Kalamari Safari - 92 International

[KalamariSafari]

Introduction:


I've been reading your various build diary threads voraciously, and decided to make my own. Without further ado (more details after the pictures):







Tentative name: Kalamari Safari
Year: 1992
Make: International
Model: Bus (So sayeth the title)
Engine: International DTA 360
Transmission: Allison AT-5XX (not sure on specific model)
Miles: 210k
Capacity: 65? (can still make out the decals stating such)

Found this yellow box of fun at a Baptist Church in coastal Mississippi. On inspection, it seemed in about the right kinda shape for the price asked.

Inspection - Mechanical:

Seeping brake fluid from one of the lines leaving the bottom of the brake master cylinder. Appears to be corroded fitting. I have a buddy that works at a trucking service center, he says they make hoses to length. Should be able to sort this quickly. Also seems to be a slow leak at the master cylinder/booster interface. Gasket? Mechanically, these are at the top of my list. Seeping power steering fluid from both lines at bottom of reservoir. Assumed to be due to hose age. Shouldn't be too involved to replace, and the lines dont bulge under fluid load. Seeping power steering fluid from what seems to be pitman arm output shaft seal (?). Will further investigate. The oil return line from turbo to passenger side of block is on it's last leg, and seeping along the entire length of the hose. Nothing proprietary looking, should be an off-the-shelf fix. Tire tread depth on all 6 is barely legal in my state. I'm likely less than 5,000 miles from needing at least 4. Not super familiar with how such large tires wear. Anyways, I budgeted such things into this build. I dont trust a tire unless I've driven it since new. Rear of transmission pan is damp at the gasket. I'll keep an eye on the fluid, but we're talking minimal. And bright red fluid. Reportedly, they serviced it recently ("Filter and Fluid"). Drive shaft slip joint is dirty as hell, but every zerk fitting I could find under this bus had fresh grease near it.

Inspection - Electrical:

Most of the lights worked when asked to (a pair of blown bulbs in the back). Couldn't get the CD/Radio head unit to talk to the speakers, but I'm not at all worried about that. Neither of the flip-out stop signs worked for me, but they aren't going to be around long. Same story for the crossing guard arm on the front.

Inspection - Body:

Body has spots of surface rust here and there, and evidence of recent repairs that stopped at the primer stage. saves me a little trouble. The paint is sun-worn, but Yellow was never my color. The undercarriage is in good shape. little surface rust, but nothing damning. Dont let anybody ever tell you that salty coastal air is comparable to salted winter roads. Small impact cracks in the passenger windshield, appear to be of the size commonly repaired with acrylic, etc. Not sweating it too much.

Inspection - Interior:

Interior looked like a 1992 school bus that was sold to a church in 2011. There is complimentary pre-owned chewing gum in the places where you might put it. There is wet spots in the wood sub-floor, but nothing scary. That wood is gonna be gone soon. There is a broken latch on the roof vent/emergency exit. The hatch stays closed, just attempts to self-destruct when opened. Some torn Naga skins here and there.

The Plan:

Anyways, so it's gonna be an RV, and eventually a house. It's sitting in a buddies yard waiting to lose some weight on Sunday. As you might expect: The seats are first. I'll do the free stuff while I decide which of the not-free things to do first. Probably those brake lines. Brakes are nice.


Then ripping up the floor, the roof, the walls, insulating, paneling, flooring, electrical, solar, propane, generator, plumbing, paint, tint...


The local franchisee of the Alabama DMV said I'm only Proof of Insurance and a VIN check away from registering it as an RV. I was sure to get that in writing, as that will have to happen next week sometime and the resolution was hard-won. Well, not really, but I hate waiting in DMV's.


Damn, this is so exciting. I'll keep you guys posted. Hoping to use this as my memory in this build. I can't remember s***, sometimes.

[KalamariSafari]

Oops, forgot to add:


It drove great, an hour back to my buddies house. As many of you know, this motor isn't a powerhouse. I'm perfectly okay with the average speed of the US Highway system, so cruising at 55-60 will do fine.



The brakes were strong. As they should be, all wear surfaces are new.


The steering was tight. As it should be, the leaking power steering pump was likely due to the recent front end rebuild.


The transmission was much smoother than I expected. As smooth as my wifes Hyundai, in fact.

[o1marc]

Registering it as an RV now will have no benefit as you will still need a commercial insurance policy until the conversion is complete. You can fool the idiots at DMV, not at the insurance company. If you have wet plywood flooring you will have hours of rust repair to do after that wood comes up. Salt air may not be as bad as salt on the roads, but it's close enough to still keep me from those areas.

You probably have an Allison 545, the least desirable tranny. It won't like mountain passes or long highway speeds.

[Sleddgracer]

Originally Posted by KalamariSafari

Oops, forgot to add:


It drove great, an hour back to my buddies house. As many of you know, this motor isn't a powerhouse. I'm perfectly okay with the average speed of the US Highway system, so cruising at 55-60 will do fine.



The brakes were strong. As they should be, all wear surfaces are new.


The steering was tight. As it should be, the leaking power steering pump was likely due to the recent front end rebuild.


The transmission was much smoother than I expected. As smooth as my wifes Hyundai, in fact.

it all sounds very good, including your plans for the future

[KalamariSafari]

Originally Posted by o1marc

...You can fool the idiots at DMV...

It's all I really want in life.

Originally Posted by o1marc

...hours of rust repair to do after that wood comes up...

Yeah, but the price was right.

(I'll just CTRL+C that phrase for future use)

Originally Posted by o1marc

...Allison 545, the least desirable tranny. It won't like mountain passes or long highway speeds.

Is it a heat issue? why so un-desirable?

Originally Posted by Sleddgracer

it all sounds very good, including your plans for the future

Thanks. Was just reading about your own exploits the other evening. Anywhere I can see pictures of your kennel setup?

[o1marc]

The 545 has no locking torque converter, so it is always working off the fluid. Taxing it through the Rocky Mountains or running sustained high speeds will overheat the fluid and destroy the tranny. Also, because it doesn't lock up, when going down hill there is no engine back pressure to slow you down, so now your wearing out your brakes keeping it at a safe speed.

So what was the selling price?
Whenever I hear "The price was right" I think of the saying "The bitterness of poor quality lingers much longer than the sweetness of a great price"

[Sleddgracer]

Originally Posted by KalamariSafari

It's all I really want in life.



Yeah, but the price was right.

(I'll just CTRL+C that phrase for future use)



Is it a heat issue? why so un-desirable?



Thanks. Was just reading about your own exploits the other evening. Anywhere I can see pictures of your kennel setup?

I can post a couple here

[Drew Bru]

Congrats! That's a nice size bus. We've got an 11 window as well and, as a place to live, it's got plenty of room for the 2 of us. We're not lacking any of the luxuries we had in our home. Keep plugging away at it and checking things off of your build list and you'll be done before you know it!

[Sleddgracer]

Originally Posted by o1marc

The 545 has no locking torque converter, so it is always working off the fluid. Taxing it through the Rocky Mountains or running sustained high speeds will overheat the fluid and destroy the tranny. Also, because it doesn't lock up, when going down hill there is no engine back pressure to slow you down, so now your wearing out your brakes keeping it at a safe speed.

So what was the selling price?
Whenever I hear "The price was right" I think of the saying "The bitterness of poor quality lingers much longer than the sweetness of a great price"

a 'good deal' is when both sides of the deal are winners, when the money balances the product in value, and all involved feel good about what went down

[Sleddgracer]

Originally Posted by KalamariSafari

It's all I really want in life.



Yeah, but the price was right.

(I'll just CTRL+C that phrase for future use)



Is it a heat issue? why so un-desirable?



Thanks. Was just reading about your own exploits the other evening. Anywhere I can see pictures of your kennel setup?

how about going for a ride? - lol - 10 dogs pulling 550 lbs, running 4 miles in 12 minutes, averaging 20 MPH -my 18 year old granddaughter was visiting and a friend dropped in - everyone was up for a ride, so we hooked up my 10 best ( maybe showing off a bit - lol - I don't usually run that quick of a team with passengers )

https://www.facebook.com/iforget2/vi...0693631056427/

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by Sleddgracer

a 'good deal' is when both sides of the deal are winners, when the money balances the product in value, and all involved feel good about what went down

I understand as long as the buyer thinks it's a great price, then it is. Just find it strange that many won't reveal the great deal they got for some reason. Guess what it makes me think?
I do think churches sell them reasonably priced.

[KalamariSafari]

Originally Posted by Drew Bru

...We've got an 11 window as well...

And it's nice! Me and my wife were just looking at your website. Love the sliding door in the bathroom. Might steal the idea.

Originally Posted by Drew Bru

...your build list...

Was just lining out "phase one", as we'll come to call it. We'll keep the scope tight, and maybe end up with a rig as nice as yours.

Originally Posted by Sleddgracer

a 'good deal' is when both sides of the deal are winners...

Not a bad way to look at it. I agree.

Originally Posted by o1marc

..Guess what it makes me think?...

No.

[Drew Bru]

Originally Posted by KalamariSafari

And it's nice! Me and my wife were just looking at your website. Love the sliding door in the bathroom. Might steal the idea.

Thanks, man. Feel free to copy ideas you can. Push through the demo work, it's tedious but necessary.....once you get it gutted and insulated you'll feel the magic start to happen. My advice? Keep it simple and save your receipts! We ended up having plans for some elaborate contraptions that just plain didn't work, however the simple and elegant solutions we found ultimately turned out way better. Plenty of things got returned because we bought them before we were ready to install (RV style tub, for instance) and was just a hair too big for the space. It looked good on paper, but it's quite different in real life. If you think outside the box and keep an open mind you'll find unique alternatives to some of the issues you come across. We couldn't find a suitable medicine cabinet so we used old wooden wine cases to construct one and it looks a million times better than an off-the-shelf generic one from Home Depot would have.

It was a lot of fun building out the interior and everything just fell into place with a little time and consideration....hopefully yours will too. Don't let the Negative Nellies discourage you, keep plugging away!

[KalamariSafari]

The Seat Massacre - A Children's Tale

Our band of three approached the hunting grounds shortly after sunrise. Weapons were made ready:




They say the wild Naga used to roam these plains freely. These domesticated sorts had no hope against modern hunting techniques:





We tested our intended methods on the passenger bulkhead just next to the stairs. Bolts through the top, nuts and washers under to match. Two battery impact guns, 2 pry bars, and a side grinder with cutoff wheel, we'll be cull this herd in no time...:





Our hubris was met with oxidization. While trying different methods with the Floor Bolts, we divided forces to work the flanks of the herd - the Sill Bolts. In the gaps between the walls we found remnants of the folk who used to mount these critters. We found evidence of the heathen gods "Crayola" and "Lemonhead". And then, a breakthrough! Ripping the saddles free by violently prying allowed easy access to the hardware:





The Naga knew their end was near:





And a method was devised for removing the Floor Bolts swiftly. We replaced the cutoff wheel with a side-grinder disc, and drove it straight down into the heads of the bolts:





When they look like this, you know they've given up the fight:





We then modified a primitive tool into another primitive tool, using the grinder, and drove the bolts through the floor:





Not wanting the herd to return, we began destroying their fields as we corralled them tighter:





And as swiftly as the hunt began, it was over:




Some remnants from the old inhabitants of the land:









At 5:00 PM We returned to camp, bathed, and drank strong drink. If you don't find my cheesy narrative entertaining, you got more sleep than I did this week.

Insurance
Got it. Kalamari Safari is now insured through Good Sam, underwritten by National General Insurance, and then further underwritten by Integon National Insurance Company... Yeah, I don't know. I needed it legal to get it registered as an RV in this great Sultanate of Allah-Bama. The Policy boilerplate is National General. The proof of insurance is Integon. The agent is Good Sam. Fun.

Either way, they allow monthly payments, so I'll keep shopping once I have that sweet RV license plate. Under vehicle information, they listed it's usage as "Pleasure". The agent has no clue how annoying this will be to my wife. Furthermore, it's listed as "Incomplete Bus". Something about checking in with them yearly, sending pictures of it's state of construction... Oh! Got those sweet military and good driver discounts, too! I'd recommend them so far, if for nothing else than they were the first folks that said yes. I googled for at least 12 minutes to find them. The agent was pretty easy-going, too.

Registration
Tomorrow! I might be driving it to work after the DMV. Not sure yet. Tight parking lot.

Brake Lines
Those seeping master cylinder lines I mentioned in the OP are gonna get handled tomorrow. I've got something brewing, and I want it positively road worthy.

[HazMatt]

Brah
FREAKIN'
Vo!!!
Absolutely loved the narrative! I felt like I was there, on the blistering savanna; breathing the dust of the herd placidly milling about, and then hearing the Nauga's plaintive, "Moot"s, as panic overwhelmed the herd, desperately striving to stampede, stupidly forgetting their feet were stapled in situ.
Sucks to be them...
Happy Trails to follow the happy hunting!

[ThemadTurk]

check around for insurance because i live in GA and i had absolutely NO PROBLEM with getting RV insurance before the first seat was removed. We have StateFarm and its dirt cheap

[HazMatt]

Might be your stated occupation of, "Narc," has something to do with that... [emoji6]

Originally Posted by ThemadTurk

check around for insurance because i live in GA and i had absolutely NO PROBLEM with getting RV insurance before the first seat was removed. We have StateFarm and its dirt cheap

[ThemadTurk]

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by ThemadTurk

check around for insurance because i live in GA and i had absolutely NO PROBLEM with getting RV insurance before the first seat was removed. We have StateFarm and its dirt cheap

Who's your agent? Highly unusual that they would write that policy. I think you would have a problem in the event of a claim. State Farm doesn't want to talk to us until the conversion is complete.

[KalamariSafari]

Here comes alot of pictures...

Registration
Went off without too much trouble. Drove the bus to the DMV on Tuesday morning to let them confirm the VIN, and take my money. Turns out the VIN on the proof of insurance was devoid the 13th digit, and to make up for it there was an extra 0 at the end.

The insurance agent wouldn't be in the office for 30 more minutes, and I had to get to work. By 8:00 AM he returned my email, and I returned at lunch-time for the money part. $260.60 green backs for The Man, and I had an RV tag in hand. The interstate nature of the sale made up for about 60% of the cost of registration. Oh well. Not the last chunk of change I throw at it, for sure.

Engine Pictures
I realized I hadn't taken any pictures of the engine yet. Maybe you folks wanna see the dirty S.O.B.?





Flooring Removal
Saturday Morning, late start. So it was time to remove the rest of the rubber mat, and plywood flooring. The three person hunting party from last weekend was down to one. I was the only one with the day off, so I wasn't in a hurry. Too hot for that, anyways.

I used a razor knife to slice the rubber into manageable sizes and tossed it into the bed of my truck. The plywood, for the most part, gave up easily. A pry-bar and hammer convinced the glue and screws to let go, where needed.



The center aisle rubber and plywood were laid separate, so they came up first.



There was more call for the "primitive tool" we fashioned from the flat head screw driver. I ran into a couple of these buggers from where we had ground down the seat bolts last weekend (Aren't you glad you dont have that much rust?):



The passenger side of the bus filled up the short bed of my 4 door Colorado. Well, not really, but I was hungry. I made a quick run to the dump, and grabbed a Jalapeno Whataburger on the way back.



The burger was a bit much for the heat, so I lazily began removing more of the heater hose shields while the food settled. The kid that sat by the driver wheel well must have liked suckers.



Found a nifty little inline pump in there. Priming this system at the factory is probably fun.



And closer to the drivers heater box, I found this duct. Forgot to take pics, but there was also a little spreader fan at about row 4 that this fed air to.



Dirty work, this dirty bus:



The burger settled, so I chugged another bottle of water and finished off the driver side. Dump was closed, so I piled the waste near the rear of the bus to handle later.



Now, onto the ceiling. Bur first, the service panels. These are wedge between the upper window frames, and the ceiling panels themselves in such a way that you are probably expected to remove the windows first. The weather in this area cant be trusted to hold its politics longer than 45 minutes, and I didn't want to put myself in a bad way. Forceful removal methods were employed:



The passenger side came apart with more than two swear words, but no bloodshed. Very few wires on this side.



But plenty of insulation. That'll be coming out.



Something I'll want to remember later, the way these bows are bolted together:



And the other side:



Anyways, I called it a day there, and returned with help from my wife the next day. We had a few methods to try on these cieling rivets. We also came prepared with garbage bags, breathing masks, goggles, and long sleeve shirts to deal with the fiberglass insulation.

This is whats behind the drivers seat-belt upper reel mount. Notice the more substantial wire loom on this side of the bus. Most of the rear signal light wires seem to be run down this side.



And this is what's behind the aisle light fixtures that are position along the center line of the roof:



We'll find a way to re-use the lenses and buckets in the build. Tentative plan is they will make a decent under-cabinet light in the kitchen.



We wont be re-using the speakers, but they serve as decent hold-stuff-to-the-wall magnets for now.



The star of the demo, so far - the punch:



And once the mandrel is driven, the cats paw is pressed into service (Not ideal, but we were short on grinder discs, and dont have a compressor readily available to keep up with an air chisel):



I've seen some of you folks go to great pains to remove the tar adhesive before building back up. Why is it that necessary?:





That large loom down the driver side again. Considering moving this to under the vehicle. Would prefer that only "house" electrical be in the "house", for later trouble-shooting ease.



The upper signals on the rear, as seen from inside the bus:







This is about as far as we got on the ceiling for the day. There used to be a day when I could swing a 28oz EstWing framing hammer over my head all day, but it wasn't yesterday day. We'll wait to finish when we have access to the easy tools. It's Monday night as I post this, and the soreness is real.





Before we cleaned up and called it a day, we sealed up the only roof leak we could find in a temporary fashion. This is where the fog strobe used to be, and somebody did a poor job with silicone. It'll be patched with metal, and sealed with Dicor or something similar.



And since I was on the roof, a picture of the passive vent just above the driver area:



And the filthy emergency exit:



We took a bunch of measurements to start working on floor plans in scale, but the day was young. We went shopping to see what could be had locally. Here's a nifty 110v Dryer we found a one of those open box/returns/liquidations kinda stores. Company is "Panda", and they are all over Amazon. anyone have any experience with them?



Moving Forward
Probably wont touch the bus next weekend. Got plans. But I'll keep you guys posted when I start breaking more stuff!