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Old 01-21-2015, 04:01 PM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Texas
Posts: 22
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Amtran
Chassis: Chevrolet G30
Engine: 6.2 Detroit
Rated Cap: 7+2
The Cheshire Cat

Our home school is Wonderland Academy based in Crosby, TX. Our HOA will allow our "commercial vehicle" in the driveway for a limit of 48 hours at a time. Our driveway is long, and I think we can get this done in short bursts. I am lucky enough to have access to my brother's yard for storage, and work on projects. We are planning to convert this awesome bus that has brought us so much joy into a rolling lounge for a camping expedition. We have made many trips and I always end up kinked and sore with the original bus seats. Here is our starting point on the first day home! These photos were taken in what is now my brother's yard. This bus was bought for the Handicap accessible setup. When my mother first came home from the hospital at TIRR Memorial Hermann, we brought her home in this bus. I loved this bus from day one, and had always intended to travel in her.
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Bus first day.jpg   Short bus driver.jpg   bus first trip.jpg  

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Old 01-21-2015, 04:26 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
A Big Skoolie Welcome! --- Always great to see another Texas project in the works. What restrictions are there for RV's in your area? Hopefully different than "commercial". I'm in Houston and it often varies based on Neighborhood Association "rules" rather than any laws.

At least you don't seem to be too far from a friendly neighborhood Spec's.
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Old 01-21-2015, 05:52 PM   #3
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Texas
Posts: 22
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Amtran
Chassis: Chevrolet G30
Engine: 6.2 Detroit
Rated Cap: 7+2
The HOA is friendly to a point. Storage is available, but there is a two year wait list. I think they could double the storage and be successful. I am in a suburb of Houston, so we are really close to Spec's. We are out the new 90, so I have access to all my fave shops. My neighbor is a welder, and he and I will be working on a roof rack for the bus. I have a full wood working shop, but I am just learning. My bus may go through several plans before we start ripping seats out. What part of Houston are you in?
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Old 01-21-2015, 06:35 PM   #4
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
Nothing beats being a bus builder who has a welder for a buddy! And I envy your shop & woodworking skills. The combination of you and your neighbor should make for a righteous build. You might check out a free & simple 3D rendering program called "SketchUp". I believe it's from Google. It has been very popular and productive for a number of people here. You can put together a floorplan in full 3D then rotate it in real time to check things from different angles. Pretty sweet and you don't need to be a programmer to use it.

I'm on the NE corner of downtown but my bus is near Washington & S.Shepherd. Beat to crap little tin building I share with a couple of guys but at least it's indoors. Would kill for a decent place to work that wasn't 90 miles from nowhere, but cheap workspace is hard to come by these days.

Best of luck on the build and do keep the pix coming.
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Old 01-21-2015, 06:43 PM   #5
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Texas
Posts: 22
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Amtran
Chassis: Chevrolet G30
Engine: 6.2 Detroit
Rated Cap: 7+2
My dad works downtown. He and my brother can repair hydraulics, and dad has been at San Jacinto and I-10 for years for work. I will google that program. I used to work the servers for our CAD team at the Prison system. I just keep adding things to my arsenal. I found my bus here local at Bus Barn of Texas. http://www.busbarnoftexas.com//newan...x?ClearAll=1&~ His cheapest one is $4500 right now. We paid $7800 for ours originally as we had A/C and everything working, even the stop sign and lights.
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Old 01-22-2015, 09:42 AM   #6
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
Small world. Your Dad & Bro are just down the block from me. I operate a studio for artists & photographers at Hardy & Nance, a block South of IH-10. I'm going to need some hydro parts & expertise when I start building the power steering and hydroboost brake systems (from scratch).

And if you are comfy with CAD, you will probably love the little SketchUp program.
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Old 01-22-2015, 09:35 PM   #7
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Texas
Posts: 22
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Amtran
Chassis: Chevrolet G30
Engine: 6.2 Detroit
Rated Cap: 7+2
I am now into the obsessive reading the forum stage of planning. Like the true geek I am, we will be making a list of states where it is illegal for the bus to be yellow. I will post this list as I get into doing the research. I may need to paint it, but I do not want to yet. I want to spend that budget somewhere else. But I am not afraid to murder it out flat black and roll with it.

I like the way some of the bench seats are done in the big buses. Too bad I have the shortest bus ever. LOL

I think I am on to goal planning next. Thanks for sharing all your photos and info. I am so having a good time reading it!
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Old 01-23-2015, 04:16 AM   #8
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Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: MNT CITY TN
Posts: 5,158
Welcome and very cool project
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Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory.
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Old 01-23-2015, 07:22 AM   #9
Bus Crazy
 
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Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Andrews,Indiana
Posts: 2,430
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: AARE
Engine: 3116 Cat 250hp
Rated Cap: Just the two of us.
Nice shorty, they always made more sense to me than a van.

I'll save you the trouble of looking it up. Indiana is a state where school bus yellow is illegal.
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Old 01-27-2015, 01:54 AM   #10
Skoolie
 
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Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Western Tennessee
Posts: 102
Year: 1985
Coachwork: Wayne Chaperone
Chassis: chevy
Engine: 350
I also have a 1984 Chevy G30 handicap bus! Love mine.
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Old 01-27-2015, 12:31 PM   #11
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Texas
Posts: 22
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Amtran
Chassis: Chevrolet G30
Engine: 6.2 Detroit
Rated Cap: 7+2
We are painting it!!!

Thanks for letting me know about Indiana! I had not thought of states actually wanting the buses a different color once retired. This forum had been my inspiration for getting the bus for mom almost four years ago. We toyed with the idea of selling it this winter.

My loving husband has agreed to go with a flat black main paint job, with a Cheshire Cat grin along the hood and the eyes above the windshield. I am not sure what color the grin will be. I have a friend that does Vinyl for the cars, so I may just do something small on the rear door too.

Thanks for all the inspiration even before we decided to do this!

Maybe we won't lose two seats to gear storage on our next trip!
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Old 02-16-2015, 11:03 AM   #12
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Texas
Posts: 22
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Amtran
Chassis: Chevrolet G30
Engine: 6.2 Detroit
Rated Cap: 7+2
Doing some research, and several layouts.

I had a conversation with my dad, and I am kind of bummed out. He just laughed at me. He seems to think the bus will not make it to Alaska, and he will not discuss his reasoning. I guess I get to ignore his negativity and press on. I am used to being told I can't do something. I just get that little voice in the back of my head that says, maybe he is on to something I have missed...Oh well.

Since it will be a kid infested pleasure bus until then, I am going to try out a few seating options, and build a seating level deck for all my seats to be mounted to. We are thinking of going with Hot rod replacement seats. Economical, vinyl, low back bucket seats to maintain the view, and optimize seat placement.

So far, my first project, designed by me, went well. It worked, did not leak, and had 5 bicycles locked into it all the way to Weatherford, TX and back home. The adult bikes hang on the sides, and three BMXers on the door.
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Old 02-16-2015, 12:58 PM   #13
Bus Crazy
 
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Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Andrews,Indiana
Posts: 2,430
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: AARE
Engine: 3116 Cat 250hp
Rated Cap: Just the two of us.
Quote:
flat black main paint job
At least consider painting the top white, nothing worse than a "cooked kid"
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Old 02-16-2015, 01:04 PM   #14
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Texas
Posts: 22
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Amtran
Chassis: Chevrolet G30
Engine: 6.2 Detroit
Rated Cap: 7+2
Yeah, the roof is a separate issue. It has to be resealed. We had a leak from some other "mechanic" that was "installing" a radio. That whole compartment held water, and let me tell you it was COLD when it came down on my lap. You can see the hole just above my husband's head in the photo. That radio was electrically fried, and has been removed.
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