Rusty Lemon 🍋 🚌 HELP

[MarieV.]

Hey guys

I bought a lemon … so dusty and muddy I did see what was coming at purchase.

Struggling with very rusty floor I decided to take it all off to remplace it.
Here I am with a okayish frame but some of the side supports need to be cut off as they are way to rusty and will not hold a thing.

I was planning on grinding and cutting what was too eaten by the rust, sandblasting/wet sandblasting to the cleanest as I can get it before treating with rust inhibitor ( type ospho or phosphoric acid or Rust-Oleum treatment) then apply some saviour coating ( type chassis saviour or cosmoline rp-342)

I bought the bus $7500 CAD already invested almost $1500 ( new starter, new battery, mechanical fees and primer paint and sealant for the windows I replaced and the 3 windows shutters/covers) and tools so far.
And …
I still haven’t got the bus to start because I still have to figure out how to bypass the vandal lock system after removing the connectors by all the exits. I found a bus mechanic who just let me hang there for 4 weeks and do not seems very wiling…

I feel stuck between a stone and a hard place ….
How much money will it cost me to replace the floor, fix the rusty spots on the body and finally start to build? ….the demolition phase is getting though.

I have no welding experience but thinking of buying myself a machine and try since having it professionally done seems like lots of money

I welcome any input at the stage, I do not know many people around where I live I am only in the country for a year and everyone think I am crazy to have taken on that project in the first place.

 

[Hooker-SKO]

Hey guys ����

I bought a lemon … so dusty and muddy I did see what was coming at purchase.

Struggling with very rusty floor I decided to take it all off to remplace it.
Here I am with a okayish frame but some of the side supports need to be cut off as they are way to rusty and will not hold a thing.

I was planning on grinding and cutting what was too eaten by the rust, sandblasting/wet sandblasting to the cleanest as I can get it before treating with rust inhibitor ( type ospho or phosphoric acid or Rust-Oleum treatment) then apply some saviour coating ( type chassis saviour or cosmoline rp-342)

I bought the bus $7500 CAD already invested almost $1500 ( new starter, new battery, mechanical fees and primer paint and sealant for the windows I replaced and the 3 windows shutters/covers) and tools so far.
And …
I still haven’t got the bus to start because I still have to figure out how to bypass the vandal lock system after removing the connectors by all the exits. I found a bus mechanic who just let me hang there for 4 weeks and do not seems very wiling…

I feel stuck between a stone and a hard place ….
How much money will it cost me to replace the floor, fix the rusty spots on the body and finally start to build? ….the demolition phase is getting though.

I have no welding experience but thinking of buying myself a machine and try since having it professionally done seems like lots of money ��

I welcome any input at the stage, I do not know many people around where I live I am only in the country for a year and everyone think I am crazy to have taken on that project in the first place.

Ohh boy !!! Have you heard THERE IS NO GOOD DEAL ON A RUSTY BUS. I don't know the bus market in Canada or the Canadian dollar vs USA but ohhhh my.

And you can't even drive it right now since it won't start and you THINK it's the Vandal Lock??? So it ran and drove good when you bought it and it started and ran? I could be mistaken, or you are, but I've never heard of a Vandal Lock keeping a bus from starting. The vandal lock is cheap junk lock at the service door, and it's called a vandal lock, because that's about all it's good for, is to keep punk kids from getting on the bus and vandalizing it. A theif wants in, it's not hard to break that lock and get in. But as said, never heard of a vandal lock having the interlock system to disable the starter.

So for sure, all the emergency exit windows, doors and roof hatches will without a doubt, if not secured, any 1 of those items will disable the interlock and keep the bus from starting. I see you've stripped the interior. So what did you do with the wires to the hatches and the E exit windows? Those circuits will disable the bus. Someone else can clarify, but I believe all you have to do is tape all those wires on the end so that they are NOT touching ground setting off the E exit alarms, then the bus should start. All it'll take is one of any of those wires to be grounded out touching the side wall of the bus. I know on one of my buses, I just taped it up so it couldn't touch ground, anything metal, and t he alarm went off and the bus would then start. So give that a try and see what happens.

I think I'll let someone else tell you the bad news on the rust.

I'll just say, so the floor sheet metal rust doesn't scare me real bad so long as all the support members and frame is not rusty other than the normal typical surface rust. But the second I see scaling rust on a frame or spring member, I'm done. I see rust on a crossmember support of the floor, I'm done. I see rust through on any exterior sheetmetal, I'm done. The sheet metal floors can get rust from school distrticts hosing out busses in the summer and water gets between the rubber mat and metal and never dries properly so that's rust from cleaning, NOT ROAD SALT or Magnesium, I'll deal with some sheet metal patches. But that rot in the rocker panels of the cab under the doors, and the step well, that's nothing I"m going to deal with.

How hard is it to get a USA vehicle registered in Canada? Do you not have any people in USA anywhere where they can do some footwork for you and then you have bought a Southern bus in USA and took it to Canada? Only asking to learn about how Canada operates. I only communicate a bit with 1 other bus lifer in Canada but he's a full grown size skoolie and bought his there.

 

[MarieV.]

The bus started and I drove it home, it wouldn’t start after I cut the wiring when removed the inside panels and the vandal lock (vdlck in the wires ) safemate buzzer and stuff.
The mechanic changed starter and battery and had it started by jumping the safety features but it need a bypass to start by using solely the key - it’s where I am stuck. He is a bus mechanic near home he took the schematics I had from a similar bus to study them but seemed not very willing to come back. I am gonna keep bugging him since I have no other option but to try myself.

I tried a by pass by the ignition relay near the fuse box under the hood but no results.


I wanted to buy a southern bus but the administration and papes required to cross the border seem problematic since you buy a school bus (most likely )not a motor home or truck ( and even in the latest it is time and money consuming) I met a Canadian couple who bought a bus in the USA and had it stuck on the other side of the border for months and end up selling.
Correct me if I am wrong but For my understanding if you re not in a position to buy own insured and register a bus in the state - forget about it if you are Canadian … so I went for the Canadian school bus …

 

[MarieV.]

If you have the name of the Canadian couple who bought in us ans cross the border let me know who and l will ask how they did it.

 

[DeMac]

If you have the name of the Canadian couple who bought in us ans cross the border let me know who and l will ask how they did it.

Yvan & Sylvie of Quebec imported two US buses into CA. Look for Lacroix Crusier on youtube. They used a Customs Broker & suggest that other Canadians do the same. The broker they chose is Debbie Jo Hanson of Cole International. debbiejo.hanson@coleintl.com (403)828-3155 Converters ought to secure the services of a Customs Broker PRIOR to selecting a bus. The requirements of eligible buses change without public notice. Your broker will help steer your selection of candidates.