1993 Minotour

[shortbusenergy]

Recently acquired a 93 GMC/Thomas Minotour and drove it over 200km home. Bought it for the price of a shed, so I was willing to take a gamble.

She's actually pretty solid and handled the trip just fine, so I'm thinking of trying to put it back on the road..

Anyone ever see one of these and had any idea where to start looking for parts? It's registered as a 1ton G30 Vandura but has what appears to be 4500 axles under it.

Between the heavy axles, a 350 V8 and the one piece fiberglass hood I'm really digging this old girl!

[UFO pilot]

Originally Posted by shortbusenergy

Recently acquired a 93 GMC/Thomas Minotour and drove it over 200km home. Bought it for the price of a shed, so I was willing to take a gamble.

She's actually pretty solid and handled the trip just fine, so I'm thinking of trying to put it back on the road..

Anyone ever see one of these and had any idea where to start looking for parts? It's registered as a 1ton G30 Vandura but has what appears to be 4500 axles under it.

Between the heavy axles, a 350 V8 and the one piece fiberglass hood I'm really digging this old girl!

,
Welcome and congrats! Parts for the driveline should be easy to come by as that setup was in every Chevy/GMC van and cutaway built those model years and many are still running today. AC Delco parts are available from Chevy/GMC parts counters, some FLAPS, as well as Amazon and eBay. If your bus is rated 1 ton but has 1.5 ton running gear (especially big a$$ brakes), thats all bonus!
If you need stuff like turn and tail light lenses and the like you can turn to OTR truck suppliers like Grote or United Pacific that made those parts and most of those companies are still around, or suitable substiutes are available.

Again welcome and keep us posted!

[AlphaHare]

That's a good-looking bus - and 6 windows gives you a lot of length inside to work with.

Parts for a 93 shouldn't be hard to find, but probably shouldn't expect to get the aftermarket support for fancy suspension and goodies. The core chassis and engine parts however should be readily available with some digging.

Welcome and good luck!

[shortbusenergy]

Thank you all for the warm welcome!

I got a little more time to go through the bus and found that the transbrake cable was replaced recently (it even works!), so I'm feeling more confident about finding spares now. I've read some horror stories on this forum of people having to give up on their build due to a single brake component...

AlphaHare, I've been following your build and look forward to seeing your progress! You are definitely going deeper than I ever imagined going, but clearly it's cold where you are. Have you wintered in a bus yet?

I spent a winter in Alberta living in an '81 Ramvan. Coldest temps I worked in that winter was -38c, no idea how cold it got at night, probably low 40's. I insulated the rig entirely with reflectix along with whatever insulation was in from the factory. My best advice from that experience is invest in good slippers and lots of changes of socks!

[AlphaHare]

Originally Posted by shortbusenergy

AlphaHare, I've been following your build and look forward to seeing your progress! You are definitely going deeper than I ever imagined going, but clearly it's cold where you are. Have you wintered in a bus yet?

I'm north of Boston about 40 miles - it gets cold, but rarely below zero. I don't like to work when it's below 20F, but that might change once I'm buttoned back up.

I haven't wintered (or lived) in a bus before - I'm looking forward to trying some cold weather but I haven't planned on making my external grey and black tanks warm enough yet to use them below freezing for extended periods.

IMO you need non-permeable (not moisture absorbing) insulation in a bus. XPS (pink sheets) or spray foam. I'm going for 2" everywhere I can.

[shortbusenergy]

How much space is there between the roof and the ceiling panel? I wasn't planning on raising the roof, so I'm curious how thick of a panel would fit.

Also, will you be using a vapour barrier between the insulation and the ceiling panels?

[Albatross]

Originally Posted by shortbusenergy

How much space is there between the roof and the ceiling panel? I wasn't planning on raising the roof, so I'm curious how thick of a panel would fit.

Also, will you be using a vapour barrier between the insulation and the ceiling panels?

How much height exists is a consequence of the bus-body manufacturers; some are taller than others, and there are a few 40' buses that have something over 7' of height on them, while others are barely 6'6". I've got a "Microbird", which is using a medium-duty chassis with a breadbox-front instead of the van-cutaway bodies, and I've got a few inches of insulation top and bottom, and it's still tall enough inside that I only bang my head on something when I'm trying to bend over the table to change out the 200A ANL fuses on the wall just above where the battery-vent is ran out the side.


IIRC, my bus has vapor-barrier on both, even though I didn't delete any windows, they don't seal perfectly, and I regularly camp out in humid climates with doors and windows opened. Maybe it's the German in me, but I really like a fresh breeze blowing through. The main reason I see for the vapor barrier is to do the best job possible keeping water out of the insulation and the interior, where it would do the most damage that's the biggest PITA to correct.