Bus Conversion Part 2: Bits and Pieces

"A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work."   

                                                                                                                                     ~ Colin Powell

Now that all the wiring has been ripped out from the back of the bus and the remains of the old insulation has been scraped away it's time to rewire the rear end for working driving lights.  Here we are, ready to get started.

First all the old corroded lights must be removed.

Nervous bus is nervous!

The workstation

Lloyd and Bro John are my knights in shining armor.  They both work for Firestone and actually know something about vehicles and their wiring.

                                 

             

Now I really thought I got more pictures of this process and the end result but apparently I did not, cause I'm a slacker.  Suffice to say we have some new working lights with much simpler wiring.  Yay!

Next up, the roof!  The seams of the roof leak a bit in some random places so before I can starting putting anything back in the bus I have to make her waterproof.  The old crusty sealand in the seams and around the bolts needs to go first and then new sealant can be applied.  This means grinding.  Lots and lots of grinding.

So many bolts!

Its only getting harder, I'm grimy and sweaty, my arms and shoulder are aching...

why is this so HARD??

...oh...

The best thing about this, when I went to ACE to get a new one I showed them this and the guy exclaimed "What are you doing, T-Rex dental work?!?"  Totally worth all the extra pain I put myself through before realizing my grinder wheel was toast.

Work is going MUCH faster now!

 All done and resealed!  Happy monkey!

The next part of the weather proofing is to replace the wood windows that started molding immediately in this super humid florida climate.  Remember all those ceiling panels I tore out.  Time to repurpose!

 While I was at it I figured I should get this side painted too..

New metal windows all cut out and painted, waiting to get installed.  So pretty!!

The pace is picking up so stay tuned, there's more to see but it'll have to wait til she gets back from the shop getting her brand new fuel pump installed...

To Be Continued...Again...