Bingo the Bus

[sproutroot]

Hello all,
I've been casually posting for a little while, and just wanted to consolidate things in a comprehensive build thread.
This is my first skoolie, so I do have questions, and will appreciate participation.
I started with a 96 Econoline Super Duty (7.3 powerstroke), with a Turtle Top 13 passenger bus conversion.
His name is Bingo. I'll be living in him full time for at least a season.

[sproutroot]

I got rid of the passenger doors, and am turning the old steps into my electronics box.
I cut out the bottom step, and am welding in pieces of steel I'm recycling from demolition. I'm learning how to stick weld during this process. I'm not great at it yet, but my dad did it professionally as a kid, so he can fix anything I truly screw up.

[sproutroot]

I ripped out the interior, and am preparing for insulation. I'll be using 1" blue board to start. I'll be adhering it to the bus using spray foam, so no air pockets. I have the intention of adding another layer whenever I get to rebuilding the floor. Until then, there will be cold-bridges abound as the frame will be exposed to the interior.
Whatever I do, it will be a huge improvement from the manufacturer's version. I can only hope they were doing this more for sound insulation than weatherproofing. Pathetic.
You can see a little hint of the overwhelming rust that's occurred around the rear wheels. The manufacturer made no attempt to protect the frame members, so I'll eventually have to replace all the cross members.
Luckily, the chassis is still in excellent condition.

I have no idea why these photos are upside down on this server, the files on my computer aren't, and neither are any of the pictures on my other posts..

[sproutroot]

Today I'm working on getting all the wiring out of the way. Pretty much all of it has to be rerouted from the new battery box anyway, so I'm trying to pull it all out. I ran into a snag when I found that a bunch of these wires run into the cab's fusebox.
Anyone know what they all do? Tail lights, blinkers, reverse lights, brakes; maybe my "door ajar" idiot light; but there seems to be a lot of wiring for such a limited number of functions.
The overhead electrical panel has been disconnected from power, and I can still start the bus, use the radio, etc., so I'm wondering if cutting the mystery wires will be catastrophic in some unforeseen way.

[EastCoastCB]

Very cool, keep the pics and details coming!

[sproutroot]

I found the wiring diagrams that came with the bus. They're pretty hard to decipher, and moldy to boot, but they've helped some.
Anyone know what the "vortex" is? Several of the wires in question are labelled vortex in the wiring diagram (bottom center), and I have no idea what it means.

[EastCoastCB]

[sproutroot]

Seriously though. Is it a brand name? Could it possibly be referring to the turbo, or the injection modules?
I honestly can't imagine why Turtle Top would want to have screwed around with either of the latter, or why they would need input from such things in their circuit board. That being said, there are also "clutch" and "ignition" circuits going to the Turtle Top board.
Either they were delving far deeper into the drivetrain than I had imagined, or I'm missing something.

I guess I'll proceed by tracing, and labeling the questionable wires so that I can disconnect them, and hook them back up exactly as they are (not knowing what the heck they do).

Unless someone can tell me something about them.

[Scooternj]

Originally Posted by sproutroot

Unless someone can tell me something about them.

Shoot them an email, you might be able to get a better wiring diagram. They're still in business

[JamesHarkness]

Wow. Amazing all that you're doing, I don't have the expertise to do any of it. Looking forward to following this build.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by sproutroot

Seriously though. Is it a brand name? Could it possibly be referring to the turbo, or the injection modules?
I honestly can't imagine why Turtle Top would want to have screwed around with either of the latter, or why they would need input from such things in their circuit board. That being said, there are also "clutch" and "ignition" circuits going to the Turtle Top board.
Either they were delving far deeper into the drivetrain than I had imagined, or I'm missing something.

I guess I'll proceed by tracing, and labeling the questionable wires so that I can disconnect them, and hook them back up exactly as they are (not knowing what the heck they do).

Unless someone can tell me something about them.

Does the roof exit also have a vent? Maybe a fan?

[sproutroot]

Now there's a thought. The roof hatch had no fan, but who knows?

I emailed Turtle Top yesterday evening to ask about the vector, the clutch, and the ignition circuits. Haven't heard back yet, but I didn't really expect to.

I tore out all the wiring today. It was pretty time consuming, but not overwhelming at all. Traced and labelled the questionable wires before disconnecting them, and tried my utmost to make my notes easy for future me.

[sproutroot]

This evening I had the chance to fire up my cooktop for the first time!

As repurposing is perhaps the most relevant theme of a skoolie, I figured I'd make a cooktop out of an old gas range we had sitting in the basement collecting dust.

It had a bad pilot, and the oven was questionable. Lucky for me, these were all associated with the same valve off the manifold. A bit of disassembly, a single plug, and a whole lot of scrubbing later, I have a decent looking cooktop.

Of course I had to add a clock to the blank hole left by the oven knob just to make myself feel creative.

The test run was accompanied by all the smells you can imagine from long forgotten piping that some fool forgot to clean before ignition. Oh joy!

[JamesHarkness]

Nice! You can kind of bake on s stovetop if you need to (pizza) if you cover the pan with a plate.

[EastCoastCB]

[scarygary]

Nice Rig! looks like we have similar issues.

[sproutroot]

I bought a DIY spray foam insulation kit, and I'm wondering if anyone has any tips or tricks they found successful for keeping the nozzle clean after use. I've read that this is the issue that makes these kits a one-time-use item; but I don't want to have to do the entire bus in one headlong rush, and I'm not one to accept defeat easily.

My dad thought that perhaps you could jam pipe cleaners into the nozzle right after use to keep it from clogging. I thought maybe cleaning it with acetone while the foam is still wet would work.

Has anyone had success trying something like this?

[sproutroot]

Here are the nozzles that came with it (I guess 2-time-use was more appropriate).

I believe that if, immediately after use, I pop out the mixing insert and submerge it in acetone, I'll be able to scrub it clean.

The nozzle itself will be no more difficult than that of a bottle of Great Stuff.

Time will tell, and if I fail, they were nice enough to give me two.

[EastCoastCB]

I've no clue, but I'll be watching for you to figure it out so I'll know!

[sproutroot]

Does anyone know whether 95 Econolines had passenger airbags? Or, more specifically, whether it's typical to have one in this type of bus?