Ford E450 V10 5.5 window shorty build

[stomatopod]

Hey all,

After hunting around for a while for an e450 (we figured we'd have less worries about how much weight the conversion would add), we finally purchased this bad boy. It's an ex-airport shuttle bus with just over 200 000km on the clock.

Had an awful weekend of dealing with ICBC about registration details, it's finally on the road and ready to be worked on. All that's been done so far is ripping out all the seats and getting it registered as a window van so that it can happily sit on the road while we work on it (not having private property to store it on is a bit of a hassle...).

I'll be updating as we go along, but until then, here's three photos of this majestic beauty.

Cheers, everyone!

[Johnny Mullet]

That's awesome! I was considering an E Series before I found my bus. Good luck on the build!

[stomatopod]

thanks for the encouragement!

So the demolition process has started. Not going to go much further until we get some gloves and respirator masks though. The side panels were easy enough to pull off without making a mess, but the roof panels just end up raining insulation down in my face...

So first thing we discovered is that these lower side panels are most likely structural (glad we decided to stop pulling rivets and do a bit of research...), so I guess we'll have to leave them there and just fur out/insulate over them. it's a shame though. When I tear apart something to clean it, I like to tear it apart 100%... but ah well. I do wonder how I'm going to mess around with the wiring that passes through it though...

The roof rivets seem to be much tougher to get off, so we've just resorted to a big ol' crow bar to pull the panels off. Pulling off the back panel revealed a fair bit of rust that's going to be fun to grind off and smooth over. I imagine the floors are going to contain a fair bit of rust as well...

[stomatopod]

I learned two things yesterday:

1) Apparently some people just walk around with a battery powered reciprocating saw or grinder

2) Catalytic converter theft is a thing

This is why not having a driveway or private property for your bus sucks... Now to go see if this is covered by my insurance, and also to find a new parking spot.

[Tango]

Stealing cats for the platinum is a major industry in most major metros. And as much as I appreciate the convenience battery powered tools has brought many professions...they have revolutionized the theft business more than any other.

[stomatopod]

Yeah, kinda annoying isn't it. Whats stupid is that these thieves are better equipped than I am. To remove two of the seat bolts, I had to pull up outside my building and use a 30 metre extension cord for my grinder!

If I see them next time, I should see if they're willing to share their tools...

[terzo]

I just bought a e 450 Eldorado Aeroteck importing from the states hoping not to have to much trouble with ICBC after all the import paperwork