Progress! Now that I can move without pain again, I've been working 8-9 hrs. a day on the bus. A couple of days ago, I woke up at around 6:30 and headed out to the bus. About 7:00 I get a phone call from my wife! She woke up and I was gone. She said I was retired and didn't have to get up that early. Yup, I'm retired, so I can get up any time, go to bed any time, and take a nap any time!

I mounted four 1200 cfm electric fans on the radiator to replace the single crank-driven fan that can only turn at 2000 rpm. They cover the entire radiator surface and have rubber gaskets that completely seal the space between the fans and the radiator.  Here is a pic with two of the four installed. I think sucking 4800 cfm through there should keep it cool.

Another objective I have is to significantly reduce engine compartment heat. It helps keep the engine cooler and it reduces heat radiated into the bedroom, which sits above the engine.  This is a problem once you've driven 500 miles and then park for the night. I'm adding more louvered vents to the engine compartment cover to exhaust hot air, fabricating a bigger and more efficient heat shield above the exhaust manifold, covering the bedroom portion with Dynamax heat/sound insulation, and wrapping the exhaust manifold and mufflers with heat shield (header wrap). The wrap has the added advantage of increasing exhaust velocity which increases fuel efficiency and horsepower. 

 

 

We want the bus to look original - no skinned-over windows and nothing on the roof. We'll be using mini-split air conditioners to eliminate the roof mounted units. So, I've been removing everything from the roof and patching the holes with aluminum sheet and automotive panel adhesive. I screw the panels down and then once the adhesive has cured I remove the screws, fill the holes, and it's ready for Bondo. So far I've removed the bathroom vent, refrigerator vent (going to A/C only for the fridg.) and one roof air conditioner. I've got one more air conditioner to remove, another roof vent, kitchen fan, and some plumbing vents. I'll have to reinstall the plumbing vent, but it'll be stealth.

I finally got the windshield(s) installed on the third attempt. I wanted to eliminate the big vertical bar that divides the right and left halves. I did this with the windshield when we built our '39 Ford street rod. I used panel adhesive to glue in aluminum strips on each side of the windshield opening to narrow the opening by an inch overall, then installed the windshield gasket, glass, and locking strip. That left an eighth inch gap in the center between the two halves. I filled that with clear silicone. The install is rock solid and smoooooth.

 

We went to Elkhart, Indiana today to look at driver and passenger seats. Teri found this surplus store online that had seats that fit our criteria. We drove down to Elkhart and found the place. No sign. No parking lot. Just a pole barn and an old 10 room motel from the 50's - stuffed with surplus RV parts. Tires, wheels, axles, tail lights, hitches, and other odds and ends take up most the space outside as well (sorry I didn't think to take a photo). I love these places. The owner is Raymond. He's about our age. His parents owned and operated the motel in the forties and fifties on old U.S. 20, a main east-west highway back in the day. Then the Interstate went in and the motel went bust by the late sixties. By then Raymond had started his surplus business next door to the motel. He hired his dad and they closed the motel. I think Dad has passed. Raymond's two boys “farted around with different stuff” and then finally joined the business as it slowly grew over the years. One of the boys told him they should start selling on ebay and build a website, so Raymond hired one of boys' friends to build a website and manage the internet sales. Raymond says, “things really got busy after that! I had to hire a person just to do packing and shipping”. His nephew “stocks and picks” at a second huge warehouse (at least 50,000 sq. ft.) about five miles away. He now has seven employees.

Back to the seats. The seats are out of a Toyota mini van. Real nice leather. Light gray with dark gray accents. Integral seat belts. They recline with leg rests. They are exactly what we were looking for. We bought four for the retail price of one! They're brand new "takeouts" from a company that makes “handicap” vans. We had to go to the other warehouse to get the seats. It has racks and racks, 20' high, filled with – think of something that goes in an RV. While "browsing" in this warehouse, we found the perfect vinyl flooring (used in shuttle-buses) and the gas cook top we've been looking for! Great finds! So we loaded up four seats, a 40 ft. roll of flooring and a stove top and headed home. We decided to stop for lunch and Teri spotted another RV surplus store – they're everywhere around Elkhart. So after lunch, we stopped over. I found a new propane fired furnace and a new water heater. Bought both for half of retail cost. I loaded them in the truck and our shopping was done for the day.

Chad, our oldest son, will be here tomorrow. He's staying for a week and helping me with the bus. Stay tuned!