Baby bus got saved!!

Tedsoldbus · September 14, 2022, 05:34:22 PM

You have a beautiful wife and the fact she smiles under a bus is a rare thing.
But Simon, we are old. More pictures of the bus you saved! What year, engine. You know. Things we old guys get excited about. And don't pick on our grey hair or we will ram you with our walkers and swing a crutch at your head....
Glad you saved it from solar disintegration. Would love to hear more about it.
Best regards, Ted

BusNit · September 14, 2022, 08:00:44 PM

Thank you Ted! We are both in our early 50's. I bought a Newell coach that was owned by an older couple that didn't do any work on the coach themselves. By that I mean they wrote checks for everything and the quality of work is more of zip ties and black tape. (Most of it having failed too!) The interior was peach, odd blues and grey with a ton of brass and gold finished with a substantial amount of bronze tinted mirrors everywhere. I stripped the interior sans cabinets and put in all new wall paper, flooring, ceiling lighting, re-glued failed laminate, tiled floor and bathroom, new upholstery and some other things. Exterior has some peeling clear coat at the front and mirrors. Overall the bus looks decent but the dark exterior plays havoc in 80º Arizona sun. There's no match to the heat gain by the black exterior with the spray foam. The heat just permeates right through. I did rebuild all condenser A/C motors along with new caps and starters. Love basement A/C's and they will have to cut my nuts off before I put a roof top unit. Love the clear ceiling span. (Plan on loading the roof with solar one day)

CrabbyMilton · September 15, 2022, 04:05:41 AM

As Frank Barone would say "Holy Crap!" That is one sharp looking bus.

What sort of powertrain do you have?

I'm 58 as of today and most of my hair is gray but I shave my head from April to October so hair or no hair is of little importance to me.

chessie4905 · September 15, 2022, 04:40:35 AM

pull the headlights and get them polished. will do wonders for the looks.

Tedsoldbus · September 15, 2022, 04:48:44 AM

Do you have a way to keep it inside? Is that your shop with a walk under the bus trench?
(Now I really don't like you...).
Very sharp looking bus. Sounds like you have come a long way to making it yours. How much more before you can take it on a trip or two? The heat should subside in Arizona pretty soon.
Best of luck with your project.

BusNit · September 15, 2022, 07:14:22 AM

Quote from: CrabbyMilton on September 15, 2022, 04:05:41 AM
As Frank Barone would say "Holy Crap!" That is one sharp looking bus.

What sort of powertrain do you have?

I'm 58 as of today and most of my hair is gray but I shave my head from April to October so hair or no hair is of little importance to me.

Thank you! It is the 8v92 with the HT740. Aside from an oil cooler leak, the engine looks and runs amazing

BusNit · September 15, 2022, 07:15:26 AM

Quote from: chessie4905 on September 15, 2022, 04:40:35 AM
pull the headlights and get them polished. will do wonders for the looks.

Those are Ford F-150/Bronco lights from the mid 80's. Newell uses 2 sets of them. I will just replace them when I get to the exterior side of things.

BusNit · September 15, 2022, 07:20:50 AM

Quote from: Tedsoldbus on September 15, 2022, 04:48:44 AM
Do you have a way to keep it inside? Is that your shop with a walk under the bus trench?
(Now I really don't like you...).
Very sharp looking bus. Sounds like you have come a long way to making it yours. How much more before you can take it on a trip or two? The heat should subside in Arizona pretty soon.
Best of luck with your project.

Thank you! I only have an outside parking spot and the service pit is located under the parking spot. We are on a little over an acre, but I can't afford a building out back for it. The concrete/block costs as well as total construction costs for the pit were just over 8k. I would never have done it had I known but the hole was cut in the slab and I dug it out before calling my concrete guy.

Aside from the oil cooler leak that I waited 2 months for the shop to fix and paid just over 1k for, our first trip is this Monday. Headed to Newell's factory in Miami, OK, onwards to a stop in Louisville KY. From there we go to Allentown PA to park the bus and take the Jeep to NYC to visit friends and family. When we leave NY, we head to a Newell bus rally in W. Memphis AR and finally home.

robertglines1 · September 15, 2022, 09:26:27 AM

those headlights are really hard to find--if you can at all... They make drop in xeon assemblies. Those ford type are real sensitive to voltage drop also. Ck at headlight plug. should read 13 plus with bus running. 12.5 yields only 50% of headlight lumens. If you were to luck upon set with glass lens that is much better. been there on this.