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Old 08-13-2015, 03:09 PM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: NJ
Posts: 25
Year: 2000
Coachwork: Corbeil
Chassis: Express 3500
Engine: 6.5TD
Finally got my bus!!

I have been lurking here and dreaming of bus ownership for a long time. Finally pulled the trigger this week on a great deal I found in northern NJ.

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2000 Chevy 3500/Corbiel Body
Dually Rear Axle
6.5L Turbo Diesel
53,000 miles

This is the exact setup I was looking for! She appears to be in great shape with only some minor rust and body damage. The engine and trans feel very strong and only minor leaks.

Primary purpose will be towing my race car and acting as temporary home at the track. I also want to use her for camping trips and festivals. This week I should get into stripping her down and getting road legal. Ill need a tow hitch, insect screens and hammock provision installed by the end of this month for a race.

So Excited!

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Old 08-13-2015, 09:59 PM   #2
Bus Geek
 
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Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Houston, Texas
Posts: 8,462
Year: 1946
Coachwork: Chevrolet/Wayne
Chassis: 1- 1/2 ton
Engine: Cummins 4BT
Rated Cap: 15
Welcome! Seems we have a fair number of racers and their toy haulers here so you should feel right at home. Keep the pix coming.
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Old 08-15-2015, 05:40 PM   #3
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: NJ
Posts: 25
Year: 2000
Coachwork: Corbeil
Chassis: Express 3500
Engine: 6.5TD
Got her home safe and sound, not an eventful drive aside from accidentally crossing the GWB into Manhattan during rush hour.


Spent some time looking over Miss Frizzle yesterday. Did more in depth testing on the 6.5 and went over every inch of the frame and undercarriage.

The engine is in great shape. Minor leak from the rear main seal, but nothing to be concerned about. I will be doing a harmonic balancer, radiator hoses and coolant flush, oil change, PMD relocation and P/S fluid flush as preventative maintenance. She will need a few brake lines fabbed up and I will replace soft lines while I am at it. I'm sure there will be some front end work judging by the looseness in the steering.

Other than that, the bus is in suprisingly good shape for being in service in the northeast. There is absolutely zero frame rot and the floor is in great shape as well. I removed the safety equipment, sealed the electricals and stuffed them back into the chassis. There is some minor rust and dent repair on the body, but nothing more than surface rust that can be wire wheeled and sealed. Here's the body stuff I am working on now:

Damage to the skins on the rear of the stairwell. Stairs seem to be intact. Don't think this will need more than some hammering and seal sealer to get back into place.


Damage to the fiberglass panel in front of the stairwell. Guess Ill be learning a new skill....


Surface rust above the stairwell. No rot or holes yet. I will grind down and seal this ASAP


This is the only spot on the van where the rust has penetrated and created a hole. I will cut this out and graft in another piece when I get a chance.


Sucks that they decided to attach the stop sign with sheet metal screws. I was searching for a thread on the preferred method to repair holes like this but didnt see anything. Can anyone point me in the right direction?


Im not sure what sealer they used where the body connects to the cab, but I think its starting to degrade. I will likely remove this and reseal when I do the vinyl wrap. Any recommendations?



Looks like someone got careless backing up. This damage is on both sides of the bus. I will leave this for now until I decide what is going on with the rear of the bus. I may want a bigger door or remodel the rear end later.


The current plan is to grind down the rusted spots and seal them, repair the fiberglass and bang out the dents as well as possible, then do a vinyl wrap on the bus so I can get her on the road.

I am going to buy my buddies old tow behind RV for parts. It has the electrical system, roof mount AC unit, Propane heater and water heater, water system with sink, small microwave/stove and some interior bits. Once I have them installed, I can retitle the bus as an RV. The old trailer will then get stripped down for aluminum scrap and converted to a single car trailer for the 240 (track car).

Looking for a tow hitch that will work for me, hoping to get that in by months end so I can tow my car to the track.
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Old 08-15-2015, 08:11 PM   #4
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Location: EHT New Jersey
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Year: 2003
Coachwork: AmTran
Chassis: International 3000RE
Engine: T444E/AT545
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JB Weld metal putty works well for sealing up the sheet metal screw holes. I also have a section of flat sheet metal taped on with 3M VHB tape where the rear stop sign was and one of the previous entities just gooped in silicone
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Old 08-20-2015, 04:38 PM   #5
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: NJ
Posts: 25
Year: 2000
Coachwork: Corbeil
Chassis: Express 3500
Engine: 6.5TD
Trailer Hitch Measurements

I am shopping for a class V trailer hitch for the bus. I figured it would be a standard Express 3500 hitch, but looking at the measurements on the recommended hitches online, it appears that the holes will be too far apart to be centered on my frame rails. The center of the holes on a standard express 3500 is listed as just over 40" and the frame on the van looks much different in the install photos. I took a look at K3500 tow hitches designed for cab/chassis, and they list a 34" or 37 1/4" frame measured from the outside edge of each rail.

The frame on the bus is C-Channel which is open on the inner-side. Outside measurement of the frame rail is approximately 41 7/8". The side facing downwards is approximately 3 1/8" wide. It looks like there is a welded-in frame extension comprising the last 7" of frame, where it is attached to the rear bumper and underside of the coach body framing. Eyeballing the center, it appears to be about 38 1/2".

Below is a picture of the inside face of the passenger side frame rail. The rear bumper can be seen on the right side of the photo. On the left hand side, the frame extends for several feet at the same level. Plenty of clearance underneath on either side.



Any ideas?
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Old 08-20-2015, 04:51 PM   #6
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
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Year: 2000
Coachwork: Corbeil
Chassis: Express 3500
Engine: 6.5TD
E-trailers got back to me very quickly and recommended a Curt Universal Weld-in Hitch with drop brackets. In surfing a few other thread here, I noticed a lot of folks don't like the universal hitches. I am inclined to agree. This is the hitch bar they recommended:

http://www.etrailer.com/p-41990.html

It looks like that would bolt to the frame behind the welded on extension, which I am uncomfortable with.
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Old 09-19-2015, 11:15 AM   #7
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Posts: 25
Year: 2000
Coachwork: Corbeil
Chassis: Express 3500
Engine: 6.5TD
Hammock mounting points

I want to install hammock mounts on the inside of the bus. I love sleeping in my ENO and it will save space when I am loaded up for the track. Looking on the driver side there is some square tubing that supports the corner of the coach body (located inside the fuse box area. In the rear there is a horizontal tube that runs above the rear door and windows. I am wondering how much this would support. I don't want to distort the body or break a window. Are these square tubes structural? Will they support 300lbs (its a double hammock)? I will upload pictures of the location soon.
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Old 09-19-2015, 01:19 PM   #8
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Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Stony Plain Alberta Canada
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Year: 1992
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000 FE
Engine: 190hp 5.9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 72
Are you going to remove the inside skin?

If it's built like a full size bus body, it will handle the hammock without trouble.

Nat
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Old 09-19-2015, 03:25 PM   #9
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Engine: 6.5TD
Quote:
Originally Posted by nat_ster View Post
Are you going to remove the inside skin?

If it's built like a full size bus body, it will handle the hammock without trouble.

Nat
Im removing the interior skin at the rear of the bus at those locations. Figured I would drill through and install eye hooks rated for 500lbs each (they are just the right size, overkill on support. I have to get in there to pound out some body damage around the flashers anyway. At the front I can access the square tubing through the overhead compartment.

Square tubing inside the front overhead compartment:


Exact point I want to mount in the rear. square tubing will be exposed once the upper panel comes down:


Otherwise Im gonna hack up the old seat brackets and install 2 with an overhead bar like this setup (temporarily)
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Old 09-19-2015, 09:36 PM   #10
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Year: 1992
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Chassis: TC2000 FE
Engine: 190hp 5.9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 72
You should be fine.

A few of the members here have used hammocks mounted that way.

Nat
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Old 09-20-2015, 07:39 AM   #11
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: NJ
Posts: 25
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Coachwork: Corbeil
Chassis: Express 3500
Engine: 6.5TD
Quote:
Originally Posted by nat_ster View Post
You should be fine.

A few of the members here have used hammocks mounted that way.

Nat
Awesome. That would keep everything out of the way and be just right for how I normally hang.


In other news, I just ordered a few gallons of bus-kote and bond-it primer for the roof. Picked up rust reformer, bondo and other supplies as well. I will be stopping by a wholesale vinyl warehouse to pick out a color for the sides and getting into the bodywork next week. Hoping to have the outside done by the end of next week so I can send it to my buddies shop to build the trailer hitch.

Cant wait to start using this thing at the track!
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Old 10-08-2015, 09:42 PM   #12
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
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Year: 2000
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Chassis: Express 3500
Engine: 6.5TD
Quote:
Originally Posted by MadMaverick View Post
This is the only spot on the van where the rust has penetrated and created a hole. I will cut this out and graft in another piece when I get a chance.

Ive been rethinking this repair. I saw this piece of angle steel at Lowes and it got me thinking. I could cut out the bad spots under the nose of the coach body, treat remaining surface rust with OSPHO, then rivet in this piece across the whole front of the cab, seam seal and cover with Bus-Kote for a lasting repair.

Thoughts?
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Old 10-08-2015, 10:16 PM   #13
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Year: 1984
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Engine: 3208 na boat anchor
Rated Cap: 2
You might rethink your way of repair, but only if you want it to hold more than a couple of decades.
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Old 10-09-2015, 08:41 AM   #14
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bus-bro View Post
You might rethink your way of repair, but only if you want it to hold more than a couple of decades.
I'm confused, are you suggesting an alternate method, or agreeing with me on installing a nose cap?
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Old 10-09-2015, 02:51 PM   #15
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All I'm saying is that your repair will probably last longer than you will probably own the bus. My preference would be to remove the rusted metal, and then use a fiberglass/epoxy backing patch, and use bondo to match the contour.

But it is your bus, and the mantra is "do it your way".
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Old 10-10-2015, 10:44 AM   #16
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: NJ
Posts: 25
Year: 2000
Coachwork: Corbeil
Chassis: Express 3500
Engine: 6.5TD
Quote:
Originally Posted by bus-bro View Post
All I'm saying is that your repair will probably last longer than you will probably own the bus. My preference would be to remove the rusted metal, and then use a fiberglass/epoxy backing patch, and use bondo to match the contour.
I had considered this approach, but it would be a lot of work to get behind the panel inside (its all riveted in at that section) plus I'm not all that great at body work. I definitely want to cut out the rusty **** and seal it well since I live in the salt belt, and I am preparing to paint the whole roof with bus-kote so its not much extra work to rivet in a cheap strip of metal and seal it up.

Thanks for the clarification!
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Old 10-10-2015, 11:46 AM   #17
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Location: Houston, Texas
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Year: 1946
Coachwork: Chevrolet/Wayne
Chassis: 1- 1/2 ton
Engine: Cummins 4BT
Rated Cap: 15
Personally...If I couldn't weld...I think I would probably do as you described ...

cut out the bad part then thoroughly seal and rivet a formed patch over & under the edge. I would use at least 16 gauge, maybe even 14.
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Old 10-10-2015, 12:39 PM   #18
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: NJ
Posts: 25
Year: 2000
Coachwork: Corbeil
Chassis: Express 3500
Engine: 6.5TD
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tango View Post
Personally...If I couldn't weld...I think I would probably do as you described ...

cut out the bad part then thoroughly seal and rivet a formed patch over & under the edge. I would use at least 16 gauge, maybe even 14.
Thats basically my dilemma. I dont own a welder, nor am I proficient enough to do a clean patch in that tight area, while standing on a ladder. I can buy a strip long enough to do the whole nose, all of which is starting to show signs of water intrusion/rust.

-Cut out everything out that is rusted badly
-Treat the whole area with Ospho
-Treat and install new steel across the whole lip with seam sealer along the -inside and run a bead of seam sealer all around it
-Primer and paint the outside when I go to paint the upper portion with bus-kote in the coming weeks
-Never worry about rust there again.

If I ever take down the front panel on the inside, I will treat the inside area with rust inhibitor, but that likely wont be until next year when I redo the floor, insulation and interior. I hate doing repairs halfway, but for now it will get me on the road where I need to be.
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Old 10-10-2015, 01:51 PM   #19
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Once the cancer has been cut out, use a garden sprayer to get as much Ospho or whatever rust treatment you use on the inside of the "brow". Then...figure out where the heck all that water has been entering and seal it up. You should be good for another 30 years.
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Old 10-10-2015, 08:40 PM   #20
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Yeah Tango, the water is probably coming inside from up above and sitting there making rust. I had a small leak, and didn't think about it all that much. But when I went up to prep and paint the roof I found a small hole where they pulled something off, maybe an exterior speaker. Probably the lesson there is to get up on the roof and look around after you get your bus.
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