03-02-2019, 11:37 PM
Howdy folks. I’m glad to have made up my blithering mind about my build, the 96 Micro Bird gasser. I guess it’s only been 4-5 months since I got these short buses, 96 gasser and 97 diesel Chevy 3500’s, but it seems like 4 years. But I’m going back to a gasser which is what I know. I’m excited to start work on it again soon. The seats and pressure washing are done thank goodness. It had a lot of moss starting to grow from being parked under trees for 1-2 years.
I drove it a few hundred miles before parking it for the Winter. The 350 cubic inch engine seems to be fine. The overdrive trans seems to work, drives solid and straight, brakes work good after replacing the master cylinder and bleeding. Steering is very tight. The rest of the fluids need changing. That’s the next thing.
That’s the good stuff. What I preferred about the 97 diesel is the solid feel of the frame rail in comparison to the unibody frame of the 96. And the suspension feels more beefy in the diesel. Also the diesel has a little more ground clearance. And obviously a lot more torque for towing. I’ve never had trouble towing my small trailer with a gasser however. Knock on wood.....
This gasser and diesel are 4 window buses. I’m going to cut in a pop top to make the gasser slightly roomier. I’m 6’6”” tall so it really helps to have taller ceiling. I’ve got a fiberglass roof from a golf cart that may become the new pop top lid. And I want the natural ventilation. I roasted in my cargo van a couple years ago. Don’t want that again. Where I lived for a few months the flies were horrendous due to the neighbors garbage. So I would close up the van and roast. That’s a whole other subject and thread ( how to keep bugs out of a van. And stay comfortable in the process).
What color will the gasser get painted?? I’m not sure. Time will tell. If I have extra cash I may get a trick color. Or see if I can find someone to tint equipment paint for me. My cargo van is stock white. I prefer if they match. Maybe a basic stripe on both of them will do it justice for now.
It will definitely get a decent solar energy system. The 12 foot cargo trailer has a solar energy system already. That’s if I keep the cargo trailer. I dont like how low ground clearance it is. It’s for highway only as is. Also it needs brakes added to be safe. It pushed my van down a hill through a intersection due to wet leaves all over the road. Luckily no one was near the intersection. When I sell the diesel bus I may invest in a second axle, brakes, and raise the cargo trailer all in the same project. Then it would be a skookum trailer to match the bus.
The short bus interior will be temporarily and loosely fastened until I figure out what works. Tomorrow I’m going to look at a Nova Kool fridge someone took out of a boat. I hope it is a good one. I’m planning on floor heat after practicing building a floor heat radiant heat system in my old Motorhome. I love it, best thing I ever built. Just be careful to mark where the tubing runs are and be careful not to puncture the pex tubing. I wonder if it would be worth using heavy copper tubing as the short bus is such a small space? The heat transfer would be quicker with copper. Maybe not if I use aluminum heat transfer plates. Dissimilar metals could lead to corrosion. I’ve never seen copper heat transfer plates for flooring. Wow that would be high performance heating!.
One problem I had with a previous short bus was the floor getting damp. Water seeping in from small leaks and seams. The plywood subfloor got mildew growth on it. I had fastened down pex tubing for a heated floor to the plywood subfloor but never hooked it up to a heat source as I took the bus to Florida lol. Heating the floor became low priority in Florida however the floor heat might have dried out the mildew. I dumped that Ford short bus because the newer Fords have engine and transmission issues. Also it was a E-450 which rode like a tank on dirt roads and can cost extra to insure. A 3500 is a one-ton and rides better and costs less in general. I decided I like 1-ton HD. Parts are easy to find generally.
One thing I’ve wondered is how people name their rigs. I guess I’ll know when the time comes. I’ll get a some pictures of the Chevy and figure out how to attach them.
One ting I’m not sure about is how to attach a tow hitch to this unibody frame.
Thanks and happy motoring.
I drove it a few hundred miles before parking it for the Winter. The 350 cubic inch engine seems to be fine. The overdrive trans seems to work, drives solid and straight, brakes work good after replacing the master cylinder and bleeding. Steering is very tight. The rest of the fluids need changing. That’s the next thing.
That’s the good stuff. What I preferred about the 97 diesel is the solid feel of the frame rail in comparison to the unibody frame of the 96. And the suspension feels more beefy in the diesel. Also the diesel has a little more ground clearance. And obviously a lot more torque for towing. I’ve never had trouble towing my small trailer with a gasser however. Knock on wood.....
This gasser and diesel are 4 window buses. I’m going to cut in a pop top to make the gasser slightly roomier. I’m 6’6”” tall so it really helps to have taller ceiling. I’ve got a fiberglass roof from a golf cart that may become the new pop top lid. And I want the natural ventilation. I roasted in my cargo van a couple years ago. Don’t want that again. Where I lived for a few months the flies were horrendous due to the neighbors garbage. So I would close up the van and roast. That’s a whole other subject and thread ( how to keep bugs out of a van. And stay comfortable in the process).
What color will the gasser get painted?? I’m not sure. Time will tell. If I have extra cash I may get a trick color. Or see if I can find someone to tint equipment paint for me. My cargo van is stock white. I prefer if they match. Maybe a basic stripe on both of them will do it justice for now.
It will definitely get a decent solar energy system. The 12 foot cargo trailer has a solar energy system already. That’s if I keep the cargo trailer. I dont like how low ground clearance it is. It’s for highway only as is. Also it needs brakes added to be safe. It pushed my van down a hill through a intersection due to wet leaves all over the road. Luckily no one was near the intersection. When I sell the diesel bus I may invest in a second axle, brakes, and raise the cargo trailer all in the same project. Then it would be a skookum trailer to match the bus.
The short bus interior will be temporarily and loosely fastened until I figure out what works. Tomorrow I’m going to look at a Nova Kool fridge someone took out of a boat. I hope it is a good one. I’m planning on floor heat after practicing building a floor heat radiant heat system in my old Motorhome. I love it, best thing I ever built. Just be careful to mark where the tubing runs are and be careful not to puncture the pex tubing. I wonder if it would be worth using heavy copper tubing as the short bus is such a small space? The heat transfer would be quicker with copper. Maybe not if I use aluminum heat transfer plates. Dissimilar metals could lead to corrosion. I’ve never seen copper heat transfer plates for flooring. Wow that would be high performance heating!.
One problem I had with a previous short bus was the floor getting damp. Water seeping in from small leaks and seams. The plywood subfloor got mildew growth on it. I had fastened down pex tubing for a heated floor to the plywood subfloor but never hooked it up to a heat source as I took the bus to Florida lol. Heating the floor became low priority in Florida however the floor heat might have dried out the mildew. I dumped that Ford short bus because the newer Fords have engine and transmission issues. Also it was a E-450 which rode like a tank on dirt roads and can cost extra to insure. A 3500 is a one-ton and rides better and costs less in general. I decided I like 1-ton HD. Parts are easy to find generally.
One thing I’ve wondered is how people name their rigs. I guess I’ll know when the time comes. I’ll get a some pictures of the Chevy and figure out how to attach them.
One ting I’m not sure about is how to attach a tow hitch to this unibody frame.
Thanks and happy motoring.