… AND NOW THE REST OF THE STORY

Remember the door? Well, I thought I'd have it wrapped up in another day after my last post. WRONG!! That thing went from a 2X to a 5X project. I know it's just a door – an inanimate object, but the thing has really pissed me off. I got it hung, installed the four seals around the casing, and it wouldn't shut all the way. Stuck out almost a quarter of an inch at the top and more than an inch at the bottom. I removed the seals (about 30 screws) and reassessed the situation. First problem – the bottom of the door didn't follow the curve of the bottom contour of the bus. To fix this I had to remove the inside panel (another 40 screws), make two cuts on each door edge (that hurt me more than it did the door) and bend the door to fit the contour of the bus (self taught bus chiropractor). Closed the door – fit perfect! Re-drilled, re-countersunk and re-screwed the inner panel back on to the door. Putting the screws back in the same holes would push the door back into the previous alignment. Reinstalled the door seals. Door would still not shut all the way. I tell myself “perseverance is the key to success” and proceed to remove the 30 door seal screws AGAIN! I removed the 1/8 inch thick steel door jam liner (not its real name, I'm sure) that I thought was part of the original structure. SCREWED THE THIRTY SCREWS TO REINSTALL THE SEALS FOR THE THIRD TIME. And closed the door. It still sticks out a quarter inch at the bottom, but I can't face it anymore right now. I'll tweak it later. I did add a handmade aluminum striker plate for the dead bolt.

With the nightmare temporarily behind me, I move on to rebuilding the dash. I had cut out the original aluminum dash board because it was bent, dented, and had about five coats of paint on it. To build a replacement, I cut a paper template of the dash, transferred it to half inch plywood, and cut out the new plywood dash. I then ripped a 1½” PVC pipe in half and then in half again. I now had a quarter round that I glued to the front edge of the plywood. Next – cut out the holes for the defrost nozzles. The four windshield defrost nozzles are made of cast aluminum and, of course, had several coats of paint. I stripped the paint and Scotch brushed them to a satin finish. Blind nuts were inserted into the plywood to bolt the dash down. Then the plywood was covered it with foam backed Naugahyde. I reinstalled the nozzles, bolted the dash in place and ran ducting from the under-dash heater to each of the nozzles. The finishing touch - gauge cluster and pedestal mounted onto the dash board, and hook up the door opener crank. Dash and gauge cluster installed and ready to begin wiring!

It's getting cold and I've put off laying the linoleum flooring in order to pour concrete in my new shop. This weekend is supposed to stay above freezing, so it's now or never. We got the flooring in Elkhart for $200. Its 7'x45'. It will cover the floor with a one foot wide void that will be hidden by the closets and cabinets along the driver's side. Two patches will be needed to extend the flooring to the left wall. One for the potty room, and another in the front living room and driver's area.

Needed supplies – utility knife blades - bought a container of 100 at Level Park Hardware (AKA Barry's Paint and Hardware) along with three propane refills and some more JB Weld (never be without this!).  Went to Becke's Equipment Rental for a one  hundred pound roller, then, I stopped in at Battle Creek Tile and Mosaic to make sure I got the best adhesive. After explaining what I was doing and talking about the bus and blog, Mr. Zanetti gave me four gallons of adhesive and loaned me the trowel. These are great folks! Started at 10:00. Finished at 5:00. Three heaters will keep her warm for three days to allow proper curing of the adhesive.

 

So I finished putting in a few small patches to finish up the linoleum - like to the left here.  Then, to get an idea of how things are going to fit (and get a feel for what it's gonna be like someday), I put the driver's seat up on a pallet and just sat behind the wheel.  It felt great.

Thanks to Battle Creek Tile and Mosaic. Check out their website  (Or their Facebook page)  And to Barry's Paint and Hardware