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Old 09-21-2019, 07:32 PM   #21
Bus Nut
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Asheville, NC
Posts: 347
Year: 1999
Coachwork: American Cargo 14'L x 7'8"W x 7'H Box
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Rated Cap: 11500 lbs
Quote:
Originally Posted by musigenesis View Post
Are you going to cut away any of the upstairs deck so you have extra height downstairs?
Or raise some of the downstairs ceiling and put beds above.

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Old 09-21-2019, 07:35 PM   #22
Skoolie
 
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Location: Cazenovia, NY
Posts: 151
Year: 1985
Coachwork: Leyland
Chassis: Leyland
Engine: Cummins
Rated Cap: 17500, probably kg
@music: nope. Maximizing upstairs space for beds/office.

@bon: 30.5' long, 8'2" wide, 13.5' tall
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Old 09-22-2019, 01:20 PM   #23
Bus Nut
 
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Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Huron, South Dakota
Posts: 422
Year: 1976
Coachwork: Wayne
Chassis: Dodge S-600
Engine: 360 V8
Rated Cap: 66
Quote:
Originally Posted by Seriousracer View Post
It was supposed to be Wanker spinners not spammers. Damn autocorrect

There's a book that I want entitled, Damn You, Autocorrect! It's full of funny suggestions. Text prediction apps are good for a laugh, too!

Back on topic: that is one gorgeous bus! Not sure how I'd use one, in part 'cause I'm over 6'5 with shoes on. If I had kids, they'd love upstairs bedrooms!

My lady (now deceased) and I liked to imagine our friend's reaction to seeing a really tall bus lumbering onto her acreage. Yours would've fit the bill!
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Old 09-23-2019, 10:41 AM   #24
Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jul 2019
Location: Cazenovia, NY
Posts: 151
Year: 1985
Coachwork: Leyland
Chassis: Leyland
Engine: Cummins
Rated Cap: 17500, probably kg
Ceilings and floors will be staying as is. We've got a center aisle design that will let us keep the natural light from the windows. We're all pretty short, and even my tall friends can stand with their legs a bit further apart... Upstairs is for sleeping and sitting. Shouldn't matter that the ceiling is a bit low.

Last weekend got the rest of the upstairs ceiling panels out. Looks like a war zone up there now.

Got rained on and found a few leaks I'll have to track down. Body is aluminum, so no rust. Just a few spots where they has steel wool (for rodents?) And some internal bracing which I'll upload pics of... Can't decide if they're structural.
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Old 09-23-2019, 10:55 AM   #25
Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jul 2019
Location: Cazenovia, NY
Posts: 151
Year: 1985
Coachwork: Leyland
Chassis: Leyland
Engine: Cummins
Rated Cap: 17500, probably kg
Bus also had a distinct lean. About 3-4 inches when I drop a measuring tape from one corner... I'll need to figure out some leveling system.
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Old 09-23-2019, 09:31 PM   #26
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Join Date: Sep 2015
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Chassis: Freightliner FS65
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Rated Cap: 71 Passenger- 30,000 lbs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crisfole View Post
Bus also had a distinct lean. About 3-4 inches when I drop a measuring tape from one corner... I'll need to figure out some leveling system.
That should be an interesting project.
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Old 09-25-2019, 12:55 PM   #27
Skoolie
 
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Location: Cazenovia, NY
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Year: 1985
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Sorry read my previous post and I phrased it wrong:

We have a two aisle design. So furnishings are centered, leaving windows to let in light.
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Old 09-25-2019, 12:57 PM   #28
Skoolie
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Native View Post
That should be an interesting project.

Hoping to KISS for now. Attaching 4 scissor jacks with a drill on board...
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Old 09-25-2019, 11:54 PM   #29
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Rated Cap: 71 Passenger- 30,000 lbs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crisfole View Post
Hoping to KISS for now. Attaching 4 scissor jacks with a drill on board...
KISS is always one of my favorite practices.
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Old 09-26-2019, 01:14 AM   #30
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Location: MO
Posts: 50
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Blue bird
Chassis: All American RE
Engine: 8.3L Cummins 6CTA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Crisfole View Post
All upstairs seats are removed, including the rear one (which was a pain). The rearmost ceiling panel is also out. No insulation at all in the bus (as in zero).

The tiny rivets holding up the panels and holding up the trim pieces pry off easily enough. The giant ones are terrible...wind up warping the panel terribly just to get it off. Not sure exactly how to remove properly just yet, but I did it by force (bent the sheet back so I could pry it from the rib). Tried drilling out the middle and just broke my bit.

The result:

https://youtu.be/VOd6DAZ2_hE

Any ideas on removing that back seat frame? It's 100% rivets and welds.
Cheap drill bits always break quickly. Spend a few more bucks on higher quality bits and you'll have better luck.
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Old 09-26-2019, 01:36 AM   #31
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gnoman View Post
Cheap drill bits always break quickly. Spend a few more bucks on higher quality bits and you'll have better luck.
and they’ll last longer without dulling. I was breaking a ton of bits with my 120 volt plug in drill. When I switched to using the cordless drill I found the drill would usually stop rather than breaking the bit. And if you’re using thinner bits you can turn down the “clutch” to keep them from breaking.
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Old 10-01-2019, 11:11 AM   #32
Skoolie
 
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Year: 1985
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Engine: Cummins
Rated Cap: 17500, probably kg
Absence on forum doesn't indicate absence of progress!

Last two weekends have resulted in walls and ceiling upstairs almost completely done and a good start on the floor. There's a bunch of open space on the walls, and then a section that seems double walled... It's all aluminum, though, so really hard to decide if I feel like stripping the last layer, or just pointing a camera into each channel then filling with foam...

The floor is pretty grody. Even some of the aluminum sheeting is rotting through. I'm not super clear whether it's aluminum or not, actually, but it's not iron based: no red. Photos forthcoming when I actually take them...
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Old 10-10-2019, 07:34 PM   #33
Skoolie
 
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Location: Cazenovia, NY
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Year: 1985
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Chassis: Leyland
Engine: Cummins
Rated Cap: 17500, probably kg
OK. Upstairs I've got her stripped down pretty heavily. When it rains the ceiling barely leaks any more. (I think there's some drips, but not many, and I'm not done with sealing from the inside). I've taken a bead of automotive seam sealer along every joint on the top. Now I'm working through every joint where the outside aluminum shell meets the inside aluminum framing.

This is what I started with:



And now it's been cleaned, and a bead of seam sealer run over it. It's just NAPA auto brand. But it can be sanded, tooled and painted according to the box. So I'm hoping for the best. Also, I plan on spray foaming, so that should block the rest of the water.

A bigger problem is the condensation: it's pretty bad when it's cold and humid. I've taken to leaving the windows open so there's less temperature difference. The condensation inside the bus is pretty incredible: almost like it's raining. That will be addressed by spray foaming, but wait! There's more!

Problem 1: The windows leak. Pretty badly. They drip around and then the water makes it to the upstairs floor...now that the floor is down to the joists at the edeges, it's really the downstairs ceiling.

Problem 2: below the windows the bus is double walled all the way down to the downstairs windows near as I can tell. Like: aluminum sheeting on the outside, and heavy gauge aluminum sheets on the inside. Check out this video:

I'll swap for the youtube video when it comes up:https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZmxZLGZXKLBqxPhf9

Here's a photo of the exterior of these windows. How do I go about re-sealing these windows!?



Any suggestions on insulating in between the exterior and interior walls? There's a handful of vents and holes cut, but I assume there are structural beams running horizontally too...am I in for a whole lot of aluminum hole cutting!?
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Old 10-10-2019, 07:38 PM   #34
Skoolie
 
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Location: Cazenovia, NY
Posts: 151
Year: 1985
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Chassis: Leyland
Engine: Cummins
Rated Cap: 17500, probably kg
Oh! I also got a bit of the floor out from downstairs to see what I've got for space.



Turns out that a bunch of the wheel well area is just wasted uninsulated space separated from the interior of the bus by nothing but plywood. It's going to be fun figuring out how to insulate this baby....
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Old 10-29-2019, 07:22 AM   #35
Skoolie
 
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Year: 1985
Coachwork: Leyland
Chassis: Leyland
Engine: Cummins
Rated Cap: 17500, probably kg
Lack of documentation does not imply lack of progress

OK. At this point the upstairs is almost completely demo-ed. The downstairs is well underway.

All the upstairs ceiling and wall panels as well as the floor-level trim is down.







I removed the seat in the upstairs far back as well. Judicious application of the angle grinder to the back side of the rivets since I had relatively easy access. This left a gaping hole where the seat used to be, and once the downstairs ceiling panels were down and even gaping-er hole.



At this point I use it as a downward shortcut...All the wiring to the lighting is removed, and the security camera cables are bundled at the front for when I finish that small area which is the only area upstairs that's left for demo.







I know/think/believe it's super cool, but we'd rather recover the 5 sq ft it takes up than be able to change the bus's route number. The upstairs panel looks as though it might be helping hold the upstairs windshield in place (look at the trim). The whole window is wiggly to begin with now that I've taken out some of the trim around it... It's going to be a cautious removal.

Entry way is relatively unchanged:



Ceiling panels are out, and you can see the seats in back out. Those are in storage in my basement:





Got the rear seats and belts out. Keeping the belts. Likely re-creating the seats but with better use of the dead space where the wheel well and backrests are is. The area will be a dinette/guest-bed.





At the back above the engine and below the now gone upstairs seat here's what we've got:



And looking forward from there:



Finally, stripped off all this junk:



Always fun finding 35 year old handwriting still perfectly preserved by disgusting glues and rivets.

Still left to do - the stairwell trim removal:



On the photo-less front, we've been busting our butts for insurance, and registration. When the seller registered it he registered it as a 1982. Not sure if that's purposeful, but it doesn't require a title, so I don't have one here. Not worried about it. The DMV has been super helpful while strictly keeping the rules. There's a skoolie fan at the front desk and she's secretly rooting for us, we think.

I'm getting a quote for closed cell foam insulation today. It's going to be painful to install...the whole bus is double walled aluminum divided into very small compartments. Drilling holes for spraying foam into each of the compartments sounds unpleasant, but I'm not enthusiastic about losing 2-3" of floor space just for insulation either. That being said, it might be necessary. Time will tell.

I also found NY Bus Sales (a bunch of you may have actually bought your vehicles from them). In any case, they have a service department that I've convinced to give me a quote on re-sealing the windows. Most places have been reticent to do it.
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Old 10-30-2019, 12:32 AM   #36
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Join Date: Sep 2015
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Year: 2002
Coachwork: Thomas Built Bus
Chassis: Freightliner FS65
Engine: Caterpillar 3126E Diesel
Rated Cap: 71 Passenger- 30,000 lbs.
That is quite cool! You have certaily done a lot of demo work.



When I saw the picture of the top floor with the curved support holding it up, I immediately thought that it would be fantastic to have the floor raise and lower at your will. Not practical, but would be very different.


I really like the stairs, for some strange reason. Perhaps it is the cubby holes in the downstairs portion.
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Old 10-30-2019, 06:51 AM   #37
Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jul 2019
Location: Cazenovia, NY
Posts: 151
Year: 1985
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Chassis: Leyland
Engine: Cummins
Rated Cap: 17500, probably kg
@Native elaborate on the magic moving floor there? I'm intrigued...
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Old 10-31-2019, 02:47 AM   #38
Bus Geek
 
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Engine: Caterpillar 3126E Diesel
Rated Cap: 71 Passenger- 30,000 lbs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crisfole View Post

In this picture, the curved supports on the left (along with the ones on the right) could be put into a track and some sort of lift attached to the floor or probably the supports to make it raise and lower. You are right, it is a "magical" idea or at the very least fantastic.
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Old 10-31-2019, 04:10 AM   #39
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You are right, it is a "magical" idea or at the very least fantastic.
That's a lot of structural integrity you'd be messing with.

Crisfole, I'm very interested to see what you turn this beauty into......I haven't seen a double-decker build on here.
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Old 10-31-2019, 06:58 AM   #40
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Location: Columbus Ohio
Posts: 18,757
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Carpenter
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: DTA360 / MT643
Rated Cap: 7 Row Handicap
wow this bus looks to be in really nice shape... in my opinion insulation is king.. if it means drilling holes to get good insulation id be all for it
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