newbies 4905A w/rust, worth saving?

[fortyniner]

Hi, I wanted to get opinions of whether this old 4905A I bought is worth saving considering its rust issues. It was sub $3k and does run well, starting instantly and cruises at 70mph easily. The biggest worry is a weld repair done to a rib behind rear compartment bulkhead to a rib attaching upper air beam. Ive attached a couple of pics of rust but can uploaded more as it exceeds file size.
-Tom P.

[Tenor]

Well, anything is repairable with either skill, money or both!  How much of that rust is through the metal?  Can you see any water damage (rust or bad floor) below the driver's side windows from the inside?  Can you peek inside the driver's electrical compartment immediately left of the driver's seat?  that's a great place to see damage.  I can't tell much about the repair by the rib.  Is the muffler by the radiator or under the floor?  If it's under the floor and in bad shape, they can cause the floor to catch on fire!  Don't ask me how I know!  For under 3 if that's all the rust, if it keeps it's fluids, shifts well, holds air and has decent rubber (airbags and bushings and tires) and muffler, the cost isn't too bad.  Can you get us more pictures?  You also want to look around the original side windows for rust and around the rear window.  All of these pieces (except the roof cap) can be replaced with lot's of work, and you could do a fiberglass "Eagle-Look" front cap..

Glenn

[fortyniner]

Here are two more shots I just took. One shows window frame has hole. Wiring panel inside is ok. Have not looked behind it yet. The other is a shot of how the rear bulkhead was patched. This was done to both sides.

[Tenor]

Which window is in the top picture?  I can see that that airbag is whipped.  How do the floors look from inside the bays?  If they have gone bad, you can tell because the torsion bars for the bay doors will pull them down and out of shape.

Glenn

[fortyniner]

Thats the drivers side D-window. There is some rust in the inside at the same area. The torsion bar brackets are starting to pull the floor down in some places. I believe that could be fixed that by placing a long 6 inch wide 1/4 inch thick aluminium plate on top of flooring above brackets.  Then weld up some longer torsion bar brackets to accommodate the extra 1/4 thickness. 

[Tenor]

If the floors are pulling, you have to plan on pulling out the floor.  Your plan for reinforcing the floor would be an improvement.  I'd say that this is a coach on it's last legs.  If it's REALLY straight (no dents) maybe it's worth saving, but really it sounds like a parts bus.  My guess is you will continue to find rust and leaks from it throughout the coach.  Could you tell us about what skills and tools you have?  If you would need to send this bus to a  body shop for repairs to the rust, you will need REALLY DEEEEEEP pockets!  I don't want to sound discouraging, I just want to make sure that you get into a good bus experience!

Glenn

[gmbusguy1]

49'r  You may want to check the Bulkhead behind the FRONT axle for the same problem. the floor in a GM bus keeps the whole body from racking and keeps everything square. it is not uncommon for the corner angle uprights to be cracked and the fix/repair for these pieces is to replace them with aluminum angle or you can use steel either way just bolt them in place of the broken ones. also make sure that the bus is resting square and flat using wood blocks underneath.

by the way where are you and the Buffalo ?

Chris

[fortyniner]

Im located in Austin Tx. I started another thread just on the rust and included some close ups of some of the rust. I have a small machine shop in the garage and a good mig welder but my welding skills are not good enough to butt weld in patches on body work. I hope I didnt breach board etiquette by starting a rust specific thread. I had started this one earlier but the rust thing seems to be a separate issue. http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php?topic=15145.0

Im starting to think parts bus myself. I dont even see how the flooring can be installed. Seems you have to bow it up to slip it under the edges. Here a typical bad spot.

[Just Dallas]

Removed

[Tenor]

OK Fortyniner - now that I've seen the pictures in the other post, that's a pretty straight rig.  If you've got a welder, and some time to practice, I'd call it a keeper.  I was also under the impression that you hadn't bought this bus yet.  My bad!  If you have plans to re-skin the original sides to delete windows, you can loos the rust there.  You may be able to patch up the cab area as well.  You could do the fiberglass front and rear cap and fix the side drivers window.  Put it this way, you already own it for pretty little.  You could tear it apart, learn how to do the floor and other fixes and if it turns out to be a real turd, still make your money on parts.

Glenn

[fortyniner]

Your right,  I did miss out on the Franklin gig, and Im hungry too! Todays plan was to toss in a couch and mini fridge to get it re-registered as a motorhome  before the temp plates expire. The flooring kind of bummed me out though so I worked on the house instead. Glenn, if I can fix the cab rust that would totally change my perspective. So I guess Ill start there and see how far I get. Oh, took a look at the front bulkhead/beam junction and its ok, even has some original paint intact. At least thats something.

-Tom P.

[bryanhes]

I was getting ready to buy this one or at least go to Tennessee to take a look at it last june. I am now glad I found Ole Blue, LOL. I suppose anything can be fixed. The upside is that its a GMC 

Bryan

[wal1809]

Tell me your not going to part this bus out.  I didn't see anything that could not be fixed.

[Barn Owl]

No bashed in bay doors? You have it to easy.....

[fortyniner]

Well, that makes me feel better.  I think they were bashed in at one time. I can see some repair was done to the passenger lower floor edge but I guess the doors were replaced.

The repaired bulkhead brackets were a big let down but I guess if the rust can be slowed down a lot it maybe it will hold for the next 20 years or so. On balance, this bus has a lot of good points.  Steering is good, tranny and engine ok. Has an air throttle too. I would like to get stock a/c working since its already converted to 134A.  Guess thats a new thread.

Ive been wondering exactly how the flooring gets water damage along the edges so I pulled the air ducts to get a good look. A good rain came last night several areas along the floor edge were damp this morning. I suspect its getting behind the old window gaskets then flowing along the inner trim and down between the skin and insulation but didnt have time to pull wall panels and check before work. Ive ordered some rustbullet paint for the less severe rust areas but I need to figure out where the moisture is getting in before applying it.

The repaired bulkhead brackets were a big let down but on balance, this bus has a lot of good stuff.  Steering is good, tranny and engine ok. Has an air throttle too. I would like to get stock a/c working since its already converted to 134A. Guess thats a new thread.  If the rear bulkhead will hold for the next 20 years or so then this would definitely be worth bringing back.

I  like  GMC buses a lot. Back in the sixties when in elementary school,  any time there was a bus with the engine cover opened I would always sneak over and try to get a close look before the drivers shooed me away. I could not figure out how the sideways engine connected to the rear axle. I wondered if it had IRS or something.  Much later I realized the wild angled tranny and axle pinion setup. To me this was like some exotic military creation.  Im still amazed this was a production vehicle.  In some ways these gmcs remind me of old WWII aircraft with the stressed skin aluminum construction. I feel like Im flying a bomber when driving too!   Makes me wonder about the designers and engineers who created them and who they were.