'46 Chevy Shorty

[sdwarf36]

Waaaay cool! Congrats! That 1st pic somehow reminds me of when they would haul the space shuttle over the road.

 

[The_Stuff]

AWESOME!!!! cant wait to see more!

 

[Tango-SKO]

Just spent the last few days gutting the interior and checking things out. Below are a few pix as the rip out continues. The only serious rust I have found was right where I expected it...around the wheel wells. But the big surprise was that this Wayne body is 100% screwed together, inside and out...no rivets! So far I've only had to grind a few, most have yielded to a hand impact driver. And the old galvanized floor is in rock-solid shape. Pretty amazing condition overall. Especially when you consider that at 65...it is old enough to qualify for Medicare!

And if anyone knows what (if any) colors were used on the Wayne body tag, I would appreciate the sharing. I want to try and restore it as well.

 

[Tango-SKO]

Hey kerrmudgeon...thanx! I took a quik look and will definitely check it out.

 

[lars larsen]

Glad to hear you finally got your bus Tango! I'll be watching your progress. Hopefully I'll start doing something on mine soon. Too many projects! BTW our serial numbers are only 1841 apart.

 

[Tango-SKO]

Hey Lars --- good to hear from you and that you are getting back to you "project". What a shame that Wayne is no longer around. Cripes!...they started out right after the Civil War! Would love to find some docs about these units like drawings, specs, whatever. They obviously did a great job of building them or these units wouldn't still be around.

 

[Tango-SKO]

Lars --- one more note...the body tag from your unit also appears to have what looks like a red background underneath a few years of "other" paint. I am trying to find out what the original tags looked like and right now it seems they may have had the raised type as polished aluminum on a red field (does not look like red primer). If you clean yours up, please let me know what you find underneath the house paint.

 

[lars larsen]

I'll see what I can do for ya. There is lots of house paint on mine, probably whats kept it from rusting away over the years In the meen time see if this link will give you any help. http://www.oldbus.us/Gallery/SchoolBuses/Wayne/tabid/128/Default.aspx

 

[Tango-SKO]

Hey Lars --- thanks a bunch. Just wish they had scanned the brochures at a higher resolution. Would love to be able to read/see some of the details there. And...I just responded to the Webmaster so you should be getting my Email addy shortly. Likewise, I will be more than happy to share any info I come across. I do know that my unit is based on the Chevy 1.5 ton truck chassis and I have most of the sales, parts and maintenance literature available on them. Wayne (and other coach builders) ordered any of several chassis configurations to add their bodies to. Mine appears to have been ordered as a "160 inch Wheelbase Model 4402 Flat Faced Cowl" chassis while others were built up onto different models and wheelbases. There are also some very good information resources on other model-specific forums such as the "Stovebolt Forum" which is strictly for Chevys. So far I have found that there is quite a bit of very specific info available under the Chevy label, but very little about Wayne.

 

[Tango-SKO]

Made the run out to Diesel Specialists today for the first look at my FleaBay engine assembled and running. It was the old "We got good news...& we got bad news" story.

Bad news first.

The turbo is toast. Ain't no "cheap fix". Then there is the exhaust manifold...rusted to junk and has to go (not much of a surprise since it looked that way) . Next...the idler pulley needs replacing, then there is the fuel pump solenoid that still needs testing and a few other items to go on the shopping list.

So, the good news?

The basic engine (the really expensive stuff) appears very tight and solid. Zero blow-by, no smoke and tight compression. All in all, not too bad a day.

Onward!

 

[opus-SKO]

You're gunna replace that stuff someday anyways. You might as well replace them now and get it over with, then you wont get any surprises down the road.

 

[Tango-SKO]

Hey OPUS --- Roger that. I want to get the engine & tranny as bullet proof as possible before the install. Example: New main seals are a piece of cake (and cheap) sitting on a work stand...but a real PITA (and $$$) after it's in. I'm in no rush to get it rolling as I have the entire bus to rebuild before launching anyway.

 

[Tango-SKO]

Been working in 110+ heat and it's wearing me down! Pulled the lower interior sheet metal and will replace it with new plus insulation...welding up a couple of hundred holes in the floor (which is very solid)...and framing in a new entry door. That turned out to be trickier than hoped. The body, it turns out, has a couple of small angles inward starting about the bottom of the windows. Hadn't noticed until I tried fitting a straight piece of 1-1/2" square tube into place. Just enough that the door is going to be a royal pain to skin properly. You can see the kerfs that were necessary in a couple of the shots below.

 

[The_Stuff]

now that is a difficult door to replace!

 

[Tango-SKO]

Hey Stuff --- Roger that. Much more than I figured going in (ain't that always the case, though?) The old wooden "hippy-bilt" one was about to fall apart and finding a replacement bi-fold would takes years if ever, so here we go.

 

[The_Stuff]

And if you do find one woopee! Lol

 

[Tango-SKO]

Hey Stuff --- I'd likely have to wait until the shock wore off to woopee. I have yet to see another body like this one. I'm beginning to think the guys at Wayne just made up each bus as they went. Seen a couple that were close, but no cigar...small but significant differences here & there. Also might explain the apparent total lack of any kind of documentation on these bus bodies.

"Plans?...we don't need no stinkin' plans!"

 

[lars larsen]

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.

Tango, could you please PM me your haulers contact info? I just sold a 1940 1 1/2 ton and needs to go to Tennessee from Nebraska. My buyer is looking for a mover. Thanks

 

[Tango-SKO]

Hey Lars --- been away for a couple of weeks and just walked in the door. I will find his card in the morning and be happy to post it.

 

[Tango-SKO]

Mornin' Lars...if you still need it, here is the contact info on the hauler I worked with.

Company name: Okie-Go-Hauling
Contact: Okie Newton
Phone: Cell: 409.771.3098
Email: okienewton@att.net

He did what he said he would, on time, at the agreed (very reasonable) price. What else could you want?