The Millicent Chronicles; two foot roof raise, big tailgate

[boojiewoojie]

Really, it looks great. But ya gotta put wings on the sides just before the back of the bus, like the old cadillacs. Maybe put the taillights in 'em.

[Elliot Naess]

I own you good people an apology. A couple of days ago I posted a picture of the inside/backside of the scrap plywood bulkhead inside Millicent’s noble forehead. A functional piece, utilizing scrap material, but Two-Bag Ugly. So sorry to make you suffer this visual unpleasantness.

But I did point out that it would all be covered, and today I worked on that covering.



It’s not done yet, but you get the idea. That’s a piece of cheap thin plywood with a 1957 Chevrolet rear fender painted on it. It’s a leftover from the 4th of July parade. Eventually, I expect, all of Millicent’s interior will be lined with such cheerful memorabilia!
The entire "forehead" is now full of insulation.


All right. LISTEN UP! It’s Crunch Time. Ten days until Millicent leaves for Burning Man. I blew the May deadline, and the June, and the July -- but there is no blowing this deadline. Millicent leaves for Black Rock City Friday August 24 -- Noonish.

Here’s how it always seems to work at Crunch Time: I write a list of things that need doing, and as The Day draws nearer I scratch things off the list -- some because they are done, and some because I realize they will not be. So it’s a game of prioritizing.

Ten days. Right now, I am happy to confirm one thing: That Millicent... she is ALIVE!

[trx]

Lets see the list, I'm sure it's ambitious. Most things on my bus get done just before a trip.

Chad

[Elliot Naess]

Well, I’m writing that list today. Peter is coming up to help, and he is good at making me think realistically.

For starters, these 17 items come to mind. By the time I wake up properly, I'm sure there will be more.

1 Install the rest of the lights - tail, turn and markers.

2 Trailer wiring.

3 Finish tail gate, latches and safety chain.

4 Mount driver’s seat.

5 Mount seats and table.

6 Install bunks.

7 Clean!

8 Build bath room - two walls, mount shower stall.

9 Build divider wall.

10 Plumbing? -- install toilet, water supply and sewer tank? Forget shower.

11 Repair/re-invent fuel pedal linkage.

12 Install engine gauges, primarily tach.

13 Change engine oil and filters

14 Change transmission oil and filters.

15 Finish the trailer!

16 Finish securing windows and related plywood.

17 Finish the “1957 Chevy” panels above the dash.

[fwchiro]

Here's a list that will help you with your list:

1. Give up sleeping
2. All bodily functions are temporarily suspended
3. Showering is overrated
4. Duct tape is way faster than riveting
5. Enlist more slaves, err... friends to help! (I'm on the other coast, so...NO!)

BTW, are you using some latex goo or adhesive under the skin parts that you are riveting onto the body?

[Elliot Naess]

Regarding adhesive; no, I didn't use any, and I sure wish I had. Those panels rattle something awful, and I hope to spray something in there.

Yes, I DO have three "slaves" working here at the moment. Remember Peter, the "Crazy Old Coot"? Well, I'll tell you and show you how crazy he is -- crazy like a fox, he is!



That's Jerri, demonstrating how to lift a giant tailgate with just two dainty fingertips.
And the third "helper"? That's Sam, due mid-December.

[wmah]

If you have at least one person helping a few 8 hour days I'm sure the list is can be finished. I'm not sure how much time I spent doing mine but I can say I did just about all of the work myself. I did hire "mr. visegrips" and a "mr. bar" to help me. Mr. bar held two 3/8 drive ratchets on the floor above me where mr visegrips wouldn't work cause there was no where for it to rest against when I was underneath tightening some bolts.

I did get my dad and uncle to help me lift the air conditioner on to the roof and mount it. Moving them up on to the roof is at least a two man job with their size. We did have the benifit of a wheelchair lift to use as a platform that made lifting it to the roof a little easier.

I had a few months crunch time before the first one nighter to see what I forgot and see what else I need before the next extended trip a month later. I still havn't finished the shower it looks like a garbage bag and duck tape right now just to make it usable.

I can't wait to see some pictures of millicent from a distance rather than just differant angles. From the front with the lights on it looks pretty cool.

[Elliot Naess]

This question has come up several times, so it is good to finally have something to report: I really wish I had applied some sort of adhesive when I installed the new skin panels. We discussed the issue of galvanic corrosion, and I concluded that I would probably die of old age before that became a serious factor. And we discussed noise -- rattling of the panels. Well, in my impatience, I did not use any “goop” on the panels, and when I started the engine, the entire bus sounded like a herd of rattlesnakes going berserk in a tin can factory.
Today we helped that situation somewhat. We sprayed, squeezed, poured and squirted all kinds of Stuff into the gaps between the panels and the posts, and Millicent is now noticeably quieter. We used up several old paint rattle-cans, and a couple of cans of expanding foam. The photo shows Peter applying the squirt-can foam. The bead of foam that you see, does nothing. The foam that made it inside the gaps, and glued the panel to the post, is what helps.




All right, we got the seats installed. Here is the driver’s seat:




That’s a six way power seat from a Hyundai Santa Fe -- I think. I put it on a swivel pedestal of the old “custom van” type, so I can swing it around when we park. Electric power comes from the wire that used to power the little heater under the old seat.

That heater is the sort of thing that takes so much time. From what I just told you, the seat installation and the use of the existing wire sounded like “no sweat”. In reality, there was a great deal of sweat involved in removing the heater. It had to go, because the seat could not swivel with the heater in place. Oh... wait...that wasn’t sweat all over me. That was antifreeze.

All right, so after a couple of hours of fabricating, the seat finally swivels:



We mounted the other seats -- photos later.

We finished the tail gate, except for the latches.

We worked on the layout of the bathroom and the bunks. Changed the bath back to where we had it planned long ago, since the newer layout seemed too cramped.

We started the engine -- it fired right up and sounded good. Correct starting procedure is clearly to stomp on the foot feed while cranking.

Eight days to go.

[trx]

Glad you didn't just scratch the drivers seat off your list due to lack of time. Of course it could have been entertaining to see you take corners while sitting on a lawn chair. I remember the first time I used my bus. It had a small work bench for a counter, folding table & chairs, a bed and not much else. This is what it looked like on the outside (kind of similar to yours right now):

(click to see larger pic)

I'd like to think it looks a little better now

Chad

[phillbus914]

Originally Posted by Elliot Naess

We started the engine -- it fired right up and sounded good. Correct starting procedure is clearly to stomp on the foot feed while cranking.

Mine does that too. Maybe it's a Cummins thing. I don't think it did this before Jason "adjusted" my governor, but now my top speed is about 77mph and it takes off decent too.

Have you driven yours since the roof raise?

[Elliot Naess]

No, have not driven it since the roof raise. But that day is very near.

Next hour: finish tailgate latches.

LOTS of what I doing now is FINISHING stuff that was started earlier.

[Elliot Naess]

As always, the “one hour job” takes two or three.

Here is the tail gate latch -- there is one on each side:



It is a Gallagher Lone Wolf, intended for farm gates and such.

And...



...installed.
I pull on a cord to release it.

[Elliot Naess]

Spent too much time fiddling with interior paneling and insulation today. Even painted some stuff -- not necessary! But I did get more lights wired.

One week.

[boojiewoojie]

Hey, I agree with WMAH: when do we get to see a long shot of Millicent? How much did the driver's seat and pedastal cost ya? My local junk yard was saying $75 for a driver's seat (I haven't gone by to see what they have yet). My wife was bugging me to get one for our trip but I didn't make the time for it.

[lapeer20m]

I'm happy to announce that pretty much everything on my list of things to do on my bus for burningman has been completed. Oil change is about the only item that still needs doing....

it's amazing how much progress you can make on a project when you don't have much time...

where are you camping this year?

i'm gonna be at 6 o'clock and the E road.

good luck, and hopefully i'll see ya on the playa

[Elliot Naess]

Seats -- two pairs of brand new Hyundai Santa Fe seats: Free. It's not what you know; it WHO you know.

Swivel pedestal -- found it on eBay a while back; didn't cost much. Strictly manual -- just a tall stout Lazy Susan with a latch.

At Burning Man, Millicent will be at 4:30 and C.

Time to bring her out of the alley, eh...? OK. Soon as I finish my siesta.

[Elliot Naess]

.

So there I was, peacefully hanging a 1957 Chevy and various posters on the walls...




...when a Challenge filled the air:

“Hey, does that thing actually run?”

Yeah, yeah,... you figured it was all smoke and mirrors; all cardboard stapled to 2x2s.

Well, it ain’t. That Millicent, The Mobile Command Center And Tea Parlour, she’s for real.



That’s from the front porch.




From this angle, your girlfriends butt looks that big also.


And now:



Buawhahahahahahahahahah!

[pete c]

millicent really looks like she's coming along nicely. question, though. is that poor little 5.9 gonna be able to drag that thing through the air ok. Good thing there's a few bazillion different vendors out there with hop up parts.

[pete c]

where do you get your models? the local soup kitchen?

[Elliot Naess]

.

...the local soup kitchen?

Hey, this is Clearlake -- everybody eats at the soup kitchen here!

The fellow with the hat is still Peter, an all around good egg and freshly minted husband of Jerri -- see photo a few posts back.

The chump in the driver's seat is... moi.

Now, here is the last angle of Millicent. (I had to wait until the sun went down behind her.)


I really don't see any problem with the proportions here. Once she gets painted and decorated, she should look Quite Okey-Dokey. I hope!

As for power, I have been reading on the Dodge-Cummins forum, yes. Those Dodge Boys do some narsty things to their 5.9s! And I have already purchased intrumentaion to avoid melting anything.
But first things first -- there is so much left to do on the body and interior!