Monday, April 27, 2009

No really, we're almost there!

Heading south in less than two weeks. And she'll be ready! (Fingers crossed; Knock on Wood; 3 Hail Mary's; Salt over the shoulder).

Mechanical work is done. Exhaust leak fixed. Oil leak fixed. Vacuum leak fixed. Interior almost reinstalled (just some woodwork left). Gas gauge fixed (!). Gas pedal fixed. Brakes fixed ($$$). Here are some pictures showing some of the work:

Thursday, April 9, 2009

The end in sight!

The final push is nearing. I received notice today that the Shoreline tickets are arriving UPS tomorrow!

Over the weekend, I repainted Belle (pictures as soon as I get the bumpers finished). Note to self: NEVER use hammerite again! (Major pain to remove). I also resealed the entire bus (mostly) and ordered (drum roll please) a fuel tank sender unit! No more guessing when I'm running out of gas and having to haul an extra 5 gallons in the cargo bin!

Upcoming: Fix accelerator pedal (seeings how it came off in my hand over the weekend. I suppose I could put a friend over the internal engine hatch and have him adjust the throttle by hand as we drive down the road, but that seems tedious); remove old propane system (frankly, it looks a little scary); install recushioned and covered bench seat/bed; install new carpet; bleed the brakes; repack the wheel bearings; a few other cosmetic touches and...done! (I think. It's hard to test how she drives without an accelerator pedal. But she idles real nice). :-)