New member

[Corbi]

Greetings, I'm Gerard a new owner of a 1999 GMC Savana Michael Corbier short bus. Its rusty, and needs restoration, along with the interior conversion. I'm from New England, retirement age, considering van-life. Any tips, advice, or connection appreciated.

[peteg59]

Welcome to the site.

I made a decision early on in my search for a cutaway van/bus, to look outside the rust belt.
This was because I couldn't find a vehicle within a 100 mile radius of NH that wasn't rusted to the point of needing extensive rust ($$$) remediation before I could even start a conversion to camper.
And the rust belt extends hundreds of miles further south from the NH border.

Hopefully you don't have much $$ tied up in the purchase, if you plan on full bore floor repair/replacement.
And hopefully the rust isn't terminal, or beyond economical restoration.

If you only plan on using it a year or two and don't have the stomach or wallet to do the metal work, lay some fresh plywood down on the floor and build away.

Good luck, and post pics if you go ahead with a conversion...

[Corbi]

Thanks for your reply. Rust is a barrier. The bus did service in Duchess County, NY. I do plan to go down to metal on the floor, and perform rust treatment below. Its a bit of a gamble, but the 6.5 engine is solid.

[o1marc]

From New England you're likely looking at more than rust treatment, you'll likely be replacing a good part of the floor. The floor is always the worst rust on a bus, if you say the bus is rusty, the floor is gonna be an issue.