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Old 06-27-2017, 09:49 PM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: New Mexico
Posts: 38
Year: 2000
Coachwork: Mid Bus
Chassis: Chevy g30
Engine: 6.5l turbo diesel
Rated Cap: 16+1
4x4 shortie named Z.E.U.S.V III build

Hey there all. Just wanted to start a build thread of our little shortie Z.E.U.S.V. (Zombie Eradication Utility Support Vehicle #3) my father in law has built some pretty nasty suburbans he named zeusv (the v is silent ha ha), so we call this number 3. I have introduced myself in the new members forum a while ago, so all the info on the bus is there. After a year of using the bus as a moto hauler (just removed the seats and drove it like that), we have finally decided to start tearing it apart and doing our camper conversion. Here is where we are at right now.




The day i bought it.


Been using it as a moto hauler. My daughter (on the yamaha) and one of her riding buddies.


Found a pretty nasty oil leak from the turbo oil feed and bad valve covers. Got new covers and replaced every gasket and o ring we could. No more leaks and running great!


Luckily the turbo checked out ok, so i did get a little bit of good news there!

The bus is up and running great again!

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Old 06-27-2017, 09:57 PM   #2
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: New Mexico
Posts: 38
Year: 2000
Coachwork: Mid Bus
Chassis: Chevy g30
Engine: 6.5l turbo diesel
Rated Cap: 16+1



Got a new suprise in the mail today. 4" diamond eye straight pipe exhaust. Couldnt find anything for the van 6.5t due to the center mount turbo, so ordered one for a 4x4 pickup. Luckily the factory downpipe was 3" which is what the downpipe that comes with it is. Other than having to weld on my own hangers, it fit like a glove!



Here is a short video of it. Still need to order a tip for it to bring it out flush with the body. Just wanted to get it on first so i know how long of a tip i need. Going to go with a 4" to 6" tip.
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Old 06-27-2017, 10:02 PM   #3
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Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: New Mexico
Posts: 38
Year: 2000
Coachwork: Mid Bus
Chassis: Chevy g30
Engine: 6.5l turbo diesel
Rated Cap: 16+1

Got the hitch put on today. Hopefully tomorrow i can get all the wiring done for it. Now i can pull the trailer with the toys on it.

There is a few things i want to do on the body before i do the paint. Then it will be on to the inside. Stay tuned for more progress pics and updates!
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Old 06-27-2017, 10:07 PM   #4
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Chassis: e450 super duty
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Sweet ride, got to love the 4" Dimondeye lucky you had it mailed directly to your house, i had to drive 6 hours to pick up mine. I been debating on a tip since i got the exahust, i dont know if it makes any differance.?
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Old 06-28-2017, 06:29 AM   #5
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Awesome rig. I use my shuttle for towing my atv's also. Wish my bus was 4x4.
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Old 06-28-2017, 06:52 AM   #6
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Join Date: May 2009
Location: Columbus Ohio
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Year: 1991
Coachwork: Carpenter
Chassis: International 3800
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I love the sound of the 6.5's with straight pipes on them!! this is gonna be a fun bus!
-Christopher
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Old 06-28-2017, 07:20 AM   #7
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I like it.
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Old 07-03-2017, 07:07 PM   #8
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: New Mexico
Posts: 38
Year: 2000
Coachwork: Mid Bus
Chassis: Chevy g30
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Today i got the rock guard/step fabbed up and mounted to match the drivers side. Every time those tires threw a rock, i had to stop and look because it sounded like it shattered the glass!
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Old 07-03-2017, 07:11 PM   #9
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Location: New Mexico
Posts: 38
Year: 2000
Coachwork: Mid Bus
Chassis: Chevy g30
Engine: 6.5l turbo diesel
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dopamine16 View Post
Sweet ride, got to love the 4" Dimondeye lucky you had it mailed directly to your house, i had to drive 6 hours to pick up mine. I been debating on a tip since i got the exahust, i dont know if it makes any differance.?
The only reason i ordered a tip for it, is to bring it out flush with the body. The system i got was for a single wheel truck, so it stops in the middle of the duallys.

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Old 07-05-2017, 09:26 PM   #10
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Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: New Mexico
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Chassis: Chevy g30
Engine: 6.5l turbo diesel
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So today was an exciting day for us. I didnt really get a lot done, but what i did get done was a huge relief. The bus now has cruise control! I know it might not seem like a big deal to those who already have it, but i was NOT looking forward to taking this thing cross country without it. Luckily all i had to do was replace the multi function turn signal stalk with one that had the controls for cruise. Plug and play.

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Old 07-05-2017, 09:33 PM   #11
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Join Date: May 2009
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Rated Cap: 7 Row Handicap
the wonders of multi-plexed circuits!! that use different resistance vaules for various functions.. makes it easy to "add" options.. I did this on my late model jeep wranglers all the time..

cool stuff!!!
-Christopher
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Old 07-05-2017, 09:50 PM   #12
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Location: New Mexico
Posts: 38
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Chassis: Chevy g30
Engine: 6.5l turbo diesel
Rated Cap: 16+1
Ya it amazed me that it worked out this way. Did some research and found out that all chevy 3/4 and 1 tone vehicles (of these years) came "pre-programed" with cruise in the computer. All i had to do was have a way to tell it what to do.
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Old 07-05-2017, 10:51 PM   #13
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A most excellent fix! --- Just wish I could work out cruise on mine as easily.
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Old 11-04-2017, 08:57 PM   #14
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Location: New Mexico
Posts: 38
Year: 2000
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Chassis: Chevy g30
Engine: 6.5l turbo diesel
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So its been a while since i have posted any updates due to the facility i have worked at for the last 9 years shutting down putting over 200 of us out of work. Naturally the bus has been put on the back burner untill i got settled in another new job. Progress is starting to continue, although it will not be as fast as expected. Today i started to work on pulling all the "school bus" wiring out. WHAT HAVE I GOTTEN MYSELF INTO! luckily i have the original manual with all the wiring diagrams (although i still have issues reading them lol) and each wire actually says what it is for every foot or so. For example, the backup lights wire actually says "bkup lghts" so it wont be as bad as i thought. That is as soon as i can get to all the wires. I thought i could just pull the rail off above the windows that the wires run through and boom. Not the case at all. I had to pull the wall off behind the driver seat, which led me to the wires leading toward the switch box on the door arm. So needless to say, the seat had to come out so i could pull up the floor to get them out. Here are a couple pictures of todays progress, if they work since i cant use photobucket anymore. Enjoy!
Attached Thumbnails
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20171104_181030.jpg   20171104_181056.jpg   20171104_175156.jpg  
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Old 11-05-2017, 10:53 AM   #15
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Tell me about the 4x4 conversion. did you do it yourself? kit from who? total costs? I like how your build is going!
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Old 11-05-2017, 07:22 PM   #16
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Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: New Mexico
Posts: 38
Year: 2000
Coachwork: Mid Bus
Chassis: Chevy g30
Engine: 6.5l turbo diesel
Rated Cap: 16+1
The bus had the 4x4 conversion done before i got it. It came from some friends who owned the bus company, and they used this as thier winter bus to get the kids who live down the nasty dirt roads. I believe it is an np204 transfer case and a dana 60 front axle.
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Old 11-06-2017, 04:53 PM   #17
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Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: New Mexico
Posts: 38
Year: 2000
Coachwork: Mid Bus
Chassis: Chevy g30
Engine: 6.5l turbo diesel
Rated Cap: 16+1
Last night i got a little bit of work done on the bus. Finished getting the driver side walls off (im really starting to hate rivits and not looking forward to pulling the ceiling), rubber flooring up and rear heater out and coolant lines looped for now. Speaking of, why does everyone pull the heater out permanently? Were going to keep ours operational, just relocate it somewhere else so we can actually heat the back of the bus while driving in the winter. We are going to keep the wood on the floor for now untill we get the rest of it gutted and wiring taken care of. This bus has a corrugated floor under the wood, not the smooth metal i see on most busses, so it stays untill we are ready to start building the interior. I hope everyone had a good weekend and keep checking back on progress updates!

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Old 11-06-2017, 04:59 PM   #18
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Location: Owasso, OK
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Year: 1999
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Rated Cap: 46 Coach Seats, 40 foot
Most people pull them because they don't fit well with conversion floorplans. They are often old and don't work all that well anyway.

Once you have your heating plan for the bus, you can often use it while driving (not so much a woodstove though).

Some keep them in place, others relocate them, but use them. Generally it's more important to keep the front warm while driving, and the front heater does that.
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Old 11-06-2017, 05:08 PM   #19
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: New Mexico
Posts: 38
Year: 2000
Coachwork: Mid Bus
Chassis: Chevy g30
Engine: 6.5l turbo diesel
Rated Cap: 16+1
Thanks for the reply. My dash heater works fine for me while driving, im just worried about the wifey and chillins hangin out in the back. Our heater works good enough for me to turn it off halfway to work in 25-30 degree mornings because its roasting me out ha ha. Couldnt find a good reason to delete it completely, and have to find another way to heat the back while road tripping when ours worked so good, so we just worked it into our floor plan. Still debating on if we want to find a way to heat it while camping, were mostly summer campers especially with a new baby on the way. If this was a full time bus that wouldnt even be a question.

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Old 11-06-2017, 05:12 PM   #20
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Engine: Cummins 6CTA8.3 Mechanical MD3060
Rated Cap: 46 Coach Seats, 40 foot
If you get a bus with a Webasto Coolant Heater, I think you can use the interior heaters even while parked. Not sure how efficient that would be though.

Some re-plumbing might make it more efficient to not be heating the engine at the same time.
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