The Brown Crown

[Accordion]

Sure looks pretty.

[MikeyBskunk]

Hey BC, i was wondering what you had used to hold up the ceiling carpet on your bus? I just bought a roll of thin indoor/outdoor carpet. Its light weight and thin. The guys at Menards said that Liquid Nails would probaly burn through and desolve the carpet, soo i figured i would ask the expernced haha

Thanks
Mikey

[Diesel Dan]

Dash looks great BC! Is that tongue & groove flooring that you glued up, or did you actually use regular lumber and join it with biscuits or something like that?

[browncrown]

Mikey, I used Heavy Duty Liquid nails on the ceiling. First I glued foam insullation to the roof and then the carpet on that. It's been up there for over two years and is not loose at all. I also had no problems with the glue coming through the carpet. My bus sits in warm temps, 102 today, and the heat has not affected the holding power of the glue.

DD, thanks for the nice words on the dash. I just bought a nicer piece of wood at Home Depot and then cut it to fit my dash. I think it turned out well. Now trying to decide what color to paint the lower half of the dash area or go some other route.

[MikeyBskunk]

Hmmm...well i am curently conducting a science project with a cupple diffrent brands of construction glue on some sample peices of the carpet. Just to see if Liquid Nails really will "desolve" the carpet.

Thanks again
Mikey

[syke]

Man your bus is looking SWEET!!!

Keep up the good work.

[browncrown]

I worked this weekend on the dash area of the bus and the step landings. The rubber on the landings was 36 year old original equipment and looked ugly, especially since it was the first thing you saw entering the bus. Put some carpet on the top and bottom areas, and eventually, the center part will be painted. I picked a color called Rustoleum Hammered Pecan. The defroster air vent picture is what the rest of the forward cabin dash will look like when painted.




New step landings





Painted defroster vent. This is the color the rest of the dash area will be painted

[ol trunt]

BC, good choice of color and material. The paint looks like powder coat, not rattle can! Jack

[browncrown]

I've been working on a few things on the bus. Spent yesterday finishing up painting on the dash area which I had not done anything to since I started the conversion. I was covered in overspray and breathed a lot of fumes even though I wore a mask I think it turned out alright. Also put a new backsplash around my stove the last couple of weeks.

The dash before it was painted:


After the paint job. Rustoleum Hammered Finish



Stove area the way it was


After the new backsplash

[ol trunt]

Very nice. The back splash makes the whole kitchen area seem much larger and the color on the dash is perfect. Hammertone paint is very durable and is easy to touch up with a spray can should the need arise.

[Tango]

Sweet! Great use of the tin.

[gbstewart]

good looking , I may go that route for the my steps.
you got to love the hammer paint
gbstewart

[Diesel Dan]

Oooooh! Very nice! I agree with the others on how great the hammered paint looks. And that tin around the stove is really cool. Where does one buy that kind of decorative tin?

[browncrown]

DD...I got the tin at Home Depot. It is $19 for about a 2x2 Square. What you see, with the trim pieces, cost about $70 altogether.
And the hammered finish does cover up a lot of things, not to mention, my inability to paint smoothly

[browncrown]

I salvaged an old bicycle rack to attach to the front bumper of the bus today. I have been transporting my bikes in the cabin of the bus and they are a major PITA to get in the front door and up the steps. Once inside, they are difficult to secure so they won't damage the interior. This was a cheap solution. Would have prefered them on the back, but my trunk is there and has two doors that open "barn door" style outward. The bikes should hang free of blocking the headlights and turn signals.

Painted them gold and brown to somewhat match the colors of the bus once they are installed. I think I will also put a cross brace between the two uprights for a little more strength and cut down on movement.





BC

[bansil]

Nope...looks terrible ...take them off and send your bus to me and find another bus to match the bikes...J/K!!!! every time you post a pic it ruins my daily productivity ...I end up jus starring at her...bravo!!
Your bus has "that" edge...the color and style.....very nice

[ol trunt]

Good find. It sure beats lugging the bikes inside! Don't forget to lock both wheels and the bike frame to the front bumper. Used to get calls from folks who had had one wheel (or both) stolen from their otherwise locked bike racks. Jack

[browncrown]

Originally Posted by bansil

Nope...looks terrible ...take them off and send your bus to me and find another bus to match the bikes...J/K!!!! every time you post a pic it ruins my daily productivity ...I end up jus starring at her...bravo!!
Your bus has "that" edge...the color and style.....very nice

Thanks for the nice compliment Bansil

Mounted the painted bike racks this morning and put one of the bikes up on it. I think it will be fine. I have a second bike that will hang in front of the other one. Needed to remove the front tire so I could turn the handlebars away from the front bus panel. Even through two tires, pretty sure the large turn signals will be plenty visable. Made two cross-brackets as well today for extra strength on the uprights. Will put those on tomorrow after the paint dries.





BC

[GreyEagle]

If ya painted your bike to match your bus you'd never know it was there....

[browncrown]

That's a good idea Grey
Was checking CA requirements for turn signal visability distance, which for a vehicle this size is 500 ft. Still think I'll be ok, but might have to tweak things a little to keep the CHP from getting their panties in a wad