The Story of Transcendence

MuddaEarth

MuddaEarth

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2014
Posts
214
Location
Kansas
Hello all....I'm excited to share my project with everyone and be a part of this great group of people. I bought a 1993 Bluebird about 2 years ago and haven't made too much headway yet into the conversion. I had a slight set back on the day of purchase that took quite some time to hunt down parts and a lack of time to work on it regularly. But it's back in running order now and I can't wait to get started on the conversion.

I hope to make this my full time home in the near future by converting this into an off the grid home. I'd also like to get this running on WVO. I'm sure I'm going to have many questions, but I've done a lot of reading here in these forums and it doesn't seem too difficult with the right equipment and parts.

I'll start from the beginning day I purchased it and bring this up to date as soon as possible.

This was the day of purchase!! :)
blogger-image--884988623 by wesslewis, on Flickr

Riding off into the sunset!
blogger-image-1734099035 by wesslewis, on Flickr
 
Welcome! --- and don't hesitate to ask questions. There are a couple of folks here going the WVO route who can no doubt contribute some experience.
 
Driving home into the sunset was a great feeling of joy and excitement.....I finally have a Bus!! I was on the highway cruising at the super high rate of speed of about 60, when.....all of the sudden, about 10 miles from home, I started to hear a horrific squeeealllllll coming from the front drivers side wheel. I poked my head quickly out the window and smoke was pouring from the wheel. I slowed way down and exited about 1/4 mile up, pulled over and got out. The hub was hot.....real hot. I'll let the pictures tell the rest of this story.....Needless to say....It was about a long slow 2 hour drive home. There was no way I was going to call a tow truck....I can't even begin to imagine the cost of a tow. :)

I pulled the cover off to check...There was hardly any oil in the hub. The inner hub seal was bad and most oil leaked out....I had no idea. Oh well...I just smiled and knew I had keep moving forward.
photo-2 by wesslewis, on Flickr
 
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Thank you Tango.....I'll definitely ask questions. Seems there is much to learn from everyone here.
 
my right rear axle seal started to leak on the way home.
just one more thing to fix!
You seem like a very determined and skilled bus owner. Welcome aboard!
From the estimates Ive seen, be glad you didn't get towed. I think $3-$4 per mile is the norm.
 
So.....The hunt for parts began. After many months, I finally tracked down the complete front suspension from hub to hub from a salvage yard near Dallas Texas. Here is the donor bus getting dragged around by a huge forklift!! I felt sorry for that poor little bus, but I'm quite thankful for it donor parts! ;)

10176202_10203063024730013_7500060720186730747_n by wesslewis, on Flickr
 
When I saw that spring my eyes got big! You are so lucky that didn't completely break while you were driving! Looks like you've done the right repair so all should be good. Jack
 
ol trunt said:
When I saw that spring my eyes got big! You are so lucky that didn't completely break while you were driving! Looks like you've done the right repair so all should be good. Jack
Click to expand...

My eyes also did the same thing when I noticed it!! I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I've never seen a spring cracked in half.....let alone two of them.

After this incident, I began to wonder why I didn't inspect the bus a lot closer before I purchased it. But then again....I was a bit intimidated by the bus in the beginning. My mindset was such, that I didn't really know too much about big rigs or buses so I really wouldn't know what to look for. Turns out, They are no different than any car or truck.....You just need bigger tools to work on them! :D
 
Tango said:
Thanks for the pix. I don't think I've ever seen a leaf spring broken in half before. Be glad you caught it bud!
Click to expand...

I'm really glad I caught it also.....I've done some pretty thorough looking around on and under the bus since then, mostly everything seems to be in good order.
 
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Broken leaf springs aren't uncommon. I've seen quite a few with em at the many auctions.
One of my rear air springs is on its way out. They have a lot of weight put on them in their lives.
 
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