Bus 52 Conversion begins

[ironrule]

My bus is a 1992 Ward Senator on International Chassis, with DT466 Diesel and Allison transmission. Drove her home on February 3rd 2017 and started work. This will be a straight-forward post, just a few pictures to show what I'm starting with, then I'll add more info and more pics as I go along for anyone interested. Please feel free to ask questions and I'll answer with what I can. I don't know a lot about these buses but I'm a fast learner. I'm also looking for any schematics, service manuals, etc. so that I can learn more and be better able to work on my bus. I guess my first objective is cleanup and organize what I have so I will know where to start with the conversion. I'm attaching a picture of my bus, and some pictures from the inside to show what it was like when I bought it. I've cleaned it up considerably already and will post more pictures soon.

I live in Somerset, Kentucky, work full time and will be doing the conversion during my off-hours and weekends. I have some supplies saved up and ready to use and will buy what else I need as I go along. I've already decided against blackwater tank and will use a composting toilet system of some sort. I will also have a shower and will have to put in a graywater tank for that and sink drainage. The bus has the 2 floor heaters running off engine coolant. I haven't tried to use those yet. It also has air brakes which are totally new to me, but I learned enough to know what to watch out for and how to use them safely from my state's CDL manual. I don't have a CDL and may consider getting it a little later. The bus has 144k miles on it. Please feel free to ask any questions, give any advice, etc. Thanks for reading/looking!

[Asetechrail]

Very cool bus. I'll be watching your build! Mine is the next year a 93 Amtran Genesis. EastCoastcb is doing a roof raise on his 92 Ward this weekend.

[ironrule]

Thanks! I looked at a 93 Genesis and would have bought it but when I tried to go see it and purchase, the seller flaked and I couldn't get in touch with them. I considered a roof raise but I don't think I have the necessary equipment and experience to do that so I opted to leave it for now. I'll definitely check out both projects!

[EastCoastCB]

Nice to see another Senator. Oh, what fine buses!
Once you get the nasty insulation out and fix all the leaks, that is!

Welcome to the club!

[ironrule]

Yep, I love it already! I pulled down 4 13-gallon bags of insulation and went back over it with a scrub brush to get all the little bits down so the roof is clean now. I wore a particulate mask with filters good for asbestos, insulation, etc. I then went over it with my little 1 gallon shopvac and sucked up all the insulation off the seats and parts of the floor. The seats were a mangled mess in the back and I couldn't even walk to the back door so I set them back up along the rails and pushed them really close together to take up less space, and so I could see what I've got. I need to decide if I'm going to keep any of them for road seats while driving for wife and daughter. Quite a few are in very good shape with only 5 or 6 with small holes/tears and 1 with an end seam split open.

So far, the only leaks I've found are around my strobe light on the back, which is right behind my back hatch. I'm going to get the ladder in there soon and remove that. The second leak is the front hatch. It's in horrible shape and is probably original. Seems to be cracked somewhere to let water inside it which then leaks around the knob which opens the emergency part.

I didn't take the wall panels off yet. I'm not sure if I want to, at least for a while. I did remove my stop sign today, and unplugged all the emergency exit switches so the buzzers aren't sounding off now. I'll try to take some more pictures tomorrow of the progress and get them posted.

[ironrule]

Got it out today and drove to the pumps first, dropped $100 in diesel and then drove it downtown to our Sheriff's office to see about inspection. I'm having an issue with my title and the VIN number. I can only find 1 sticker on the area above driver's seat with a VIN number on it, but that's not good enough for inspection. I've searched all the usual locations I could come up with but can't find an actual VIN plate riveted to anything or stamped. Anyone have any ideas on VIN plate location for the 92's?

I left the Sheriff's office and went back to the elementary/high school parking lots and did some driving practice. Still getting used to those wide turns but I've done very well so far.

[ironrule]

Here are a few pics after cleanup, sorting around the seats, and removing my stop sign. My next move is to get rid of the extra seats, the metal panels that came off the ceiling, and the rubber floor covering.

[EastCoastCB]

Looks so much like mine. I got it in Elkton. Mine's #50!
So cool, our buses are brothers!

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by ironrule

Yep, I love it already! I pulled down 4 13-gallon bags of insulation and went back over it with a scrub brush to get all the little bits down so the roof is clean now. I wore a particulate mask with filters good for asbestos, insulation, etc. I then went over it with my little 1 gallon shopvac and sucked up all the insulation off the seats and parts of the floor. The seats were a mangled mess in the back and I couldn't even walk to the back door so I set them back up along the rails and pushed them really close together to take up less space, and so I could see what I've got. I need to decide if I'm going to keep any of them for road seats while driving for wife and daughter. Quite a few are in very good shape with only 5 or 6 with small holes/tears and 1 with an end seam split open.

So far, the only leaks I've found are around my strobe light on the back, which is right behind my back hatch. I'm going to get the ladder in there soon and remove that. The second leak is the front hatch. It's in horrible shape and is probably original. Seems to be cracked somewhere to let water inside it which then leaks around the knob which opens the emergency part.

I didn't take the wall panels off yet. I'm not sure if I want to, at least for a while. I did remove my stop sign today, and unplugged all the emergency exit switches so the buzzers aren't sounding off now. I'll try to take some more pictures tomorrow of the progress and get them posted.

Yeah my strobe leaked horribly. The roof hatches too. Those hatches are REALLY cheap and flimsy.

[slaughridge85]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

Yeah my strobe leaked horribly. The roof hatches too. Those hatches are REALLY cheap and flimsy.

Must be common for the strobes to leak like a sieve, I know mind did...

[ironrule]

Brother buses!

Yeah definitely. I took my strobe off today. More holes than I had imagined. Looks like they changed it a few times over the years and never used the same holes twice. I sprayed the area top and bottom with some undercoat rubberized spray to see how that will work. I have 1 hole that the undercoat spray didn't cover because it was too big, and where the wire came through. I will check it when it all dries and smooth that out. or hit it with some sealant of some sort.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by slaughridge85

Must be common for the strobes to leak like a sieve, I know mind did...

I'll try to find pics of the "quality" of workmanship that they used when intalling the roof vent, hatches, and strobe. It was all laughable, middle-school shop class level work.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by ironrule

Brother buses!

Yeah definitely. I took my strobe off today. More holes than I had imagined. Looks like they changed it a few times over the years and never used the same holes twice. I sprayed the area top and bottom with some undercoat rubberized spray to see how that will work. I have 1 hole that the undercoat spray didn't cover because it was too big, and where the wire came through. I will check it when it all dries and smooth that out. or hit it with some sealant of some sort.

Nah, I'd bet its original. That sounds exactly like what I saw when I took mine off. It wasn't even on straight.

[cadillackid]

the roof hatches on both my busses leak!.. not as much now as they did .. but the UV opver the years causes the plastic to crack esp arpound the screw holes that were likely over-tightened to begin with when the hatches were installed...

-Christopher

[ironrule]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

the roof hatches on both my busses leak!.. not as much now as they did .. but the UV opver the years causes the plastic to crack esp arpound the screw holes that were likely over-tightened to begin with when the hatches were installed...

-Christopher

I've still got 1 like that. I'm afraid to open or touch it because it might just crumble. I can tell the rear hatch was replaced at some time so it still works for now and doesn't leak.

The strobe is pretty cool. I put mine in the garage and touched it to an old car battery to see if it still worked. Nice and flashy!

[milkmania]

Originally Posted by ironrule

My bus is a 1992 Ward Senator on International Chassis, with DT466 Diesel and Allison transmission. Drove her home on February 3rd 2017 and started work. This will be a straight-forward post, just a few pictures to show what I'm starting with, then I'll add more info and more pics as I go along for anyone interested. Please feel free to ask questions and I'll answer with what I can. I don't know a lot about these buses but I'm a fast learner. I'm also looking for any schematics, service manuals, etc. so that I can learn more and be better able to work on my bus. I guess my first objective is cleanup and organize what I have so I will know where to start with the conversion. I'm attaching a picture of my bus, and some pictures from the inside to show what it was like when I bought it. I've cleaned it up considerably already and will post more pictures soon.

I live in Somerset, Kentucky, work full time and will be doing the conversion during my off-hours and weekends. I have some supplies saved up and ready to use and will buy what else I need as I go along. I've already decided against blackwater tank and will use a composting toilet system of some sort. I will also have a shower and will have to put in a graywater tank for that and sink drainage. The bus has the 2 floor heaters running off engine coolant. I haven't tried to use those yet. It also has air brakes which are totally new to me, but I learned enough to know what to watch out for and how to use them safely from my state's CDL manual. I don't have a CDL and may consider getting it a little later. The bus has 144k miles on it. Please feel free to ask any questions, give any advice, etc. Thanks for reading/looking!

Beautiful country up there with Lake Cumberland & Dale Hollow.
Skied both a couple of times

Last time I flew into Lexington was last time I've flown. As we were descending, we flew over the fresh crash site in 2006. I said never again!

[ironrule]

Originally Posted by milkmania

Beautiful country up there with Lake Cumberland & Dale Hollow.
Skied both a couple of times

Last time I flew into Lexington was last time I've flown. As we were descending, we flew over the fresh crash site in 2006. I said never again!

Haha Wow! I'm probably not even a mile from Lake Cumberland in 2 different directions but I never go on the lake. It's been well over 10 years since I was out in a boat.

[ironrule]

It rained today, for longer than I expected, but I still got to work on 52. It was pretty much a constant drizzle. The strobe holes surprisingly sealed up completely with the rubberized spray. Even the one I thought it didn't cover ended up sealing. I'll probably go over it with another coat from the top just to make sure it's smooth but there were no more leaks inside except from my front hatch which was expected.

I installed a deadbolt on the side emergency exit door with a key from the outside. It works but not so great. I have some final adjustments to make to it, then it should be ok. My hole saws suffered and one of them is no longer usable. I'm debating on installing a keyed deadbolt on the back door. It is currently only "lockable" from the inside because I slid an aluminum pole over the emergency handle which is longer and binds on the handle guard. I also put a rigged handle on the front door so I can close it from the outside a little easier.

Tomorrow I will get some more pictures and hopefully clean out some of the inside things like the ceiling panels and some seats so I can start getting the floor ready and lay out a floor plan.

[ironrule]

I got a lot done Sunday. Removed all the seats except 4 and broke them down into base materials for reuse or recycling. Foam and covers and seat bottoms went back into the bus for dry storage until I find a use for them. Saved all the screws and put the metal frames in my front yard as lawn ornaments (I'm sure my wife loves that! ) I'll recycle those later. Took the ceiling panels to the back yard to put on my dad's trailer as bottom and sides for hauling saw dust for gardening. Monday morning and during my lunch break from work I pulled up about 75% of the black rubber floor. There's no wood, it's already at metal now. Today I will finish the rubber and will be ready for my corroseal to come in tomorrow. http://amzn.to/2l3hMSe. I ordered 2 gallons. I think that should be enough to do everything I need for the bus. The weather is supposed to be a bit warmer this week so I should be able to paint it on. More pics to follow soon.

[ironrule]

Finished the floor removal and did some minor repairs on windows and an outside post. Tomorrow I plan to move everything out and use a wire brush drill attachment on the rust spots. Then a final cleaning and get ready for painting with corroseal which is scheduled for delivery tomorrow.