1973 Blue Bird
Moderator: TMAX
Bus outside
Here is a pic of the bus taken by the seller at his place.
Power Panels
These are the power panels located in the kitchen, next to the stove. Electrical is not my forte and I will have to figure out how to hook up generator, shore line, and 12 volt systems. Oh Joy!
Last edited by Rudy on Sat Aug 29, 2009 8:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
Weight Placard
A weight placard.
Last edited by Rudy on Fri Jan 28, 2011 5:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
White steering wheel
Here is the white steering wheel and simple dash gages. The wood trim around the gages has been replaced with a nice stained wood that now goes all the way across the dashboard.
The seat has been replaced.
On the horn button, it reads, "Ross cam and lever steering".
The door is air actuated. You can see one of the push buttons just inside the steering wheel next to the heat vent.
The seat has been replaced.
On the horn button, it reads, "Ross cam and lever steering".
The door is air actuated. You can see one of the push buttons just inside the steering wheel next to the heat vent.
Last edited by Rudy on Mon Apr 25, 2011 3:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Control desk
This is one control desk that was removed. It was located directly behind the driver's seat so all one had to do was turn the seat around and use the desk. There were a bunch of wires going to it. 110 and 12 volt as well. Now I have to figure out where to route all those wires.
Last edited by Rudy on Fri Jan 28, 2011 5:37 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Almost there
View of the front passenger side. One more metal tray to remove. It is over the wheel hump. It has been replaced with a dog bed, which you saw in an early pic. I'll get more into details of that later.
Last edited by Rudy on Sat Dec 25, 2010 3:27 am, edited 2 times in total.
Generator
Originally, there was a diesel generator installed in the rear of the bus. It was not there when I bought the bus.
My friend Donnie made a slide out tray on which I set the 4.0 Onan that I removed from the Dodge motorhome. There are wires already in that bin so I can hook up the gen. to the power panels.
I will have to mount one of the gasoline tanks from the Dodge, under the bus to feed the generator. Here are all the related photos of that.
Bendable exhaust.
Generator gone.
Donnie installing generator.
Rudy Happy.
Generator installed.
Where the generator lives.
Gotta go to work now. Gee, this is fun. More later. Keep on Bussin' Rudy
My friend Donnie made a slide out tray on which I set the 4.0 Onan that I removed from the Dodge motorhome. There are wires already in that bin so I can hook up the gen. to the power panels.
I will have to mount one of the gasoline tanks from the Dodge, under the bus to feed the generator. Here are all the related photos of that.
Bendable exhaust.
Generator gone.
Donnie installing generator.
Rudy Happy.
Generator installed.
Where the generator lives.
Gotta go to work now. Gee, this is fun. More later. Keep on Bussin' Rudy
Last edited by Rudy on Wed May 11, 2011 12:58 am, edited 10 times in total.
bus motorhome build
I have been visiting Mr Sharkey's for quite a few years now, and I am glad to find the forum! I really like the hippie era truck and bus "rolling homes" since I am kinda from that era. Should have bought the book "Rolling Homes" back in the '70's when they were cheap, I agnonized about spending the $5 or so it cost at a local bookstore back then. Anyway, I have an '83 Ward/International Harvester 44-pass bus that was governement surplus, only has 71,000 orginal miles, has the 210hp DT466 6-cyl turbo diesel front engine with 4-spd Allison trans. It runs out very well, but is governed to only 55 mpg. But bringing it home, I got 10mpg! I have been contemplating making it into a "rolling home". So I am getting inspiration from this site and Rudy's build with pictures. I look forward to seeing more pics and reading more of your work Rudy!
More to come
DBURT, There's lots more to come. I got off work early today and will be putting some more posts up. Thanks for responding. I have the Rolling Homes book. Those are some marvelous masterpieces in there.
Beginning of bunk closet.
The cabinet you see in the foreground stayed, as well as the one directly across from it (out of view).
The bunk trays and mattress pads are gone. One of the first building projects we did was build a large closet area with drawers on the passenger's side and a big shelf on top.
You can see some of the bendable 1/2 inch insulation that we covered all the wheel humps with. We used two layers and glued them with a spray adhesive called Misty. Caution: use adequate ventilation.
Directly across the closet, we built a twin size bed frame with storage underneath. You'll see it later.
The bunk trays and mattress pads are gone. One of the first building projects we did was build a large closet area with drawers on the passenger's side and a big shelf on top.
You can see some of the bendable 1/2 inch insulation that we covered all the wheel humps with. We used two layers and glued them with a spray adhesive called Misty. Caution: use adequate ventilation.
Directly across the closet, we built a twin size bed frame with storage underneath. You'll see it later.
Last edited by Rudy on Mon Apr 25, 2011 3:37 pm, edited 4 times in total.
A Big Mess
A big mess was had by all!
Last edited by Rudy on Sun Sep 20, 2009 2:44 am, edited 1 time in total.
Bus and truck
The bus and my little pickup truck.
Camp heaters.
It was still cold when we started working on this project, so I was using those camp heaters that you see on the floor.
You can also see one of the removed bunk trays and the water tank. I moved the water tank to under the fridge.
Now to the wood/coal stove. I found it on craigslist. It was only $200 and it had never been used. What a deal! It was lined inside with firebrick. I tossed and turned with the idea of keeping it. It is real sweet.
Ultimately, I realized there was no room for it as I had to have room for my recording studio, which left nowhere for people to sit. So I wrote a song for it-Ode To Stove. Here are the lyrics.
Oh my wood stove
will soon be leaving.
There's just no room for it
when you think of a couch.
Yes, there will be people coming over here,
and they will want to sit down.
Well, there's only room
for one small person on the stove.
I sold the stove for $200.
You can also see one of the removed bunk trays and the water tank. I moved the water tank to under the fridge.
Now to the wood/coal stove. I found it on craigslist. It was only $200 and it had never been used. What a deal! It was lined inside with firebrick. I tossed and turned with the idea of keeping it. It is real sweet.
Ultimately, I realized there was no room for it as I had to have room for my recording studio, which left nowhere for people to sit. So I wrote a song for it-Ode To Stove. Here are the lyrics.
Oh my wood stove
will soon be leaving.
There's just no room for it
when you think of a couch.
Yes, there will be people coming over here,
and they will want to sit down.
Well, there's only room
for one small person on the stove.
I sold the stove for $200.
Last edited by Rudy on Mon Apr 25, 2011 3:37 pm, edited 4 times in total.
Front room work site.
This is the front room work site.
On the right you can see the furnace I removed and sold. Some guy drove 200 miles to come and get it. I guess $50 was a good price.
On the left are two long curtains made of heavy material. I mounted them on tracks to isolate the bedroom which is in the middle of the bus. Had this been a totally empty bus when I bought it, I would have laid it out differently. I had to work around the existing structure.
The furnace is sitting on the last of the metal frames that supported all the car seats you saw earlier.
Towards the rear you see one of the five stacks of bendable insulation that were given to me by my friend Stanley. He got them from a factory he worked at.
They were used as packing material when they received shipments. He collected them for almost a year. He still has many more. Each piece is 2 feet by 2 1/2 feet.
It is made out of a spongy closed cell foam very similar to the wrapping around some soda bottles or fruit juice bottles, only a half inch thick.
Stanley is also the guitar player that I get together with weekly to play music and record. He has been playing for over forty years and has his own style.
On the right you can see the furnace I removed and sold. Some guy drove 200 miles to come and get it. I guess $50 was a good price.
On the left are two long curtains made of heavy material. I mounted them on tracks to isolate the bedroom which is in the middle of the bus. Had this been a totally empty bus when I bought it, I would have laid it out differently. I had to work around the existing structure.
The furnace is sitting on the last of the metal frames that supported all the car seats you saw earlier.
Towards the rear you see one of the five stacks of bendable insulation that were given to me by my friend Stanley. He got them from a factory he worked at.
They were used as packing material when they received shipments. He collected them for almost a year. He still has many more. Each piece is 2 feet by 2 1/2 feet.
It is made out of a spongy closed cell foam very similar to the wrapping around some soda bottles or fruit juice bottles, only a half inch thick.
Stanley is also the guitar player that I get together with weekly to play music and record. He has been playing for over forty years and has his own style.
Last edited by Rudy on Mon Apr 25, 2011 3:39 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Back to closet
Back to the closet. You can see that the wheel hump has been insulated. I put a face frame (3/4 birch plywood) on the front.
The black area you see is where the hump ended and there was flat floor. I basically built a box and lined the inside with black trunk mat carpet. Once again, I used the spray adhesive for that.
Next comes the closet floor and a door for the shoe cubby. The side wall is also insulated with two layers of the Stanley insulation.
The black area you see is where the hump ended and there was flat floor. I basically built a box and lined the inside with black trunk mat carpet. Once again, I used the spray adhesive for that.
Next comes the closet floor and a door for the shoe cubby. The side wall is also insulated with two layers of the Stanley insulation.
Last edited by Rudy on Mon Apr 25, 2011 3:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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