Lucky Prime

N5tavniec

Advanced Member
Joined
May 27, 2020
Posts
66
Location
Maine
Hello everyone, I'm back!!! You can't get rid of me that easily.;)

So much has happened and a lot has yet to happen. A bit of sunshine came my way.

Last week of February was a bit of a whirlwind. During a work trip I was window shopping a couple of buses and some 2003-2006 buses came up. Found one in Phoenix, AZ that looked like a great platform. Well I got outbid on that before I could place my bid and it went for a premium. I enjoyed the rest of my weekend and decided to look at govdeals Monday after I got back. Saw a bunch of new postings our of Atlanta, GA, 4 of which were 2004-2005's. They were all ending in about 3 hours too, staggered 15 minutes apart. So I watched, first one got outbid. Ok, on to the next. 2nd one, watched, bid, outbid, decided I'll bid one more time and be outbid and move on to the next.

Well I'm now the owner of a 2004 Bluebird All American RE 40ft, Cat engine. Say Hello to Lucky Prime!
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I called an insurance broker who had it insured in about 10 min. Went and got a Temp Tag again about 5-10 minutes and I'm all legal. Bought a one-way to Atlanta and Friday morning I was on a plane to pick up my bus.
The garage was 2 miles from the airport. This is going a little TOO smooth. Talked to the mechanics at the Woodward Academy bus garage, they all had nothing but good things and praise to say about the bus. It ran well, no problems, they were going to miss it, the whole nine yards. They let me know what brand oil they used, coolant, I got the maintenance records, again the whole nine yards. Walked around the bus, checked everything I could mechanically, lights, tires, gauges. She definitely needs a wash and a fresh coat of paint but otherwise looked in good shape so signed the papers and off I went.

That first right turn leaving the garage I had a moment. I drive tour buses for a living so I'm used to large vehicles. I occasionally drive school buses for weddings, after school activities and sports. This was the first time I've driven a RE bus. I admit I turned a little wide because of habit and it all fell apart from there. I almost hit the telephone pole on the opposite side of the road and I'm pretty sure my steers rubbed the curb, but a miss on both fronts and holy s*** get it together, you are supposed to be a professional!!! Note to self: takes 7-10 business days to turn.

After I recovered everything else ran smooth as butter. Stopped at a truck stop outside of Atlanta to top off and get food. Not paying $4.59/gal if I can help it, but I did get food and snacks. Drove on into South Carolina and fueled up at a whopping $3.25/gal. Bus only took 13 gallons...okay. I watched my gauges like a hawk and kept my eyes peeled for a potential blowout or something. The temp gauge sat at around 195-200 the whole time and didn't budge. Concerning at first but I did catch a little movement later on in the trip and when the bus was warming up the following day so temp gauge works and engine runs comfortably. Oil pressure sat at 30 psi all day long...beautiful. Air 110 PSI check. Bus is governed at 65mph, okay. 1975-2000RPMs at 65mph, check. This bus drives and rides like a dream. Planned to stop in Roanoke, VA but ended up another hour down the road in Lexington, VA for the night. Was going to fuel up but didn't need to (thought and confirmed I have a 100gal tank). Next day continued up past Scranton, PA hit a blizzard in the Pocono's (I don't trust weathermen) with a planned fuel stop in Newburgh, NY and spending the night in Danbury/Bethel, CT. Didn't want to pay $4.50/gal but needed some fuel so I put 16 gallons in and off I went. It was only 3pm when I passed through Danbury so on we go!

Stopped in Sturbridge, MA to fueled up, 88 gallons, and grabbed a room for the night. Next morning was COLD!!!! Bus fired right up did my walk around and on we went all bundled up until it warmed up. I stayed bundled up as it was -7F with wind chill. Bus got warm but I was freezing up front. I didn't look at the switches too closely, probably would have helped had I actually turned on the driver heat and not just the defrost. All things wasn't too bad thought so I know next time I'll be warm. Only a quick 2.5-3 hour drive home from there. Got home and bus is in the driveway.

I thought about what to name the bus the whole way home and although it had a bus number, the garage called it 7753 (last 4 of the VIN) which is a prime number. I feel I got truly lucky finding this bus and that every concern I've had with it has shed some amazing light or had good news. I looked into the luggage bays at the bus yard but didn't REALLY look. When I got it parked in my driveway and was taking measurements I found the bays go all the way through and it's all open, not separate doors for each compartment. So Lucky Prime will be her name!


So for those TLDR's: Bus drove amazing, everything is awesome. 2004 RE Bluebird All American named Lucky Prime! Georgia bus so low-no rust.

Welcome to the build and YES I'm keeping the factory AC!!!!

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Last edited:
Sounds like a good trip. Probably drove right past my house in when going through SC.
 
Hello everyone, I'm back!!! You can't get rid of me that easily.;)

So much has happened and a lot has yet to happen. A bit of sunshine came my way.

Last week of February was a bit of a whirlwind. During a work trip I was window shopping a couple of buses and some 2003-2006 buses came up. Found one in Phoenix, AZ that looked like a great platform. Well I got outbid on that before I could place my bid and it went for a premium. I enjoyed the rest of my weekend and decided to look at govdeals Monday after I got back. Saw a bunch of new postings our of Atlanta, GA, 4 of which were 2004-2005's. They were all ending in about 3 hours too, staggered 15 minutes apart. So I watched, first one got outbid. Ok, on to the next. 2nd one, watched, bid, outbid, decided I'll bid one more time and be outbid and move on to the next.

Well I'm now the owner of a 2004 Bluebird All American RE 40ft, Cat engine. Say Hello to Lucky Prime!
View attachment 870705
View attachment 870706
I called an insurance broker who had it insured in about 10 min. Went and got a Temp Tag again about 5-10 minutes and I'm all legal. Bought a one-way to Atlanta and Friday morning I was on a plane to pick up my bus.
The garage was 2 miles from the airport. This is going a little TOO smooth. Talked to the mechanics at the Woodward Academy bus garage, they all had nothing but good things and praise to say about the bus. It ran well, no problems, they were going to miss it, the whole nine yards. They let me know what brand oil they used, coolant, I got the maintenance records, again the whole nine yards. Walked around the bus, checked everything I could mechanically, lights, tires, gauges. She definitely needs a wash and a fresh coat of paint but otherwise looked in good shape so signed the papers and off I went.

That first right turn leaving the garage I had a moment. I drive tour buses for a living so I'm used to large vehicles. I occasionally drive school buses for weddings, after school activities and sports. This was the first time I've driven a RE bus. I admit I turned a little wide because of habit and it all fell apart from there. I almost hit the telephone pole on the opposite side of the road and I'm pretty sure my steers rubbed the curb, but a miss on both fronts and holy s*** get it together, you are supposed to be a professional!!! Note to self: takes 7-10 business days to turn.

After I recovered everything else ran smooth as butter. Stopped at a truck stop outside of Atlanta to top off and get food. Not paying $4.59/gal if I can help it, but I did get food and snacks. Drove on into South Carolina and fueled up at a whopping $3.25/gal. Bus only took 13 gallons...okay. I watched my gauges like a hawk and kept my eyes peeled for a potential blowout or something. The temp gauge sat at around 195-200 the whole time and didn't budge. Concerning at first but I did catch a little movement later on in the trip and when the bus was warming up the following day so temp gauge works and engine runs comfortably. Oil pressure sat at 30 psi all day long...beautiful. Air 110 PSI check. Bus is governed at 65mph, okay. 1975-2000RPMs at 65mph, check. This bus drives and rides like a dream. Planned to stop in Roanoke, VA but ended up another hour down the road in Lexington, VA for the night. Was going to fuel up but didn't need to (thought and confirmed I have a 100gal tank). Next day continued up past Scranton, PA hit a blizzard in the Pocono's (I don't trust weathermen) with a planned fuel stop in Newburgh, NY and spending the night in Danbury/Bethel, CT. Didn't want to pay $4.50/gal but needed some fuel so I put 16 gallons in and off I went. It was only 3pm when I passed through Danbury so on we go!

Stopped in Sturbridge, MA to fueled up, 88 gallons, and grabbed a room for the night. Next morning was COLD!!!! Bus fired right up did my walk around and on we went all bundled up until it warmed up. I stayed bundled up as it was -7F with wind chill. Bus got warm but I was freezing up front. I didn't look at the switches too closely, probably would have helped had I actually turned on the driver heat and not just the defrost. All things wasn't too bad thought so I know next time I'll be warm. Only a quick 2.5-3 hour drive home from there. Got home and bus is in the driveway.

I thought about what to name the bus the whole way home and although it had a bus number, the garage called it 7753 (last 4 of the VIN) which is a prime number. I feel I got truly lucky finding this bus and that every concern I've had with it has shed some amazing light or had good news. I looked into the luggage bays at the bus yard but didn't REALLY look. When I got it parked in my driveway and was taking measurements I found the bays go all the way through and it's all open, not separate doors for each compartment. So Lucky Prime will be her name!


So for those TLDR's: Bus drove amazing, everything is awesome. 2004 RE Bluebird All American named Lucky Prime! Georgia bus so low-no rust.

Welcome to the build and YES I'm keeping the factory AC!!!!

View attachment 870707
View attachment 870708
View attachment 870709
Hello everyone, I'm back!!! You can't get rid of me that easily.;)

So much has happened and a lot has yet to happen. A bit of sunshine came my way.

Last week of February was a bit of a whirlwind. During a work trip I was window shopping a couple of buses and some 2003-2006 buses came up. Found one in Phoenix, AZ that looked like a great platform. Well I got outbid on that before I could place my bid and it went for a premium. I enjoyed the rest of my weekend and decided to look at govdeals Monday after I got back. Saw a bunch of new postings our of Atlanta, GA, 4 of which were 2004-2005's. They were all ending in about 3 hours too, staggered 15 minutes apart. So I watched, first one got outbid. Ok, on to the next. 2nd one, watched, bid, outbid, decided I'll bid one more time and be outbid and move on to the next.

Well I'm now the owner of a 2004 Bluebird All American RE 40ft, Cat engine. Say Hello to Lucky Prime!
View attachment 870705
View attachment 870706
I called an insurance broker who had it insured in about 10 min. Went and got a Temp Tag again about 5-10 minutes and I'm all legal. Bought a one-way to Atlanta and Friday morning I was on a plane to pick up my bus.
The garage was 2 miles from the airport. This is going a little TOO smooth. Talked to the mechanics at the Woodward Academy bus garage, they all had nothing but good things and praise to say about the bus. It ran well, no problems, they were going to miss it, the whole nine yards. They let me know what brand oil they used, coolant, I got the maintenance records, again the whole nine yards. Walked around the bus, checked everything I could mechanically, lights, tires, gauges. She definitely needs a wash and a fresh coat of paint but otherwise looked in good shape so signed the papers and off I went.

That first right turn leaving the garage I had a moment. I drive tour buses for a living so I'm used to large vehicles. I occasionally drive school buses for weddings, after school activities and sports. This was the first time I've driven a RE bus. I admit I turned a little wide because of habit and it all fell apart from there. I almost hit the telephone pole on the opposite side of the road and I'm pretty sure my steers rubbed the curb, but a miss on both fronts and holy s*** get it together, you are supposed to be a professional!!! Note to self: takes 7-10 business days to turn.

After I recovered everything else ran smooth as butter. Stopped at a truck stop outside of Atlanta to top off and get food. Not paying $4.59/gal if I can help it, but I did get food and snacks. Drove on into South Carolina and fueled up at a whopping $3.25/gal. Bus only took 13 gallons...okay. I watched my gauges like a hawk and kept my eyes peeled for a potential blowout or something. The temp gauge sat at around 195-200 the whole time and didn't budge. Concerning at first but I did catch a little movement later on in the trip and when the bus was warming up the following day so temp gauge works and engine runs comfortably. Oil pressure sat at 30 psi all day long...beautiful. Air 110 PSI check. Bus is governed at 65mph, okay. 1975-2000RPMs at 65mph, check. This bus drives and rides like a dream. Planned to stop in Roanoke, VA but ended up another hour down the road in Lexington, VA for the night. Was going to fuel up but didn't need to (thought and confirmed I have a 100gal tank). Next day continued up past Scranton, PA hit a blizzard in the Pocono's (I don't trust weathermen) with a planned fuel stop in Newburgh, NY and spending the night in Danbury/Bethel, CT. Didn't want to pay $4.50/gal but needed some fuel so I put 16 gallons in and off I went. It was only 3pm when I passed through Danbury so on we go!

Stopped in Sturbridge, MA to fueled up, 88 gallons, and grabbed a room for the night. Next morning was COLD!!!! Bus fired right up did my walk around and on we went all bundled up until it warmed up. I stayed bundled up as it was -7F with wind chill. Bus got warm but I was freezing up front. I didn't look at the switches too closely, probably would have helped had I actually turned on the driver heat and not just the defrost. All things wasn't too bad thought so I know next time I'll be warm. Only a quick 2.5-3 hour drive home from there. Got home and bus is in the driveway.

I thought about what to name the bus the whole way home and although it had a bus number, the garage called it 7753 (last 4 of the VIN) which is a prime number. I feel I got truly lucky finding this bus and that every concern I've had with it has shed some amazing light or had good news. I looked into the luggage bays at the bus yard but didn't REALLY look. When I got it parked in my driveway and was taking measurements I found the bays go all the way through and it's all open, not separate doors for each compartment. So Lucky Prime will be her name!


So for those TLDR's: Bus drove amazing, everything is awesome. 2004 RE Bluebird All American named Lucky Prime! Georgia bus so low-no rust.

Welcome to the build and YES I'm keeping the factory AC!!!!

View attachment 870707
View attachment 870708
View attachment 870709
Sweet.what model/size CAT and tranny??
 
Sorry to see what happened to your last rig but I'm looking forward to watching the progress on this one!

Thanks Dbacks2k4!

Sweet.what model/size CAT and tranny??

It has a Cat 3126 and the MD3060 Transmission. :biggringift::nansplit::trink39:(Just crawled under to check).

I just got back from a week long work trip to Buffalo NY. Stopped at Harbor Freight to pick up a few tools to get started on removing seats and sand the paint once the roof is clean and the bus has been washed down. Also, stopped at Home Depot to pick up a deck brush, simple green and a few other things to clean the roof. I need to purchase all new tools so I'll be making lots of trips to HF or HD. Weather is calling for rain the next few days, free sky water to rinse the bus while i scrub!

Good news is I have a basic layout, I've been working on my electricity, propane, and other needs for the bus all last week. On an unrelated note, I may have tried to inadvertently cut off my finger. Tis but a flesh wound. It will make scrubbing the roof and removing seats a wee bit more difficult, but I'll manage.

I've been slacking on uploading the pictures. I promise I've been taking them. I'll try to get them posted this week since it's a slow week with college on spring break.
 
Side note: Has anyone temporarily pulled down their factory AC to remove the ceiling and insulate before reinstalling the factory AC??? I don't want to break something and you bet I'll be taking a bajillion pictures when I pull it down so I can get it back up and fingers crossed not have a screw or 2 left over. :scratchhead:
 
My floorplan is pretty straight forward:

Water tanks under the bed in the rear
Queen bed with 2 small cabinets on the rear wall on each side of the rear window exit.
Chinese Diesel Heater under the bed

On the Door side:
Electrical/Clothing Cabinet over the drives
Compost toilet
12v Fridge
Pantry
Dinette???
Custom couch which will be pushed back to the dinette
Co-pilot seat (not shown)
Floorplan Door Side.png


On the Driver side:
All in One Washer/Dryer? and supply closet over wheel well
Shower with H20 heater (propane) in between it and...
Kitchen sink
Counter top
Stove/oven (propane)
Computer desk w/ TV
Chinese Diesel Heater under the desk or under the wheel well box
Over the front wheel well I'll build a box with a dog bed over it for the pup.

Floorplan Drv Side.png



I keep going back and forth about a few things up front like the dinette and how exactly I'll do the computer desk etc.. In the mean time I'll build the important stuff and go enjoy the bus and see what works and what I like and go from there.

I'm planning for a 48v Battery Bank with a full roof of solar but I'm still tweaking the electrical. I'm planning to run the panels 2 rows parallel with the bus. According to my calculations (if I can get the supports correct), I should have about a 6in "walkway" down the center line. I need to re-measure roof hatch distances, I want to keep one for roof access and the other make a skylight (wishful thinking).
 
Cleaned the roof today. Deck brush and simple green. It needs one more go over later on but looks soo much better.

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Went in and removed seat bottoms and bolts from the chair rail. Then grabbed wrench and climbed under the bus while my spawn stayed topside with the impact drill. The Mrs stepped in for a good portion. Made my spawn climb in the luggage bay to get the last few stubborn bolts.

There are 3 or 4 bolts that will need to be ground off and the seats directly on the engine cover that need to be removed.
I won't be reusing the seats... they are NASTY!! I found $1? in change, a mustard packet, a banana flavored laffy taffy, and lots and lots of trash stuffed between the seats and walls.

If anyone needs seat belts I'll have about 42 that need a new home.
 

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Side note: Has anyone temporarily pulled down their factory AC to remove the ceiling and insulate before reinstalling the factory AC??? I don't want to break something and you bet I'll be taking a bajillion pictures when I pull it down so I can get it back up and fingers crossed not have a screw or 2 left over. :scratchhead:
I started taking mine down and for some reason determined I needed to evacuate the refrigerant first, but now I can't remember the full reason why....
 
Today I took the grinder to 5 or 6 bolts that I couldn't loosen or remove from the seats. Then starting at the back of the bus got the back bench seats disassembled and worked my way forward on the door side. I think I found more change in the seats on the engine compartment than the whole rest of the bus. I have 2 piles going since there are some coins on the chair rail I haven't picked up yet. I'll post it once I've cleaned it up and counted it all. Moved on to the driver side and only did 4 seats as I ran into a snag with a washer not wanting to let go... May need to grind it but trying to avoid it. I have 6 seats left to dismantle and the 3 flat fronts to do tomorrow. It took forever as the first 2 seats I sliced wide open to figure out how the seatbelts were attached. Once I saw how things were done I found the quickest way to break them down.

Flip seat over
Remove the seat belt release portions bolt
Pry the vinyl off where it's stapled
Remove the bolt that holds the open ends of the seat belt
Remove the bolt that holds the whole seat belt apparatus
Lay the seat on its back
Using a knife (pocket, box cutter, etc.) slice a small rectangle around the hole the seat belt enters the seat
Flip the seat over and pull the cushioning off
Remove the last 2 nuts holding the shoulder strap in
Done

You can switch a few of the steps up but that's the basics.
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I'm going to hold on to a few of these to reuse. I'll need to just unscrew it from the board.

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This is after a few seats, you can see the hole I cut out. I would lift up the top part of the foam to expose the 2 shoulder strap mount nuts.
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Door side all done.
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Moved the cushions over.
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The driver side seats will be stacked facing backwards on the door side.
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Here is that stubborn washer in question. There is not enough room to fit a flathead screwdriver under. It screws onto a post, there is no bolt on the back side. Guess I'll just cut the washer.
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I'm left with a BUNCH of seat belts. I'm saving 4-5 to use in the build but the rest are up for grabs if anyone wants them. Otherwise I'll try to sell them.
 
I didn't take pictures today since it looks like I just moved the mess from one section of the bus to another. All the seats are disassembled and ready to go to the scrap yard and dump. I pulled up the aluminum straps down the center. Last thing left is removing the bit of fabric from the plastic mold where the seat belt exited the seat at your shoulder.

I have 40 seat belts left over.... *cough*

I'm leaving the heaters in and I'll leave the luggage rack in for now. Once the weather warms up I'll start tackling the exterior removing school signage and prepping for paint. I'm going to take the route of shoring in a few things to get titled for RV so I can ENJOY the bus! while I'm converting it.
 
I'm saving paint for last but mainly because I have to cut it up for a roof raise.

Nice pictures so far. The seats usually never sell btw.
 
I need to move the bus in 2 months so I want to get it retitled and registered, if possible, by then. So paint is the top priority currently. Followed by a rough shore in of a few items. Then I can pull it out and do the real thing and enjoy it while I build.
 
Yes keep seat belts. I've already reused 4 of them on mine, and see spaces as I build it out where I may use more. Keep all of the seat belts.
 
Yes keep seat belts. I've already reused 4 of them on mine, and see spaces as I build it out where I may use more. Keep all of the seat belts.
That is 100% the plan. But I do have 40 extra. So if you or someone wants a few...
 
Today I borrowed a friend's trailer and loaded up the seats and cushions. 3 scrap yard runs and one dump run later only thing left is to sweep the bus.

Original bus heaters and the mound of seatbelts will be the only things left on the floor.

Tomorrow's forecast is rain and snow and the whole weekend looks miserable with more snow supposedly coming Monday. A few days R&R will do me good. Once warmer weather hits a little rust treatment, sealant and painting the roof are next up along with school bus signage and painting the rest of the bus.
 
Swept the bus out earlier this week so it is clean.
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Slow going with the weather but got about 75% of the bus sanded. Tomorrow looks decent but windy with a storm moving in. I plan to remove the big "school bus" signs front and back and get the rest of the bus sanded. Once weather cuts me a break I'll coat it with Primer. The last week has been going over my floor plan a million times with small adjustments here or there. I believe I have majority of the bugs worked out in theory.
 

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