Tough Love

  We have a new baby girl!  She had a rough trip from her old resting place, but with a little persuasion from a local towing service we have led her to her new home.  She is quite stubborn and I'm sure she was reluctant at first, having a group of strangers wake her with jacks, wrenches and new bottles of fluid.  Kinda reminds me of a being a kid going to the doc's office "I will make you feel better!" we told her.  Of course we forced it down her throat like any parent would. lol

  Now that we have somewhat established a relationship with her we must start to groom her appearance and behavior.  Sounds like she needs a little tough love.  Time to clean out the cobwebs young lady!  Yes we'll get the numerous wads of used chewing gum, wrappers, sucker sticks, coins and other debris from you too.  Winter is a good time to start some interior demo.


    I say "tough love" but I don't mean violent ripping and tearing.  We are quite carefully tearing her insides apart piece by peace.  Well, maybe a little rough, hey setting a broken bone isn't exactly pleasant either but is sometimes it has to be done.  Labeling parts and saving everything we can.  The beauty and nostalgia of all the brushed aluminum and original interior lighting will be priceless in our finished project.

  We had been previously told how removal of the original restroom in these buses was a bear.  So being young and eager little soldiers we started there first.  I can now report that they were indeed correct.  Most of the bottom screws packed tightly with dirt and rusted firmly into place.  Every fastener in this little waste closet was reluctant to budge.  The little triangle vent you see in the corner however makes a great place to sneak some extension cords and an air hose into our work area.

Whew, now that that part is done we removed a majority of the remaining seats as we are beginning to see that space is a premium during the deconstruction process.  Next we moved on to the luggage racks.  These racks were assembled very tough.  The aluminum rails below provided a firm outer structure for the racks and mounting points for the reading lamps.  We rescued 20 of these great little lumen providers for use in our project, plus a significant amount of aluminum that we might use for trim.

Removal of the ceiling followed as she does have a couple water leaks.  Much of this paneling was removed quite easily.  Near the leaky areas however was a different story.  My friend Fred however taught me a neat little trick for these deep rooted fasteners.  By using a short burst on the side of the screw with an air hammer and chisel bit installed, the rust would be jolted loose.  Much to my surprise almost all of them turned right out with a screw gun, even the rounded off ones!!  All the ceiling panels now removed and insulation pulled down I cam see that there are a few more leaks than I thought, but despite all the leaks, the structure is in much better condition than I had anticipated.  One main cross beam in need of straightening, one small brace in need of replacement and the roof hatch and one skylight in need of resealing.  Overall I am happy with what we found.  A daunting task of part removal and organization, a few sweeps of the broom and she is ready for another night of teardown.