1973 Blue Bird

Discussions about all things to do with buses, trucks, and the homes made within them.

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Rudy
Posts: 2762
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Strangeweather, Mo.

Temporary elec. feed

Post by Rudy »

This is the temporary electrical feed. I knew there were ghosts in this bus. Can you see it?

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Rudy
Posts: 2762
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Strangeweather, Mo.

Dog bed

Post by Rudy »

Over the right front wheel hump, I built one of the dog beds out of 3/4 plywood. Underneath it is my clothes hamper.

All of the cabinets are put together with L brackets on the inside so you don't see any screws. I have gone through 200 of them now.

The ceramic tiles you see next to the bed are going on the kitchen and bathroom floor. I got a hundred of them for $80. Good price. I bought them from a friend.

I used grey trunk mat carpet on top of the dog bed and spray glued it on. The front of the dog bed makes a handy hand hold as you enter the front steps.

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Another view.

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Last edited by Rudy on Mon Apr 25, 2011 3:41 pm, edited 6 times in total.
Rudy
Posts: 2762
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Strangeweather, Mo.

Fridge and bed.

Post by Rudy »

When I got this bus, there was already an area for the fridge to be housed. There was no fridge though.

So Shawn and I took some measurements and went to the Dodge motorhome that I am dismantling. Lo and behold, with just a minor adjustment, we got the fridge out of the motorhome and installed it into the bus.

What a chore that was! We had to remove the door frame from the Dodge just to get it out. It was a breeze to get it into the bus because of the back door. Now THAT is cool. How many motorhomes have a back door?

In this picture you see the bifold door that was for the bathroom, the fridge (gas and electric) and then the double bed. You're looking from the rear to the front. Oh, also the curtains I mentioned earlier are hung on their tracks.

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Last edited by Rudy on Mon Apr 25, 2011 3:42 pm, edited 4 times in total.
Rudy
Posts: 2762
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Strangeweather, Mo.

Hallway view of bed.

Post by Rudy »

Hallway view of bed looking towards the rear. Again made from 3/4 inch birch ply and fastened with L brackets from the inside. Much storage underneath. The floor underneath is insulated with 3/4 inch stiff board insulation as well as the side wall.

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Rudy
Posts: 2762
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Strangeweather, Mo.

Another bed view.

Post by Rudy »

Another bed view. As I mentioned, there is insulation on the floor and on top of that, I put 1/2 inch plywood.

You can barely see the Stanley insulation on the wheel hump. At the foot of the bed is a wall. It is the fridge area wall.

The fridge sits high so there was room to put the water tank under there. It is too long to have it stick in the hallway so I cut a hole in that wall and ran it partially under the bed.

You will see a better picture of that. The bed frame sticks out into the hallway 8 inches but does not impede traffic because the closet across from it sticks in 6 inches.

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Last edited by Rudy on Mon Apr 25, 2011 3:43 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Rudy
Posts: 2762
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Strangeweather, Mo.

Now a twin bed

Post by Rudy »

Now a twin bed. A view looking forward from the kitchen. On the left, part of the fridge, the curtain, then the bed. On the right some wires from the box. You can see that the wall has been insulated. It is now covered with the grey carpet.

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Last edited by Rudy on Fri Jan 28, 2011 5:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Rudy
Posts: 2762
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Strangeweather, Mo.

Under the fridge

Post by Rudy »

Here you can see where I cut that wall so I could stick the water tank under there as well as under the bed.

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Rudy
Posts: 2762
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Strangeweather, Mo.

Storage under bed.

Post by Rudy »

There is lots of storage under the bed.

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Last edited by Rudy on Thu Nov 26, 2009 3:08 pm, edited 7 times in total.
Rudy
Posts: 2762
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Strangeweather, Mo.

Water tank hole

Post by Rudy »

This is the hole I cut on the fridge wall to house the water tank. This was before we built the bed frame. This is at the foot of the bed. Notice how we insulated the wheel hump with bendable insulation.

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Last edited by Rudy on Thu Nov 26, 2009 3:08 pm, edited 4 times in total.
Rudy
Posts: 2762
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Strangeweather, Mo.

Post by Rudy »

Build the bus. Build the bus.
Build the bus tonight.
Oh what fun, it is to build, the Blue Bird bus tonight.':)'
Last edited by Rudy on Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:59 am, edited 2 times in total.
Rudy
Posts: 2762
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Strangeweather, Mo.

Mock up cabinets.

Post by Rudy »

Stanley came over one music night and when I mentioned that I was going to put upper cabinets in the front room, he suggested we make up some mock ups.

I got a bunch of cardboard from the shop and he proceeded to make these things so we could get the feeling of the ergonomics of it.

This is in the front room on the driver's side. Although the final product is not exactly the same, it gave us an idea of what it would be like.

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Last edited by Rudy on Mon Apr 25, 2011 3:44 pm, edited 4 times in total.
Rudy
Posts: 2762
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Strangeweather, Mo.

More upper cab mockups

Post by Rudy »

A different view of the mock ups.

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Last edited by Rudy on Thu Nov 26, 2009 3:10 pm, edited 4 times in total.
Rudy
Posts: 2762
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Strangeweather, Mo.

Passenger side mockups

Post by Rudy »

Passenger side mockups. You will see how they ended up. There are still many pictures.

Notice the front area above. All that metal was covered and the door was replaced with wood. I saved the placard that says ALL AMERICAN.

I only recently discovered that that signifies the chassis that this bus is built on. How did I learn that? By reading the forums on Sharkey's web site.

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Last edited by Rudy on Mon Apr 25, 2011 3:44 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Rudy
Posts: 2762
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Strangeweather, Mo.

Doggy time

Post by Rudy »

I gotta go now. It is time to walk the doggies. I have been posting for three hours now and I am getting brain fried. Perhaps later this evening, I will be able to get more stuff posted. Keep on Bussin' Rudy
Rudy
Posts: 2762
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Strangeweather, Mo.

My dogs

Post by Rudy »

Allow me to tell you about my dogs. Oh, by the way, would you pass the Grey Poupon? (HUH?) "Oh, I am sorry sir, but it was the usual brown". Well, that will have to do.

Oh, where was I? oh yeah, dogs. Remember that little 1953 trailer you saw in one of the pictures? I said I had lived in it for five years. It was behind the Dodge motorhome and the bus, in a previous picture.

Well, Buddy (my gelding dog) lived with me for a few years in that thing. The trailer once housed my stained glass workshop. I have some pictures of that. Then it became an amazingly productive recording studio, despite it's size (11 by 6).

All the while, Buddy and I lived and slept in there. Fortunately, I was renting the space to park the trailer and had use of a garage that had a full bathroom and shower. I also had an electrical feed. My spot was hidden away on a friend's property here in Tenn.

Amazingly enough, both Buddy and Emma both found their way to my little trailer. Obviously, they were wanderers. That is precisely why they are are on a life term sentence on the leash. How I wish I had dogs that just wanted to always to be by my side, BUT NO, I have two dogs that in a split second, if they realize they are not "on the hook" , thats exactly what they will do---SPLIT.

OK, let me tell you of their virtues. Let me preface by saying that after so many years of living in vehicles, I tend to think of the vehicles as space ships because they are SO far away from the norm. Sometimes I think normal people might think of me as a subversive character. Well, that is their problem. I am the smart guy. I don't have a giant mortgage. Everything I own is paid for.

Back to the dogs. First, they are good astronauts in my space ship. They have never chewed up any of my stuff. They are very mellow when they are inside the bus, or any vehicle I may be in.

Emma, the black female found me two years after Buddy did. They are both Lab mixes. I am almost sure that Buddy has a small amount of Akita in him because of his front leg stance. Emma is totally black haired. Totally. Kind of a ninja dog. She is always quiet,except for when she sings.

Sings? You say. Why, yes I say. She has command of about eight notes, a very good glissando, both up and down. She has good phrasing. I first discovered her abilities when practicing the accordion. The only time she sings is when I play the accordion.

Noticing that her singing was not just a one time fluke,and recognizing, after a few weeks that there was a consistency in her delivery, I decided to try and find the key she liked to sing in and the style of music that would fit in with her utterances.

It's the blues in C or G. She also wails to an Am tango, but that is really not her key. I have one recording of her and if anyone should request to hear it, I could email the mp3 file.

Now on to Buddy. He does not sing. All he does is howl very loud when the fire engines leave the firehouse that is close to me. He is, however, my eyes and ears at all times when he is in the bus. I provide him with windows to look out of. Depending on his particular bark, I can tell if what he sees is human, animal, or vehicle. He is forever watching. I don't know if it is his nose or his ears that wake him instantly even at three in the morning. He is my RADAR.

Buddy weighs about 60 lbs. He likes to be outdoors during the day. I built him a large fenced in area out back of the bus. It has a real nice and large dog house. I have crawled in there one winter night and cuddled with him for a few hours. I was impressed with how warm it was. Both dogs sleep in the bus at night. Buddy is built like Arnold used to be. You know, the Governator.

Emma wants to stay inside during the day. Lucky her, she gets air conditioning. She weighs about 75 lbs. I walk both of them a few times a day. Buddy gets three cups of dog food in the evening. Emma gets only two cups of dog food. I can't let her explode. Here they are.

BUDDY

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ME AND EMMA

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Last edited by Rudy on Mon Apr 25, 2011 3:07 pm, edited 7 times in total.
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