Rusty 87 build thread

[TheHubbardBus]

[kidharris]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

Back to work on Rusty 87!

Is your bus jealous of the bus you been driving? Does it still know you?

[musigenesis]

I still have three oak blocks underneath my ceiling paneling that I'll be using to mount a monitor arm and a pull-up bar. So I can remember where they are, I scratched their outlines into the panels. After I mount the stuff later on, I'll fill in the scratches and paint over them.



Started cutting out the ceiling with a brush, primer coat.



Then switched to a roller.



Not a huge amount done today, BUT I'M BACK BABY!!!

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by kidharris

Is your bus jealous of the bus you been driving? Does it still know you?

Ha ha, Rusty knows I think C2s are garbage.

[musigenesis]

Finished priming the ceiling and the cabinets above the windows.



I'm electing not to paint the inside of the cabinets with doors for now - just too much extra work.







I expect applying the real paint will be very satisfying.

[TheHubbardBus]

Looking phenominal!

[Oldyeller]

Looking good. It's come a long way.

[musigenesis]

First coat on the ceiling and upper cabinets finished. I feel like I could have just re-posted the last batch of pics since it's all still just white.









An unfortunate aspect of these pine step treads that I used for building my cabinets is that they have a bit of a grainy textured surface that so far keeps coming through the paint. I probably should have sanded them before painting. Hopefully the final coat will be thick enough to cover it, or I may have to keep applying coats until it goes away.

[TheHubbardBus]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

An unfortunate aspect of these pine step treads that I used for building my cabinets is that they have a bit of a grainy textured surface that so far keeps coming through the paint. I probably should have sanded them before painting. Hopefully the final coat will be thick enough to cover it, or I may have to keep applying coats until it goes away.

Trying to paint away an underlying texture is generally an effort in futility. If getting rid of that is important to you, you might consider sanding what you've got now until it's perfectly smooth & flat (220 grit), then another coat or 2.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by TheHubbardBus

Trying to paint away an underlying texture is generally an effort in futility. If getting rid of that is important to you, you might consider sanding what you've got now until it's perfectly smooth & flat (220 grit), then another coat or 2.

Hmm, that sucks. I'm running low on paint and the variety I've been using (white Valspar satin porch paint) isn't available anywhere any more. I'm going to need to find some new paint to use - it's weird how trying to match white is so difficult.

[dbsoundman]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

Hmm, that sucks. I'm running low on paint and the variety I've been using (white Valspar satin porch paint) isn't available anywhere any more. I'm going to need to find some new paint to use - it's weird how trying to match white is so difficult.

Try Sherwin Williams, I think they can match colors.

[musigenesis]

Ceiling and upper cabinet painting finished. I'm trying to deny myself the pleasure of reinstalling the cabinet doors until I'm completely finished with the interior painting.











A little work with 220-grit sandpaper took care of most of the texture problem on this piece. Thanks, Hubbard. The only remaining problem spots are on the undersides of the cabinets, and I don't care too much about that.

I'm down to about a third of a gallon of my white porch paint remaining and I'll need that for touchups etc., so I'm going to have to switch to some other kind of paint for the lower half of the bus. Curse you, Valspar and COVID!



Had my first tire blowout on the way back to my parking spot. Nice loud bang, fortunately it doesn't affect the handling at all.



I'm not too bummed - I've been thinking that I should really be replacing all my tires since they're all eight years old, even though they have good tread remaining. This just forces me to do the right thing now. I'm planning a trip to the eastern tip of Long Island in two months, and I'm glad this happened now instead of in the middle of NYC somewhere.

[Oldyeller]

Inquiring minds want to know, one of the rears, inner or outer? 8 year old tires, recaps or virgin? What happened, I wouldn't have expected a puncture to result in a sudden, catastrophic air loss. I'd really be interested to hear the particulars as I'm going to have to buy at least rears this summer. I found a shop in Allentown that seems to have everything I might consider and if you can provide information to lean me one way or the other I'd appreciate it.

Thanks.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Oldyeller

Inquiring minds want to know, one of the rears, inner or outer? 8 year old tires, recaps or virgin? What happened, I wouldn't have expected a puncture to result in a sudden, catastrophic air loss. I'd really be interested to hear the particulars as I'm going to have to buy at least rears this summer. I found a shop in Allentown that seems to have everything I might consider and if you can provide information to lean me one way or the other I'd appreciate it.

Thanks.

It was the rear inner tire on the passenger side that blew. I had just exited the highway after about 10 minutes of 60 mph and had slowed down to about 40 mph when I heard a big bang underneath the bus. None of the cars around me reacted in any way or tried to get my attention, so I assumed I didn't have any giant chunks of rubber flopping around.

I don't know if they're recaps or virgins - is there a way to tell? I have heard that they tend to blow when it's hot and they're not properly inflated (?). I haven't really checked the pressure on any tires in a long time so perhaps this was pure negligence on my part. I like to go home via the highway so I can get the engine fully heated up since I haven't been driving the bus every day like I was last year, but I might go back to more leisurely routes.

I'm going to try to find a place to put new tires on, and maybe they'll tell me my old ones are still fine (all three shops I've been to over the last three years told me the tires are good and not to worry about them). I'll let you know anything I learn regarding prices etc.

[Oldyeller]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

It was the rear inner tire on the passenger side that blew. I had just exited the highway after about 10 minutes of 60 mph and had slowed down to about 40 mph when I heard a big bang underneath the bus. None of the cars around me reacted in any way or tried to get my attention, so I assumed I didn't have any giant chunks of rubber flopping around.

I don't know if they're recaps or virgins - is there a way to tell? I have heard that they tend to blow when it's hot and they're not properly inflated (?). I haven't really checked the pressure on any tires in a long time so perhaps this was pure negligence on my part. I like to go home via the highway so I can get the engine fully heated up since I haven't been driving the bus every day like I was last year, but I might go back to more leisurely routes.

I'm going to try to find a place to put new tires on, and maybe they'll tell me my old ones are still fine (all three shops I've been to over the last three years told me the tires are good and not to worry about them). I'll let you know anything I learn regarding prices etc.

Thanks, I'd appreciate hearing what shops you find and where they are. The place I mentioned in Allentown is Elite Tires International. I found their ad on Craigslist. They have new, used and recaps.

[Veloc]

On the paint, I would suggest getting some more modern paint that is as close a match to your color as you can get, then use your preferred third of a gallon as a final topcoat. Not a perfect solution, but it would let your final coat be the correct color. It would be better if the new paint is a hair lighter than the final coat.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Veloc

On the paint, I would suggest getting some more modern paint that is as close a match to your color as you can get, then use your preferred third of a gallon as a final topcoat. Not a perfect solution, but it would let your final coat be the correct color. It would be better if the new paint is a hair lighter than the final coat.

Well, that's my problem - my preferred third of a gallon isn't going to be enough to do even just a topcoat on the rest of the interior, let alone the touchups or the trim I still have to add (not to mention all the windows covers I'm going to make).

I think this made me realize that I don't really care if the new paint matches all that well. Valspar makes a combined primer/paint for interiors and I'm going to try out a small can of that to see how closely it matches. If it covers in one coat, that will also save me an immense amount of time.

[BamaBus]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

Table of Contents:

• The initial catastrophe
• Back corner repair
• New rear lights
• Floor rebuild
• Cab floor repair
• Bulkhead wall
• Dowel subfloor
• End cap framing
• Ceiling insulation
• Vent fan roof projection
• Wall framing and insulation
• Insulated window inserts
• Wheel well boxouts
• Wall paneling
• DIY terlet
• Window pillars
• Ceiling panels
• Countertop framing
• Exit door insulation
• Sink install
• Bed install
• Stove install
• Hinged countertop/table
• Chaise deconstruction/reconstruction
• Hinged desk
• Nunchucks
• Freezer->fridge install
• Butcher block cart rebuild
• Overhead storage bins
• Cabinet doors
• Under-bed drawers
• Skyhatch
• Rear end paint
• Fender repair

Albums:

• A wee bit of rust
• Looping the heater coolant hoses
• Flasher hole cover
• SCHOOL BUS sign cover
• Rear corner repair
• Dropped floor rebuild

You may have addressed here before but how are you editing a post from 2019 to update your table of contents? You got a time machine?

[DeMac]

I first noticed a Skoolie.Net Table of Contents, while reading the thread, "The Good Ship Anne Marie" by member SomJuan.

Janet H holds the Admin key to unlock editing capabilities.

[dbsoundman]

I’m guessing tire pressure was your problem. I inflated all my tires to about 110 in April, which was a mistake on my part as the factory spec for my bus is 105. Since then, every time I’ve checked the pressure with cold tires they’ve been at 110 or higher. Just the other day I deflated them to somewhere between 105-110. It was raining so I didn’t get too scientific about it but I will try to get them all closer to 105 soon.