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Oct 31, 2009 12:10:23 GMT
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The last bus I had was a full size 1971 Bedford coach, which I outfitted with everything, including the kitchen sink (and a shower, cooker, solid fuel stove etc), and drove to India. That was a hell of a job - to make the furniture Indian road proof, we had to make welded steel frames, clad with ply. This bus will be for mucking about in the summertime, camping, festivals etc, so it can be a good deal simpler! We bought it from people who had used it to make cups of tea for teenagers and tell them about God. It was known, on it's Isle of Wight home, as the God Pod. This is what it looked like when I picked it up a few weeks ago: Apparently, the initials stood for Jesus Christ Witnesses God's Victorious Army. Catchy eh? That'll have to go. Some fairly partisan decoration, too. Also for the chop! So, the interior currently has lots of sideways facing seats, and an industrial kitchen. The kitchen has to go, and hopefully I can raise a few squid to pay for the rest of the interior by selling it. A double bed will go widthways across the back, or rather, a mattress fits, just below window height. I suspect the divan will not fit at floor level, which is slightly narrower, so some custom tailoring will be required. We'll keep at least 4 pairs of seats, but as they are, they're taking up a lot of space, and aren't particularly safe to travel in, specially for children in child seats (we have an 20 month old, and our friends who we do most fun things with have a 14 month old), so they're going to be refitted, booth style, two pairs facing each other. This will only leave a narrow gap, so I may stagger them to make it easier to get through. If I can wangle it, I'll fit them in such a way that I can easily put boards across them, and turn them into extra beds. Other than that, we'll probably keep it pretty simple. A cupboard on which I can mount a Baby Belling, and not much else. Perhaps one other cupboard? For now, we want to keep it simple and flexible - not planning to install lots of plumbing and gas etc, but instead to get it ready to be slept on, and then see how we get on with it next summer. Today's jobs, rip out the SPAM FROM, fit the bed, release the seats and move them around to see how they'll work best. Anyone know anything about seatbelts?
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Last Edit: Oct 31, 2009 12:12:59 GMT by rmad
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Oct 31, 2009 12:13:47 GMT
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That's gonna be awesome. Dare I ask how much you paid for it?
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Oct 31, 2009 13:06:40 GMT
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We stole it. £500, and the engine and box only have about 40k miles on them. No MOT, but no reason to think it won't fly through. Just need to get it looking enough like a motorhome that I can replate it as such, so it goes through a car MOT
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Oct 31, 2009 15:50:03 GMT
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Ok, so I ripped out the SPAM FROM (with the help of a mate - the cupboard one in particular weighed a bloody ton!), and tucked 'em behind my side fence, where soon there will be a garage, in preparation for putting them on ebay tomorrow That left me with this lovely big space in the back But as predicted, the bed base didn't quite fit. So, I took one side of the divan, removed all the end pieces so it looked like this, and cut everything down a couple of inches I'm the world's worst carpenter, and whilst I spent ages sorting that out, my younger son decided he wants to be a bus driver: Then once it was cut down to size, I put the end pieces back on, this time with screws rather than the staples used when it was made: And offered it up. It fits! All that's needed now is a bit of tidying and stapling the fabric back into place. I had hoped to get the seats unbolted too, so I could move them around and experiment with different arrangements, but Mrs SamWise has made all sorts of halloween plans which involved her needing to pop out and pick up friends whilst I look after little 'un, so for now, this is it.
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Oct 31, 2009 19:16:05 GMT
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you gotta keep the partisan mural on the side that would be a great talking point, & for laughs! brilliant!!!!
just class what a bargain
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Mini 998cc grp bonnet & boot, lightend shell, 6-point cage, soon to have a turbo on the 998 engine (t2 frm a r5gt) rs turbo intercooler, hoping to get 120ish bhp?
father is building a Mini Van 1330, 45 weber, 100bhp@wheels
'RIP' 1.8 Metro GTi, 15.23 1/4mile
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Oct 31, 2009 22:29:46 GMT
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Awesome!
I think i read about your india excursion in a magazine. Did the windscreen come out / suffer in some way?
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You're quite right. It was in Practical Classics. I still own that bus actually, though tomorrow, it may get swapped for a chopper motorcycle!
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stwat
Part of things
Posts: 546
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That's fantastic and for only £500
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1992 190E 1.8 manual
1989 300SE Low mileage LuxoBarge
1988 190e 2.6. 1988 190 2.3-16 Cosworth
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stealthstylz
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 14,840
Club RR Member Number: 174
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That'll be ace. I'd replace the faces on the partisan drawing with the one from "The Scream" by Edvard Munch.
Matt
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will
Posted a lot
Posts: 4,023
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Thats vantastic , sorry
Always loved the look and shape of these, shall be keeping a eye on your progress as also building a albeit smaller (swb transit) camper for our family excursions.
I'd be tempted to paint a big Fifes or such like banana sticker on the side or maybe just turn the whole bus into a big nana. ;D
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That'll be ace. I'd replace the faces on the partisan drawing with the one from "The Scream" by Edvard Munch. Matt Heheheh - they've already been oversprayed. We live on a mostly council estate, and they were just going to draw TOO much interest from the local feral children. So far, they've left the bus alone.....
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Nicola and I like it, sad that one has to de-sensitise it, if thats the right description for getting it below the visual radar of scrotes and inbreds.
Bargain of year for what you plan. The price of a fairly simple trailer, or even a pushbike.
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tetleysid
Part of things
rockin reimo
Posts: 138
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Alleluya brother and second what Grizz said
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tetleysid
Part of things
rockin reimo
Posts: 138
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We stole it. £500, and the engine and box only have about 40k miles on them. No MOT, but no reason to think it won't fly through. Just need to get it looking enough like a motorhome that I can replate it as such, so it goes through a car MOT I think there is a seperate test for "living vans".........don't worry the test is sympathetic to old buses and big campers ;D
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Rocco
Part of things
Merc Mafia
Posts: 70
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Nicola and I like it, sad that one has to de-sensitise it, if thats the right description for getting it below the visual radar of scrotes and inbreds. Bargain of year for what you plan. The price of a fairly simple trailer, or even a pushbike. To be honest, I wouldn't want to be carrying all that Christian imagery anyway. The other issue is that the Scuff love to pull hippies over and aggravate them, so we want it to be a bit stealth in that regard too.
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That'll be ace. I'd replace the faces on the partisan drawing with the one from "The Scream" by Edvard Munch. Matt or magnificent 7 or auf wiedersehen pet or the 66 world cup squad etc etc ;D WANT a bus like that
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2001 HONDA CT110 (NOT RCV)
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oh and less than 8 seats and itll test as a car anyway
wheres the chap on here with the single decker turning it into a camper?
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2001 HONDA CT110 (NOT RCV)
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Hairnet, do you mean this single decker? If so, it's samwise, who is also doing this one. If not, I've not noticed it before.
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Jan 10, 2010 16:08:18 GMT
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The Bedford above WAS mine, and WAS converted to a camper 13 years ago, and driven to India and back. I swapped it for a motorbike, when I bought this, and the chap that bought it has new windscreens already. I'll try to update that thread - I'm going to see how he's got on next weekend. I did some more work on the Merc today, first time in weeks. Finished the bed, got most of the seats out (they were literally just screwed to the floor!) two recalcitrants screws remain, one in each of the frontmost seats. Had a bit of a change of heart; we're going to get shot of the seats, and replace them with pairs of minibus seats, with integrated 3 point belts and headrests and what have you. Much safer, and cheap enough from eBay, so maybe even cheaper from a breakers? Or does anyone have some? Going to go with 4 pairs on the passenger side of the bus, facing each other fore and aft, cafe booth style. The on the other side, a set of bunk beds, but modded with the lower bunk on the floor. I have 2 kids already, and lots of friends, to more beds make sense. Between those and the double bed will be cupboards, with the cooker mounted on one. Here's progress to date (seats are not anchored where they are - we were just moving them around to see what would work):
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