Smells Like Teen Spirit: Conversion of 1999 Thomas MVP

[porkchopsandwiches]

Thanks nat. I was debating whether I should bolt them to the bottom frame (the one not attached to the swivel) or just right to the floor with some thick metal plate below and above. I have seatbelts ordered on amazon, 78" length with the airplane style buckle. The seats had retractable belts on them but someone cut off the latched long ago.

[wmkbailey]

I weldeb a 1/2 bolt to the steel seat support that I welded to the floor. And I welded another 1/2 bolt to the steel support that runs between the windows and attached the belt to them.

[porkchopsandwiches]

I will do it to the floor or seat base, each seat will be held in by 5-6 bolts.

I picked up one of these clever switches:

http://www.westmarine.com/blue-sea-syst ... 73_008_503

The off+3 position one, so it has off, inverter, generator and grid options. 32 amp rated, they sell them in 50. They aren't cheap at $120 a pop but it is the only thing like it I could find.

[wmkbailey]

I got one of these for my battery bank.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I already have a transfer switch. It will always be conected to the generator unless it sences 120 VAC on my cord comming in from an AC plug. then it will switch. If I remeber right it has a built in timmer to prevent the Air Conditioner from starting up to soon after the switch. It will shut off power then timeout before the new power is conected to protect the Air Conditioner compressor.

We think alike, I have a Xantrex Prowatt Sw1000 1000w True Sinewave Inverter too.

[porkchopsandwiches]

Sweet. I was thinking about buying a constant-duty rated 200 amp solenoid and having a switch to connect the battery banks, but I think the manual switch you posted is a better idea, less stuff to break. All these manual / mechanical switches will probably confuse some people but whatever, it is my bus

[Docsgsxr]

Originally Posted by wmkbailey

I got one of these for my battery bank.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I already have a transfer switch. It will always be conected to the generator unless it sences 120 VAC on my cord comming in from an AC plug. then it will switch. If I remeber right it has a built in timmer to prevent the Air Conditioner from starting up to soon after the switch. It will shut off power then timeout before the new power is conected to protect the Air Conditioner compressor.

We think alike, I have a Xantrex Prowatt Sw1000 1000w True Sinewave Inverter too.

What brand/model transfer switch do you have? Inquiring minds want to know!!! ;)

[porkchopsandwiches]

I bought 6 cases of vinyl flooring and some underlayment from Home Depot tonight with my cousin and his GF. It was $24 a case, but we got 50% off the sixth case due to it being damaged and my cousin saying "we have a very important client who is very demanding, and won't stand to pay for potentially damaged materials. "Having not a single bleeding clue on how to install vinyl flooring, we dove right in. First laid down the underlayment, which is plastic sheeting with basically styrofoam balls on the other side which gives it a nice spring.



My cousin is excited.



Then laid down the flooring. Pretty straightforward.







Got roughly 50% done, I'm going to finish the rest tomorrow, try to unstick the damn brakes, maybe get started fixing the injectors and maybe start building the booth.

I bought 2 of these http://www.ebay.com/itm/350585697832?it ... 20&vxp=mtr for my table, so it can collapse easily and turn into a bed in ~10 seconds. I also ordered my 25' 10/3 rv park lead, with the standard 30 amp rv plug on the male end and a twist-lock on my end, as well as the plug for the bus. A bunch of other misc. stuff including a 120vac watt meter and a 12vdc watt meter.

[proconsul100]

you guys are doing great!

[Diesel Dan]

It's looking great man! What stain are you using?

[porkchopsandwiches]

Originally Posted by Diesel Dan

It's looking great man! What stain are you using?

Varathane brand "Cabernet" color from Home depot. It only comes in quart cans unfortunately. I am using the same brand polyurethane over it, no sanding, just two thick coats with a brush over it. In bright light it looks very red and in dim light it looks very dark walnut with a touch of red.

[Tango]

An added perk of vinyl is that it also dampens sound better than wood which is inclined to resonate...like a speaker.

[sdwarf36]

Looks like a bowling alley!

[porkchopsandwiches]

Originally Posted by sdwarf36

Looks like a bowling alley!

YOU look like a bowling alley. I did it lengthwise rather than widthwise because I think widthwise it would make it look like a narrower more fragmented space. It is amazing how much finished walls / flooring can make a space look bigger. Visually a room with drywall in it looks much bigger than the same room that is just framed with 2x4's even though there is volumetrically less space.



I finished the flooring up front. 6 cases at 24 square feet per box, not much waste at all. I used off cutoff pieces at the ends where they are less visible. I have a little more to do in the very back and by the emergency door so I need to buy another case and use like 4 pieces out of it which kind of sucks, but oh well. And I permanently mounted the one seat. It got too late in the day to use the impact gun anymore...

Everyone who has sat in these seats loves them. They are wicked comfortable.



I raided a yard sale yesterday. I got 12 awesome looking plates, probably 20 glasses (highball and whiskey size) and 8 wood bowls; 12 knives, forks, spoons; a boatload of carving / cooking knives, grill tongs, spatulas, large metal bowls, probably 8 pots and pans; some cast iron and some non-stick aluminum cancer-pots; a bunch of mismatched mugs; a device that slices potatoes into hash brown size, a sleeping mat, a cool old coat rack, and a bunch of other stuff for $108. Bargain of the century.



My neighbor's relatives drive for FedEx, and had their rig here for a few days. They do "custom critical" delivery, and have a crazy schedule often times. They are very interested in this build and are way too nice to me, and gave me this fuel treatment:



They were worried about algae blooms in my tank because they have issues with this in their rig. Mine has been sitting with mid-2013 fuel in it for months so that concerned them. Very nice people.

Something must be about to go wrong because everything has gone too damn well recently.

[porkchopsandwiches]

Sweet, I must be doing things right!

I got a lot done this weekend. My cousin painted the roof again, with the white elastomer coating, and my uncle put another coat of green all around so no yellow is showing through. We will be coating the trim black again too, and probably the window frames as well. Should look cool.





I started building this booth, I got those posts on ebay. They pull up and you pull the posts out and I will have a ledge near the seat bottom to rest the table top on, so that booth turns to a bed.





I started on the injector seal repair finally, it actually has gone pretty well so far. I bought $50 worth of specific pry bars, none worked, and I ended up using a 3/16 allen wrench stuck inside a 1/4 drive 3/16 socket with an extension to pry the injectors out. Pretty dumb but it worked. Despite how filthy the outside of the engine is, it is impeccably clean inside, MCPS sure kept up with oil changes and used good stuff. No sludge or carbon buildup whatsoever, and almost none on the injector tips.



Pretty huge injectors. I have large hands too.



After removing the injectors.



Very clean. Interesting 3-valve layout. 2 intake, 1 exhaust.



All injectors pulled. It looks like 2 were replaced at some point, the tops are more yellow. There was a helicoil on one of the valve cover bolts that I pulled out by accident, and it is evident someone has been in here and pulled injectors at least once (divots on head casting from prying out injectors).



This is the failure point. The thin rubber O ring below the metal piston ring looking thing gets pushed into that gap by ~3,000 psi oil and screws up the seal over time. That pushes the oil into the next chamber below, which is fuel inlet. So the engine pumps its own lifeblood into the fuel supply. Really bad seal design if you ask me. All 6 are like this, to varying degrees of deformation.



After putting on stain and one coat of clear.

I'm taking the bus to Memphis (Memphis in May music fest) in 2 weeks. Bringing 6 friends. So I've got my work cut out for me.

While the motor is open like this I am going to take the time to do a "top end" valve adjustment, because it is right there and pretty easy to do.

[M1031]

PorkChop,

PLEASE show the adjustments with pics.... I'm looking to get the Thomas with the 3126 I'm currently driving. It runs sooooo SMOOTH! I'm pondering changing the gear ratio in the rear axle to do better highway speeds....

[porkchopsandwiches]

Originally Posted by M1031

PorkChop,

PLEASE show the adjustments with pics.... I'm looking to get the Thomas with the 3126 I'm currently driving. It runs sooooo SMOOTH! I'm pondering changing the gear ratio in the rear axle to do better highway speeds....

I will. Changing the ratio is not necessary. The trans is actually a 6 speed but 6th (second OD) is disabled. Go to an allison certified dealer and they can reprogram it to have 6th for you. That will raise your top speed.



Its the teenage naivete and 2 week deadline thats making me do it.

[schoolmarm]

PorkChop, where are you going to park your bus while at the Music Fest in Memphis?

[Docsgsxr]

While the motor is open like this I am going to take the time to do a "top end" valve adjustment, because it is right there and pretty easy to do.

Did you pick up a manual for the motor? How do you know the torque secs? If you did, how much was it, and where did you get it?

I need to do an injector swap on mine too. Figured while I am in there...........
-Doc

[porkchopsandwiches]

Graceland RV park.

[porkchopsandwiches]

Originally Posted by Docsgsxr

Did you pick up a manual for the motor? How do you know the torque secs? If you did, how much was it, and where did you get it?

I need to do an injector swap on mine too. Figured while I am in there...........
-Doc

I contacted a dude on Reddit who works on these. He sent me a PDF of the manual.