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Sun Jul 07, 2013 9:21 pm

Ok, today I was hanging out with mtnbus talking about busses of coarse. He said I should start a thread on the rebuild/revive I did on my 68 westy. I have a new born and I'm up 24/7 these days so I decided I have the time so here goes.

I bought this bus in Tabernash, Co (just north of Winter Park) in 2010 for $200. Larry, the guy I got it from was the second owner and got it when he was 18. Bus had been sitting since 1998. Here is my attempt to show the revive in a bunch of pictures. Larry said back when he drove the bus his nick name was Bone and all his friends called his bus "The Bone Bus." Thanks for looking, I can answer any questions.
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Sun Jul 07, 2013 9:27 pm

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Sun Jul 07, 2013 9:33 pm

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Sun Jul 07, 2013 9:39 pm

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Sun Jul 07, 2013 9:44 pm

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1600cc DP I bought from a member on this site. Good engine drove it for 2 years.
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Sun Jul 07, 2013 10:25 pm

cool!

i can only wonder why he was called "bone"....:shock: :lol:

Mon Jul 08, 2013 2:54 am

Just as I thought here it is 340 am and I'm up with the baby. Here is some more pics.

This is the material I had grandma make the curtains with

First trip in the bus on my birthday weekend. Blues and Brews festival in Telluride September 2011.

Start of 2109cc build

Installed 2109cc with dual Kadrons. Getting 21+ mpg at 7700'!

Had my buddy Do a spray paint mural on my table.

Mon Jul 08, 2013 3:04 am

Camping on Red Mountain, about 10,500'
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My M-Code
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Mon Jul 08, 2013 3:20 am

Man that was a lot of pics and I still have tons more but I will not bore you with those. I did all this work in the summer of 2011. Quick run down of what you see, sorry some are out of order.

I had the bus on jack stands for about 3 months. I gutted it, wire wheeled both sides of the pan, primed and used rustolum undercoating out of a spray can on both sides of pan. New shocks, steering dampener, ft brake pads, repack ft bearings, new rear wheel cylinders, rear pads and spring kit. Had to install new e-brake tubes (custom) and cables as well. New coupler, clutch cable and tires. I installed new rear bearings and adjusted the rear torsion. Installed a New windshield and seal. i Installed a new Kenwood deck with 6.5" rounds in the doors, 6x9s in boxes in the back along with a Kenwood 10" sub. It bumps!. I made all of the interior panels, stained and polyurethaned them. I'm running a 002 3 rib transaxle.
The first engine you see is a 1600cc DP. I put that in when I did this revive a drove it for 2 years. Good engine, leaked a little and was slow but it ran good. I just had that block and all the parts I could still use turned into the 2109cc you see. Great decision for me, tons of power at this high elevation and good mileage.

This bus has been my daily driver since I finished the build. I love it!!!
Thx for looking.

Rich P.

Mon Jul 08, 2013 11:59 am

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View of dash. You'll notice the parcel shelf, 12v/USB charging dock on shelf, Kenwood receiver with aux cable, rerouted ingintion, Sirius sat radio custom oil temp gauge, black abs kick panels and the shift extender with ski pole shift handle.

Update 6/12/13. I finally fixed the hand brake ratcheting prong. So, I don't have to use the vise grip anymore!

Sat Jul 13, 2013 2:45 am

Doing what The Bone Bus does, hauling around the family.
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Sat Jul 13, 2013 6:16 am

Did you rattle can the whole exterior too?

Way to bring her back to life.

Sat Jul 13, 2013 8:42 am

Thanks buddy, I spent a lot of time making this bus live again. I feel a ton of pride when I'm driving it.
This was and still is a Colorado bus. The pan is in great shape and the body is mostly strait. Although there are some rust areas that need attention, like the rockers.
I used rustoloum primer on the pan and rustoloum spray can undercoating over the primer.
Exterior is rustoloum primer as well. I'm sure one day I will have the body work done but its fine for now. I drive this bus everyday and camp in it a lot. I would be bummed if I spent a ton of money on the body and paint and it got pinstripes the first time we went camping.
Rims, hub caps and bumpers are also spray painted.

Sat Nov 30, 2013 5:30 pm

I know I have seen threads for what I'm posting in the past but I can't seem to find them. Here's the bone bus in my everyday life.

400lbs of pellets for the stove, child's play. There was a working with you bus thread I thought.
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Picked up the Christmas tree today. Isn't there a loaded roof rack tread?
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And one the new chains. Taking the 10 hr trip to Tucson in February, gotta be prepared.

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Mon Dec 16, 2013 12:44 am

those chains look loose....do you have the rubber strap too?

might considor looking into les schwab chains...hella easy install, and all one unit so no rubber bands to loose etc....and a nice storage bag all for about 100 bucks. well worth it, and very durable. :D

Mon Dec 16, 2013 7:44 am

That was just a test install to see if they would fit the tire and clear the rear spring plate. I had bought them for the P tires I had on there and the chains did not clear the spring plate with the 205/75R14. I do have the correct rubber circular bungee and hooks for the chains. No Le Schaub out here, those chains are good ole walmart quality.
Looks like I'm coming winter camping on Saturday night, maybe I'll get to try them out.

Wed Dec 18, 2013 10:49 pm

I picked up the Bone Bus today from my engine builder. I brought it back to him to last week to upgrade to Weber IDF 40s, from the Kadrons I was running. He installed Pertronix, a new throttle cable and rebuilt the linkage on the gas pedal.
It was about a 30 mile drive back game and the bus ran great! The engine ran real smooth, sounded throatier and didn't go over 180*. It was dark so I really didn't get on it at all, I was worried about the deer on the road.
I'm not stoked on where he put the fuel filter and that the fact fuse for the reverse lights is is right next tothe filter. I will be changing the location of both.
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I didn't like how a lot of people run a big spring to the engine bay. So he made this bracket.

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I wanted the case to be vented more. So he is building me a new oil filler with two vents, I'll go back next week for that. [/img]

Tue Jan 21, 2014 5:55 pm

Had a new custom oil filler made with 2 vents holes to vent to case more.

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Tue Jul 15, 2014 11:58 pm

richparker wrote:

My M-Code

Love it.
I think I've made a lot of similar choices. I might just have to write up a build thread my selves. I had to paint mine professionally just to get all of the window sills rain proof. That forced my hand in a lot of ways, but I was able to turn mine into a daily driver because of it.
Loved reading this. Keep the updates coming.

Sat Aug 16, 2014 7:01 am

Hey asaib3, not sure why the PMs aren't going through. So I decided to bump this thread, this shows the Kadrons I was running and the weber IDF 40s I'm running now. IDFs are from CB and are made in Spain. They have been great for me, set them and forget them.

Rich P