Different Wisdom

[Lostranger]

This report will be fun, but it may not be long.

We finally caught a break in the weather. I was planning on my friend, Dave, spending most of this week at our home base doing prep and paint work. On Monday, he convinced me that it would be better if I brought the bus to his shop. So, following some frantic preparation Monday evening and Tuesday morning, Kora and I left around 9:30 Tuesday morning on the 165 mile trip.

Dave was right about the change of venue. We've been able to proceed much faster in his native environment than we would have at our place. His helper, Mark, is one of several assets afforded by the move.

We arrived around 1:00 P.M. and got started. Here's a shot of Dave running the DA:



I spent most of Tuesday afternoon creating holes where lights and accessories once dwelled. I'll try a few shots of that:





We used a plasma cutter to cut some 1" wide strips of the same 18 ga cold rolled sheet that I used for the reskin. We bonded those over the joints in the skin panels with 3M 5200. Couldn't get the fast drying version. This stuff is SLOW, but turns out to be okay since we got high wind this afternoon and could not shoot paint.







We used the time for more sanding and to plug the destination sign hole. My long-term plan seems to be working. I bought a sheet of FRP, cut one panel large enough to bond to the inside of the front cap, and cut another panel to the dimensions of the hole. Used the 5200 again, and we're waiting for it to cure.







We postponed final paint until tomorrow, but we did get priming, seam sealing and most sanding done.





Unless the weather throws a curve, we should paint the driver's side and both ends tomorrow. Passenger side still needs new door.

If we get to paint on Thursday, you'll see it here Thursday night.

Best to all.

Jim

P.S. For the record, I hate TinyPic.

[stuartcnz]

Looking forward to seeing the paint job. Your bus is coming along nicely.

P.S. For the record, I hate TinyPic.

The IMG tags should work no matter where you host your photo's. Sorry I don't have any better suggestions, on the where though.

[Lostranger]

The world is a cleaner place today. Half of a bus is now bright, white and shiny!

Early Thursday looked like this:







We realized immediately that we could not paint the front because the 3M 5200 hadn't nearly cured enough. No worries. Still plenty to do on the driver's side and rear.







I turned weak kneed when Dave started shooting primer/sealer. It looked SO good!









First coat of white nearly took my breath:





Second coat was "Hallelujah Chorus" territory:











The paint is gorgeous. Photos do not do it justice. Wet, shiny coats.

I am especially proud of the reskin. The term "factory" was often heard today.





Now the front and passenger side look even worse, of course, but what motivation. Not tonight, though. I'm exhausted. Tomorrow at first light I need to start reassembly for the trip home.

Best to all,

Jim

[Mark R. Obtinario]

That is quite the expanse of white!

It seems a shame to have to cut into it in order to put in some windows.

[ol trunt]

Hey Jim. There is nothing like a shinny new coat of paint to bring a project together. The funny thing about it is that you'll have bouts of wondering what happened to your old bus--where did it go? Who's bus is this? Then in a couple of weeks it will all be familiar again and you will look at your handiwork with pride as well you should! Jack

[Lostranger]

Jack, I'll still recognize the front and curb side. In fact, I'm already embarrassed about recognizing it. Door building happens soon. Like me, Sophia is a work in progress.

Mark, I'll get right onto that cutting into stuff.

[stuartcnz]

New bus; awesome!
I bet someone has already done a heap of interior work to your specifications too.

[Lostranger]

Yep, and "someone" has plenty still to do. I'm so psyched about the paint, though, that finishing the exterior is now top priority.

[somewhereinusa]

Will you be selling all flavors of ice cream?

[Lostranger]

Will you be selling all flavors of ice cream?

Only the good ones, Dick, and only to people I like.

Got a much later start home from the paint shop than I had hoped, but I was in no hurry. Began the day making scratch biscuits for Dave and Mark. I might have eaten a couple. Or more. The last one looked so pretty that I snapped it:



And of course, the image is rotated 90 degrees left. If any of you have some idea of how to prevent the auto-rotation function, I'd love to hear from you.

Several people have asked about paint type, quantity and so forth. Here's a shot of the can:



I assume "direct gloss" means that it does not require a clear coat. We also bought etching primer and sealer /primer. Plenty of etching primer left. I'll need another gallon of sealer for other side. Top coat took 1-1/2 gallons, so I have 1/2 gallon left. Should only require one more gallon. At this point, I'm $450 into materials FWIW.

Here's a shot without paper in the window holes:



Here's a similar angle two hours closer to home at my regular Jack in the Box taco stop. I've photographed the bus in this spot several times.



And here it is back at "home tree" in the spot where I first shot the reskin photos when it looked longer.



If anything, it looks even longer now. And bright. We're talking you-must-be-wearing-sunglasses-to-stand-near-it-in-the-sun bright. Dave got a fabulous shine. The bright-blue stripe will not dim it much, but it will break it up a bit.



A previously undiscovered result of our travels last October was this gaping hole in the side of my muffler. The photo is—wait for it—rotated 90 degrees left. I have to do something about this because the side blast is scorching and sooting the new paint on the access panel.

I asked my friend LuckyChow for advice because he is a transit bus professional. I explained that I can't afford such a beast at this point in the project. He suggested a patch involving steel wool, JB Weld, muffler patch material from a parts store and a sheet of steel pop riveted over the schmeer. That's what I'm planning to do, but I'm also going to have my muffler shop friend look at it. I keep wondering if a temporary straight pipe would cause any harm. Any opinions?

I need to get LuckyChow to join this forum and post a thread on his lovely Gillig Phantom conversion. It's a 35 footer. He's doing a wonderful job, and folks here would enjoy seeing it.

I made the three hour trip home—would that be a three hour tour in a Gillig(an)?—without a hitch. Literally. I have no hitch. With half a paint job, I appear to have gained about 2 mph top end, and it also rides even smoother. Can't wait to see what the final paint will do. I may have to pull a drag chute all the time to keep from breaking the hillbilly sound barrier. That's when Bubba rides shotgun with his head out the window yelling BOOM at folks on the roadside. And speaking of Bubba....

I see on Jack's new thread that his MC9 will have some sort of Japanese interior decoration scheme. I've lately realized that we have a specific, if eclectic, interior motif. The exterior may say "Good Humor Man", but the interior will be "Hillbilly Renaissance meets Hobbiton with a splash of Steampunk." It's just the rage. I'm told that several Kardashians are currently redoing their mansions in the style. After seeing our designer's sketches, Lady Ga Ga was—well—herself. You can probably find coverage on the House Beautiful website.

Got the side windows back in after I got home. I wanted to leave them out and do a "final install" today, but rain predictions made DW nervous. One of the two windows on the "new paint" side is not permanent, anyway. It had a ruptured seal when I bought it in Elkhart last summer, but I thought it was only dirty like the others. Bev and I are returning to Elkhart in May to get a replacement and a spare or two. The front, street side window, however, is a keeper. I'm going to paint the exterior frame to get rid of a few scratches, set it in place with sealer and complete trim ring, and then start building that natural maple casing and trim that's been in my head so long that it hurts. That window is across from me as I write, and it's just begging for final touches.

Off now to see if I can repair my small side grinder. Anyone know the recommended dosage of Old Milwaukee before working on an old Milwaukee?

Best to all,

Jim

[Lostranger]

I've bought a new Donaldson truck muffler on eBay. It has 5" inlet and outlet. My current muffler measures 4-1/2" inlet and 5" outlet by my tape, but I've found a source for an adaptor. I don't believe the swap will be a big deal. The new muffler might be a tad long for the available space, but I can easily enlarge the exit hole in the roof panel. I'll post some photos after the new quiet machine arrives.

Discovered in this process that my original muffler is catalytic. It also appears to be overly restrictive. The new muffler is straight through. I may pick up a bit of flow increase, and you know what that means. Yep — bus drags near Moondoggy's burger joint on Saturday night. I'll be king of my bracket.

Jim

[Mark R. Obtinario]

Those biscuits look YUMMY!

I would imagine a little butter and honey or some country gravy with sausage would taste pretty good on those biscuits.

Less restrictive sounds good to me. And so what if it doesn't have a catalyst in it. How many miles are you going to be driving that bus in the next ten years compared to how many miles it drove in the first ten years of service?

I think the Druidic tree hugging global warming alarmists can (fill in the blank yourself). All of their restrictions just make more of a mess than if things had been just left alone.

[Lostranger]

Mark,

Stop by any time for biscuits and whatever you want with them. Gravy comes with the order. I know it's not close, but we'll show you Southern hospitality. I will always be grateful to you for information that helped me decide to pull the plug on my Flxible Metro conversion, and that was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I wouldn't swap my Gillig for ten of those puppies — unless scrap was exceptionally high.

I'd be glad to mail you biscuits, but they lose something in transit.

Jim

[ol trunt]

Hey Jim. I'm probably mistaken, but the pic of your original muffler sure doesn't look like a cat. I've never seen a cat with either a rolled seam or construction of anything but high quality stainless steel--which wouldn't blow out like that one did. The other thing is that a standard cat on a diesel of this size simply wouldn't get hot enough for the cat to work properly. It would soon foul and plug up. All of that is what led to the high dollar urea fed super hot cats on new diesel trucks and in Ca. at least, the ban on dirty 2 stroke diesels (unless you want to add a cat to the tune of 15 grand. I suppose a quick cut across your old muffler would expose the truth. I'd be real curious to know.

Undoubtedly your new straight through muffler will let the engine shed its exhaust more easily--and who knows, it may even get you down into the high 9"s in the 1/4 mile. Jack

[Lostranger]

Undoubtedly your new straight through muffler will let the engine shed its exhaust more easily--and who knows, it may even get you down into the high 9"s in the 1/4 mile. Jack

Thanks for the catalyst info, Jack. I have the parts manual for my bus, and all I know for sure is that the specified replacement muffler is catalytic. My bus may or may not have come with a catalyst, and it may have been changed. I'll be happy to slice it once it's off.

As to quarter mile times, I was thinking I might be able to make the high 29s. No matter. It's a small bracket in my county, and I'll still be on top.

Jim