Preliminary Horn Hook Up

Last night we did a preliminary hook up of our "new" horn...and it actually worked! Now we just need to figure out mounting so we can do the final hook up. This one is going to be loud and fun!

The new alternator was installed and seems to be working good. Let's hope the short bus keeps starting.

Crucial Work and Cosmetic Work

So we got a crucial item fixed, then did some good cosmetic work. Landon and I replaced the broken strap that holds the gas tank on. Then decided it would be nice to have a table up by the front door. We made one on top of the heater. Don't worry it doesn't work so there is not going to be any fires. At least we hope! After that and because it bothered Landon we cleaned the light covers on the inside of the bus. We ended up finishing our day by make the stage to raise the stripper pole. When we put it together we realized it looked like a cheap version of a wooden floor. That's what you get when you make it out of three 2X4. Hey it will look good once it was stained and has some clear coat on it. We wrapped up the day by going for a drink.

When we tried to leave we realized the battery was dead again. We believe the alternator is bad and are going to have that replaced. Hopefully that fixes that problem.

Todd

Keg End Table

Landon and I boxed in the 55 gallon drum and CO2 tank for the tap system. Which happens to also make a great end table by the bench. Unfortunately when I left for work this morning I noticed something hanging from the rear end. One of the straps that holds the gas tank to the frame broke. Good thing I only put a half a tank of gas in last night.

Todd

Both Benches Are Built

By the time I got home at 11:30 Rick already had the 55 gallon barrel mounted, the drain hooked up and the bench built. Now it's time to get the tap system tuned in!

Todd

This is AWSOME!

OK, so I have to admit I love this part. We didn't do much on the bus today but the little we did do is AWSOME! We temporarily got the beer tapper set up. Now we can plan the other bench and have Miller come out to check the regulator and adjust it. Like I said I LOVE this part!

50 mph

So we finally got the oil changed on the short bus today. Also got the rear running light that we replaced earlier working again and replaced the front running light to get it working too. Also got the front headlight spring fixed that Landon broke so now the headlight at least points somewhat in the right direction. One fun side note we took the short bus to get the new front running light and we got it up to 50 mph on the way back. Yeah not to exciting but I believe that is the fastest we had it going so far.

Todd

BABE Rally Short Bus In The Birmingham Weekly

We took pictures today for an article that will be in the Birmingham Weekly. The whole NADS team in front of The Barking Kudu and us acting stupid as usual. We had two photographers taking pictures with some very funny results. I will be getting a copy and post some of them later.

Fun Work On The Short Bus

Doesn't that figure, a nice sunny day would have been great for pictures...damn. We didn't get a whole lot done with it being Easter but we did get some work done. I was able to scrap off the old weather stripping on the engine cover and replace it. Hopefully we wont be sucking in to many fumes now. We also got the tap spout mounted on the outside of the bus. Oh yeah a CO2 tap system so we can have a keg of beer on the bus. You got to love that!

Todd

Here are some pictures of Rick and the tap mounted on the ouside of the bus.

More Ups and Downs For The Short Bus

When the radiator went bad one of the belts also came off which revealed a pulley on the crank shaft that was 75% rusted out in the grooves. Once again, happy we are finding this out now rather than later. We were able to find a new pulley and got it mounted on the bus and replaced the belts. Finally we could get the new radiator in and drive the bus again! Yep once again as it has been so many times we were given the wrong radiator. By the way, this has been a reoccurring theme with getting parts for the bus. I think every person who has gone to get parts for the bus has been given the wrong ones at some point. And keep in mind we are not always going to the same place. The bad part about not getting the radiator in, we cannot take our team pictures for the Birmingham Weekly article.

Here is a picture of the bad pulley.

Todd

Win The Short Bus For A Night

We finally got our raffle tickets. You can win the NADS Short Bus for a night around Birmingham. We will provide a driver from 8 PM until 1:30 AM. Pick you up at The Barking Kudu and drop you off there. (They have a free taxi to get home) We will be selling tickets until May 2nd. 1 ticket for $5.00 or 5 tickets for $20.00 and you will have to use the short bus before May 17th. Unfortunately we can not guarantee the bus will make it back from the BABE Rally trip. If you would like to buy tickets just ask anyone on our team.

Todd

Small Steps Forward

We got the new radiator for the bus and also got Rick's mirror ball yesterday. Today the 2 small power inverters arrived. Hopefully after work I can get the other windshield wiper put on.

Good News...Bad News

So good news/bad news today. Good news, we had the transmission checked out it and the rear end are fine. Apparently the way it's setup we will only be able to do about 55 mph during the trip though. The bad news is the radiator blew bringing it home. Guess it's better that it happens now.


Todd

Trying To Get The Tires On

Rick found tires on Craigs List. One new and four used. So on Monday we tried to have the tires mounted and balanced for the short bus. We were told that they couldn't put them on because the used tires were to dry rotted and we needed to buy new ones. They mounted the new tires on the front and one used one on the back blown one but wouldn't touch the others because of "insurance reasons". Today we decided to mount them ourselves. They did come off easy enough with a couple of pry bars. Getting the one was just as easy until it came time to fill them with air. Little to my knowledge they weren't so tight to the rim. Makes it hard to fill them with air like that and everything we tried didn't work. Rick and Landon both had heard of a way to get the set on the rim but neither had actually done it before.



Here are the pictures of us changing the tires.




































As you can see from the video it reminded me a little of those Fourth of July videos where everything has a high potential to go wrong.