Rusty 87 build thread

[musigenesis]

[musigenesis]

Not this girl (although she does tend to scrape when I try to stuff her in her cat carrier). I can never get good closeup pictures of her sleeping because she wakes up as soon as I even think about taking a picture of her.



I'm calling this the combination "G-Channel Scraper" and "O Long Johnson". The angled scraper is for getting at the bottom flanges of the pseudo-I-beams on the underside, and the other end is just for getting into tough spots.

[Native]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

I'm calling this the combination "G-Channel Scraper" and "O Long Johnson". The angled scraper is for getting at the bottom flanges of the pseudo-I-beams on the underside, and the other end is just for getting into tough spots.

It is amazing how much more detail can be seen after the yellow paint has been applied.


Your cat just always wants to look good for the picture.


That tool is great! I have been up close and personal with those "bottom of the floorI-channels" ... so I may be using your idea for "O Long Johnson" when I get to that fun scraping of the underside.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Native

It is amazing how much more detail can be seen after the yellow paint has been applied.

In the last two pics (inside of the chassis rails) it took me the longest time to spot the four nuts in the rusty pic that are clearly visible in the yellow.

[musigenesis]

This is the view looking back from the sunken tub. There is just enough width here for the tank, which is 24.25" wide. There are two inch-wide lips on each side, so my basic means of supporting the tank will be two long pieces of 1.5" angle steel running under this lip on each side, slightly longer than the tank, and then two cross-pieces welded or bolted on top of these to prevent the tank from sliding relative to the rails.



For the inside rail, it looks like I'll be able to just weld it onto the two vertical parts of the fuel tank cage, although I'm a bit apprehensive about it since I want this cage to focus on its primary job of holding the fuel tank up.



The red line shows where I'd weld on the 1.5" angle steel. One problem I can see is that if I ever needed to have the fuel tank dropped, the gray water tank would have to go with it. I'm thinking that my rail will be welded to the cage here, but bolted to the rest of my gray tank framing, so that way I can remove the gray tank and allow the fuel tank cage to be dropped without any problem.



For the outside rail, I don't feel comfortable trying to attach something that has to bear a lot of weight to the underside of these beams.



On the inside, I already have this bit of 3" angle steel extending backwards from my new floor section, so I can run bolts down from the top and weld them in place here, and use these on the underside to attach the framing for the outside gray tank rail. I'll add in an additional section of angle steel on the inside to anchor the back gray tank framing as well.



I actually don't really want to deal with this at all right now, since I'm trying to finish the subflooring for the whole bus. But I have to at least figure out how this framing is going to work and install the additional metal and bolts on the inside before I can put in the subflooring over top of it.

I'm also planning on adding underbody storage below the back driver's side corner, and between the wheels on both sides, so I guess I need to preinstall the bolts and plates for these, as well. I hate having to do something like this when I haven't really planned out what I'm going to do long-term yet.

[JDSquared]

You reminded me I need to attach things under my bus before I start the floor inside, which I have been thinking about (I am unsure still if I want a plywood veneer or a 1x barrel ceiling in the living area, so I started looking at my flooring).

I am thinking of running threaded bolt from the existing bolt holes in the chair rail, all the way down through the floor and then to the bottom of whatever frame I can build to hold storage areas. The back side would attach to the chassis. Not sure how much weight these areas would need to hold.

One or two 30 gallon grey water tanks on one side of the bus. I'm pretty sure I can get strapping for that. Two little propane tanks in one box, which is fairly light. I think I could lag screw into those channels anyway. Mine were mostly not rusted.

But then I get into whatever I need for sewage hoses, and outdoor furniture etc, and some type of generator. That's the heavy item. Oh and the Air conditioning unit. But I think the frame I'm thinking would work.

Posting here in case it helps you, and because you have good opinions, and will let me know what you think about it, even if I ignored most of your insulation suggestions.

Also going to do the flex pipe thing like you did for my exhaust, when I do build these boxes. Where do I order that? I tried a search and got dryer vent pipe mostly. Not sure that's rated high enough.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by JDSquared

Posting here in case it helps you, and because you have good opinions, and will let me know what you think about it, even if I ignored most of your insulation suggestions.

As long as you haven't embarked on trying to insulate the underside of your bus, that's all that matters.

Originally Posted by JDSquared

Also going to do the flex pipe thing like you did for my exhaust, when I do build these boxes. Where do I order that? I tried a search and got dryer vent pipe mostly. Not sure that's rated high enough.

I bought my piece at a local truck supply store, but this is the same stuff on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Galvanized-Fl.../dp/B073BTXVNY . This is actually a pretty good deal since I paid $50 for my 48" section plus $8 apiece for two band clamps.

Keep in mind this stuff is waaaaaay less flexible than dryer vent (which I think would either melt or explode like a pan of Jiffy Pop if you tried to use it for an exhaust).

[JDSquared]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

As long as you haven't embarked on trying to insulate the underside of your bus, that's all that matters.




Keep in mind this stuff is waaaaaay less flexible than dryer vent (which I think would either melt or explode like a pan of Jiffy Pop if you tried to use it for an exhaust).

Noooo about the underside insulation. Thanks for the link. Put it in my cart and realized I still have a $180 maxxAir fan in there I don't need.

[Phatman]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

Attachment 42844

Attachment 42845

It's looking really great!! Keep them pics flowing !!

[musigenesis]

Created an imgur album showing the progression of my floor rebuild: https://imgur.com/a/Vp4Xpv6. Thought I would upload it here also as a photo album, but it's too much of a pain to edit on this site.

[musigenesis]

Got this dishwasher on CL today for $75:



(some paint on the front I'll need to tend to)



It's basically this model: https://www.amazon.com/SPT-SD-2202W-.../dp/B00KVP90BE

22" wide, 20" deep and 17" high. I think I would be able to fit this underneath my sink, though I'm not entirely sure. My sink will be directly over a wheel well with plenty of space for the 17", but the sink is a big farmer sink with the drain in the center and the drain might cause problems.

My other crazy thought is to mount this over the tub just to the right, on a hinged platform that I would swing out of the way whenever I took a shower. Not too sure about this one, of course.

[Native]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

Created an imgur album showing the progression of my floor rebuild: https://imgur.com/a/Vp4Xpv6. Thought I would upload it here also as a photo album, but it's too much of a pain to edit on this site.

That was a nice recap. It was missing all of our comments though! [I suppose that was on purpose!]

[JDSquared]

I need to move to Philly just for the craigslist finds. I thought about buying a dishwasher just for storing dishes, instead of in a cabinet. Didn't know they made Shetland Pony sized ones.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by JDSquared

I thought about buying a dishwasher just for storing dishes, instead of in a cabinet.

Guaranteed this is what I end up using it for. In my apartment and house lives I've always been the type to let my entire collection of dishes of cookware stack up in the sink, then months later run everything through multiple cycles of the dishwasher. My dishwasher for ants is probably not going to be able to handle that kind of treatment.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Native

That was a nice recap. It was missing all of our comments though! [I suppose that was on purpose!]

Heh, if I'd left the comments in, it would be obvious that I never listen to anybody.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Phatman

It's looking really great!! Keep them pics flowing !!

Thanks, man!

[musigenesis]

Love having all my windows, doors and hatches open. Need to figure out how I'm going to keep my emergency windows propped open, as well.



The view from the back of my bus. There is a convent at the top of this hill, and apparently strange men occasionally hunt back here with crossbows and leave dear meat in a cooler for the owner of my lot. This is a Philly suburb but it reminds me more of Louisiana than living in Louisiana did.



This is my old floor. You can see what seems to be a larger-than-normal gray-ish beam running down to the lower right of the pic. It's basically a c-channel that cupped the underside of a regular stiffener, made from three pieces crudely welded together. It definitely looks like a field modification of some sort, I'm guessing related to the extra row of roof rivets run across the rib in this spot. I need to call the original mechanic on this bus again and ask him what was going on with this thing.

When the guy I originally hired to do my floor was in the middle of the demo, he called me over to look at something they had run into. I wish I had taken a picture, but they had cut away the rest of the floor around this weird stiffener c-channel thing, leaving just it suspended there. He said they were a little unsure of what it was all about and whether they should cut it. I was a little unsure too, so he said they would figure it out. Next time I went to the bus it was just gone so that was that. The bus body held itself up with no floor there at all, so I guess I don't miss whatever that beam was.

[Native]

Greyish green ... I'd call it olive drab. Looks so much like part of a military vehicle.


Deer meat deposits sound like a payment for using the land for hunting.

[musigenesis]

Craigslist for you: tried hooking up my dishwasher but realized it doesn't have the faucet adapter, little piece that screws on and allows the hoses to hook in. Seller not responding to emails any more. Cheap part (either $22 from the manufacturer or $6 from Home Depot) but annoying.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

Got this dishwasher on CL today for $75:

Attachment 42952

(some paint on the front I'll need to tend to)

Attachment 42953

It's basically this model: https://www.amazon.com/SPT-SD-2202W-.../dp/B00KVP90BE

22" wide, 20" deep and 17" high. I think I would be able to fit this underneath my sink, though I'm not entirely sure. My sink will be directly over a wheel well with plenty of space for the 17", but the sink is a big farmer sink with the drain in the center and the drain might cause problems.

My other crazy thought is to mount this over the tub just to the right, on a hinged platform that I would swing out of the way whenever I took a shower. Not too sure about this one, of course.

are cl deals still going on?
I've got a ton of stuff to sell but am afraid of dealing with the public. Especially folks going out right now.