fully return to the at-rest state, and keeps a little pressure on the switch... depending on where it stops, the light may be on or off. I now have the habit of pulling the pedal back up at all times with the heel of my sandals.

I'll fix this on mine before I start driving it out of the yard again. I suspect careful lubrication and perhaps some spring adjustment will fix it.

Your demolition is looking good.

recycling gray water for toilet flushing is a sound conservation technique. I don't think it'll be that difficult to rig up either.

Good luck!
jim

[bus-bro]

Vanguy, what a great idea! I am just getting ready to hang some waste tanks, and in a skoolie I've found it to be a "problemo".

Now if nobody takes a dump until the the dishes are washed, problemo solved.

[newbusser]

well, i knew I would say it sooner or later as I got older....NICE TOILET!

I also had another thought while looking at shower stalls at home depot today. A remodel guy was standing next to me so I told him what I was doing and he suggested I put down concrete board and then use tile to create my own shower stall. No loss of head space cuz you put it right on the floor. I mentioned vibration and he said to use "Eagle grip" instead of grout. He said this is a very good glue for tile that is put on walls. I think I will look into this some more, sounds like a good idea.

What do you all think?

[newbusser]

OK, I have had a few e-mails from people who think I am mistaken about my bus being a diesel pusher and an All American.....?

Is it really that rare to have a rear moter in an AA?

To quell this nonsense here is a few pics to show that in 1984, Blue Bird did in fact make an All American with the power pack in the rear of the bus.

Getting kindof tired of getting snotty e-mail about the bus sitting in my back yard, so I am blocking incoming e-mail from the three folks who worry about it.
I don't want to bring down the super positive attitudes of almost all the people on this forum, so I hope this puts to rest the VERY few users who doubt the type of rig I have....

[swinada]

Nice rig you got there. And I wouldnt care what someone else thinks just enjoy your bus and what it is going to be. Just ignore the few..........
thanks for the tip with the grey water , since i didnt install my plumbing yet I might take that route too since i have extra tanks and a pump laying around.

[newbusser]

Thanks

The gray water idea came about from a camping trip we took a few years ago in a friends RV. people were using the "Indoor facilities" and we ran out of fresh water...quickly..