The Bamper - 1977 Chevy 54 pass

[bamper]

Found the pics in both threads that I was looking for. Thanks for the links/advice.

Once I get the new brake lines ran the bus will be making its maiden voyage in our possession out to St. Croix State Park, about 110 miles one way, Aug 9-11. The interior will not be changed as I will not have even close to the amount of time I need to make that all happen.

[JakeC]

Originally Posted by bamper

Found the pics in both threads that I was looking for. Thanks for the links/advice.

Once I get the new brake lines ran the bus will be making its maiden voyage in our possession out to St. Croix State Park, about 110 miles one way, Aug 9-11. The interior will not be changed as I will not have even close to the amount of time I need to make that all happen.

Ha!! That was our maiden voyage after conversion as well! Been going there since I was a kid.

[bamper]

Well I didn't get much done tonight other than to purchase 2 25' roll's of 1/4" brake line and 12 new nuts.

AND I decided it was about time to make some meaty goodness on the grill that is going to spend a lot of time next to the bus.

[cschlessman]

Whens dinner? I'll be right over looks yummy!
Chuck

[bansil]

dear god man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's enough to feed 1/2 the campground...so exactly when is the next get together?

[bamper]

When I grill, I grill. I take cold lunch to work all week so it's nice to have something tasty to munch on.

Made some progress with the brake lines. Got the old ones all disconnected and got a couple new ones in before I had to go watch the second best of all American past times. DEMO DERBY ! !

New ones .... Good to see it's rust free under here too...

[bamper]

SO I got the brake lines all replaced and it stops on a dime now ! ! Once I had them all bled I got her up to 20ish and stood on the brake pedal and I think everything inside shifted forward about 3 feet. Locked them up in the dirt drivewat at the farm .... yikes.

I brought it home from the farm to clean out and get ready for it's first trip out to St. Croix State Park. Looks nicer now that all the trim is on and the wheels and bumpers are painted.

[Tango]

Nice shade of Blue!

[Accordion]

Great color, and nice and shiny.

[bansil]

That looks sharp, good job

[JakeC]

Wow that looks good. So clean looking!!

[bamper]

Thanks for all the positive feedback !!!

The fun has only begun. Once we get back from the trip this weekend I plan to remove EVERYTHING inside and tape out on the floor where I'd like everything. After that, floor and walls can go up and the sky's the limit after that.

Thought I'd throw a photo up of the two large licensed vehicles in my life as long as they were parked next to each other. Fergus the bus and Duke, my work truck. Thank goodness for having a parking lot for a driveway ! !

[bamper]

Alrighty. Got her as ready as she's going to be for the weekend.
I made a handy dandy plate with a hole in it to stick the A/C discharge out the window whilst not letting bugs in, or hopefully not too many. Of course no pics of that yet but I'll make sure to take a bunch once it's all set up out there.

[bansil]

Good luck and have fun

[Wolf0r]

Nice bus man, great work.

[bamper]

The first excursion was a great success. The bus ran like a CHAMP and we had literally no hicups the whole journey there and back. We spend 2 nights at St. Croix State Park in MN and couldn't have had better weather. 70's during the day and low 50's at night. PERFECT camping weather. The mosquitoes must have been going through some sort of weekend feast because between the 6 of us I think we went through 2 cans os bug spray. Good grief.

I got lots of compliments on the bus and a few small children walked by and asked why the school bus was not yellow. The camper in the site across the road was a skoolie owner as well and he gave me a few great ideas. He showed me pictures of the 11, yes 11, different busses he converted over the last 40+ years. His current bus was a 1949 Flexible Tour Bus. Unfortunately, it was not done yet so they were in a 1950's popup that he had restored.

All in all a great bit of fun was had. I can't wait to start gutting the inside of this thing and get all the pine in ! !

First the gas station then the park ! ! This is one THIRSTY pig. I don't think I saw double digits average on 300ish miles round trip but that's fine, gas is cheap ..... argh.


Fergus is playing hide-and-go-seek and losing.


8 months old and already enjoying the Skoolie ! !


The best pic of the camp setup I could wrangle up. I ran jumper cables from the main battery cables and disconnected the main battery so I didn't drain it and could get home ! !


I got the baby down for a nap and needed one myself so a yawn to start that off and a thumbs up for the sucessfull baby downing.

[wmkbailey]

That blue looks good out there in the woods. I need to take a break and go out camping in the bus.

[NilesSkoolie]

Soooo jealous, I can't wait till i can use mine!!!.... looks awesome!

[bamper]

Originally Posted by wmkbailey

That blue looks good out there in the woods. I need to take a break and go out camping in the bus.

Originally Posted by NilesSkoolie

Soooo jealous, I can't wait till i can use mine!!!.... looks awesome!

Well I certainly didn't purchase it to let it sit and I'm sure y'all didn't either ! ! She's going to get some use, get out there and use them, who cares if they're only partially done.

I appreciate all the positive comments on the blue, I was pretty sure it'd look nice but it's always nice to hear others opinions ! !

[NilesSkoolie]

I wish it was that simple, here in Ontario there are a lot of hoops you have to jump through to get them on the road as an RV.
There is a list of 6 items, and you must pass 4 out of 6 as well as it can no longer be yellow. I am pretty close now... and should be on the road by September