Thread: Progress on the bus . . .

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There are several runs planned for the fairly immediate future: a trip to Tony Wass' place for New Year, (Hastings, NSRA,) the Mavericks' AGM, (Paekakariki, near Wgtn,) Beach Hop, (Whangamata, Coromandel,) and hopefully Muscle Car Madness, (Rangiora, near Christchurch.)
So there's a few thousand miles for it to do.

Where I struck it lucky with getting its designation changed was that the blokes at VTNZ were a) interested in the bus itself and the story behind it, and b) they were not bureaucrats; but honest practical working folk who could see an anomaly and had the knowledge and nous as to how to rectify it!
I was very lucky.

I will be getting in contact with the Fair Go team; they were instrumental in getting a stalled project kick-started back in to life, and I'm beholden to them for that.

And many thanks to you folk on CHR for your support and encouragement over the last seven years or so, its been appreciated!

Thanks!

It's almost anti-climatic in some ways..

And just how many inspections does it need to go through? I thought I had it tough.. sheesh!

I'm thinking that you folks "over there" that have the determination and grit to follow it through and get a vehicle built and on the road.. you've got the fever bad and I salute you all!

Pictures of the bus, and a close up of the Elephant logo on the back, along with a covering letter have been sent to the Fair Go programme.

An electrician mate, Richard Cardiff, has come out and installed all the interior lights, wiring, and relevant switches/fuses et cetera.

Seatbelts are installed, and blinds and curtains are ordered.
I've yet to suss out the water system, fresh, grey, and black, and where / how to empty/fill them...waiting for a fine day to do that.
Also still have to get the water system certified as self contained, but with it in the position it is now, I can say with relative certainty where we can have it to be certified on a given day.
So we can get that underway.

All good.

Originally Posted by johnboy

Pictures of the bus, and a close up of the Elephant logo on the back, along with a covering letter have been sent to the Fair Go programme.

Good news on the communication with Fair Go, and I predict a follow-up program(me) early in their next taping season. They'd be fools not to do at least a short spot on it to let everyone know.

Also glad to hear that the lights & switches are in & functioning! Bob's your uncle now, mate!

We need to see some pictures of the finished interior now that it's coming together! Maybe Rosie will take some, get them onto your computer and we can walk through the posting process to get you picture fluent....

Sounds great to hear progress for you with little set backs. Keep at it!

Thanks for the kind words.

Roger: that sounds like a go to me; but perhaps not in the immediate future.
The garden is getting away from me a bit, the spuds need digging, half an hour daily spent picking broad beans, I need to build a new frame for my runner beans, I still haven't found that alkathene pipe, and there are events on all over the place that I wish to attend, and the lawns will always need mowing!
So I'm as busy as a dog burying a bone in a marble floor.

Plus the bits and pieces I'm still attending to with the bus.
I've just this morning made a new bracket for the hubmeter, the one that was on there was such that it had to be removed before the rim could come off.
Imagine trying to change a tyre in pouring rain and having to remove two bolts by turning them one face at a time!
Nah...that had to go.

But we are getting there now; progress may be slow...but it's all progress!

I'm starting to enjoy this build again now.

Had a couple of kids come out a week or so ago to interview me for an article in the local paper.
Neither of them were mechanically minded so I was looking forward to the article with some trepidation, wondering what sort of a pigs-ear they'd make of it.
Well they didn't!
But mea culpa; I must admit to them doing a far better job than I had envisaged; they covered all salient facts in a compact manner...very impressed with the job they did.
So here's a link to the whole article:

Lessons learned in school bus conversion | Stuff.co.nz

I've been a bit lax on posting progress here; but its been slow but steady.
The bus is now totally legal now with a Self Containment Certification (SCC) sticker on it and everything, so that's all good.
I'm halfway through changing the entry point (plug) for mains power, where it was has proved to be inconvenient and space-wasting.
All curtains and venetian blinds are fitted, seat belts mounted to their brackets and with Velcro straps to keep them out of the way when not in use...and a whole raft of other little things that are purely cosmetic, but will make it that bit more 'liveable'.

Yep: I'm enjoying it again!

Great story, Johnboy!!! The bus looks great in the pics, too! Also, Great pic of you! Congrats!!!

Yep, the local boys did it up right for their paper, jb! The bus is looking fantastic, and I really like those American flag curtains! They're a perfect addition, and are very well done, too, along with the blinds. I expect that the good people in and around Billings, OK are beaming with pride, assuming that you've seen fit to send them that link. I must say, one of the biggest surprises for me was YOU'VE GOT EARS!! A roadside shot from last October, jb & Rosie (SWMBO).....

DSC02122 (2) (846x849).jpg

Given your story telling and writing ability John, you probably spoon fed those kids the info they needed in a way that made their job easier........nice piece.
And of course the bus is FINALLY getting to where you can enjoy it. Congrats.........

Great write up & ya even got a hair cut, lolol.
But I have to ask John, just how long is a donkey's year????

Yep; I've got ears. I'm quite attached to them too surprisingly.
And yes; I've had a hair cut.
More of a shearing actually.
I (usually) have a shear every summer, wether (spelling intended,) I need it or not.
The Cancer Society want human hair with a minimum staple length of six inches to use for wigs for chemotherapy patients, so I give it to them.

I let it grow long over winter because it's easier than wearing a woolly cap to keep my head warm, and I don't have to go looking for it every time I want to go outdoors.
But over the summer months it's just too hot; so off it comes.

And thanks for the kind words too people, you lot know all the mucking around I've had to contend with during this build; so kind words from you people mean a helluva lot more to me than all the trite words in a newspaper article ever could.

Originally Posted by TooMany2count

Great write up & ya even got a hair cut, lolol.
But I have to ask John, just how long is a donkey's year????

Dunno mate.
It's a colloquialism meaning an awful long time.

(That's the trouble with you Americans; you don't speak the English language as we Kiwis do!)

And we don't get photographed for the paper wearing leapord print suspenders either!