Big Mac I bought for $500!!!!!

[Redbear]

Originally Posted by M1031

. . . . As I was disconnecting the batteries to remove some dead wires, I couldn't help but notice this issue:



YIKES !!!! I'm thinking of caulking and then taping the caulking after I give this area a baking soda bath. Anyone have better ideas? I'm open for other suggestions. .......

What I've found is the best at keeping water out is:

1. Electricians' rubber tape. Not plastic electrical tape. Rubber tape is stretchy and usually has no adhesive, but will grab itself a little if you touch it together when it is stretched. Get it from an electrical supply house. Wind a couple of overlapping layers on, pulling slightly to stretch it so it grips and conforms to the surfaces, and seals the openings. Go past the damage in both directions to seal to the jacket. Follow this with

2. Plastic electrical tape. Wind an overlapping layer or maybe two completely covering the rubber tape to keep it in place. This layer does not have to be perfect, as the rubber does the work, but should be reasonably tight. Good expensive tape is Scotch 33. The cheap stuff in the big box store bins is great, too. Avoid the 3M "Highland" budget brand, though - it has bad glue. Follow this with

3. A good liquid adhesive. Liquid electrical tape, rubber cement, etc. I used to use "GC Bond" from the electronics parts store (if you can find one still in business). This will keep the plastic tape from letting go over time. Scotchkote keeps the seal intact, but remains sticky forever and really messes up your hands, so I avoid it.

I use this method to seal connections from rain and ice up on antenna towers, and it works much better than the riggers' "taffy" that is supposed to stick to cable jackets, and doesn't always. Plus, if you ever want to get the seal off, just slit the outer part with a razor or pocketknife, and the rest peels off 100% cleanly. You can't say that about the 'taffy' goop. If you only use a couple of layers of each tape, the seal will not be a big bulge like other repairs can be.

[M1031]

Thanks RedBear! I'll get on it this weekend. Pics to follow....

[M1031]

Well, after being sick this morning, and fighting suffocating humidity, I got a few things done today (and ready for a good sleep tonight).

First, I'd like to thank both Mightybus and Lily for all the things they donated to me and Max. Without these things the project would not have gotten this far. You guys ROCK!!!

So here's what I got done between running into the sticks & staples for A/C and water breaks.

Here's Lily's fridge she gave me (along with some other goodies). I also got the microwave from freecycle, just three years old:



Here's MightyBus's tarps and some of Lily's signage. I also got the wood from freecycle (yay!!). I'm going to use the motors from the signs to power a light bar cover to cover the lights in front of the bus and make it 100% legal. When I feel better I'll post my design:



Here's a very small part of the free shelving I got from freecycle. As you can tell, I troll and scavange as much as I can.



Now to find some cheap local sheet metal to cover the windows. We got a bunch of interior material dirt cheap. I'll be posting pics as we use it.... It's a dark blue/green color, the ceiling will be a desert sand color. Now for some insulation and assorted other materials for free..........

[Seeria]

How is the fun coming along?

[M1031]

Originally Posted by Seeria

How is the fun coming along?

I have finals, state exams, and enrolling in paramedic school. I got some help from houskou last week in getting some shelving to Max and getting Heather (my son named my M1031) from the farm. His truck has a shift issue I don't have time to deal with right now (literally).

I have the plans, just not the time until I get a handle on my studies coming up.

One year from this month and I'll be a full paramedic with time to enjoy the build. But until then I'll be doing a piece here and there as time allows.

Thanks for asking Seeria!

[Seeria]

Well dang man, you're busy and about to get busier. All the more you'll enjoy the conversion when its done

[M1031]

I got plates today!!! Next week I'll be finishing up some small things to get her back out on the road with an inspection sticker (and help us move from this apartment and into our farm home). Studies are like a tsunami right now.......

I'll have some pics soon.

[granolaeeter]

Have you painted over that sealant that you used on the outside yet? I am interested in finding out if it is really paintable as claimed.

[M1031]

I guess my previous post didn't make it before the crash. I'll find out if it's paintable next year after I finish school and have a new career and some cash flow.....

Speaking of cash flow...... I had to buy a new battery. $96 from AutoZone. OUCH!!!! Perhaps this will rectify my charging issues....... (pun intended)

[M1031]

Well, I got Max ready for inspection just in time for the shop to close........ Figures...... I'm having a charging issue I'll explore when I have enough cash to actually do something. The voltometer says I'm putting out 10 volts. Problem is the alternator is from a Chevy (internal regulator) and the bus is a Ford (extrenal regulator) with a bunch of wires cut under the hood going to the ER. So this means I'll have some 'ciferin' and figurin' to do for next year (along with paint, shelves, equipment, and on and on and.......).

I'm beginning to feel like the guy in this song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMAGI7zRqj8

However, Max isn't that bad. I like the overall condition. I fired up the A/C today. That was a real treat in the humidity!

[Diesel Dan]

Originally Posted by M1031

...I had to buy a new battery. $96 from AutoZone. OUCH!!!! Perhaps this will rectify my charging issues....... (pun intended)

Good one!

[M1031]

Well, today after my clinical orientation (and to help my wife with the move to the farm) I went to the farm to get Max inspected. Come to find out, I had left the running lights on the body on. New batteries dead as a rock , wife mad as hell ( I can't blame her either... my fault, and the shop closed their inspections 1/2 hour before closing (guess when I showed up....... yep 1/2 hour before closing). So, now I did get to drive Max today because my wife bought two brand new batteries (loooong story their for a later update) and left them at the farm for me to install and get Max inspected. The day was not completely trashed however. Upon driving Max down the intentionally pot-hole strewn dirt drive (discourages wanderers, government agents, and other rif-raf from driving down there), I could feel a MASSIVE difference in how she handled. The body no longer torques, there seems to be a bit more power going to the rear axle, and the cornering is really solid now. I don't have the "floating" feeling like I did driving Max home. She's still slow as all get-go. But she drives much firmer down the road. The sure-footedness made me feel very confident in passing the inspection (now on for tomorrow morning). I'll have camera and pics to follow......... News at 6, film at 11......

[M1031]

Max is now inspected! I went to Lowes and got our new fridge for the farm house. Parked Max in the apartment parking lot to be loaded tomorrow morning with most of our stuff. The A/C is still VERY cold (awesome!!!). I took pics, just forgot to bring the camera in to download. I'll post them tomorrow. I've got pics of our 2 mile dirt driveway, the inspection (a 20 minute job stretched into an hour), and pics of my parking job and loading at the apartment.

See y'all then!

[M1031]

Ok, I've been fighting a MASSIVE migrane most of today. I'm also fighting an infection as well. On top of all this, my good-for-$h!t soon-to-be former landlord tried to tow away my bus before we could load it yesterday. So, needless to say I was on the warpath. After I chewed them a new a$$, I told them they could mine. I can't wait to get out of this hell-hole! The farm is so peaceful and has a deep calming effect on me (wifie too).

So, I now have been on the receiving end of how the rest of society thinks of skoolies.

On to the pics (everyone wants to see):

Here's Max, ready to go with new batteries, and a bunch of prep work:



Here's looking down our driveway, our home is about 1/4 mile behind the pic:



I got the firewall and tranny cover on and secured:



New batteries:



I took everyone's advice in properly insulating the battery cables (thanks for all the ideas):



More beautifully potholed driveway (1&1/2 miles from our new home with about another mile left to get to pavement):



I'll continue the thread with the inspection next......

[M1031]

Ok, now I made it to the truck shop to get inspected...... 2&1/2 hours later (no joke) I finally got the inspection. I drove to Lowes to get our new fridge loaded in the back, and then to the hell-hole to load up.

Here's Max waiting.......:



And waiting............:



And waiting............:



So, while I was waiting I noticed the truck in front of me. Notice the difference between the 9X22.5 tires on Max and the 11X24.5 tires on the log truck in front of her, there's a 8" or so difference between the height and 2" or so in width:



Here's a hastily loaded Max. The lift helped us load, but died after we got the sewing machine loaded onto the bus. So, since it's cheaper to remove the lift than fix it, it's coming out. I'm going to reskin the door area like Dirtybus did. However, I have plans to reinstall the door on another bus.

Behind the driver's seat:



Further back:



The new fridge in the back:



So, now Max is back at the farm, the fridge is in the kitchen, not plugged in for another 24 hours, and I have classes beginning tomorrow.

[M1031]

Originally Posted by mightybus

Fun looking farm! Nice cut on your partition wall. I hope your move went well. Great news about the inspection sticker. I've been fighting to get my bus ready for inspection. She expires at the end of the month. Are you registered as an RV?
MB

You bet!

The farm is big. I'm looking to buy only 15 or so acres from my friend/new landlord, so I can be recognized as a farmer and get the tax breaks.

Of course when it rains it's a bit sloppy getting back there (more selling points with me!)

[Jarlaxle]

Regarding the lift: and yours might work fine. Try cleaning the connections and, if accessable, blowing the years of glop out of the motor & internals. Heck...try it now and it might well work, having cooled off.

(But even if it IS cooked, at least it died AFTER loading the sewing machine...)

[M1031]

Originally Posted by Jarlaxle

Regarding the lift: and yours might work fine. Try cleaning the connections and, if accessable, blowing the years of glop out of the motor & internals. Heck...try it now and it might well work, having cooled off.

(But even if it IS cooked, at least it died AFTER loading the sewing machine...)

Yeah, that was some good luck with the sewing machine. The motor burned up, not connection issues. I figure the whiff of electrical smoke was a bit of a give-away.

[dirtygoat]

Just read your thread...

I'm a Blazer/K5 enthusiast myself, I love your CUCV... I've wanted to pick one up for a long time, just haven't had everything fall into place when I've had the chance... I'd like to pick up the M101a(I think that's the right #) trailer to tow behind it... It 's the smaller trailer with the canvas top... I want to set one up as an expedition rig with all our camping gear in the trailer... Maybe even turn the trailer into a fold out tent camper... The bus is intended for trips when we will be towing the trail K5... There's a pic of it in my bus thread I believe...

The inside length of your bus is the same as mine, our side doors are in a different location though... Looking at your pics, the doors look to be the same... If so, you should take apart as much as you can on the inside first... This will allow you to get to the backside of the rivets holding the outside of the door jam to the bus... Grinding them from the inside and using a punch to pop them out was a lot easier than other methods I tried... There was also some welds at the corners that you have to grind out, both top and bottom... When you're ready to tackle it pm me and I may be able to help with some incite...

Congrats on getting everything moved and not having to travel to get things done... That alone should be a big help...

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted by M1031

Yeah, that was some good luck with the sewing machine. The motor burned up, not connection issues. I figure the whiff of electrical smoke was a bit of a give-away.

Might just be a motor connection...I've seen them smoke (had one almost catch fire!) & still work fine with some new wire.