TheSamba.com :: View topic - Texas to Shasta Snow Trip 2020

Sat Nov 07, 2015 10:04 pm

My goal for this bus is the SST. I'll try to keep this up to date, and do a little catch up right now.

This is day one at my shop. The bus was in the TX woods for the last 20 years.

Floor to be replaced. I have cut out more this weekend.

This is my way to clean out the heater duct. I used some wire to knock lose the leaves and Pecan shells. I did get good air flow up front.

This item blew out of the duct. Old timers may know what it is, do you?

Sun Nov 08, 2015 5:21 am

silkvw wrote: ...

This item blew out of the duct. Old timers may know what it is, do you?

My guess is ... that it is an eraser (the 'wheel' part), used in drafting to erase in straight lines (ie just the drawn line). The other end is a brush, to brush away the bits after erasing.

Sun Nov 08, 2015 7:38 am

silkvw wrote:
This item blew out of the duct. Old timers may know what it is, do you?

It's an old typewriter eraser.

Sun Nov 08, 2015 12:30 pm

Spitty1974 wrote: silkvw wrote:
This item blew out of the duct. Old timers may know what it is, do you?

It's an old typewriter eraser.

Exactly!

Mon Nov 09, 2015 12:52 am

nice project, share lots of pics!

Mon Nov 09, 2015 10:19 am

silkvw wrote: Old timers may know what it is, do you?
What that is is actually an old Secretary Stress Relief tool marketed to a secret sect of decoders from the Cold War days.

You can use it yourself and fully benefit from it's healing properties if you can find a good fresh sheet of carbon paper.

You will want to roll the wheel several times over the carbon paper to get it saturated with good healing energy. Then, close your eyes and roll in a cross hatch pattern all over your forehead and temples slowly coming down to your cheek bones. After you have rolled all the psychic energies onto your stress spots you want to take the brush part and slowly stroke the karma into your shakra by lightly painting your whole face with ever so soft brush strokes. The brush is also beneficial on ear tissues.

Go out of doors and purchase a Starbucks cold latte with 7 cubes of ice to finish the healing aspects. Of course, back in the "old timers" days they used Chase and Sanborn coffee to "finish" the soothing.

Mon Nov 09, 2015 9:09 pm

BarryL wrote: silkvw wrote: Old timers may know what it is, do you?
What that is is actually an old Secretary Stress Relief tool marketed to a secret sect of decoders from the Cold War days.

You can use it yourself and fully benefit from it's healing properties if you can find a good fresh sheet of carbon paper.
.

I was thinking I could enjoy the healing properties by wearing the eraser around my neck on some high quality fish line. Perhaps the stiff brush will cause skin rash at this point.
Thank you BarryL.

Tue Nov 10, 2015 7:15 pm

Trans is out with the help of my son. Couldn't get axle nuts off, not surprised. Took it to my rebuilder friend, 120 mi. round trip. He said if I wasn't a friend, he wouldn't take it "it's too heavy!". He had to cut one axle nut off. Zero brake parts on one side. It's a big nut, so had been changed out at some time. That's fine with me, and he'll add the 3.88:1 r&p.
Rear bumper is welded on as part of hitch, or I would have taken it off.

Tue Nov 10, 2015 8:56 pm

2016 is going to be epic weather and you should accelerate your program to be here.

Wed Nov 11, 2015 9:32 am

Man, I would like to make it in 2016.
My goal is to drive the 2000mi. there, SST, then drive back 2000mi. So, I want to make sure it's ready and capable of the trip.
All the posts here and the youtube videos have been really encouraging. I'm thankful for all the help.

Wed Nov 11, 2015 10:40 am

I'm "the son". :)

What a mug!

Wed Nov 11, 2015 10:53 am

Did this bus pop up on craiglist in bastrop for like a day? Is that how you found it? (subscribed to this thread)
👍😃

Wed Nov 11, 2015 8:22 pm

It did pop up. Bala saw it and told me. I called and made the deal.
John Sanders in Bastrop tried to buy it too. Antonio in Houston was watching it too. They were happy that it stayed in TX at least.
Someone in N. Cal called the seller before me and offered $1500.00 more than he was asking, so I had to up my offer.

And, more help from my son. New seal after rust treatment and clear paint. That was a productive day!

Fri Nov 13, 2015 9:20 pm

General Grabber AT2 tires were recommended to me by a fellow bus driver for street and off road. BFG's are great too, but a little pricey.
About a week ago I discovered a large nail in a rear tire on my single cab. The nail had damaged the sidewall on the inside of the tire, so it had to be replaced. I had two wheels painted white and ready for new shoes, so bought the GG AT2's for a trial on the sc. They are 27 x 8.50 x 14.

The new tires are quiet, the sc seems to roll easier, but I found I tend to over correct as I drive. I'm getting used to them, and will buy two more for the bus in the future.

Sat Nov 14, 2015 8:25 pm

Small VW show and swap meet in Austin today. Many hard to find small bus parts for sale. I bought a few parts I need for the SST bus.

And, a cool surprise gift from my son:

These will look great on the bus! Thanks Bala!

Sat Nov 14, 2015 8:27 pm

Very nice! You should be at #nvmbrfst

Sun Nov 15, 2015 9:26 am

Perfect bus for Shasta Snow trip. Hope to see you in Nor-Cal. in Feb............. If you break-down find me in Willits.

Sun Nov 15, 2015 11:08 am

Sweet!

Sun Nov 15, 2015 8:15 pm

C.Moore wrote: Perfect bus for Shasta Snow trip. Hope to see you in Nor-Cal. in Feb............. If you break-down find me in Willits.
Thanks for the invitation. Willits looks like a nice little town. About the size of Elgin, where I live, but we don't have any Redwood trees. I prefer a visit without a break down, but you never know.
How far is Willits from the Shasta Trip route?

Sun Nov 15, 2015 9:49 pm

silkvw wrote: General Grabber AT2 tires were recommended to me by a fellow bus driver for street and off road. BFG's are great too, but a little pricey.
About a week ago I discovered a large nail in a rear tire on my single cab. The nail had damaged the sidewall on the inside of the tire, so it had to be replaced. I had two wheels painted white and ready for new shoes, so bought the GG AT2's for a trial on the sc. They are 27 x 8.50 x 14.

The new tires are quiet, the sc seems to roll easier, but I found I tend to over correct as I drive. I'm getting used to them, and will buy two more for the bus in the future.

Awsome bus and good choice in rubber. I think you'll be happy with these tires. I've never done the Shasta trip, but have put many snow and off-road miles on my grabbers. Nice on the pavement too.