Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 08-22-2016, 01:46 AM   #21
Almost There
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Canada eh?
Posts: 99
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Corbeil - RAMROD
Chassis: IH 3800 66 Pass
Engine: 7.3 IH IDI NA w AT545 hyd
Ok so yesterday and today I busted my hump and got the rear of the bus removed. Next I'll be cutting the section out for the flat deck.

I ended up getting a Photobucket account so you can see the progress. So here goes, hopefully they end up in order.

When I bought it:
http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...psob5tgoak.png

First day home:
http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...psurqgrfj2.jpg

Frame looks pretty good for a Late '89. Bus was finished in '91 and is registered as such.
http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...psqfi7vmj9.jpg

The photo shopped end goal:
http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...psqcvayxyj.jpg

Here's the sketched out floor plans. They have already changed a bit (No cabinets above the dinette, etc. But at least it gives you a good idea of the build.
http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...psx0cut9qx.jpg

Tearing up the floor (wood stove sitting there):
http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...psfmbciafz.jpg

Yanking the ceiling and side panels to get rid of Itchy Scratchy:
http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...pszeoh5bfm.jpg

The cute girl that I bought the wood stove from. We become friends, and then she proceeded to outwork me on the bus. She loves demolition as you can see.
http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1l4mypdw.jpg

Bumper was a PITA to get off because of a rounded out bolt.
http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...pscb7yibh1.jpg

You wouldn't believe how much work it is to remove the rear section of the bus. But it will be totally worth it to have everything separate and the deck accessible from 3 sides.
http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...psvjmkkqwk.jpg

http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...ps64obbepz.jpg

I bought a turbo and all required parts off an F250/350 7.3 IDI to add efficiency to the bus when hauling toys (Snowbikes) up to the mountains. It will help keep the speed up and fuel economy too. I noticed a bit of end play and oil all over the compressor side so I tore it down right down to nothing (after this pic) and ordered a rebuild kit from Gpopshop. Everything will be minty soon!
http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...psjqctu4rt.jpg

Front of the bus still needs the heater and controls torn out, the rest of the flooring out and starting Friday hopefully I will cut the bus for the sled deck.
http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/...pszxhoeikp.jpg

Off to bed..

I need more time, wayyyy more money, and wish I would have done this 18 years ago.

Can't wait for the freedom when it's done!

slidewayzm5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-22-2016, 01:52 AM   #22
Almost There
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Canada eh?
Posts: 99
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Corbeil - RAMROD
Chassis: IH 3800 66 Pass
Engine: 7.3 IH IDI NA w AT545 hyd
So can anyone tell me why the pics don't just automatically show up in the post? I hate when I have to click links to see pics.. I'm probably not the only one.
slidewayzm5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-22-2016, 07:10 AM   #23
Bus Geek
 
EastCoastCB's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Eustis FLORIDA
Posts: 23,830
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Freighliner FS65
Engine: Cat 3126
Rated Cap: 15
Quote:
Originally Posted by slidewayzm5 View Post
WARNING!!

Even when using eye protection while grinding rivets on a bus - it IS very possible to get a chunk of steel ricochet into your eye causing great pain and requiring surgery to get it out.

I've got most of the interior panels - roof and sides stripped out and the gross pink insulation out. Still have a lot of that to do and it takes FOREVER to remove.

Even with 2 cute women who work extremely hard (lucky guy right? ), it's been a long process to get this far. Thankfully they are both motivating people naturally as there were many days where I might have said eff it.
Big thanks to the tip about using a 60-80 grit flap wheel as it is MUCH faster than a cutting disc and an air chisel, and leaves a much nicer result.

As my eye heals up, I'll be taking the turbo apart to check if it needs to be rebuilt before the install, and planning the next step of demolition on the bus.

What has everyone done with all of the wiring by the cockpit while removing all of the insulation behind that area to replace with spray foam? I might have to get super big zip ties and hang it from the roof in the interim.
Yes, I always recommend safety glasses (Z87) and a full face shield when de-riveting or grinding.
Did they drill into your eye?
EastCoastCB is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-22-2016, 11:39 PM   #24
Almost There
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Canada eh?
Posts: 99
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Corbeil - RAMROD
Chassis: IH 3800 66 Pass
Engine: 7.3 IH IDI NA w AT545 hyd
Nope, they had a hottie drop numbing drops in my eye, walk me into the Laser surgery room for a 2 min surgery. Then as she held my head against the headrest so I didn't flinch, doc held my eyelids open and dug in with a needle, then fluffed it out with a tiny feather device. Healed up perfectly in 4 days.
I didn't flinch because my thoughts were elsewhere.. come to think of it I'm pretty sure I was smiling..
slidewayzm5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-23-2016, 12:53 AM   #25
Bus Crazy
 
milkmania's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Oklahoma aka "God's blind spot"
Posts: 2,447
Year: 1989
Coachwork: 1853FC International/Navistar
Chassis: 35' Retired Air Force Ambulance
Engine: DT466, MT643
Rated Cap: 6 souls and a driver
Quote:
Originally Posted by slidewayzm5 View Post
So can anyone tell me why the pics don't just automatically show up in the post? I hate when I have to click links to see pics.. I'm probably not the only one.
Copy the photo bucket link....
When you get ready to post, click this button in the header above

Paste your link in the popup box, click ok.


Note: on an iPhone, you have to delete the extra http// that's preloaded in the popup box, before you paste your photobucket link.

__________________
I once complained I had no shoes....
Until I met a man with no feet
milkmania is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-23-2016, 11:47 PM   #26
Almost There
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Canada eh?
Posts: 99
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Corbeil - RAMROD
Chassis: IH 3800 66 Pass
Engine: 7.3 IH IDI NA w AT545 hyd
You rock, thanks!
slidewayzm5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-29-2016, 01:06 AM   #27
Almost There
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Canada eh?
Posts: 99
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Corbeil - RAMROD
Chassis: IH 3800 66 Pass
Engine: 7.3 IH IDI NA w AT545 hyd
Long 3 days of working on the bus. Luckily I had a helper. She works her butt off and never complains. Totally thankful for that.

Got right to cutting the roof and the rear section out:

Help from the engine hoist:


Then the side panels as they will be replaced by tool cabinets / storage bays:

Then after flap wheel grinding / air chiseling the rust flakes off of the floor I found two main areas that had rusted through and I'm a big believer in doing it right so you only have to do it once.

Cut the pieces out, tack welded in the new ones and off to Metal Blast. I will be sealing everything from the bottom in the near future - before the underneath gets Spray Foamed.

As mentioned previously I purchased it through OnPoint Distribution. Awesome product and after following the instructions I applied a heavy coat of Rust Bullet. Great stuff, totally looking forward to the finished product.

Time wasn't on our side so I'll have to scuff it up and do a second coat later before being done with the Rust Bullet as per the instructions:



As that set up, I routed the exhaust out just behind the passenger dual tires. That way I can see any issues from the exhaust much easier. It will also help down the road for tuning the Injection Pump after the turbo is mounted to make sure it isn't smoking and wasting fuel.

The goal was to get the back of the bus in place before the end of the weekend and we did just that. I'll have to buy some 9/32" rivets in a big quantity and a rivet gun that will handle that size but for now it has some self tapping screws holding it in place:



Finished cleaning up the metal that will be reused to cover 21 of the 26 windows that were removed and called it a day.

But first we let it warm up for a long time and took it for a short but very fun little rip down the service road.

I think the name Ramrod is fitting for this bus. Why? It's big and bad ass (akin to a Hot Rod build but not sporty of course), animals better stay out of the way, and Super Troopers is awesome. Bedtime for me.. right Meow!
slidewayzm5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-29-2016, 09:02 PM   #28
Bus Nut
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Utah
Posts: 266
Year: 1990
Coachwork: BB
Chassis: TC2000
Engine: Cummins
Rated Cap: 25.999K
That's awesome! My first bus shared the same fate with the flatbed. It was done not by me, but by the next owner, the one my Ex-wife sold it to (ex for a reason!!). My current bus has the same trans as you. Its a slushbox, but works alright. Im impressed by how deep you are going with this. Does the girl with the wood stove have any more? Id buy one and keep her for labor if possible too. Good to have friends/help on these projects.. keep it up!
SDR76 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-29-2016, 09:26 PM   #29
Almost There
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Canada eh?
Posts: 99
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Corbeil - RAMROD
Chassis: IH 3800 66 Pass
Engine: 7.3 IH IDI NA w AT545 hyd
lol! Get your own helper SDR!

Not sure if she has another wood stove, but when my bus is finished, I'll end up being her helper for her bus build. In her words - my bus is a practice bus so that she knows how to do everything right the first try. I'm good with that logic.

I haven't seen an option of underbody storage that is cost effective yet. All of the Buyer's boxes seem high priced even though they are quite nice - they would run me more than I paid for the bus to outfit it with the 22 linear feet of space for me to put storage boxes on this thing. That would run $2000+. They also don't specify what kind of weight they can safely handle.

I did read of one setup on here with angle iron and plastic storage totes to keep things water proof. That might be the best way to go for me. I need to make really good friends with a Truck Wrecker I think.
slidewayzm5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-07-2016, 11:31 AM   #30
Almost There
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Canada eh?
Posts: 99
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Corbeil - RAMROD
Chassis: IH 3800 66 Pass
Engine: 7.3 IH IDI NA w AT545 hyd
Skinning panels takes a long time. Still have at least 4 more to do over the windows. Once the side / underbody storage cabinets are in place and it gets painted it will start to look a whole lot better. For now the goal is to get it ready for spray foam asap.

Mounted rear door - had to move the bottom hinge up 3/4".



Then added the skins:
slidewayzm5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-07-2016, 05:27 PM   #31
Bus Nut
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 543
Looking good, that "Beaver tail" looks cool

Sent from my SM-G530W using Tapatalk
Tootalltechie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-08-2016, 04:20 PM   #32
Almost There
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Canada eh?
Posts: 99
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Corbeil - RAMROD
Chassis: IH 3800 66 Pass
Engine: 7.3 IH IDI NA w AT545 hyd
Thanks!

Wishing the progress was a lot more often, but the 1hr drive to get to the bus each way chews up a lot of free time that could be used accomplishing things.

Beaver tail...Canada eh? ;)
slidewayzm5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-08-2016, 06:38 PM   #33
Bus Nut
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 543
We're you able to find underbody boxes at a big rig wrecker? Not sure if I'm going to put underbody boxes or another 50 gallon propane tank.

Sent from my SM-G530W using Tapatalk
Tootalltechie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-09-2016, 09:33 PM   #34
Almost There
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Canada eh?
Posts: 99
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Corbeil - RAMROD
Chassis: IH 3800 66 Pass
Engine: 7.3 IH IDI NA w AT545 hyd
Haven't looked around yet for the boxes - still focused on getting it skinned and sealed up, one coat of white exterior paint and then spray foam so that I can continue working on it inside as the temps drop.
slidewayzm5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-10-2016, 12:04 PM   #35
Almost There
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Calgary
Posts: 83
Year: 2000
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000
Engine: 5.9L Cummins
Hey Slidewayz, have you found a Calgary equivalent to Ospho for the rust treatment? I cant find anything
-cycosis- is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-10-2016, 03:29 PM   #36
Almost There
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Canada eh?
Posts: 99
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Corbeil - RAMROD
Chassis: IH 3800 66 Pass
Engine: 7.3 IH IDI NA w AT545 hyd
Metal Blast and Rust Bullet. - I think I mentioned a couple posts back - I got it through a distributor in Edmonton.
slidewayzm5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-12-2016, 01:52 PM   #37
Almost There
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Canada eh?
Posts: 99
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Corbeil - RAMROD
Chassis: IH 3800 66 Pass
Engine: 7.3 IH IDI NA w AT545 hyd
Don't have pics uploaded but I've skinned over the windows on the left side - all but 1 for where the sink will go and 1 more beside the drivers seat. On the right side, I've skinned over all of them except the first 3 where the dinette will go.

Next I have a job of sealing a ton of areas, paint and then spray foam when that is all done. Fighting almost freezing temps already, I'd like to get this closed up so I can work inside out of the elements sooner than later.
slidewayzm5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-14-2016, 01:55 AM   #38
Almost There
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Canada eh?
Posts: 99
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Corbeil - RAMROD
Chassis: IH 3800 66 Pass
Engine: 7.3 IH IDI NA w AT545 hyd
So as most of you probably are similar - keeping costs down on this venture is very important.

However, After reading about the vast amount of leaks that people have after finishing their Skoolies - I have opted to buy a 5G pail of Liquid Rubber Waterproof Sealant and 100 feet of 2/4" Seam tape from liquidrubber.ca. They were awesome to deal with so I can't wait until the product shows up.

This way I can literally seam tape over every metal to metal seam, all of the rivets, and any other areas that typically leak and then follow it up with a couple good coats of the Sealant on top.

Once that is all done - then I can get to painting the bus with an Industrial Tremclad White paint - something durable for the long term.

The key for me so far is having great friends to help and find items for the bus for free or next to free.. and only spending money on the must have preventative products like the Rust treatment Metal Blast and Rust Bullet, Liquid Rubber Waterproof Sealant, and in the near future - paint and spray foam.
slidewayzm5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-26-2016, 01:09 AM   #39
Almost There
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Canada eh?
Posts: 99
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Corbeil - RAMROD
Chassis: IH 3800 66 Pass
Engine: 7.3 IH IDI NA w AT545 hyd
Wow - almost two weeks without an update!

Lots happened.. let me catch you up a bit.

Was given a class 5 hitch capable of 12,500lbs. It was too wide and too tall so I cut it down, and welded it back together. My cousin is a weld inspector and he did the welding because I'm a bit out of practice compared to him and ultimate strength was important.



Looks a hell of a lot better - you'll see it again in a few pics. Drilling through the frame sucked as it was beefed up in one section so I went through 3 - 1/4" plates for 2 of the 8 holes. Will definitely be strong enough for the small stuff I'll use it for.


Ran a bunch of Liquid Rubber - Seam Tape on a bunch of areas I thought might be prone to leaks. Then added Liquid Rubber Waterproof Sealant on top and put it over all of the seams, rivets and any area that wasn't solid metal. I do NOT want leaks later on and from my reading this seems to be a common thing with most Skoolie owners.


Then we started putting bed liner on the back deck, and both bumpers. Had a bit left over and it cannot be reused so my great helper started doing up the front in a cool pattern over the fenders.


I really like the look of the bed liner. I might even paint the whole bus like that in the future for that badass rugged look and durability.

No SDR you can't borrow my helper :P lol

I redid the interior with Rust Bullet - that stuff is amazing.



So then after consulting with my Uncle - he felt the Liquid rubber wouldn't do well with white paint and might bleed some color through and turn it brown or whatever.. Plus black was $4 a Gal cheaper!
Busted out my Wagner electric spray gun and Ramrod quickly had me humming Whoa Black Betty bam ba dam in my head

NOTE - as you can see - I made sure my hood was open and sprayed the front grille from laying down below so that there is no overspray on the radiator - you don't want to create cooling problems.









Now it looks pretty sweet! I still like the look of the bed liner but the Tremclad Semi Gloss black worked great after quickly scuffing the original paint with a palm sander and 100 grit.

The wheels are still not pretty, but when I get at all the mechanical items I will have the rims off and paint them up nice as well.

One pic I missed taking is where M used the Bondo hair to fill all of the holes inside the bus.

Oh and we tinted the 5 windows. 35%. Pain in the butt on old windows with less than perfect surfaces. Hopefully they don't peel. But it will aid in the privacy aspect.

Next up is Spray Foam!
slidewayzm5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-26-2016, 09:13 AM   #40
Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 100
Make sure that back porch is very visible once your done.

I can see how a soccer-mom driving a mini-van with her soy-latte could miss it and think there is space "behind" the back wall and smack into it...

Just a thought!
mrblah is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:55 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.