92 Thomas International Navistar

[Stewzer55]

Certainly put the board in Dashboard! Do you have any plans on dressing up the rest of the dash rather than the all black?

[BurlKing]

Originally Posted by Stewzer55

Certainly put the board in Dashboard! Do you have any plans on dressing up the rest of the dash rather than the all black?

lol. i do have more plans, just again not entirely sure how to go about it yet but im getting it done one step at a time.

this is a sample from a build i spotted awhile ago. Random album picture on this site came in handy again. gotta take the router off of the router table if i want to router those cup holders in there, probably will be too lazy to do that and just buy a cup holder attatchment.

[EastCoastCB]

I love it. The custom dash really MAKES it, man. Its that extra touch!

[ourmefa]

This is another product I have used on direct sunlight art applications and it has held up incredibly well. They know their stuff. Your windshield will provide some protection from UV light, but not enough to keep it from yellowing in a year or so.

ArtResin Epoxy Resin

[BurlKing]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

I love it. The custom dash really MAKES it, man. Its that extra touch!

it really does. even just removing that long door handle that went from driver to the door opened up huge amounts of space up front.

Originally Posted by ourmefa

This is another product I have used on direct sunlight art applications and it has held up incredibly well. They know their stuff. Your windshield will provide some protection from UV light, but not enough to keep it from yellowing in a year or so.

ArtResin Epoxy Resin

sweet, because the dash will be one of a few pieces of wood receiving constant daylight, and i need to know as many products as i can.




Bought some of our marker lights, others on order(all will be LED). Here are 5 red ones for the back, 3 are going up top in the middle, and the other 2 will be on the sides near the top in the back. then there are 2 yellow ones in the picture that will be on the sides near the top but in the middle of the bus. That bar with 3 will go directly up front on the original front end cap in the middle, where the old marker lights were. Then I have 3 over the cab lights on order that will go on top of the transition. A couple more left to order but getting there so i can pull the wires through before the plywood closes it off.


only the upper 1/3 of the walls left.



view of the future living room. Temps here in MN got up to 60.

[BigDavid]

I love the dash. But with all of the cup holder it looks you have a bit of a drinking problem. Lol

[BurlKing]

Originally Posted by BigDavid

I love the dash. But with all of the cup holder it looks you have a bit of a drinking problem. Lol

lol. yeah that picture had to have been from a family bus. I only need one or two but could get by with none.

[Wutm8]

i didnt know how badly i needed a cup holder until my trip down from colorado, had a damn cup of coffee between my legs the whole time, haha. that wood dash is so purdy. would love to have that waiting for me every time i was hitting the road.

[BurlKing]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAWSjHavWsk

[cadillackid]

I love a good sounding DTA360... ! yours sounds nice!

i did this when we had a cold spell in ohio.. they DO start when not plugged in..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIznSY578hI

-Christopher

[BurlKing]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

I love a good sounding DTA360... ! yours sounds nice!

i did this when we had a cold spell in ohio.. they DO start when not plugged in..

-Christopher

yeah we are super happy with the condition of the engine. when you rev it a bit a "tim the tool man taylor" grunt comes over you.

[plfking]

Originally Posted by TheHex

I'm a carpenter by trade and I can tell you by far the best clear coat to protect wood from moisture is oil based spar varnish if you can find it it's meant for marine use

Another vote for the spar varnish. I used it on a Blazer 'Woody' I built years ago, which sat outside in direct sunlight every day for 6 years, til I sold it. The varnish held up beautifully.

[ourmefa]

Spar Varnishes are very good for exterior applications, just do not skimp and buy something that contains mostly alkyd or urethane resins. You want phenolic resins to ensure that it will hold up in the sun. This is the brand that I have used on exterior boat railings TotalBoat Gleam Spar Varnish. It is one of the few marine finishes that has not been converted to an alkyd or urethane resin. It used to be that Epifanes was the best but they started modifying their finish with alkyd and urethane resins a couple of years ago. Still a great product, but not as good as it used to be.

Just know that any spar varnish is going to add a yellow tint to your wood. This may or may not be ok, depending on your preference.

[jhl289]

This is a killer thread, man! Teenager here from the Deep South and this is super inspiring. Been dreaming of a skoolie conversion for a year and a half or so, my buddy and I definitely want to do a half-ass one before I head off to college. This thread has fueled the dream more than ever! Thank you!

[Yauerandy]

That custom dash looks nice with all that wood, but why the plywood looking cabinets on the bottom? really takes away from the whole aspect of the nice wood with knots.

[DoubleO7]

Originally Posted by Yauerandy

That custom dash looks nice with all that wood, but why the plywood looking cabinets on the bottom? really takes away from the whole aspect of the nice wood with knots.

The completed dash with the many cupholders is just a sample pic found on the net. Owner unknown.

[Yauerandy]

Originally Posted by DoubleO7

The completed dash with the many cupholders is just a sample pic found on the net. Owner unknown.

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh makes sense now. looked exactly like his bus!

[tfarrskoolbus]

I read through your whole build this past day, every page and it is amazing! You guys are awesome. I can only hope to have as much detail in a build of my own and I have learned so much from yours and so many great ideas!

I'm still in the buying phase and will be getting a bus in a coming months. Will continue to follow your build!

-Tyler

[TACOIII]

Very nice! Just looked at a 93 for 2500, Hope mine turns out this well!!

[BurlKing]

Originally Posted by tfarrskoolbus

I read through your whole build this past day, every page and it is amazing! You guys are awesome. I can only hope to have as much detail in a build of my own and I have learned so much from yours and so many great ideas!

I'm still in the buying phase and will be getting a bus in a coming months. Will continue to follow your build!

-Tyler

Originally Posted by TACOIII

Very nice! Just looked at a 93 for 2500, Hope mine turns out this well!!

good luck to both of you and we're glad we can be helpful!




Everything seems to be happening so quick now, a million and one things to think about. the only bare bus on the inside now is the ceiling, which will have to wait for our T&G boards because i'm not putting plywood up there as well. too much weight.

We taped out most of our bus and moved our bedroom around and downsized to a full size mattress. left storage underneath the bed for water tanks and then left the bed height level with the window. bed frame is not complete but you should get an idea.

There are spots in the rear we still need to put pieces of plywood up, but not until we run the marker light wires first. which will be very soon.






We received some of our wiring in the mail, as well as a bunch of heat-shrink butt connectors that are perfect for marine and RV use. Wire here is heat-resistant, stranded, awg 14gauge wire.


Best news of all, our front door was finally done being made and ready for us to pick up. We both couldn't be happier with it, the glass is made just like automobile windshield and claims to be able to withstand multiple blunt force blows. we will use curtains or blinds behind it when we are not driving. the color of the door pretty much matches the color we've chosen to paint the bus in a few months. its hard to tell but its not black.



We're thinking of naming the bus The Honey Badger. not sure if we'll go with it yet. color scheme in the end will match the color of the animal (white top, with a gray/black coat) and not on purpose. The head of the animal also reminds us of the mean dog-nose front end.