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Wed Sep 19, 2007 7:58 am

bugboy63 wrote: that is definitly going to be a focal point at any show you take it to.

i'd get it runnin', give it a good cleaning and roll it like it is.

once the word gets out to more people about the rebirth of this bus,
i am sure you will start to get all kinds of people tellin' you stories
and bringing you old pics of this bus.

enjoy it 8)

For now, thats the plan. Scrub-a-dub-dub. Preserve the outside and do a mechanical resto. Maybe rebuild the riviera interior.

We'll probably just drive it stock for a while 'till all the bugs are worked out, then change things up a bit next year.

Im thinking about slamming it with a narrowed beam, straight axle and some polished empis. But ive already got a slammed single and a lowered westy, so ive been thinking about something alittle different

Maybe some some all terrain tires on black crowsfeet, a full black rack and Hurst bumpers. Kind of a safari style look.

Id love to find some vintage pics of it or hear some stories from people who recall seeing it. Were already starting to gather up old Dino Word memorabilia. We found a few 60s and 70s post cards and pictures of the place in some Eureka Springs Antique stores but none of them featured the bus. :cry:

Wed Sep 19, 2007 8:07 am

Quote: You know what, that's a good point! I mean, how many people went through that park and took pix with that bus in it? Hmm, sounds like a Google image search waiting to happen. :)

Ive tried to find some images online but havent had any luck. Just tried them again, and now our thread is on the top of the list :lol:

Wed Sep 19, 2007 9:50 am

WhitewallsJohnson wrote: Maybe some some all terrain tires on black crowsfeet, a full black rack and Hurst bumpers. Kind of a safari style look.

i am liking that ... :)

the wild, rugg-ed and the untamed nature of the theme ...

that would be a cool way to go 8)

but not too much .... don't get too carried away.

Wed Sep 19, 2007 10:16 am

That's an awesome bus! Congrats on the score & thanks for sharing all the pictures and information, it's nice to read.

For those of you that have never been to the town of Eureka Springs, it's a real trip. It's a small town, in a super hilly area of the Ozarks. There is an old hotel downtown that has like 7 floors, all of which have ground level entrances! The town was originally a beacon for spa-lovers, in the age when Victorian architecture was the rage. It seems everything in the entire town is built in Victorian and/or Gothic design. The coolest live show I've ever seen was in an old spa hotel during a freak blizzard - The Chris Duarte Band playing acoustic as the power went out & 13 inches of snow fell - it was a complete Norman Rockwell experience, w/o the need for anything stronger than caffiene. Good times!

Wed Sep 19, 2007 10:44 am

bugboy63 wrote: WhitewallsJohnson wrote: Maybe some some all terrain tires on black crowsfeet, a full black rack and Hurst bumpers. Kind of a safari style look.

i am liking that ... :)

the wild, rugg-ed and the untamed nature of the theme ...

that would be a cool way to go 8)

but not too much .... don't get too carried away.

I dont think id even go as far as Kevin. I think he lowered the tranny mounts and had raised spindles and beams to clear those tires. Then you have issues of gearing to push those things down the highway.

Im thinking more along the lines of some 205 A/Ts with stock suspension. A stock bus sits plenty high enough for any situation id WILLINGLY find myself in :)

Wed Sep 19, 2007 2:10 pm

Chad, I am glad to see that you got that bus. My wife and I used to frequent that park back in the day when it was open, and we tried more than once to buy that bus. I have a lot of photos from the park itself, but they are on film and I don't have a scanner here to post them online. I also have some attraction brochures for it as well. Next time you are in town we can get together and I will show them to you.

Wed Sep 19, 2007 3:49 pm

I like the safari theme idea! A good aggro tire, hursts...totally! Maybe you could zebra-stripe the hursts or the rack.

Wed Sep 19, 2007 6:30 pm

Mr. Bubblehead wrote: Chad, I am glad to see that you got that bus. My wife and I used to frequent that park back in the day when it was open, and we tried more than once to buy that bus. I have a lot of photos from the park itself, but they are on film and I don't have a scanner here to post them online. I also have some attraction brochures for it as well. Next time you are in town we can get together and I will show them to you.

Cool, id love to get a load of those! Im scouring the net for pic.s and memorabilia.

I just found online an account of a woman who actaully complained to the management and asked for her money back.... Apparently she was upset that there werent any REAL dinosaurs in the park :shock:

Wed Sep 19, 2007 6:47 pm

NorCalRiviera wrote: I like the safari theme idea! A good aggro tire, hursts...totally! Maybe you could zebra-stripe the hursts or the rack.

Yeah, im kinda leaning toward the safari idea myself right now. Plus Its a hell of alot cheaper than dropped spindles, narrowed beam, SAK, empis etc. Might also be nice to pull in and out of parking lots with some serious planning :lol:

Prowled around through my stash and found a good rear bumper and westfalia tow hitch for it today. Guess ill need to stencil the rear bumper to match the front ;)

Thu Sep 20, 2007 6:31 am

WhitewallsJohnson wrote: just found online an account of a woman who actaully complained to the management and asked for her money back.... Apparently she was upset that there werent any REAL dinosaurs in the park :shock:

That is funny.

Thu Sep 20, 2007 7:12 am

DeluxeMike wrote: WhitewallsJohnson wrote: just found online an account of a woman who actaully complained to the management and asked for her money back.... Apparently she was upset that there werent any REAL dinosaurs in the park :shock:

That is funny.
Please post the account, or a link.
Thanks,
J.

Thu Sep 20, 2007 7:40 pm

j.pickens wrote: DeluxeMike wrote: WhitewallsJohnson wrote: just found online an account of a woman who actaully complained to the management and asked for her money back.... Apparently she was upset that there werent any REAL dinosaurs in the park :shock:

That is funny.
Please post the account, or a link.
Thanks,
J.

Here it is JP :) : http://users.aristotle.net/~russjohn/art/dworld.html

"Don't expect scientific accuracy on the order of Dinamation(tm) animatronics. That's not really the point of this whimsical attraction. (The Democrat/Gazette reported last month that one dissatisfied customer demanded his money back complaining that "the dinosaurs are fake.")"

Thu Sep 20, 2007 10:31 pm

Chad, I was hoping you'd start a thread about the bus.

I can tesitfy it's defently a cool bus. Full of bondo though, but cool non the less. It's going to be great seeing this thing on the road.

I'm staring to think you should replace the Riv interior. The safari style would be cool for it too, not too much though just slight. Some A/T 205 15s would be plenty.

Sun Sep 30, 2007 4:12 pm

Finally getting started on the bus Pulled the motor and this is what I found. How many problems can you see?

1. Clutch cable is run OUTSIDE of the Bowden tube.
2. Spliced throttle cable
3. Mutilated T/O bearing with no sign of clips
4. The rear tin apparently wasnt even attached to the motor.
5. The flywheel was chewed all to hell
6. I thought the pressure plate had some broken springs because of the crazy angle of the collar. It turns out that it was because nearly half the bolts were left out. Youd think they would have at least evenly spaced the few bolts they did install :roll:

All are easy fixes, I feel pretty good about it. Now i need to gather up the parts, put the motor back in and see if she runs. Im betting the motor is good since the flywheel and cluch issues surely are what disabled this thing back in '88.

Later
c

Mon Oct 01, 2007 6:38 am

WhitewallsJohnson wrote: Now i need to gather up the parts, put the motor back in and see if she runs. Im betting the motor is good since the flywheel and cluch issues surely are what disabled this thing back in '88.

Later
c

I'd "bench start" the engine first without the tin. Best way to check for leaks and such before installing it to find out problems and having to pull it out yet again! :?

Mon Oct 01, 2007 8:06 am

pyrOman wrote: I'd "bench start" the engine first without the tin. Best way to check for leaks and such before installing it to find out problems and having to pull it out yet again! :?

Your right pyro, i probably should. Especailly considering that if it does run well, ill be pulling it again anyway to power wash, paint the tin, and replace all the seals. Guess i should find a wasted tranny to hack up :wink:

Mon Oct 01, 2007 9:26 am

WhitewallsJohnson wrote: Guess i should find a wasted tranny to hack up :wink:

That's just what I have, the 1/4 side of the tranny with the starter so I can fire them up right on the engine stand. A spare carburator/manifold combo, a gallon jug, a coil and you're set. I also keep used exhaust gaskets and a rusty header for the tests though sometimes I rattle the neighborhood for a few seconds without it! :P

Recently I fired one up which had a stuck shut pressure relief valve. Within seconds of it running the oil cooler burst at the top and proceeded to spray oil all over the place like a forkin fountain! :x Imagine that happening with all the tin on and mounted in the bus! :?

Anyway, I hook up an oil pressure gauge on them as I test them too. If everything checks okay, then they are good to install! :wink:

Mon Oct 01, 2007 10:04 am

Lind wrote: bad ass bus. what is the destination code on the M-code plate?

I like how they mix king kong with dinosuars. haven't they ever heard about being "period correct"?

That is a very cool bus!

Hate to break this to you Lind, but King Kong never existed. Go ahead and take all those teeth out from under your pillow as well. :wink:

Sun Oct 14, 2007 8:01 am

Lind wrote: bad ass bus. what is the destination code on the M-code plate?

I like how they mix king kong with dinosuars. haven't they ever heard about being "period correct"?

They must've not gotten to "the Samba". Ha.

Super sweet Bus. I hadn't posted about it yet but I've even showed my friends, it's really sweet.

Sun Oct 14, 2007 8:23 am

Thanks for all the kind words :)

I just finished up my parts list, so if all goes as planned, ill be test driving her next weekend. Although Im wondering if it will be fully proven by Bulli brigade. I dont know that two weeks of local driving is comparable to a 2200 mile round trip. I may end up taking the SC anyway :cry:

As a side note, i was talking to a nerd other day and he said that dinosuars are actually correct for the King Kong legend :lol: Apparently kong was supposedly discovered on an island forgotten by time and he lived amongst dinosaurs and cavemen. Maybe we need a second opinion ;)

Oh yeah, i forgot. A friend in the local chamber of commerce actually found an old stack of brochures for Dino world. Pretty sweet score. Id post a pic. but Ev pulled my kong picture a while back. So i guess id need to work the bus into the background or something huh Ev.? :lol: