The Ocho

[somewhereinusa]

Welcome to the bus world.

[Stuff]

Welcome aboard!!

that paint colour seems to be catching on here!

was the boat you on the one that goes across lake Michigan?

[Tango]

Welcome --- that's one big Bird you have there, but I guess with a 5th kiddo on the way you'll be needing all that space. And while I do love the style on that boat, I just can't resist...

Badger? We don't need no stinkin' Badger!

Best of luck with painting all that acreage! And please do keep us up on your progress.

[Stuff]

easy seat belt fix is to find short/shuttle buses that had the flip up seats with belts. just steal those lol.

[RavensOracle]

I had to change out the seat belts in an old conversion van I had because someone stripped the threads for the bolts from the body where they were mounted. I had a buddy of mine that welded steel plates with a heavy nut welded to those under the body of the van. I then put the bolts through the mounts for the seat belts and added a second nut to lock the bolt . With those strong steel plates under the body, a person would have to rip apart the bottom of that van to get the seat belts to come loose.

Thinking about it, you may be able to modify the rails that are used in truck beds to mount 5th wheel or gooseneck hitches if you are looking for some real strength.

[opus]

Welcome to the club!

[opus]

Originally Posted by Nunica

Thanks Opus. Your bus was actually the inspiration for the color. My wife loved it, I prefered the tan, but I am not as gifted, or as patient as you so it's all going to be green, with some black stripes.

Got a second coat over the bottom yesterday. I left the paint a bit thicker and got much better coverage. Starting to look green indeed.

Oh trust me, gifted has nothing to do with it!! A wife that has these artistic ideas....its her fault! I would have just done it green too. I will have to get a pic of what she did with the floor.

Putting it on heavier works the best, from my experience. We left it straight and some days it didnt get above 50. Sometimes we gave it a dash of thinner.

[RavensOracle]

That looks like it would work pretty well. The only suggestion I would make, which is probably over-engineering it a bit, would be to put an additional piece of sheet metal between that bar and the sheet metal of the bus. Doesn't have to be big or a super thick/heavy plate. Just something sturdy to spread the force around. Think along the same principle of using a piece of wood under your jacks on a camper to keep them from sinking into the ground. Just a little bit of added insurance basically.

The bus looks great. I wish I had something that size at times.

[dgorila1]

Like the color......if you add a few graphics you could call it the "Mystery Machine" from Scooby Doo! The girls might like that. Keep the pics coming, nice job.

[Stuff]

well if you want to be sure it wont rust out any more i would suggest to undercoat it or get that rust killing paint and go at it.

[Tango]

Hey Nunica --- there is one insulation option that will not impact the interior clearance ( I have a "shorty" that is very short inside as well). You can inject expanding foam between the inner and outer skins. Only requires a couple of small (like 2") holes to run the injection tube into between each set of ribs. Minor clean up afterwards and fairly high R-value (don't recall it right now). There are several formulations available and you can even rent the equipment in some areas. I plan on combining that with the old African safari Land Rover trick of putting a free-standing roof over the existing roof with just a couple of inches of air space in between (that way the top is always in the shade). It will also double as the floor for my roof rack. Just a couple of thoughts. Best of luck and please do keep the pix coming.