1973 Blue Bird

[Rudy]

One last thing? What are these things on the side of the compressor? One looks like it has a screw cap on top of it, and the other thing looks like a breather of some sort. Thanks, Mark, for your time to answer questions. I, as well as others am impressed with your knowledge of these buses and bus engines.

[dadeo]

I think the one with the screw top is how you adjust the cut-out pressure, but im not sure

[Rudy]

Here's a report on the heating of the bus. It is now the end of December. The average temperature at night is mid twenties. It has gotten down to 17 degrees. I thought that with as much insulation that I put in to the bus, it would be warmer inside. I am using two oil filled electric heaters. I use the middle setting (900 watts). I also have three propane catalytic heaters.

If it gets down to the teens at night, I will use all three propane heaters. The electric ones are always on. It is expensive to heat this thing. I think that I am losing a lot of heat through the many windows that are in the bus.

I can see now, the importance of having a wood stove. I almost wish that I had kept mine. But, as I had mentioned, there was no room for it.

I think that if I am still here next winter, I will make an effort to seal the windows. Perhaps I will make a removable system of "storm windows" for the outside.

It's not as if I am freezing inside the bus. I can usually get the temperature to be 50 degrees higher that what it is outside if I use all my heaters. It is, however, costing me a bunch for electricity and propane.

Perhaps, I will have to do what Bob does, and got to Arizona for the winter. If I didn't have my recording studio in here, I definitely would have kept my wood stove.

[Dennis The Bus Dweller]

Hey rudy, If you can scrape the money together get your self a electric blanket and put it inside a sleeping bag or under you and blankets on top to trap the heat I have a queen size one and on high it uses 15 watts. It's like rapping your self in a thin slice of summer.

[GoodClue]

Hey Rudy ... some ideas ...
Insulation board in the windows ... makes a big difference ...
Cardboard if you can't find the rigid foam insulation ...
Heavy curtains ... even pillows ... I use an extra pillow at night on the window over my desk ... pull it out so the cat can look out during the day ... tape things up ... I have woodwork so I tack a lot of things ...
I have a pillow in the window next to my head on my bed ... really does help ... they fit perfectly.
and all these things can be put up or down at will, for sunlight heat during the day ...

And ... my woodstove takes up so little space ... is in the area a window would have occupied ... I know my bus is small and fully insulated, but, really, nothing can take the place of a woodstove properly installed ... I do advise you to sacrifice some space for it ... on mine, I have a stainless steel sheet run as extended kitchen counter space about 18"s above the stove ... helps force the heat low and out, gets warm, not hot ... and I didn't lose any counter space ... and I can cook or heat water on the stove too ...
There are some very neat wood stoves made for boats that would fill the bill nicel ... I guess, because I'm a welder, I can build to suit and cheaply. I've made hot tub stoves, teepee stoves, large and small, fancy and simple ... I've always put up a sauna with a barrel stove where ever I've workded ... you're an imaginative fellow, just do it safely, or barter for the work ...
Wish I was there to help ...
Doug

[Mark B]

Rudy,

I finally had the time to sit down and go through your build thread. Nicely done! I love what you've done there, it looks really homey.

Hopefully, you'll be able to come up with a way to solve your heating concerns. I just imagine your insulation issues will come to a head in the heat of summer, too, so probably need to get a handle on it.

So, what happened to the old Chevy house truck you had (with the 350 mouse)? That looked pretty comfortable, too.

Mark

[Rudy]

Mark, Thanks for the compliment on the bus build. The 1966 Chevy just got old and fell apart. I demolished the camper part and drove it around for a few months like that. It was pretty zippy with that 383 stroker engine. I sold it and bought a van which I drove to and lived in Wisconsin for a half of a year.

[GoodClue]

Rudy ... another idea ... cordone off areas of the bus that don't need heating with blankets hung as curtains ... DTBD is correct with the electric blanket ... and I agree with Mark on the quality of your conversion ... and also insulation issues ... summer heat can be as miserable as winter cold.
There are places I still need to address in my bus ... around the front driver's area in particular ... hanging heavy curtains between the dash and driver's seat, and the entry door helps considerably ...
Still working through your music CDs ... and I got a pop filter today for my own recordings when I was downtown today, not a Sampson ... going to to try it tonight.

Happy New Years ... I'm staying in tonight, let the professionals do the partying ... Stay Safe to All

[ljb]

I think the one with the screw top is how you adjust the cut-out pressure, but im not sure

that is the air governor, it tells the air compressor when to load or unload. ljb

[Jones'n4chrome]

I just want to get these pictures out of the way so that I can get to the good stuff. They don't need much explanation. These are from the guy I bought the bus from.

Hi Rudy,

I read your entire thread again. In the photo above, on the alternator those 3 lugs (on top@ 1 to 2 a clock) might be a 110 power source. I had one on my previous bus. There was a tag that stated the output, as I recall it wasn't very many amps, but it would power an electric drill or something like that.
Chuck

[Rudy]

Chuck, good observation. I will put a volt meter on there sometime soon and let you know if, indeed, that is an AC voltage source.

Of ALL the buses I have seen on the web, I still haven't seen exhaust stacks like mine. I guess that makes this a rare Bird.

[Big bad bus]

Rudy,
WOW, you do excellent work! That is a very nice bus, I really like the dual stacks,

[Mark R. Obtinario]

Hey Rudy,

Sorry it has been so long since I have had a chance to comment here. With an 18-month old girl in charge around here my time is rather limited.

In regards to the ratio of 6.8, it is the rear end ratio that was in the bus when it left the factory.

In regards to the engine being an 1160, it is the older version of the 3208 and some think it is a better engine than the 3208. I know most people believe the fuel injection pump is better.

The piece you identify as the governor is in actual fact the injection pump that includes the governor inside of it.

I am not sure exactly to what you are referring in the picture with the screw in pipe fitting in the intake. I can't tell by the picture what sort of line is going into the fitting (fuel?, air pressure?, oil?). Without knowing what the line supplies or is supplying I have no guess.

In regards to keeping the interior warm during cold weather, you have two choices--you have to either keep the heat in or have a larger source of heat. Or a combination of both. Either way, blocking off windows during the winter and blocking off unused spaces would be a good first step.

[dburt]

At least we know "Mark O" is still around, we had not heard from you in a while Mark! I even posted a new thread topic recently to the effect that I was asking if anyone had heard from you, and were you still around? I had been asking about the Brazilian made Ford 7.8L 6-cylinder diesel, and what you thought about it. On some sites I read that some folks thing with proper care (luck?) they will go 500,000 miles. Other folks say they are a boat anchor at best. What is your take on them?

[Mark R. Obtinario]

The Brazillian 7.8L 6-cylinder is an okay engine for what it is. Given reasonable care it will go the distance you have most likely heard.

The problem is when it needs parts or service you will have to go a long way to find anyone that knows (as opposed to says they know) anything about them.

Ford has never supported their medium duty line very well. Ford has also put a lot of different OEM supplied engines in their trucks/buses over the years so there is very little commonality among them. Ask anyone who has had a Ford bus and they will tell you the tale. It all part and parcel to the problems of getting parts and service for large Ford products. The local Ford garage will look at you very oddly if you go in there asking for anything unless it happens to be an exclusive Ford truck dealer (a Ford dealer that doesn't deal in cars) or a dealer that sells a lot of trucks larger than an E/F-350.

In the medium duty arena the Isuzu, Mitsu, Hino, and UD engines are a much better choice due in large part to the fact they are supported much better than the Ford product.