Thread: Need help on bus origins.

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Spent the laast couple of days in Te Poi tidying up a few loose ends on the bus, and we took it for a drive for the first time yesterday.

Man; but its got some grunt!

It'll spin dual wheels in second gear at least.

It's booked in for certification tuesday and wednesday of next week with Noel McMillan of Nostalgia Motors in Hamilton; but will have to be transported there.

The it'll need a warrant of fitness, the certification will have to be approved, VIN plate attached, registered, and then she's ready for the journey home!

So close...after five years of planning...and dreaming...

I'll try and get some pictures posted over the next few days.

(Sheesh...I'm as happy as a hurricane in a trailer park!)

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Originally Posted by johnboy

Then it'll need a warrant of fitness, the certification will have to be approved, VIN plate attached, registered, and then she's ready for the journey home!

So close...after five years of planning...and dreaming...

I'll try and get some pictures posted over the next few days.

(Sheesh...I'm as happy as a hurricane in a trailer park!)

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I know that feeling.. the anxiety.. just being so nervous for days.. earlier this year I had to have my car inspected. It's was a 2 step process here in Massachusetts, they are to check for stolen parts/pieces and then it goes through a visual inspection for road worthiness/safety inspection.. well after a dozen years in the build - when it comes down to the hours just before your appointment.. well, I'm glad that's over!!

Good Luck and now we're waiting with our fingers crossed for you.

We'll be waiting to hear of that first "real ride" home with the certification papers! Got to be an exciting day for you, with all of the sweat equity you've invested in this one. It's an amazing story, and I thank you for sharing the details of your trip to Oklahoma with us. Best of luck for the review process!!

Originally Posted by johnboy

(sheesh...i'm as happy as a hurricane in a trailer park!)

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... :lol::lol::lol: ....

Here's a 'before' shot of the new l/h door.



Here's how it finished up, showing the new door and batteries/tool box.



She was put on the back of a truck and carted away to Hamilton for certification on Wednesday.

So far we've heard nothing back, I'm told it could take three or four days to get it all sussed.

Different strokes I suppose; because the fella from New Plymouth that we've had doing certification for us on other vehicles took only three or four hours...and the mechanicals in this build are all bog standard factory manufactured parts, there's essentially nothing apart from the engine and gear-box mounts that's 'home built'.
The chassis, axles, springs, brakes etc are all standard 2000 Chev lwb dually ute.

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Why couldn't your man down there do the cert John, surely the bus doesn't need to go on a hoist? I wonder if you were standing there with the bus how much quicker the inspection would happen? It is looking good though so the best of luck with it and I hope you enjoy the drive home once it is certed.

Roger: I think I may have inadvertantly given you the wrong impression.
Mea culpa.
Sorry 'bout that!
But I'm not doing the actual 'physical' construction of this beast; I'm standing back giving the orders and writing the cheques.
Oh I can weld alright, but not well enough for this sort of work.
After forty years of playing with heavy machinery through the bush and working to tolerances as fine as six inches ("It's only six inches out? That's close enough. Stick it there!") my accuracy and attention to detail ("The tracks go around? That's close enough. Let's get that machine working!") leaves a lot to be desired.
And I know it.
So I have farmed this job out to Graeme Cox, of Graeme Cox Engineering up in Te Poi.
So the credit goes to him.

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Whip: it's a question of logistics and proximity.
Steve Hildred, (a good man,) who has done my certifying in the past is in New Plymouth, and the bus is in Te Poi, a four to four and a half hours drive away.
So he'd have to spend a whole day just to get up there and back, he'd have to hire a workshop, he'd require accommodation and meals...it's just not practical.
And as for me being there during certification...nah...wouldn't work.
I've never handled bureaucrats and bureaucracy very well; I'd finish up wanting to punch someone.
Better I stay away and let Coxy handle it.


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Originally Posted by johnboy

Whip: it's a question of logistics and proximity.
Steve Hildred, (a good man,) who has done my certifying in the past is in New Plymouth, and the bus is in Te Poi, a four to four and a half hours drive away.
So he'd have to spend a whole day just to get up there and back, he'd have to hire a workshop, he'd require accommodation and meals...it's just not practical.
And as for me being there during certification...nah...wouldn't work.
I've never handled bureaucrats and bureaucracy very well; I'd finish up wanting to punch someone.
Better I stay away and let Coxy handle it.


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Johnboy,,it's lookin good,,and if Coxy set up the certification process,he would have been happy to send it to Noel..Besides,,it dont do any good to be there when it's going through it's cert process,,you would probably be sent away..Noel is a busy man,hence the time it takes..Your ''other''choice,now,leaves a lot to be desired,,in fact,I was less than satified,which is why we took the F100 to Jamieson's,and there are more..nah,will leave it at that..
Good to see it on the road...(almost)..Hey,Coxy shoulda just bolted the US plates on it,and driven it to the cert shop..Thats all I did with the F100..

The front of the beast.
That's me standing in front of it.
The driving light was given to me by a friend, it's early fifties Mopar, and was still in its original box.
We connected it up, turned it on, and it threw quite a bright light for a wee while...then went out.
It's six volt...and no-one thought to check!




Take a good look; you'll never see this again.
This is the only time it'll wear whitewalls while it's in my care!




The front and right hand side of the beast...our daily driver is in the background.
As you can see it's an overcast miserable Waikato day; not raining at that moment...but it had been...hard!



Another shot of Beauty and the beast.
That stainless trim across the back door is from a '47/'48 Ford sedan trunk lid, and the FORD written in it lights up when I hit the brakes.



(And yes; the hair is all my own! Just thought I'd better get that in before someone else does! )

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Progressing nicely Johnboy.

Originally Posted by johnboy

Roger: I think I may have inadvertantly given you the wrong impression.
Mea culpa.
Sorry 'bout that!
But I'm not doing the actual 'physical' construction of this beast; I'm standing back giving the orders and writing the cheques.
Oh I can weld alright, but not well enough for this sort of work.
After forty years of playing with heavy machinery through the bush and working to tolerances as fine as six inches ("It's only six inches out? That's close enough. Stick it there!") my accuracy and attention to detail ("The tracks go around? That's close enough. Let's get that machine working!") leaves a lot to be desired.
And I know it.
So I have farmed this job out to Graeme Cox, of Graeme Cox Engineering up in Te Poi.
So the credit goes to him.

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Hey Johnboy,
Nothing wrong with check writers, especially when they fund great projects like this one and give credit to the builder!! The bother to me is the check writer that never talks about the dream, and gets the finished vehicle and then starts posting the "....look what I built" info. It becomes apparent pretty quick that they have no clue what it takes to build a car from ideas. I look forward to seeing the photos of this one all dressed out, and hearing of your adventures with it. It's a great, great story!

Thank-you people for the kind words.
Its been a mission to get it to this stage; sourcing the various bits and pieces that have gone into it and deciding upon the 'look' we wanted.
When you have two strong-willed pig-headed out-spoken characters putting their ideas into the same project there's bound to be friction.
Neither of us suffer fools.
Coxy and I have been friends for many years; but there were a few hissy-fits thrown by both of us during this build.
Much stamping of feet, waving of arms, and voices going up in volume.
But I think the end result has worked out well.

And we're still good friends!


(And She Who Must Be Obeyed is rapt with it as well! So that's all good!)

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Hey Johnboy, don't you going fretting about the hair man, I call it a " Different shade of Blonde " so you can borrow that if you need. I will have to look up ( Goggle Earth thingy ) Te Poi as I must of blinked driving through it as wouldn't have a clue where it is. I also appreciate your understanding of tolerances, hit with a bloody big persuader is near enough to make it fit eh.

So I guess it passed and you'll be driving it around??? What is the final color to be?