Fighting Winter

The weather has really halted me from making any progress on the painting or other tasks.  This past weekend I was able to get all the inside cleaning done and then about half way on the floor primer but then it dropped temp by 25 degrees and now I am just running a space heater in the bus to get the paint to dry from yesterday....  If I can get the Bullseye 123 primer done and dry then the latex paint to go on top of that only needs it above 35, so should be in good shape if I can just get a couple more good days, otherwise I'll have to get a better space heater....

Also started on painting the top yesterday, but decided the roller I was using wasn't going to work, I got a stiffer foam one at Home Depot today and that should work better at not filling in the holes.  I will have to poke out some of the ones from yesterday though....

Rust / Batteries / Wheels / Back Heater

Got a 4 1/2" saw and a wire blade for getting rust off metal, $35 for both....  Works very well on rust inside, worked at it for a few hours and about 75% done....

Heres a before and after on one if the real bad spots....
Before.....

After....

 



Also, bus wouldnt start yesterday, got some help on some online message boards and assumed it was a battery issue.... Took out batteries and took them to Autozone to have them tested, they were low on charge so I had them charge them (free).  Started great after the charge!  Also ran the bus for 45 min or so after I got it started today on fast idle, then took out the batteries and will store them indoor for the winter.....  Heres a shot of the battery cknfig, just so I know in spring :)

Also, for winterizing - we backed the bus onto some plywood boards that we cut to the right size from the inside. 

And, lastly, one of the next tasks on the to-do is seeing about taking out and disabling the back heater.   From what I understand it is just anti-freeze that runs through the coils and then electrical for the 2 fans underneath.  Seems like it will be a two step process.... Step one, stopping and collecting any anti-freeze from the lines and plugging the end somewhere.  And step two disabling the electrical for starting the heater- perhaps just taking out any fuse and switch.  I have no idea how to do either of these steps as of now... So if you have any advise or knowledge on this type of thing, please contact me or comment!  Here's some shots of the heater and tubes.  Thanks!  ...more to come soon...

And here's where it connects to the driver area, right behind the driver seat. 

 

Down to Bare Metal

With Karen's dad Mark's help, we got all the plywood up this weekend!  There were a lot more nails then I expected, and the plywood fought us, but in the end we won.

Next up is getting all the nails out, then sanding the floor down.