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ezrablu - 1991 Bluebird of Happiness

Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 6:08 pm
by ezrablu
Well I guess it's time I start posting some photos of my bus like I said I would quite a while back :oops:

I'll try to explain them if I remember to but most are pretty self explanatory. So, here goes nothing:

Driving my bus home after buying it...
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It started to rain...
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Parked out front...looking out my son's living room window...
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Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 6:15 pm
by ezrablu
These next photos were taken before I painted it or did anything to it. I have it parked on my land (Lucky Acres)...

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Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 6:18 pm
by graydawg
EZRABLU I have a bus that same original color, what are the odds

Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 6:21 pm
by ezrablu
More of the same....

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Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 6:26 pm
by ezrablu
and still more before any work or paint...
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Parked at my sisters last spring when I would camp there...
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Parked on my land...
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Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 6:33 pm
by ezrablu
Motor...
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Can anybody tell me what is this? It has a crack in it...is it something important that I have to fix asap or not? It's near the air filter I think...
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Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 6:38 pm
by ezrablu
Tires and rims...
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Plates and info...
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Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 6:48 pm
by ezrablu
Six windows on each side and the two back windows were painted with black spray paint...
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Painted windows from inside my bus...view looking over my land...
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What I used to remove black spray paint from windows. Bought it from Walmart, worked great! Just spray it on and wait 5 minutes...
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Scraping with a razor blade...paint slid right off...
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View out window after paint removed...
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Removing lettering...NOT a fun job :thumbdown:
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Looking out the back door of my bus...part of my land...
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Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 7:04 pm
by ezrablu
This photo is a buddy who did some welding for me. He repaird the inside of the battery compartment by welding a new sheet of steel in there...
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The drawer is shot. When they salt the roads up here it sure eats away at metal. I'm gonna have to make a new one...
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I also had him weld a hasp so I can lock my battery compartment...I already have the door primed in this photo...
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Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 7:21 pm
by ezrablu
Here the bus has been sanded and is being primed for painting...
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Partially painted...
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This is the bus roof just after being sanded...
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This is after the first coat of rubberized roof coating. I put 3 coats on it...
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Something inside the bus...not sure what it's for :roll:
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But it looks better painted black :D
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Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 7:35 pm
by ezrablu
And one more before I hit the sack:

My dog Kitty LOVES sleeping in the bus...
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g'nite!

Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 3:03 am
by ezrablu
G'morning all...I'm having some coffee so I'll thought I'd post a few more photos of my conversion in process. These first photos are of the finished background of black paint and the white rubber roof paint. I still have to paint the design on it but wanted to at least get the whole thing painted so it wouldn't be sitting and rusting through the winter. It really is amazing how much a coat of paint does for looks.

Here's the front view...
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Driver's side view. As you can see I still have a few bus seat stacked there. I kept them cuz I might use them for my kitchen booth and the small jump seat for Kitty up front. Maybe.
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Rear view driver's side...
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Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 3:09 am
by Rudy
Is that green? I'm a little color blind. Did you spray the paint on? Is it oil based paint?

It would be great if you had the DT466 engine. Is there any way you can find out?

The thing inside the bus on the floor, which you painted black looks like a blower for the heat in the rear.

Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 3:19 am
by ezrablu
Rear view...
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View from one end of my land...
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Closer view from road, parked on my land. I found myself THREE 55 gal steel barrels to use for a burn barrel. Two of them have clamp on lids...not sure what I will use them for. Maybe just paint them up to protect them from the weather and save them till I do need them. The small barn in the background is abandoned on neighboring property.
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And this final photo is what I did in Adobe Photoshop for my final paint design. I did this last summer. All I have left to add are the bluebirds and swirlygig thingys. I'm not positive this will be the final design...but I think so. I haven't even posted this on my blog yet so you all are the first to see it...let me know what your think of it???

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Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 3:27 am
by Standaddy
Looing good Ezra. And ditto what Rudy said about the blower. The cracked plastic thing looks like an air-filter restriction gauge. Should have a green ring showing when there's no excess restriction (clean filter), and a red band when intake restriction rises, indicating that the air-filter is clogging. It's screwed into the housing/air-pipe or whatever, between the air-cleaner and intake manifold. As long as the cracked part isn't letting it suck dirty air in, bypassing the filter, it's no problem. If you think it might be doing so, there would be no harm in removing it and plugging the hole. Then you wouldn't have the easy indicator of filter-clogging, but so what? Got one on anything else you drive? Probably not. Just gotta check your filter yourself occasionally, which isn't a problem on a bus you don't put lots of miles on. The indicator was developed for an easy maintenance check on high mileage or high hour equipment.
Stan