Rusty 87 build thread

[rubydoooooo]

Thanks man, lots of good info here

[Frochevy]

Keep up the good work!

A note on holes... (My opinion/thoughts which could be totally wrong)

Could it be when the paint/coating was applied from the factory, from one side or both sides of the hole part of that coating doesn't meet each other within that hole? Meaning if I paint a panel with a hole in it, if I don't make it a point to Spray around that hole and seal it up, it will leave a portion unprotected which would give an area for the corrosion to start. It just needs a starting point then spreads from there... So I'm suggesting the problem didn't start because there is a hole there, but perhaps the entire hole wasn't sealed up and that's why you see them starting from the hole and rusting out???

If this is true, you would simply be sure you get your coating on both sides of the hole and in the hole would fix the problem and not actually sealing or plugging up the entire hole..? Now I'm just rambling... Let me know what you think!?

[musigenesis]

This is an exercise in OCD in terms of making sure I get paint on every little nook and cranny of this stuff. It's weird what an intimate knowledge I have of the underside of my bus now, even if I still don't know what most of it is for. Like these two things on the bent plate attached to the crossmember - I'm guessing they're part of the brakes.



This was extremely satisfying to paint - there's something about the way pitted steel soaks up thick rustoleum primer, like spreading honey on an english muffin. I'm really looking forward to the yellow, though.







These brackets for the suspension (?) are thick enough to not need painting, but I couldn't resist at least doing part of them.







Painted the tank hole covers the standard hideous yellow. Discovered that the sheet metal (16 ga) is warped a bit in a few places. Weird but not a big deal.



Welded together my last two bits of 3" angle steel. I have one more need for this at the rear door where it will form the sill, but my one long piece was a few inches too short so I extended it. The weld seems pretty solid (I did it on both sides) although it won't be subjected to any stresses, just sitting on the floor in back.





It's interesting that the guy I originally hired to build this floor for me somehow ordered the perfect amount of material for me - exactly the right amount of 14ga sheet for everything, and exactly the right number and lengths of 3" angle steel beams - despite his not having planned anything like what I've ended up building here.

[Native]

I think that spending a lot of time with a piece of machinery is a fantastic way to really understand how it all goes together/looks/feels. As you said, an intimate knowledge of the underside.


It is cool that you have all you need for the repairs. Enjoy it while it lasts ... I doubt it will happen this way very often.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Frochevy

Keep up the good work!

A note on holes... (My opinion/thoughts which could be totally wrong)

Could it be when the paint/coating was applied from the factory, from one side or both sides of the hole part of that coating doesn't meet each other within that hole? Meaning if I paint a panel with a hole in it, if I don't make it a point to Spray around that hole and seal it up, it will leave a portion unprotected which would give an area for the corrosion to start. It just needs a starting point then spreads from there... So I'm suggesting the problem didn't start because there is a hole there, but perhaps the entire hole wasn't sealed up and that's why you see them starting from the hole and rusting out???

If this is true, you would simply be sure you get your coating on both sides of the hole and in the hole would fix the problem and not actually sealing or plugging up the entire hole..? Now I'm just rambling... Let me know what you think!?

Your theory is as good as mine!

[musigenesis]

Just realized this is my last chance to turn my bus into a glass-bottomed boat.

[TJones]

Holy rust remediation Batman! Nice work!

Ted

[kidharris]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

Attachment 41821

Just realized this is my last chance to turn my bus into a glass-bottomed boat.

You still have plenty of time to turn it into a glass topped cruiser.

[musigenesis]

Still working on painting the underside of my bus. No pics because it's too horrifying. I'd been trying to clean everything with a bucket of water and a sponge, but that's pretty much hopeless. Felt a lot like quitting this weekend since I couldn't find a self-serve truck wash anywhere, so I decided to take another crack yesterday at the local car wash that has 10'4" listed as the clearance. I crept up with the escape hatch and saw that I actually had about 6" of clearance - I think they list 10'4" to keep people from trying to squeeze in too much.

Damn, is it ever fun to pressure-wash the underside of a nasty bus. I got a ton of water inside the bus, too, so I know the floor is actually watertight now (not counting the giant holes). Overly optimistic as always, but I'm hoping that this week I'll be able to finish priming and painting everything, and maybe this weekend I'll be able to start permanently reinstalling the four floor pieces.

[Native]

Installing the floor pieces will be a GREAT milestone ... kudos!

[musigenesis]

The driver's side rear wheel is attached with this large sort of shim thing. There was also an addition shim layer in between it and the chassis rail, and this layer has expanded from rust causing the outer shim to be kind of curvy. I'm going to seal up the seams of this piece to keep it from rusting and expanding further.

This seems to be part of some unusual repairs that were done on my bus. My bus also has an additional rib that the roof was riveted to (normally the roof panels are only riveted to every other rib) and there was also a weird sort of bracket welded underneath one of the floor cross-members (this was on the part of the floor that was cut out so it's gone now). These things all seem to be there to prevent the floor from sagging, but that makes no sense since the chassis rails are perfectly straight.

I dunno, I need to reconnect with the mechanic guy who originally worked on this bus and ask him what this stuff was all about.





Do I have any concerns with this piece that the air bags are sitting on top of? It seems to be twisting slightly due to the rust expansion of one of the inner layers of metal.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Native

Installing the floor pieces will be a GREAT milestone ... kudos!

You are a perpetual source of encouragement to skoolie builders, and I appreciate it.

[Native]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

Do I have any concerns with this piece that the air bags are sitting on top of? It seems to be twisting slightly due to the rust expansion of one of the inner layers of metal.

Since you are doing such a thorough job of making your chassis and underside clean and PRETTY ... you might do well to go the extra little step ... remove the air springs and clean it up too. Once you let out all of the air, it is a straight-forward replacement. There are stops that the axles rest on when there is no air in the bags. I know this 'cause mine will deflate after a day or so and it is constantly sitting "on its haunches". Just remember to chock the wheels.


I really hate to suggest adding to your workload.

[Native]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

You are a perpetual source of encouragement to skoolie builders, and I appreciate it.

Thank you. It is my pleasure.


I exchange daily e-mail with my father. He tells me about his projects and tell him about mine. It keeps us going, especially when the going gets tough or boring. Just a little reference back or even forward helps a lot on motivation. I think this is why I do it here in this forum.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Native

I really hate to suggest adding to your workload.

I hate it too!

There's no reason I couldn't do this later on down the road, right? My immediate goal is to get everything primed and painted that I can only reach from above through the holes (plus the undersides and outsides of the chassis rails) so I can put my floor panels back in with seam sealer. Then I need to start working on the interior so I can avoid going insane.

Are those air springs a threat to my health, or just nasty-looking?

[musigenesis]

I noticed on the tank tag that the manufactured date was 8/10, so this tank is not the original, which explains a lot, like why it wasn't rusted out as badly as the floor. When I demoed the floor, the original small access hole was cut kind of crudely (and halfway through one of the floor stiffeners, which is not what you'd want) and was also patched with an obviously not-factory cover. I'm guessing that buses from the factory have no hole here at all, leaving the mechanics to cut one themselves if they ever need to change the tank. My guys apparently didn't know how to use a tape measure.





I still have to prime the sides of the tank with self-etching primer.

[Native]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

I hate it too!

There's no reason I couldn't do this later on down the road, right? My immediate goal is to get everything primed and painted that I can only reach from above through the holes (plus the undersides and outsides of the chassis rails) so I can put my floor panels back in with seam sealer. Then I need to start working on the interior so I can avoid going insane.

Are those air springs a threat to my health, or just nasty-looking?

No reason at all ... you can delay it as long as you want.


From what I can see, the air bags are okay. They have a little cracking going on, so they may need to be replaced soon. Do they push right back at you when you poke them? Oh, if they fail, you be riding on the stops. It is a ROUGH ride. The tires become your shock absorbers.

[Native]

It is a good thing I do not read this thread out on The Beast, she would get jealous of all the attention you are giving yours!


I do like how the priming is coming along. If I were not in the middle of using The Beast as a moving van, I'd so tempted to go after our bottom-side right now. You have made remediation into an artwork.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Native

You have made remediation into an artwork.

Well damn! Just wait 'til it's all yellow.

[Native]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

Well damn! Just wait 'til it's all yellow.

You will have to mount mirrors so folks can see the underside while you drive it around!