RepairmanSki
Observer
:ylsmoke:
I bought it, that it?
Come-on, How about a little more info on your experience?
Fair enough =)
I only just got back, still doing a bit of catch up around the house.
The seller, Bill, is a great guy. he's been welding since Junior High and now at age 69 still going after it. His metalcraft is flawless. The window fill in the back half ought to serve as inspiration for any other bus conversions. I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with him, he had a fantastic shop and the skills to make full use of every single tool in it.
My only gripe was that after driving down and spending 8ish hours going over the bus and ensuring it was roadworthy, only then did he mention that it needed to be a cash sale. Not personal check, not cashier's check, literal cash. That posed something of a problem. I ended up driving on to Phoenix to spend the holiday with family (as intended from the outset) but now needed to manage some financial shenanigans to migrate my money into local accounts *and* to receive it as cash out the door. It worked out, but it was a narrow thing.
The bus drove very well, the trip from the Victorville area to my home put more miles on it then he had the three years he owned it. I knew going in that I was likely to have to deal with some old/brittle/shrunken gaskets and that was accurate. It leaked everything but washer fluid on the way. I added about 4qts of engine oil, 3qt of trans, and 3G+ of water. The water was the most distressing because the leak was in the firewall/bulkhead fittings for driver heat. I attempted a roadside repair, but it would have meant tearing down the entire driver console and I was pressed for time. It was either a wet floorboard or freeze half to death though.
He changed out the wheels/tires for a slightly taller set and the speedo was off as a result. Not dramatically, ~5mph @ 60. Since it sat for so long, I'm not going to be comfortable taking it out into the sticks until I can get my hands on a service manual and perform a major maintenance. I don't suppose that it needs it (beyond the gaskets issue), I just require it for my peace of mind.
