Week #5

Too many parts for a window

We took the windows that were removed last week completely apart to clean them thoroughly. It was a bit nerve wracking on the first one. After all, it IS very hard to find replacements for them. Once the first one was apart, it became much clearer how they are put together. It is rather simple actually! It takes about 45 mins to wash all the parts for one window. And there are 20 windows. Luckily this is something that can be done during the week at home with the bus in storage.

Removing more panels

We brought the bus home over the weekend to finish the removal of the side walls. The remainder of the ceiling supports were removed to get the bus down to bare bones. The side panels are bent underneath the window frames, requiring a grinding tool to get the panels off. All emergency windows had to be removed to allow a grinder to fit under the window frame, since those windows are constructed a little different. We pulled the insulation from behind once the side panels were off. Absolutely amazing how black and dirty it is back there. The bus was covered in black dust after we were done with it. We ended up with several hundred pounds of steel and a bare bus.

Wheelchair track

We were finally able to cut the last bolts on the remaining wheelchair track. Who knew that would be such a long and time-consuming process! The tool we bought on advice from our visitor from Idaho was definitely worth the money. Too bad we had to wait for the tool to cool down after each cut bolt, since that prolonged the completion of this part of the deconstruction considerably. But it worked and that’s all that matters!

Cleaning

The girls started on the cleaning. Even though a lot of the inside of the bus will be covered up, we want to make sure it is nice and clean underneath. N was very helpful to provide the entertainment. She read several books out loud while the girls worked.

Wiring

More wiring was removed from the front fuse panel, which controls the main bus operation. We started the bus, and all seemed fine. Brakes worked as they were supposed to, but now there was no display – no voltage or mileage displayed, no RPM indication and also no speed indication. It seems, once again, we cut too many wires.

Now the hunt for the right wire. We spent the entire Sunday afternoon finding all the wires that had been cut the day before. Then started the process to slowly try to find where they reconnect. And guess what. As it was getting dark and cold, we suddenly noticed there were two wires that had been missed in the reconnection process. They needed to be reconnected to allow the bus to be taken back to storage since tomorrow is a workday and we need our regular vehicle.

The wires got reconnected. The bus became drivable again, and taken back to storage. Now we have to reconvene on the last wiring bits to clean it all up again.

All in all the de-mob is pretty much complete. Time to thoroughly clean and fill the holes in the floor so we can paint it.