Thanks to Ernie/Spare stuff to carry

[sfedeli3]

We're just wrapping up our 5K mile trip from Hershey out to Glacier
NP, Ernie's Camp-o-rama at the Livingston Fairgrounds and Teton NP. As
many of you know, last weekend, Ernie re-carpeted our PT with some
Mohawk designer grade stuff that we bought at Lowe's. Over the past
few days, we've really come to enjoy having nice carpet in the coach
and are very grateful to him for doing such a fantastic job. If you
are giving flooring installation a thought, he is quite the expert and
proved it to Kelly and I with his fine workmanship. I made a pretty
good try at restoring his exterior paint by using a mechanical buffer,
3M rubbing compound and Paint Guard Plus wax. The brown paint looks
almost new, but the cream is so thin that little could be done to
restore any shine to it. Given the great job that he did on our coach,
I really wish that I could have done better.

So far, we've traveled 4,746 miles. the ol' 6V92 has been running
great, averaging 5.88 MPG over the whole trip (mountains and all). We
used 7.5 qts of oil so far and have been running around 65-70 MPH.
We're on the Ohio turnpike tonight spending the evening at one of
their very nice travel plazas. 6 of them have hookups for $15, but we
opted for the boon docking corral since we DO have a Bluebird and all.
So far, we've had a need for the following items- Throttle return
spring (happens to match the one on an '85 Caprice 4 BBL carburetor);
A thrown belt on the alternator (I guess the wife's microwave-reheat
of the quesadilla's with the inverter on in Nebraska was just too much
for the brand spanking new Leece-Neville's Green Stripe belts to
handle); A rubber door hinge (only the mid-80's folks have to worry
about these- and they are still available from the school bus side of
bluebird). I'm glad that I had a mounted spare tire and my X-12 wrench
in Montana- there were places in there that had surely never seen a
bus, let alone changed a tire on one. If you don't leave the cities or
populated areas too much, then both are sort of overkill. My 220V fan
died on the Perkins Genset before we left, so I temporarily installed
a Hayden 12V fan on the outside of the radiator and it did just fine
at cooling the genset on our trip. I'll replace the old motor, but
having one of the Hayden fans in the roof pod is a thought!

[Scott Forman]

Shane,

How did you manage to ruin a ruber hinge? More importantly, how did
you get the old one off? I have one the is ripped, have the new
rubber for it, but cannot separate the hinge from the bus to switch
it out.

Scott Forman
86 PT38
Memphis

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "sfedeli3" <sfedeli3@...>
wrote:
>
> We're just wrapping up our 5K mile trip from Hershey out to Glacier
> NP, Ernie's Camp-o-rama at the Livingston Fairgrounds and Teton NP.
As
> many of you know, last weekend, Ernie re-carpeted our PT with some
> Mohawk designer grade stuff that we bought at Lowe's. Over the past
> few days, we've really come to enjoy having nice carpet in the coach
> and are very grateful to him for doing such a fantastic job. If you
> are giving flooring installation a thought, he is quite the expert
and
> proved it to Kelly and I with his fine workmanship. I made a pretty
> good try at restoring his exterior paint by using a mechanical
buffer,
> 3M rubbing compound and Paint Guard Plus wax. The brown paint looks
> almost new, but the cream is so thin that little could be done to
> restore any shine to it. Given the great job that he did on our
coach,
> I really wish that I could have done better.
>
> So far, we've traveled 4,746 miles. the ol' 6V92 has been running
> great, averaging 5.88 MPG over the whole trip (mountains and all).
We
> used 7.5 qts of oil so far and have been running around 65-70 MPH.
> We're on the Ohio turnpike tonight spending the evening at one of
> their very nice travel plazas. 6 of them have hookups for $15, but
we
> opted for the boon docking corral since we DO have a Bluebird and
all.
> So far, we've had a need for the following items- Throttle return
> spring (happens to match the one on an '85 Caprice 4 BBL
carburetor);
> A thrown belt on the alternator (I guess the wife's microwave-reheat
> of the quesadilla's with the inverter on in Nebraska was just too
much
> for the brand spanking new Leece-Neville's Green Stripe belts to
> handle); A rubber door hinge (only the mid-80's folks have to worry
> about these- and they are still available from the school bus side
of
> bluebird). I'm glad that I had a mounted spare tire and my X-12
wrench
> in Montana- there were places in there that had surely never seen a
> bus, let alone changed a tire on one. If you don't leave the cities
or
> populated areas too much, then both are sort of overkill. My 220V
fan
> died on the Perkins Genset before we left, so I temporarily
installed
> a Hayden 12V fan on the outside of the radiator and it did just fine
> at cooling the genset on our trip. I'll replace the old motor, but
> having one of the Hayden fans in the roof pod is a thought!
>

[Curt Sprenger]

Scott,
I'm not Shane, but I have removed many rubber hinged doors. We R&Rd one on Dick Hayden's '87 PT at Q 2008 . Took only a few minutes. Open the bay door, have two people support the door, disconnect the supports, sit with your back to the bus and under the hinge and remove all the screws that hold the hinge to the bus body. Place the bay door on a table...pull the two hinge sections apart (takes some pulling)...clean out ALL the dirt in both sections...use soap or similar and slide the new rubber in...let the assemble rest for about 15 minutes...cut off the rubber overhang...reinstall the bay door. The hing and body are threaded so the hinge must be pressed to the body (use a couple clamps) before replacing the screws.

On Fri, Aug 8, 2008 at 8:03 PM, Scott Forman <"scottforman75@gmail.com"> wrote:

Shane,



How did you manage to ruin a ruber hinge? More importantly, how did

you get the old one off? I have one the is ripped, have the new

rubber for it, but cannot separate the hinge from the bus to switch

it out.



Scott Forman

86 PT38

Memphis



--- In "WanderlodgeForum%40yahoogroups.com", "sfedeli3" <sfedeli3@...>

wrote:

>

> We're just wrapping up our 5K mile trip from Hershey out to Glacier

> NP, Ernie's Camp-o-rama at the Livingston Fairgrounds and Teton NP.

As

> many of you know, last weekend, Ernie re-carpeted our PT with some

> Mohawk designer grade stuff that we bought at Lowe's. Over the past

> few days, we've really come to enjoy having nice carpet in the coach

> and are very grateful to him for doing such a fantastic job. If you

> are giving flooring installation a thought, he is quite the expert

and

> proved it to Kelly and I with his fine workmanship. I made a pretty

> good try at restoring his exterior paint by using a mechanical

buffer,

> 3M rubbing compound and Paint Guard Plus wax. The brown paint looks

> almost new, but the cream is so thin that little could be done to

> restore any shine to it. Given the great job that he did on our

coach,

> I really wish that I could have done better.

>

> So far, we've traveled 4,746 miles. the ol' 6V92 has been running

> great, averaging 5.88 MPG over the whole trip (mountains and all).

We

> used 7.5 qts of oil so far and have been running around 65-70 MPH.

> We're on the Ohio turnpike tonight spending the evening at one of

> their very nice travel plazas. 6 of them have hookups for $15, but

we

> opted for the boon docking corral since we DO have a Bluebird and

all.

> So far, we've had a need for the following items- Throttle return

> spring (happens to match the one on an '85 Caprice 4 BBL

carburetor);

> A thrown belt on the alternator (I guess the wife's microwave-reheat

> of the quesadilla's with the inverter on in Nebraska was just too

much

> for the brand spanking new Leece-Neville's Green Stripe belts to

> handle); A rubber door hinge (only the mid-80's folks have to worry

> about these- and they are still available from the school bus side

of

> bluebird). I'm glad that I had a mounted spare tire and my X-12

wrench

> in Montana- there were places in there that had surely never seen a

> bus, let alone changed a tire on one. If you don't leave the cities

or

> populated areas too much, then both are sort of overkill. My 220V

fan

> died on the Perkins Genset before we left, so I temporarily

installed

> a Hayden 12V fan on the outside of the radiator and it did just fine

> at cooling the genset on our trip. I'll replace the old motor, but

> having one of the Hayden fans in the roof pod is a thought!

>

--
Curt Sprenger
1987 PT38 8V92 "MacAttack Racing"
Anaheim Hills, CA

[Curt Sprenger]

Scott,
One more thing. Be sure to use silicone or a sealer between the hing and the coach body,so moisture can't get in.

On Fri, Aug 8, 2008 at 8:54 PM, Curt Sprenger <"curtsprenger@gmail.com"> wrote:

Scott,
I'm not Shane, but I have removed many rubber hinged doors. We R&Rd one on Dick Hayden's '87 PT at Q 2008 . Took only a few minutes. Open the bay door, have two people support the door, disconnect the supports, sit with your back to the bus and under the hinge and remove all the screws that hold the hinge to the bus body. Place the bay door on a table...pull the two hinge sections apart (takes some pulling)...clean out ALL the dirt in both sections...use soap or similar and slide the new rubber in...let the assemble rest for about 15 minutes...cut off the rubber overhang...reinstall the bay door. The hing and body are threaded so the hinge must be pressed to the body (use a couple clamps) before replacing the screws.

On Fri, Aug 8, 2008 at 8:03 PM, Scott Forman <"scottforman75@gmail.com"> wrote:

Shane,



How did you manage to ruin a ruber hinge? More importantly, how did

you get the old one off? I have one the is ripped, have the new

rubber for it, but cannot separate the hinge from the bus to switch

it out.



Scott Forman

86 PT38

Memphis



--- In "WanderlodgeForum%40yahoogroups.com", "sfedeli3" <sfedeli3@...>

wrote:

>

> We're just wrapping up our 5K mile trip from Hershey out to Glacier

> NP, Ernie's Camp-o-rama at the Livingston Fairgrounds and Teton NP.

As

> many of you know, last weekend, Ernie re-carpeted our PT with some

> Mohawk designer grade stuff that we bought at Lowe's. Over the past

> few days, we've really come to enjoy having nice carpet in the coach

> and are very grateful to him for doing such a fantastic job. If you

> are giving flooring installation a thought, he is quite the expert

and

> proved it to Kelly and I with his fine workmanship. I made a pretty

> good try at restoring his exterior paint by using a mechanical

buffer,

> 3M rubbing compound and Paint Guard Plus wax. The brown paint looks

> almost new, but the cream is so thin that little could be done to

> restore any shine to it. Given the great job that he did on our

coach,

> I really wish that I could have done better.

>

> So far, we've traveled 4,746 miles. the ol' 6V92 has been running

> great, averaging 5.88 MPG over the whole trip (mountains and all).

We

> used 7.5 qts of oil so far and have been running around 65-70 MPH.

> We're on the Ohio turnpike tonight spending the evening at one of

> their very nice travel plazas. 6 of them have hookups for $15, but

we

> opted for the boon docking corral since we DO have a Bluebird and

all.

> So far, we've had a need for the following items- Throttle return

> spring (happens to match the one on an '85 Caprice 4 BBL

carburetor);

> A thrown belt on the alternator (I guess the wife's microwave-reheat

> of the quesadilla's with the inverter on in Nebraska was just too

much

> for the brand spanking new Leece-Neville's Green Stripe belts to

> handle); A rubber door hinge (only the mid-80's folks have to worry

> about these- and they are still available from the school bus side

of

> bluebird). I'm glad that I had a mounted spare tire and my X-12

wrench

> in Montana- there were places in there that had surely never seen a

> bus, let alone changed a tire on one. If you don't leave the cities

or

> populated areas too much, then both are sort of overkill. My 220V

fan

> died on the Perkins Genset before we left, so I temporarily

installed

> a Hayden 12V fan on the outside of the radiator and it did just fine

> at cooling the genset on our trip. I'll replace the old motor, but

> having one of the Hayden fans in the roof pod is a thought!

>

--
Curt Sprenger
1987 PT38 8V92 "MacAttack Racing"
Anaheim Hills, CA

--
Curt Sprenger
1987 PT38 8V92 "MacAttack Racing"
Anaheim Hills, CA

[erniecarpet@...]

Shane, you did a great job on my coach, from rebuilding the docking lites, adding LEDs on the rear and working on my dead paint. i thank you

Ernie Ekberg
83PT40
Livingston, Montana

with Brenda

---

Looking for a car that's sporty, fun and fits in your budget? Read reviews on AOL Autos.

[sfedeli3]

Hi Scott,

The hinge had a few tears in it at the end and some hidden ones
that I could not see on the inside. I've been replacing them
one-by-one as they've failed and figured it best to take some
proactive steps before we left Ernie's. Detach the air springs from
the door and let them hang from the compartment opening mounts. Cut
the old rubber and separate the door from the mounting strip first.
You will need 2 people to do this. You have to remove the small screws
that hold the upper part of the hinge mount on the coach too. These
can be really tough to get out- so be sure to soak them down with some
PB blaster the night before.

Once the door is off, it's usually easier to simply cut the rubber
longways several times until you can pull small strips of it out with
a pair of needle-nosed pliers. Usually, there is a lot of corrosion
between the rubber and the aluminum strips, so it's really hard to
pull out all in one piece. There are small Phillips-head screws at
each end of the rubber that need to be removed too. Once the rubber is
out of each side of the track, I usually clean all of the corrosion
with a dental pick and small slotted screwdriver. I coat the new
rubber hinge material with silicone grease (plumbers grease) and it
will slip in relatively easily. I've found that re-mounting the door
works better when you drill out the holes slightly on the aluminum
mounting flange so that the screws will tighten into the coach's
metal. Otherwise, you end up pushing the door away from the coach when
you try to tighten the mounting screws. Remounting the door is a two
or three-person job. One will have to sit on the ground with the
screwdriver, tightening the mount and the other two have to hold the
door slightly open, but tightly against the coach so that you can
reinstall it firmly.

Shane Fedeli
85PT40
Hershey, PA


--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Scott Forman"
<scottforman75@...> wrote:
>
> Shane,
>
> How did you manage to ruin a ruber hinge? More importantly, how did
> you get the old one off? I have one the is ripped, have the new
> rubber for it, but cannot separate the hinge from the bus to switch
> it out.
>
> Scott Forman
> 86 PT38
> Memphis
>

[sfedeli3]

Curt and Scott,

The original sealant that bluebird used was Dyco C-10. It can be
found at most Camping World stores. It sticks well to itself, never
dries out and can be cleaned off with Xylene. Usually only runs around
6.99 per tube. It is a much better sealant than Silicone. You won't
need much, just a small bead on the aluminum mounting flange will do
it. There is usually a good amount left on the flange and coach
mounting surfaces after you pull them apart.

-Shane

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Curt Sprenger"
wrote:
>
> Scott,
> One more thing. Be sure to use silicone or a sealer between the hing
and the
> coach body,so moisture can't get in.
>
> On Fri, Aug 8, 2008 at 8:54 PM, Curt Sprenger wrote:
>
> > Scott,
> > I'm not Shane, but I have removed many rubber hinged doors. We
R&Rd one on
> > Dick Hayden's '87 PT at Q 2008 . Took only a few minutes. Open the
bay door,
> > have two people support the door, disconnect the supports, sit
with your
> > back to the bus and under the hinge and remove all the screws that
hold the
> > hinge to the bus body. Place the bay door on a table...pull the
two hinge
> > sections apart (takes some pulling)...clean out ALL the dirt in both
> > sections...use soap or similar and slide the new rubber in...let the
> > assemble rest for about 15 minutes...cut off the rubber
overhang...reinstall
> > the bay door. The hing and body are threaded so the hinge must be
pressed to
> > the body (use a couple clamps) before replacing the screws.

[Terry Neal]

Hi Shane,



Was real nice to meet you & Kelly in Livingston. We all sure
enjoyed your brisket. Now I see why your nickname is so well earned!.
Kellie & Katie said they had a fun time at the Sweet Pea festival
with your Kelly. Katie says to tell her thanks again for the T shirt.
Kellie & Katie went to Yellowstone today with Katie's boyfriend
from Indiana.



Sounds like you've had a good trip back home with no real major
problems. How was Grand Teton & Jackson? I imagine that the
traffic was probably a real bear.



Thanks again for all the fine food & the visit. Kellie said she
would write down the cookie recipe & send it to your Kelly.

Terry Neal

Bozeman, MT

82PT40 6V92TA

74FC34 6V53T











sfedeli3 wrote:







We're just wrapping up our 5K mile trip from Hershey out to Glacier



NP, Ernie's Camp-o-rama at the Livingston Fairgrounds and Teton NP. As



many of you know, last weekend, Ernie re-carpeted our PT with some



Mohawk designer grade stuff that we bought at Lowe's. Over the past



few days, we've really come to enjoy having nice carpet in the coach



and are very grateful to him for doing such a fantastic job. If you



are giving flooring installation a thought, he is quite the expert and



proved it to Kelly and I with his fine workmanship. I made a pretty



good try at restoring his exterior paint by using a mechanical buffer,



3M rubbing compound and Paint Guard Plus wax. The brown paint looks



almost new, but the cream is so thin that little could be done to



restore any shine to it. Given the great job that he did on our coach,



I really wish that I could have done better.







So far, we've traveled 4,746 miles. the ol' 6V92 has been running



great, averaging 5.88 MPG over the whole trip (mountains and all). We



used 7.5 qts of oil so far and have been running around 65-70 MPH.



We're on the Ohio turnpike tonight spending the evening at one of



their very nice travel plazas. 6 of them have hookups for $15, but we



opted for the boon docking corral since we DO have a Bluebird and all.



So far, we've had a need for the following items- Throttle return



spring (happens to match the one on an '85 Caprice 4 BBL carburetor);



A thrown belt on the alternator (I guess the wife's microwave-reheat



of the quesadilla's with the inverter on in Nebraska was just too much



for the brand spanking new Leece-Neville's Green Stripe belts to



handle); A rubber door hinge (only the mid-80's folks have to worry



about these- and they are still available from the school bus side of



bluebird). I'm glad that I had a mounted spare tire and my X-12 wrench



in Montana- there were places in there that had surely never seen a



bus, let alone changed a tire on one. If you don't leave the cities or



populated areas too much, then both are sort of overkill. My 220V fan



died on the Perkins Genset before we left, so I temporarily installed



a Hayden 12V fan on the outside of the radiator and it did just fine



at cooling the genset on our trip. I'll replace the old motor, but



having one of the Hayden fans in the roof pod is a thought!