The Bus is about done. Just a few more items to fix and then I hope to put it into service in Portland Ore. the spring of 2016. Here are some beauty shots of the Bus that we have taken in various locations in Idaho and Utah. The restoration and alteration work was done by Bill Ruby of Dream Ride Builders in Twin Falls Idaho. I did the grunt work and Bill did all the technical stuff. I had the time of my life and Bill is amazing. Bill Ruby fit the 92 Dodge ***mins diesel engine and running gear into the 1945 Chevy Bus frame, repaired the dents, rust, and painted it. First, after Bill and I dis***embled the bus. Bill cut off the front end of the bus and cut off the front end of the 92 Dodge one ton, chop the Dodge frame 3" and over lapped it 10" into the bus frame and welded it back together. Now the Bus is fully automatic, with power steering, power brakes and can cruise up to 88 mph. Because the ***mins was such a large engine Bill couldn't fit the air intake under the hood and had to moved it to the outside of the bus. To show off Bill's creative brilliance, and after looking at many air intakes, he came up with the idea of using a cooking pot and frying pan for the air intake. The commercial cooking pot was the right size for the stock air filter and the commercial frying pan, turned upside down, fit beautifully as the lid. To look at the air intake you would never know thats what they were made from and have fooled many people at car shows. That is just one of the creative solutions Bill had to come up with when updating the bus to current standards. Not only is Bill amazing and p***ionate at what he does, he is very honest, fair, and patient. But most of all he likes to have fun doing it.
Cool looking bus, patience is a virtue. I whinge about my cars and rubbing down the body for paint. Nothing in comparison to that behemoth.
The Jalopy Journal
