New owner of Vintage Bus 1980

[freds]

This is probably a question for Joe and given the ancient not sure anyone can answer it.

I want to convert at least a couple of my bay doors from rubber hinges to pantograph where they swing out and up vertical to the ground.

Anyone heard of this being done or kits to do it?

Thanks

[freds]

Ok this is my second shake down trip in the Covid era...

Doing the snowbird migration south from Seattle to warmer climate in AZ.

Cousin in Wyoming sent me notification of -14 in Wyoming a few days ago...

Anyway the Phoenix AZ area has been swamped with covid refugees from the east coast and Canada now that they can cross the border.

To the point that it is impossible to find a RV parking space. I only got a spot outside of Quartzsite in the Phoenix area because i stayed with them last year and they knew me and I was allowed to dry camp in a dusty lot next door to the actual RV park with no services.

Anyway there are a number of thing that I want address on my bus/motorhome for the long term.

Recently I have had problems with the diesel boiler for my DIY hydronic system which I will document more on my build thread and the only backup to shore power is the diesel generator which had major problems in my case. In this dry camping lot I hear lots of generators....

Anyway the typical response for this year is don't call anyone on the phone as they won't call you back. Show up at their counter and talk to them face to face even if you have drive 90 minutes...

So anyway there is so many clothes that I can throw atop of the bed when it hits 38 degrees during the night.

While my solar/Tesla Battery pack configuration it can do a lot of things, it can't heat the cabin in the dead of the night, only shore power in a RV park or the diesel boiler can do that!!!

OK how does this get back to my bad day?

Practically anybody that you talk to in the phoenix area this year has the following rejections:

1. Your rig is older then 10 years
2. You are living in a motorhome and I don't do that...
3. I might be able to get to you in a couple of months from now (like April).
4. You are nor an over the road trucker, etc...

Anyway I found a nice place northwest of Phoenix that is willing to do what ever you request (as long as it's not in the cabin) with the hour meter running. You pay for how every long it takes.

How bloody refreshing!!!

Anyway their work location is a bit difficult to access and with the promise that I could dry camp in their storage lot I had a bit of euphoria and managed to screw up and side swipe a fire hydrant!!!



I do admit that I was a bit over the moon as someone is willing to work with all the different things that I need (so many rejections) and I am not as wary as I normally am and in my stupid defense I had re-adjusted the mirrors on that side the previous day...

Any way it turns out that there is two types of fire hydrants. Cold weather and not!!! So dry verse wet, run over a cold weather hydrant and you simply break it off at ground level as the valve that turns it on is below the frost line...

Warm weather and you get the fountain!!! Needless to say I didn't apply that much force, just re-clocked it so that the big outlet doesn't face the street.



So now I am in the market for a complete bay door and the following panel on my 1980 Prevost and hey one big awh $#!%!!

I have talked to Prevost and they don't have any parts in their system for my bus.

Doesn't anyone know of junk yard that has a bus being parted out around my vintage?

Thanks

[georgiapeachinc]

Fred,
I have been following along on your progress. I'm very impressed with all that you have done. This is a project that very few would have taken on. As a trucker my son and I always buy older used equipment and rebuild as we go along making $ with them. It takes a certain kind of person to resurrect something from extinction. I would be interested if you could share your background since you seem to have a mechanical inclination for all types of repairs. I always find it interesting to see a little bit of the man behind the machine.

[PrevostNewbie]

Sorry to hear that Fred, have you tried these guys?

https://ibp.parts/collections/parts-...market-prevost

[freds]

Fred,
I have been following along on your progress. I'm very impressed with all that you have done. This is a project that very few would have taken on. As a trucker my son and I always buy older used equipment and rebuild as we go along making $ with them. It takes a certain kind of person to resurrect something from extinction. I would be interested if you could share your background since you seem to have a mechanical inclination for all types of repairs. I always find it interesting to see a little bit of the man behind the machine.

Well thank you!!!

Your basic high school dropout (bored JD), did a bit of time in the army; four initially and then three more in a fit of insanity. I was in the artillery as a cannoneer and wandering across the firing point helped a guy make a generator run better and wound up in the fire direction center which is equivalent to driving the baggage cart at the airport and then working in the control tower. When I first arrived everything was manual with charts, protractors and graphical firing tables (special purpose slide rules). We then got a digital computer with a rotating memory drum, which got me into computers (repair and programming) and done related stuff ever since.

Kind of a focus self taught guy who beats his head against the wall until it comes out the other side or the problem is solved.

[freds]

Sorry to hear that Fred, have you tried these guys?

https://ibp.parts/collections/parts-...market-prevost

Not yet, I did review their web site and they don't list anything older than an XL bus. But hey it doesn't hurt to call.....

Prevost is reporting that they have no parts in their system that could be used to repair my bus.

Prevost in LA says bring the bus by and they have a local vendor that might be able to make the new skins. Which is not too far out of the way as I head home from AZ to Seattle.

[PrevostNewbie]

Fred, there is a Bus Junkyard I remember reading about on one of these Forums, I think it was in Kentucky? I will see if I can find the place.

[PrevostNewbie]

Maybe this one?
https://rvexteriorbodypanels.visoner...in/welcome.pl?

[georgiapeachinc]

Fred,
Thanks for your bio. I think a lot of us here are the same way when it comes to banging our heads on the wall until we figure something out.
Give this place a call. https://evolutioncustomcoach.com/ ask for John,
I normally would not recommend this guy for repair work as I had a bad experience with him for a generator repair but he has been around a long time and does really nice conversion work. He is very resourceful and may be able to point you in the right direction for those bay doors. He has a small bone yard behind his shop that may have a surprise.

[Fratto]

Mansfield Texas may be too far, but I just talked to David with Coach Specialists. He is familiar with the panels and has sourced or had them made in the past. If you would like to talk with him, his number is 817-842-1144. I have no experience with them but they were recommended by a local metal fabricator.