I left campground living to stay with some friends, Heather and Pam. You may remember that I entertained myself with halloween makeup. I used that time to decompress and organize my bus. I fixed the slave cylinder for the last time...hopefully. I bought an air compressor to combat a slow leak in a rear tire. After a month of visiting there I hit the road and went to Columbia.
I stayed at my Mom's and her husband's (Rick) house in Columbia. My initial purpose was to purchase a tow vehicle and get a trailer hitch in order to pull said vehicle. I bought a 1986 Ford F150 my first week in Columbia. It wasn't perfect but it ran and drove. The gas fume smell in the cab had the effect of fogging my mind so I didn't care about the header that leaked exhaust.
It took me several more weeks to get hitch properly welded in place due to a backup at the metal fabricator down the road. I had to cut the trailer hitch out from where it was previously welded...very poorly I might add. Plus, I ended up having to cut a hole in my rear bumper for the trailer hitch to fit through. I did these things in order to simplify the welding process and reduce my overall installation cost. I broke out my grinder with cutting blade attached.
The trailer hitch came off easily enough but the hole in the bumper took much more time. But I did it and painted the bare metal with rustoleum paint to prevent it from rusting.
While waiting for the hitch to get welded in I worked on getting my generator running again. It hasn't worked since last May. I didn't miss it since I lived in hotels with my last job. I had the foresight to know that this critical component needed to get installed. I went to a family friend's business, A&P Electric while in Columbia. They gave me the lowdown on how generator's work and that I needed to clean the carb. I suspected as much. I was sure I had gotten water in the gas tank when I washed the bus because of the unusually loose fitting gas cap. I drained the gas tank but in the process I broke the drain plug receiver. This required I remove the gas tank from the bus and repair the damage.
Here is a pic of the gas tank after I took it out. At the bottom right you can see the damaged drain hole.
I used a special epoxy to be used on gas tanks to fix the plug and then reinstalled the tank. I reconnected the hoses and then I attacked the carb. I took it apart and cleaned it thoroughly. I have never done such a thing before but I was careful to keep track of all the small loose parts. After installing it, taking it off again, cleaning it again, I finally got the generator running. I even went through the additional step of installing aluminum plates over the expanded metal door beside the generator. This was done to protect the generator from rain and other water from getting anywhere on it. I painted the aluminum high gloss black. I even painted the washers and screw heads that held it in place.
Picture of the pesky carb with fuel supply hose disconnected.
Here are pics of the door prior to painting washers and screws. You can also see the new gas cap that goes to my newly fixed gas tank.
Here is the inside of the door. I ended up cutting the screws to be shorter so the door would close.
I used a wooden dowel so that I could paint the washers fully (to get edges and not have them stick while drying). I mad screw holders so heads could dry.
Rick was an invaluable asset, providing advice and supplies. The dowel rod and the screws and washers in this instance. Plus many other supplies to be mentioned later...among them insulation, Lexan pexiglass, use of his drill driver, and lots of other things.
That covers some of the things done to my bus. More to come soon.
