newbies 4905A w/rust, worth saving?

[Barn Owl]

With that little bump-out on the tail gate it looks like you might have Jake brakes.

[fortyniner]

Im not familiar with jakes, except for the noise. Is there a control on the dash for that? I do note the emergency stop solenoid is removed for some reason.

[pabusnut]

49'er--Don't Despair.

I replaced the whole floor in my bus front to rear--but did it one section at a time.  The original pieces are like 5' x 8', and yes they are dato'ed (or rabbitted- I don't work w/wood much) under the edge of the wall where the bolts hold it in. 

I removed all the torsion bars(carefully) that lift the doors, and replaced them with gas struts which exert no force on the floor.  The original floor was 5/8' plywood, and I went with 3/4 exterior ply (not treated, not marine grade).  The new pieces are joined at the tunnel(side to side) and bay walls(front to back).  Before installing them, I sealed both sides with several coats of Thompsons water seal.  All new elevator bolts were installed at the edges (LUKE at US COACH has the right bolts to do the whole job).  I also installed three 1-1/2"x 1-1/2" angle iron struts (side to side) under each of the outboard sections that are over the three bays to make the floor more solid. I also replaced all the floor in the front under the driver area and around the entry door.  There are over 100 bolts in the one roughly 3'x4' section under the driver's seat!  If you take your time and think it through, you can do a quality job.

Steve Toomey
pabusnut

[Gary LaBombard]

Fortyniner,
I will not try to ruin your dream in any way, lord knows I am still working on mine, going on 8 years now!!  My advise, get one in better condition than this one shows to the naked eye without even an inspection.  The cost is much much less than I paid for mine, can't stop now on my end with my investment.  But now do I have enough years to enjoy it after getting it completely roadworthy??  

if your are not an good on welding, electrical reconfiguring or truly mechanically inclined, keep looking.  But, don't let me ruin what dream you have if you have the spirt go for it.  I did, but I am just passing on 8 years of experience here, lots of good deals out there.  Uncle Ned knows of a beautiful 4104 I believe to look at, no work involved, pay and drive if I remember right.  

My health starting to give me serious problems now, I have no idea when my conversion will be usable so think it over.  Good Luck, I wish someone had told me this advise 8 years ago next week in fact!!  If you get it, there is lots of good guys here that can advise you how to repair etc.  

Good Luck again, don't even let me discourage you with this reply, it is intended to just be food for thought ahead of you.  
Gary

[fortyniner]

Today we are having a good rain and I found a major source of water leaks. The roof gutter was overflowing and water was getting behind the window seal then hopping onto the inner trim. Just pulling the inner trim out prevented water from getting to interior.  There is still some a small leak up high from the package rail. Not sure yet where thats entering from yet.