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Old 08-14-2015, 08:53 PM   #21
Skoolie
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
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I think there are probably a lot of us following along on your build. A person does not really need to ask a lot of questions on this site if you just follow the builds along you will find answers and ideas. You may not use every idea but you will find the the information you need to build your build. Thanks for your hard work and all of the hard work that went into all of these builds.

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Old 08-17-2015, 04:11 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JA Savage View Post
I think there are probably a lot of us following along on your build. A person does not really need to ask a lot of questions on this site if you just follow the builds along you will find answers and ideas. You may not use every idea but you will find the the information you need to build your build. Thanks for your hard work and all of the hard work that went into all of these builds.
I agree! I do a lot of browsing around the forum looking at people's builds to work my way through my own. It's a fantastic resource.
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Old 08-17-2015, 04:37 PM   #23
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Week 5

Lots of fricka fracka this week. On the positive side, I didn't break anything new! And on the negative side, a heat wave that took up most of the time I would have spent working. I'll take the accomplishments that I can get.


Driver's side panel removal: Check! Though I love my leggings, it looks like I ought to get jeans, otherwise burning myself with tiny sparks is going to be my new hobby. Oh, and goggles because my eyes have been going funny on me after I stare at those sparks for awhile.


Floor Prep: Yea, sweeping again. And again. And again. Sprayed it out, applied a bit more rust reformer and got my layer of paint down.

Imgur: And I've stepped into the future to learn the intricacies of imgur. Lazy no longer!


After deliberation and getting a good look at what was behind those panels, I have decided that the ceiling is going to have to come down, too. I could cry thinking of getting all those rivets off, but what are you going to do but get it done.

Hopefully this next week I'll be able to get a good start on that. And I've got some rust removing gel coming in so my goal will be to apply that in all the yucky spots. Basically week 6 is going to continue to be demolition. And maybe that will mean week 7 can finally be some building? If I'm lucky!

Pictures! 1: Panel off 2: Full View of panels off and floor 3: Paint down 4: My tool table 5: My fabulous dirt tan 6: Watch Your Step





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Old 08-18-2015, 12:46 PM   #24
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I'm doing a short skoolie as well. Although I'm looking after some of the mechanical bits first, I've been doing the interior on rainy days. In that regard, you and I are at about the same place.

Are you going to do more to the floor (insulate, carpet)?

Are you going to re-insulate the walls?

If so, what materials will you be using?

Ted
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Old 08-18-2015, 02:05 PM   #25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tedd View Post
I'm doing a short skoolie as well. Although I'm looking after some of the mechanical bits first, I've been doing the interior on rainy days. In that regard, you and I are at about the same place.

Are you going to do more to the floor (insulate, carpet)?

Are you going to re-insulate the walls?

If so, what materials will you be using?

Ted
Yep, I'll be putting insulation in the floor, plywood and then probably vinyl. Maybe laminate (I want the laminate, but I know there are cons). Definitely not carpet, it's my least favorite flooring. Mostly because it seems to require quite a lot of maintenance to keep it looking super fly. I wanted to make sure I made it as rust proof as possible, hence all the prep work prior to that step.

The thread that I always seem come across in regards to flooring is JakeC's so I'm planning on using that as my model with any modifications I need to make to fit my needs. http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f11/pr...utus-5059.html

I'll definitely be re-insulating the walls. There will be a layer of rigid foam insulation in those panels that I took out and so far I've planned to come an inch out on all the walls with framing. So the panels will get a double layer, but the rest should be an inch of rigid foam with foam sealant to fill the gaps.

These plans, of course, haven't been tested so I wouldn't be surprised if things change as I'm going along. The only certainty is uncertainty.

Do you have a build thread?
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Old 08-18-2015, 03:03 PM   #26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Penny View Post
Do you have a build thread?
Thanks for the floor ideas. I have a bit of time before I put the floor in, so I'm gathering ideas.

I don't have a build thread yet. I guess I'm doing this build the wrong way around ... I'm getting all of the mechanical stuff (repairs, maintenance items, modifications, etc.) done and out of the way before I start building stuff in the interior. Axel bearings, water pumps, timing chains, various gaskets & seals, brakes and tires are kinda bland and boring. When I start on the fun stuff I'll start a thread.

Thanks again

T
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Old 08-18-2015, 03:07 PM   #27
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Originally Posted by Penny View Post
5: My fabulous dirt tan

You HEART dirt?

Cool ... you gotta be fond of getting dirty if you're gonna do one of these builds.
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Old 08-18-2015, 03:12 PM   #28
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Eh, I'm living on a prayer in terms of mechanical stuff for now. It runs, but I know I'm going to have to dig in there eventually and find out if I have a money pit. So, I wouldn't say you're doing it the wrong way around. Probably a fair bit smarter than what I'm doing. Still, I never said I wasn't a dummy. (:

I'm like a pig in mud working on this thing. When I sit for my smoke break I always marvel at the demarcation line between my glove and the rest of my arm.
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Old 08-18-2015, 04:47 PM   #29
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GLOVES! Damn...why didn't somebody tell me about these things earlier.
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Old 08-18-2015, 05:36 PM   #30
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GLOVES! Damn...why didn't somebody tell me about these things earlier.

Well, shoot. Now you know! Gotta keep those hands pretty.

Or just keep them from getting beat to hell. I'll settle for that part.
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Old 08-18-2015, 05:49 PM   #31
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Nice wheel wells.
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Old 08-22-2015, 10:17 PM   #32
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Not quite time for my weekly wrap up yet, but I got some ceiling panels down today and am happy to report that so far there is only minor rust. Minor, pequeno, miniscule amounts. HUZZAH! My fear that the ceiling would be as corroded as the interior side panels is so far unfounded.
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Old 08-22-2015, 11:54 PM   #33
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I like the way Jake C did his floating subfloor also.

If you must use the plywood as a subfloor, he did it right.

The thicker, non glue strip vinyl plank looks and installs just like laminate. No reason to use laminate.

Nat
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Old 08-23-2015, 12:06 AM   #34
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Originally Posted by nat_ster View Post
I like the way Jake C did his floating subfloor also.

If you must use the plywood as a subfloor, he did it right.

The thicker, non glue strip vinyl plank looks and installs just like laminate. No reason to use laminate.

Nat
I've been looking at that and the wood look sheets. I'm awhile from making choices though.
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Old 10-16-2015, 12:52 PM   #35
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Whoa. Holy long time no post. Still getting work done. But, life and heat waves happen. I'll make an update post with pictures later.

Big news, I'm finally at the dmv. Nervous as hell seeing as I have very little paperwork to identify this vehicle as mine other than a bill of sale. No title, no plates. VIN verification went fine. Was worried because I had to cut the interior one out of my ceiling panel when I took it down. I riveted it to the frame, so that worked .

Now, just waiting.....
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Old 10-16-2015, 05:03 PM   #36
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Well, after a 4 hour wait, some confusion about whether my bus came from a different state, suggestions that I play detective to find my bus's paper trail, and a hefty chunk of cash: Temporary permit obtained! Got 30 days to get her smogged. But, it looks like I am finally the owner on paper. And if I can pass smog, I get my plates. Was considering filing for non-op while I work on it, but the temptation to take some mini-road trips while I work was too high.

Got it on the freeway for the first time and while careening around on a 6 lane Southern California freeway was a bit nerve-wracking for someone who usually drives a vehicle the size of a scooter, I only seemed to piss one person off enough to honk at me. Bus popped up to freeway speed right quick and maintained. Lots of shake from the engine, but I didn't explode or break down. A day of success!

And now the catch up. Work I've managed to complete despite weekend after weekend of 90+ degree weather, and too much of the kind of work that pays money. I'll spare you a lot of the work in progress pics I've got here.

1: All the damn ceiling panels off and every bit of cruddy, crummy, insulation removed. In fact, I think I've got every stinking panel off at this point.



2: Putting insulation down. Used 1.5" Rmax. Sealed everything with that foil tape.



3: Plywood down (3/4"), subflooring complete aside from the stairs. Plywood is drilled into 3" squares that are set into the insulation to connect it all together.



4: Prepping all those interior panels. I went a little wild with the spray foam here, just jamming it into any little crack I could find that might let air in. Oh, and then I spray painted over everything that I cleaned/scraped/chemical-ed the rust off of and then cleaned again. Since it's all going to be covered up anyway, why not have fun with it, you ask? Oh, I did.



5: I've also been pulling out the old weather strips from under my windows, as they're crumbling away and everywhere that they are in bad shape there was tons of rust underneath. You can see a couple holes in the above pic. Big effing gaps. I plan to spray foam in here if I'm keeping these windows, but gotta think about it.


6: My seats back in! Climbing under the bus is always fun. Especially when it's night, and all the widows who hide during the day are out. Some idiot re-installed this seat through some of the railings underneath, so aside from it being generally tricky, say when there was a 1" hole through the bottom of the rail that I couldn't get a couples fingers through, but could get a socket into... there was also a part where there was no hole through the bottom. Tape on the bottom of a ratchet to hold my washer and lock nut, sticking it 4 inches into a railing without being able to see what I was doing, surrounded by creepy crawlies. Nailed it.

Planning on insulating around it in case I ever need to switch out my chair.

And for good measure, from another angle.


So, that's pretty much it. I said I'd spare you the work in progress pics, but I lied, I'll just dump them here. Doot, doot, doot, don't mind me.

Excellent insulation

Panel and railings holding the wires along the sides off. Speakers and lights removed.

Insulation/Plywood Stairs

Panels and insulation coming down, pre flooring.

Oh, but, it wouldn't be a proper me post if I didn't mention all the dummy stuff that I did. Since I had to grind the rivets off that were holding the lip of my interior panels under the windows, I managed to pick up a red hot rivet with a glove that is not meant to pick up a red hot rivet, successfully burning through my glove and into my thumb. Since I don't learn my lesson well, I did it again to another finger. I also smashed my finger in the door that day, leaving me very bandaged up.

And that's it. Onward and upwards. Time to insulate the rest of my dear Penelope.
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Old 10-16-2015, 09:02 PM   #37
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Progress looks great.

Nat
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Old 10-17-2015, 12:56 AM   #38
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Thanks. It's getting back to feeling a little more gratifying and a little less "what have I done?????"
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Old 10-17-2015, 05:24 PM   #39
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Smog definitely not passed. Had to stop the test because my engine started smoking, so now I'm on the hunt for a smog/repair shop that services large vehicles and one's as old as mine is.


I did get to go for a nice little jaunt around town though. Finally a couple pictures of the bus not obscured by trees and other things.


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Old 10-17-2015, 05:35 PM   #40
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I don't often say things like this...
But that is a CUTE bus!
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