52 Short Bus will be rolling soon! any ideas?

[BBEEP]

Next step, Painless Wiring kit, some kind of heater, wipers, then interior.

[1956cameo]

Been watching this thread for a while but for some reason never posted. Just have to say that this is an awesome project. Decided I just had to subscribe. It is wonderful to see people fix up the old commercial vehicles.

Since I am a road warrior that travels the country picking up old vehicles, going to swap meets, attending major events like woodward dream cruise. I would love to have something like that to haul stuff with. I would put a bed and small kitchen/ dining area in the back. Heck I might even live in it if I owned it.

[BBEEP]

A hippie woman lived in from about 1985 to 2000. It took six weekends to prime the motor, cut off the berry vines and cut down a tree to get it out of the woods! It had a cooktop, frig, woodstove, bed, sink, etc. In fact, when I tore all that out, I found two kilos of pot! How much pot do you have to have to lose to kilo's?!?

[1956cameo]

I dont think it is a matter of how much pot do you have to have in order to lose two kilos. Instead it is a matter of how much pot do you have to smoke in order to FORGET about two kilos. So, I guess I know how you are funding this build?

[OrrieG]

Well now we know how you financed the build! My Dad's elk hunting rig (he is in Eugene too) in the 60's was a 56 GMC full size bus. They had size king bunk beds in the very back, then a wood stove, then toilet shower. Next came two eating booths that the table dropped for two more beds (he had 5 hunting parteners). Opposite the booths was a full size propane 4 burner stove and oven and a full size propane refer. They had added a waste dump tank, 100 gallon water storage tank and a 250 gallon auxially gas tank that filled through the original spout. It had a gmc 302 with Hydro auto trans. top speed was 45, 5 miles per gallon up or down hill. They could fill it up, drive to Ukiah Oregon and back. I used it a couple of times in the 70's and 80's for vacations. I also hunted with my Dad a couple of times. In 1979 the outside thermometer pegged at -20, we later found out it was about -30 where we were. With the wood stove going we sat around in tee shirts. That was also the year I got my first elk. I will see if I can find some photos of the bus. He offered it to me about 10 years ago when he had to liquidate his shop and property. I tried for three days and could not get it running and did not want to may to have it shipped to Idaho. We sold it to some freaks that pulled it out to Veneta to live in it! Next time I get over to Eugene I would like to stop by and see the short bus in person. Patrick

[BBEEP]

Next time I get over to Eugene I would like to stop by and see the short bus in person. Patrick[/QUOTE]

Come on by!

[watahyahknow]

i think you could ad a red line across the whole bus it would look nice , some sort of roll pan under the back would look good too .

when i saw the round and bulbious back of that bus i immediately thought it would be funny to paint a string on it

[BBEEP]

Originally Posted by watahyahknow

i think you could ad a red line across the whole bus it would look nice , some sort of roll pan under the back would look good too .

when i saw the round and bulbious back of that bus i immediately thought it would be funny to paint a string on it

What?

[toomanytoyz]

He May be Referring to a Thong Theme

[watahyahknow]

yeah there called different in europe i guess

[mr48chev]

That is looking pretty good. I'd either run a couch type seat around the perimeter of the interior or maybe a batch of conversion van swivel seats with three or four seats down each side. If it were mine I'd put in a small counter with a sink and a fridge/ice box under it just because. And the previously mentioned flat screen to keep the crew entertained.
I've known a few guys who had similar buses and they always seem to have a lot of fun with them.

[watahyahknow]

you could do an U shaped bench with storage underneath across the rear starting from the rearwheelwhells and do a j shaped bar on the passengerside from the couch to about the exit , that way when you have passengers they can sit in the driving direction as whell the bottompart of the J can be put against one of the ends of the u shaped couch and you can put a small tv monitor in there
the room from the bench to the driver seat and the wall to the bar is best left open you can roll out a matrass there or recieve guests you could put a fold down table in the middle of the bench the same way as a caravan so you can make a bed there but i think its better to leave it open during driving so people can move around

[BBEEP]

FOUND SOME SEATS! $5 each for all I can use bus seats, if I remove them. Headin north Saturday to get 'em. Maybe I'll find some 19.5 inch Stepvan wheels while I'm at it.

[BBEEP]

Seats for $5 had no upholstery. Bought some with original upholstery and seatbelts for $25. Still a good deal. Cut legs to fit my wheel wells, gonna do the floor and upholster the walls and ceiling before install. Try to get some pics soon.

[Dinos63]

great thread, nice work,to bad your are not closer i have a killer gmc hood thats full of louvers that would look sic on your bus

[Swifty]

I saw this and thought of your bus.

[BBEEP]

I KNEW there was a reason I bought the bus!

[texacokie]

Ok here is the link to the pictures

http://photobucket.com/ronsbus?albumview=slideshow

[sweet70beast]

Any up dates or interier pictures?

[watahyahknow]

there was a english custom car club that drove a chopped doubledecker bus around to the meets they http://www.aspects.net/~aelliott/picks/PIC00012.jpg

[BBEEP]

Starting the rewire on Monday. Lined up my Uncle in Yakima to do the upholstery over the winter. He actually cornered me at a family function and asked if he could do it!! He is a gearhead from way back, I can leave it 6 hours from here and trust that he will go above and beyond. Can't wait!!

[BBEEP]

Just back from the sound shop where it was completely rewired. Some of the cloth covered wiring was pretty scary.

[watahyahknow]

i bet they had a job with the wiring , dont think painless makes wiring for those big busses
im realy curious wat youre uncle will do to the interiour
have you decided wat layout to do with the seats ?

[BBEEP]

Just used a standard pickup wiring kit. The only extras I can think of is it has 5 dome lights, two gas tanks, and two windshield wipers. (and I added heated outside mirrors, just cause I could)

When the local Monaco Coach went out of business, my friend bought a bunch of prewired sound system items, so the bus will have surround sound!

I actually bought some original seats. Drivers side are three that will fit 3 children each, with seat belts. The passenger side has two seat belt sets per seat for kids. HOWEVER, I think only one adult on that side per seat and two per seat behind the driver. Total not counting the driver--9 passengers.
As far as the interior, I will be dropping it off before winter in Yakima, picking it up in the spring.

[laplander]

Any updates? I've just started work on '55 Shortie and someone posted up a link to your build. Looks great!!