Transferred to the Coach side!

[Bus'n it]

I haven't posted in a while but more so due to excessive work load at my business. I want to update you all, ya'll, You'se on my status. I was offered a fair deal on the selling of my project. (Basically everything I had in it) and sold it to a very nice young couple. The transaction took about 3 months as they needed to find a place to park it, find labor to finish it and finally the time to get it. During the process I continued to build the bus and installed new alcoa wheels and tires. They picked it up in September and I have since bought a 1993 Newell 44' coach. I am absolutely in love with this rig. It is all steel with aluminum skinning. There is no fiberglass or wood except for the interior walls and cabinets. My dream was to have an old MCI or GM bus but the skoolie fell into my lap. Needless to say, the selling of my project and the smooth financial transition into the Newell was the icing on the cake. I have plenty of updating to do on the interior however being 51 years old, My time is limited and my wife and I want to be on the road sooner than later. This bus has a low mileage Detroit 8v92TA with the Allison HT740. This combo is a perfect match for the weight of this rig. I was always a huge fan of the 2 stroke screaming jimmy's.
Either way, I plan on sticking around as I have a spot in my heart for skoolies and the creativity that goes into them.

 

[rossvtaylor]

Sweet! You'll have to bring it up to visit sometime and I'll run the racks for you. That 8V92TA is a beast!

 

[Bus'n it]

I plan on it Ross! No worries on the racks as this is a DDEC II! Well kept and all logs show they used the proper 40wt oil in it. I bought a stockpile of Delo100 as it takes a while to get it.

 

[Bus'n it]

Been working on this beast. Stripped out the interior aside from cabinets and ceiling. Installed new flooring, removed brass and painted cabinet. Replaced all the original wallpaper. (First installed wall paper liner to give it a really smooth appearance.) Starting on some trim work while cove moldings and furnishings are at upholstery shop.

 

[cadillackid]

thats one bad ass rig!!! I really love the style.. I totally would just fix whats broken maybe freshen up some of the surfaces, keep the awesome 80s / 90s style and out that bad boy's wheels to the ground and go travel!! who cares if it isnt perfect! get her on the road and enjoy!!

 

[DeMac]

Yay. Thanks for the update and the pictures, too. I'm looking forward to seeing what you do to this one. Do you think you'll stick to the finish work only or do you plan to be doing repairs and modifications, as well?

 

[Bus'n it]

Thanks guys!

Mechanically it needs nothing. Having said that, I’m not one to leave well enough alone as the fuel lines are almost 30 years old. I want to replace them before any real long trip. The interior reminded me of a retired couples house so it had to go. We are bringing it up to modern standards and surprisingly I am able to hire out some things to speed it along. Upholstery being the big ticket item and the wallpaper work.
Before the skoolie I was in the market for a bus conversion but most were well worn by the time I went to look at them. I dunno, maybe I got lucky to find this. It has friggin’ steel I-beams running under it. Newell builds these all in house. Chassis and body are all steel. No fiberglass. I love the look of the dual inward set wheels. These are 24.5” rims. Engine has low mileage. Bought it from an 80 something year old couple who paid $580k in 2004. Curious what it cost new. I have the actual architectural blue print. I’m happy!
Busy staining some cool custom wood slats that will modernize a blank door that used to have a mirror. In fact Newell was proud of their bronze mirrors that it took me weeks to remove about 1500lbs worth of glass.

 

[Bus'n it]

Some more work completed. Counter tops went in today. Started re-gluing the loose formica with an amazing adhesive called Roo glue. Finally my carpenter is coming tomorrow to look at my project. Need some cabinet reconfiguration and possibly a ceiling treatment to add some cool factor to the interior.

 

[Rwnielsen]

That's a great lookin' rig. Congratulations!

 

[cadillackid]

dang dude you are building a GLAMPER! that is looking awesomely sweet!

 

[Form&function]

I find it so interesting how times change and floorplans are more open now. Very nice bus.

 

[cadillackid]

I find it so interesting how times change and floorplans are more open now. Very nice bus.

there were some old RVs from the 70s that featured open floorplans.. 'GM Eexecutive' was one of them.. monster sized windshields, lots of big side windows.. low dashboard.. the floorplan was all open except for the bedroom and wet bath..


so many of these skoolie builds seem like metal Jails.. lots of walls and so many windows removed..



this coach build seems open and airy..

 

[Bus'n it]

This is very open and light. Most of my pictures are taken at night after I have done enough to show something. In that respect it may seem dark. Windows are tinted very dark from previous owner to blend in with the dark outside paint. (Makes them disappear on the exterior) I'm not a big fan of dark colors as even with the spray foamed walls/floors/ceiling, heat radiates through anyway.

 

[kazetsukai]

Very, very nice. We may be making the move to coach soon as well...

 

[Bus'n it]

Built a new back bedroom wall and had it laminated to Match the rest of the interior. New LED cove lighting installed as well as cubby lighting. Front tv cabinet finished with new felt lined shelf for the subwoofer. New microwave installed. Found a company called microtrim.com that makes trim kits with any basic measurement. Coming together!

 

[morefire]

Love the coach, absolutley stunning inside, and love Newel as a brand, but I'd personally do an engine swap for a deleted X15/ISX 600hp with a MH4000 Trans, but thats just me.

 

[Bus'n it]

Love the coach, absolutley stunning inside, and love Newel as a brand, but I'd personally do an engine swap for a deleted X15/ISX 600hp with a MH4000 Trans, but thats just me.

I like the way you think! My engine is low mileage and runs beautifully. Having said that, it is obsolete and I have wondered what would happen if I needed to replace it other than wiping out my wallet. I see your signature shows you have the big cummins in your bus. Did you swap it out? Would love to see pics!

 

[Bus'n it]

I removed what I thought was a water stained center section of the bathroom ceiling. Turns out the vinyl had some kind of sprayed on adhesive on the backside that bled through. What a relief! No water damage anywhere on the plywood above it. I installed wood laminate flooring to match the strips that run down the ceiling on the other areas of the bus. I am happy on how it turned out. Used contact cement and drilled tiny holes to allow me to put in angled brad nails. Sealed all edges with grey silicone caulk as an added method of adhesion. It is tough and not going anywhere. Finished toilet room and added a couple of wall sconces to a switch and dimmer. Toilet is Dometic 320 elongated. Love it. I have more stuff at the upholstery shop getting redone to include the round air vent covers, headboard and custom made window shade side valances.

 

[morefire]

I like the way you think! My engine is low mileage and runs beautifully. Having said that, it is obsolete and I have wondered what would happen if I needed to replace it other than wiping out my wallet. I see your signature shows you have the big cummins in your bus. Did you swap it out? Would love to see pics!

I have the "2009 bluebird coach build" thread in this form.... a few pages back. My coach came with a CAT C13 450hp, and the bus just felt weak, and it had all the emsissions junk on it that started acting up right away, even though it was brand new. I bought and installed a brand new Cummins ISX600 that came from an auction, deleted all the junk, and used the Newel 650HP Tune, and the Bus drives like a passenger vehicle, it'll maintain speed on hills, pass people like you would in a car, and actually gets better milage than the smaller engine that it replaced.
I've been driving it since 2011 now, and done nothing but Oil and filters since then. Definetly recomend this power train if you can swing it.

 

[Bus'n it]

Still working on the bus. I hope to have it ready for a month long trip in September. The interior is mostly finished aside from the two front seats that are due to come in sometime in August. I ended up removing all the vinyl flooring and replacing it with a new stone core plank. It will not shift in temperature extremes. The vinyl started to buckle in a few places. I rebuilt the three basement ac’s and they now run super quiet. While it sits, I use two portable Toshiba (made by Midea) inverter ac units. These are rock solid and both of them keep the bus cold even when it’s 115° out as evidenced by last weeks early heat wave. They are intended to preserve the unobtanium original bus units. I do not want roof airs to keep the roof clear for solar panels.