'46 Chevy Shorty

[Tango-SKO]

Still (anxiously) awaiting the arrival of my Shorty, but in the meantime, continue with planning. And besides all the books and literature I have been able to find on the 1-1/2 ton Chevy truck chassis, I have only ordered two parts so far. A repop of the front Chevy emblem (the original was heavily painted over)...and, I found a really clean YOM (Year Of Manufacture) license plate. Turns out that Texas only issued single plates from '42 to '46 (war years), so I only need one to be legal. Still on the hunt for a good 4BT Cummins engine and a 5 or 6 speed tranny. Good thing I'm in no rush, there is a lot to get done (and buy) before this dumplin' is ready for the road.

Given the very small interior I have to work with, I am now designing an enlarged roof-rack system and an extended rear bumper deck. Wondering if anyone has tried or built a slide-out style rear deck that can be extended when parked (?). Hey...if they can do it with whole bedrooms...why not a portable patio for enjoying Margaritas ?

 

[Tango-SKO]

Hey Rudy --- roger that. He has his work cut out for him.

 

[TfallsTrio]

SWEET shorty !
thats an "everydayer" right there. LOVED the trip thru the old bus <grave/barn> yard. acually looked like theres and old 70's chevy c-model in the background. fairly new to skoolies myself , but it sure looks close.

CHEERS :!:

 

[Tango-SKO]

Hey Tfalls...glad you enjoyed the tour. That fella has quite a little graveyard going there in Utah with a few really interesting buses. Only a couple are drivers, most were parked to be kookie cabin rentals. Not sure what year the Chevy though.

 

[TfallsTrio]

d'wife and i think they are PERFECT to be turned into cabins and rented out as a dern tourist atractions
ya know, each interior matching the year of the bus,,,, but findin a tv for that '46'll be tough
man that'd be fun to retro furnish

 

[The_Stuff]

i seriously need to learn how to use that sketch up thing.,.

 

[Tango-SKO]

Hey Stuff --- It took me about 3 days of messing around in their tutorials to get the hang of it, but it's worth it. Great little true 3-D program and perfect for converters. Not to mention...it's FREE!

 

[Tango-SKO]

BTW --- Anyone who has not yet played with the free Google SketchUp software...the pix you see above and from other folks are just "snapshots". What makes this little program so powerful & useful (not to mention very, very cool), is the ability to fully rotate and manipulate whatever you sketch 360 degrees. In other words, you can draw something like a simple top-down floorplan...then turn it to view it from any angle in real time. Like I said before, it's like it was developed just for bus converters. Granted, a little knowledge of blueprints, drawing or drafting comes in handy, but if you spend some time in the video tutorials, just about anyone can be working in it in no time. Go for it!

 

[The_Stuff]

Hey Stuff --- It took me about 3 days of messing around in their tutorials to get the hang of it, but it's worth it. Great little true 3-D program and perfect for converters. Not to mention...it's FREE!

heh, last time i tried it it was just a free trial then you had to shell out like 500 bucks or something so i deleted it.

 

[Tango-SKO]

Hey Stuff --- the basic version is still free. Only the "Pro" version has any fees associated with it and it is way beyond what we need (or I can understand) for our purposes anyway.

 

[opus-SKO]

Thought of you when I saw this: http://montana.craigslist.org/pts/2449778066.html

 

[Tango-SKO]

Dang! Sure wish that unit was closer to Texas! Thanks Opus, much appreciated. I am still on the hunt. May be taking a look at a 6-speed Allison I just came across locally in the next day or so. It can be bolted up OK, but have to find out about a controller ($$$-ka-ching).

 

[opus-SKO]

Dude, come get it and drive it home. Great time to visit MT!!

 

[Tango-SKO]

A visit to the Great State of Montana (aka "Big Sky Country" )is most definitely part of the long term plan. Just can't bail from here for a while.

 

[Tango-SKO]

My bus should be here in a week or so and I just sent a check off for a Cummins 4BTAA and Allison 545 combo. Looks like I may have to get to work soon instead of just reading about everyone else's progress. Between finding time to work on it and scratching for the necessary cash, I figure it could easily take a couple of years (unless the Lottery comes through soon). Either way, I am SO ready to finally get started!

 

[Tango-SKO]

Engine/Tranny Update --- They're heeere! Will make a run to Diesel Specialists tomorrow to finally see what I bought and set up the dyno run and checkout. Just hope it runs as good as it looked & sounded on YouTube!

 

[The_Stuff]

since you got it, how did it sound on youtube? link would cool

 

[Tango-SKO]

Hey Stuff --- the YouTube vid (combined with the sellers rep & history on FleaBay) is what sold me. It sounded very good. It may still be up here...

Saw it in person today and there is a fair amount of pretty nasty looking surface rust on the intake, but the diesel tech said he thought it was fine. They will check it out in a week or so and schedule a dyno run after that. Now all I need is my bus!...and of course, winning the lottery. Onward!

 

[Tango-SKO]

It looks like I FINALLY have a carrier for my bus! Good thing, cause given that I bought it back in April and have been going in circles with transporters (brokers, actually) ever since, my patience is worn pretty thin. What a scam ridden racket! At least now I am dealing with an owner/operator who is not only motivated, but actually on his way after just two days of talk. He left Houston this morning and should be headed back next week. Looks like I will have to get to work here pretty soon. Can't wait!

 

[Tango-SKO]

Yea!!! It's here! --- After getting jerked around by transport brokers for two months I finally found a fully insured "Indie" who got the job done in short order for way less than the "Pros". Great guy by the name of Okie Newton. He works out of Texas City near Houston but covers the country. Anyone looking for a hauler couldn't do much better. Be more than happy to pass along his contact info.

Below are a couple of quick pix of baby's arrival. I immediately starting gutting the old interior, but with the heat index here around 112 in the shade, I only made it so far. The warehouse is like a microwave oven. Gotta' get more & bigger fans!

Let the fun begin...