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Old 04-05-2008, 03:13 AM   #1
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Location: Vancouver, WA
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Year: 1983
Coachwork: Carpenter
Chassis: GMC
Engine: Chevy 350 V8
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1983 Carpenter Cadet CV Road Trip Project.

In the process of looking for my first bus i stumbled onto this place. Now that I own one I thought it would be appropriate to join! From what I can gather its a 1983 Carpenter Cadet CV. It is on a GMC chassis, it has a 350 V8, and a 4 speed manual transmission. I bought it to turn into a road trip vehicle for me and a bunch of friends. I guess my reasons for posting this is, I cant find an owners manual for this thing or a history of the model and I would like some suggestions on how to mount the RV furniture.(floor plan soon to come).

Thanks

-TK


Things I want to do to it are:
Pull all the old bus seats out.
Carpet the floor to cut some of the noise.
Install 2 RV couches and 2 captains chairs
Tint the windows.
New speakers in the rear and front.
Replace the interior light lenses or get a different style of lighting in place.








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Old 04-05-2008, 10:55 AM   #2
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Re: 1983 Carpenter Cadet CV Road Trip Project.

Welcome to the Skoolie site!
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Old 04-05-2008, 12:34 PM   #3
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Re: 1983 Carpenter Cadet CV Road Trip Project.

Thanks! The shiny wheels are actually hub caps that go over the stock black ones. Apparently someone tried head butting the window in the emergency door and ended up putting a nice spider pattern in it. It still seems fairly solid but need to get it replaced. Not exactly sure where I'm going to find a replacement window though.
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Old 04-05-2008, 02:41 PM   #4
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Re: 1983 Carpenter Cadet CV Road Trip Project.

that is the coolest short bus i have ever seen small block chevy eh? you will have a lot of fun with that machine if the glass is flat no problem the glass shop will cut one to fit looks like a standart chevy chassis enjoy!
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Old 04-05-2008, 09:33 PM   #5
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Re: 1983 Carpenter Cadet CV Road Trip Project.

Yeah small block chevy and really low geared, hence the reason for the racing shifter. As for the glass I'm getting it looked at sometime next week to see what it will take to replace it.
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Old 04-05-2008, 10:12 PM   #6
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Re: 1983 Carpenter Cadet CV Road Trip Project.

It also looks pretty much rust free, thats a good thing.
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Old 04-06-2008, 12:33 PM   #7
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Re: 1983 Carpenter Cadet CV Road Trip Project.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ShortBus
Awesome bus, yours is a P30 (step van chassis) and mine's a G30 (cargo van). What color are you going to paint it? I think black would look awesome with those chrome simulators, let me know if you ever want to sell those... Do you have any diagrams of your proposed floorplan? Keep us updated, short buses are the best.
For paint i was thinking black or maybe a different kind of yellow, like something with a little metal fleck in it. I had a floor plan going but by the time i finished it i hated it. I'm re-arranging some things on it but should have a final one soon. Thanks for the model, I couldn't find anything that said that on the bus.
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Old 04-06-2008, 02:21 PM   #8
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Year: 1983
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Re: 1983 Carpenter Cadet CV Road Trip Project.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ShortBus
If you're thinking about painting it a yellowish color, make sure you check your state's laws first (I couldn't find anything relevant on there in regards to buses). In a majority of the states it is illegal to have a school bus any variation of the color yellow if it's no longer used as a school bus. Even if it is legal in Washington to have them yellow, you might have to worry about crossing the boarder into other states or Canada. I think someone from Wisconsin on here was going to wire their 8-way flashers to work with their signals and maybe even brake lights, but if I recall correctly, they said if they were to come into Minnesota, they could be penalized for breaking Minnesota's laws, even though the vehicle isn't registered in Minnesota. I'm not 100% sure on that, but I know it was mentioned at some point on here (it's too bad the search function doesn't work, or I'd look it up). Anyway, just something to consider, make sure you do your research on things like that if you haven't already. Try typing in your VIN on Carfax by the way, while it won't give you records (unless you pay the $19 or whatever), it will tell you interesting stuff like the year, model, original engine, where it was made, etc.
Yeah i will look into the paint, i really don't want to catch any flack in that area seeing how we plan on taking it through a couple states. You are right about the black though, it would look good. The other thing I'm worried about is the 8-ways. The only ones that work are the yellow ones,(assume the reds were disabled before it was sold at auction.)but the red lenses haven't been painted over or anything. Anyway I will hit up a few local sources i know and get the low down on the do's and dont's for this thing.
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Old 04-06-2008, 11:11 PM   #9
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Re: 1983 Carpenter Cadet CV Road Trip Project.

That's one cool looking short bus!
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Old 04-08-2008, 12:47 AM   #10
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Re: 1983 Carpenter Cadet CV Road Trip Project.

This is the horribly drawn layout of the seats in the bus. I have 2 couches and 2 captains chairs to mount and this kinda gives an idea of where they go.


Here are some shots of the seats to kinda show what its going to look like. Picture a low cut garage type carpet on the floor.





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Old 04-08-2008, 10:56 AM   #11
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Re: 1983 Carpenter Cadet CV Road Trip Project.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ShortBus
Holy crap, you're moving along quite swiftly! I'm assuming you're not going to take the floor out? My bus had this nasty, musty smell in it, but after I pried the vinyl/plywood floor out, the smell went away. Plus I was able to do a little rust preventing while I had it off also. Whatever floats your boat, but doing a little TLC to the floor might be a good investment in the long run.
Well the plan is to lay down carpet before I even mount anything. What you see there is just a mock up so we could figure out leg room. I'm thinking of taking the floor up to the back of the driver seat/stair well to start over with a nice foundation. I know for a fact i will be pulling out that step though. After seeing the rust on yours I'm convinced i may have a similar thing happening to me.
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Old 04-09-2008, 09:19 AM   #12
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Re: 1983 Carpenter Cadet CV Road Trip Project.

I had rust on my floor and the plywood was rotten.
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Old 04-09-2008, 04:43 PM   #13
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Re: 1983 Carpenter Cadet CV Road Trip Project.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Billsman
I had rust on my floor and the plywood was rotten.
Its kinda weird. I pulled up some of the floor around the side door and the bus door to check for rust and I found that the vinyl is put down directly on the metal floor. I check a few other spots to make sure and it looks as if there is no plywood at all under it.
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Old 06-24-2008, 12:06 AM   #14
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Re: 1983 Carpenter Cadet CV Road Trip Project.

Well its been a while since i have updated the progress on my bus. Working on free weekends we(Friends, family and myself) have made significant progress. First thing done was to get the shocks, front tires, and exhaust replaced. After this was done we focused on the interior. All seats are now mounted to the floor, the carpet has been put down, and the sound system installed.

Here are some shots of the finished interior:



Something a little extra added to the rear...


There are a ton more pictures of the build progress here:
BUS PICS

The next step is to get the two front chrome sims remounted.
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