I did it.

[shorty943]

She's finished, and at her first job site.
That bus I have been working on for 3 months, is finished.
I drove her down the road to her first job Tuesday night for opening Wednesday.

She started as a town bus in orange, and now she is a mobile kitchen in red. Complete with Waldorf commercial range, onboard water storage and hot water service, dual 15 amp power inputs with dual onboard 240 volt circuits.

And a top speed of 65 KPH.:)
Yep, left the driveway turned down the hill into town, and floored it. I hit the Cemetery bend at full throttle after full downhill assist acceleration, at a whopping 65KPH.

Whoops, must manipulate graphics to fit site criteria.
Will Gimp it and be back.

Edit.

Five shots of the systems and at her first job.
I'll post the rest on my new site, my web site host closed down, bugger.
That's all right, I'll just rebuild it for another host.

[George130]

Looking good.

[shorty943]

Thanks George, now I can sneak a couple more photo's in.:p

Most taken during construction, so are unfinished, but in place.

The back up gas supply fitted (sealed) in the rear door well, the power supply box fitted in the engine service bay, and of course the cook fits where she can.:D

[harry]

nice bit of kit, do not want to ever pay for a refill at the servo, looks the goods, nice job. what speed when you find top gear and high diff?

[shorty943]

nice bit of kit, do not want to ever pay for a refill at the servo, looks the goods, nice job. what speed when you find top gear and high diff?


Thanks Harry. The paint is stock standard International Harvester Red.
Cost to paint, including payment to the mate for the job of $500, was $750.
I like industrial paints. Cheap and tough.

That was it mate.:(

2 speed ZF auto and a deep reduction diff to pull the 14.8 tonne all up weight.
I think she carries about 400 litres of diesel.
The same of water under the floor for the overhead air conditioner, same again for onboard potable water with 12 volt marine pressure pump, and a 200 litre grey water tank.

65 flat out. All canvas and 2 teenage boys pushing.:D

She ain't fast. But we can cook quick.

[abaddonxi]

Looking very nice, Shorty. How did you secure the fridges?

Cheers
Simon

[shorty943]

Looking very nice, Shorty. How did you secure the fridges?

Cheers
Simon


Umm, 2 teenage boys?:( Finally found a use for them.

One end nailed to the fridge, etc.:angel:


Seriously.
I just made up angle brackets, secured to timber battens behind the paneling and to the marine ply flooring.

The mongrel was the stove. A full size "Waldorf" brand, commercial kitchen range. It was salvaged from the old Caltex servo in Tailem bend, cut in half and rebuilt to fit the bus.
Sorry, no photo's of 4 people trying to carry a big stove in through a bus door. But it must have looked good.:(
The range splash back is defeating my camera as well. An 8 X 4 sheet of brand new polished galv, with the rear window of the bus fitted over that to make a mirrored glass splashback. Works surprisingly well.
My how swish.

[spudboy]

Howdy Shorty,

Looks like you've been busy!

That is some serious amount of space in that thing. What is the main reason for building it - is it a travelling/touring thing or something for work?

It's gonna take a long time to get around Australia if you're doing it at 65, but you'll see a lot :D

[shorty943]

The whole project was to provide an income for a struggling local single mother, with 2 teenage run amok boys.

Nifty, my landlord bought the bus for 5 grand, I spent 3 months doing it up, that absorbed another 7 grand, and now the lass concerned, is making breakfast and lunches, for hungry truckies at the Tailem Bend Grain Stores.

The only travelling she will do, is from job site to job site.
Mostly seasonal contracts like the current one. Drive in, park up and sit for a couple of months.

She should do alright, she's a pretty damned good cook. And as it turns out, she's back cooking at the very first stove, she cooked at as a teenage girl.

[CraigE]

The whole project was to provide an income for a struggling local single mother, with 2 teenage run amok boys.

Nifty, my landlord bought the bus for 5 grand, I spent 3 months doing it up, that absorbed another 7 grand, and now the lass concerned, is making breakfast and lunches, for hungry truckies at the Tailem Bend Grain Stores.

The only travelling she will do, is from job site to job site.
Mostly seasonal contracts like the current one. Drive in, park up and sit for a couple of months.

She should do alright, she's a pretty damned good cook. And as it turns out, she's back cooking at the very first stove, she cooked at as a teenage girl.
Good stuff Shorty. Great to see some one give a hand to another who is struggling.
:clap2::clap2:
Depends on the ladies age, I may even know her from my high school days in Murray Bridge. Used to have a lot of friends from Tailem Bend.
:angel:

[LandyAndy]

Welldone to you Shorty and your boss!!!!
Great story!!!!
Neat work on the bus too man:cool::cool::cool::cool::cool:
Make enquires about the trans/diff.
Chances are there is a 2 speed hi/lo on there somewhere,its got to do better than 65ks surely!!!!.
A local sod buster has an Albion truck,it blew the gearbox,on getting a rebuild they discovered an unconected lever,it was a 2 speed that had never been used from new.That thing wouldnt do much better than 75ks beforehand,did 100ks easy after the rebuild.
Goodluck,goodwork!!!
Andrew

[Bigbjorn]

Welldone to you Shorty and your boss!!!!
Great story!!!!
Neat work on the bus too man:cool::cool::cool::cool::cool:
Make enquires about the trans/diff.
Chances are there is a 2 speed hi/lo on there somewhere,its got to do better than 65ks surely!!!!.
A local sod buster has an Albion truck,it blew the gearbox,on getting a rebuild they discovered an unconected lever,it was a 2 speed that had never been used from new.That thing wouldnt do much better than 75ks beforehand,did 100ks easy after the rebuild.
Goodluck,goodwork!!!
Andrew

I doubt if an ex-metro bus has an overdrive or two speed diff. No need for one in service that rarely exceeds 60kph. That is why it only has a two speed transmission, no need for more. Most metro commuter buses had very low top speeds as they were never used on the highway. Brisbane City Council buses were all spec'd for 35mph top speed before the first freeways were built and the council started running express buses on the freeways, and, later, having this new found capacity, doing charter work.

As to the Albion, are you talking about a two speed diff that was not connected, or a high/low splitter that was not connected? If the splitter, there was a good reason, reliability. The basic Albion six speed box was a beauty which turned around the old maxim that poms can't make a good gearbox. Well Albion was Scottish before being taken over by Leyland and there is the rub. The variants of the Albion box thereafter with front or rear splitter sections were bloody awful and this is why many were sold without the splitter being connected.

[UncleHo]

G'day Shorty943 :)

This is an Ex-govt suburben bus is it not, as these vehicles are often built to a Govt contract they have possibly specified a rear diff ratio that has a speed limiting factor, like in the old NSW busses, AEC's Albions, Leylands, that were geared to max of 38mph and many had Worm and Wheel Diffs so that they would over-run on hill decents, if it is an Eaton type diff it could be locked in Low Ratio, that would account for that type of speed, if so there would be an unconnected solenoid that is in/on the diff, which is usually connected to a Monkey switch mounted in the cab, if not, seeing it is a ZF auto it could as simple as the high gear bands in the box have been blocked off,most ZF's are multi speed, that would mean at 65kph the vehicle would be limited by the engine governor. so it may be only a simple job to have the blanking plate removed to give it it's full transmission range, have a talk to a M A N truck service centre and quote the ZF transmission type and serial No, they should be able to tell you if it has been blocked off/disabled in upper gears:) It then will give SAFE road speeds and better fuel economy, remember that as a bus it would be capable of weights up to or over 17/18 tonnes GVM.

cheers

[LandyAndy]

Hi Brian
Splitter was on the gearbox,also had the 2 speed diff.Was a Chieftan from memory,big powerful motor,full crash box,real noisy.
Andrew

[Bigbjorn]

Hi Brian
Splitter was on the gearbox,also had the 2 speed diff.Was a Chieftan from memory,big powerful motor,full crash box,real noisy.
Andrew

Sounds like it has been modified. Chieftains usually had an Albion hub reduction diff. Comets had the Eaton two speed.

[Bigbjorn]

Ho, I see from the photo that it has an M.A.N. hub reduction diff. which can not be fitted with ratios faster than about 4.4:1. From memory, they are 4:1 in the hubs. Most metro buses with these diffs had ratios in the region of 6:1 and slower to give startability and acceleration in traffic. I will pass on the ZF autos about which I know little as very few vehicles of my experience had them. I do know they are VERY expensive to overhaul. When Brisbane City Council got their first Volvo buses which had ZF's, Volvo Trucks had to send them down to Leyland at Rocklea for service and repair as their blokes were not competent. Mechanics hated them almost as much as they hated the SCG pneumocyclic trans, known in house as the homosexual transmission.

[shorty943]

Good eye, Brian. M A N deep reduction rear axle she has.

She is G A F built, Unca Ho, about 1974.

M A N 9 Ltr normally aspirated horizontal inline 6, that ZF 2 speed auto, and M A N diff.

We are all pretty pleased with the way it has turned out.
For politically correct reasons, (I'm not certified for land plumbing and electrical stuff, apparently it's different) a local plumber did the hot water installation and certification (thank's Mick), and a local sparky checked and certified the electrical work I did (thank's Phil). A friend from up river, spent a week with us, and did the paint job, (thank's Peewee).
It's been a group project.

The lass has commandeered a local CB channel, the drivers radio in their lunch orders, she has them ready.

She will have her work cut out when the harvest gets into swing, NM.:p
At the moment, there are about 20 on site CBH employees, plus maybe 20 or so local drivers moving small grain lots around. Once harvest gets into swing there will be a couple of hundred drivers trying to get as many trips a day in.

And the latest report is, it's raining inside, when the air-conditioner is running.:(
Bugger, better get the ladder out. Might be a crack or two in the old CoachAir A\C tub.
Some fibreglass mat, some resin and hardener, no worries.

Maybe I can sleep next week instead.:angel:

Then, maybe, I can get back into my Landy.
Don't they look funny with all their front taken off.:)

[Aaron]

Is there any reason why you chose woldorf ?

[shorty943]

Is there any reason why you chose woldorf ?


It was available at a good price, and was built to comply with commercial regulations. It gave 30 years of service at the local Caltex, she'll do us all right.:D

[Aaron]

i thanked you.. apprantly. damnit, all these buttons. not that you dont deserve a thanks.

i assume you got a big grill or flat plate ?

if you could do me a favour, put on equal amounts of water in a pot, on oppisites of the applliance, and tell me which side boils first.

[Pedro_The_Swift]

just looking at her makes me hungry Shorty;)

[LandyAndy]

She would make a killing at the local CBH.
Record crops around here this year,they have only just started harvest and the line ups are long already.
But by time she trundles across at 65ks they will be seeding next years crop:D:D:D:D:D:D
Andrew

[shorty943]

just looking at her makes me hungry Shorty;)

That's the colour mate. Macca's aren't red and yellow for nothing. It's spooky mind control stuff.
Red actually makes people feel hungry, and yellow is a promise of a better tomorrow.
But, we are red and white, coz white is the good guy colour.:D


She would make a killing at the local CBH.
Record crops around here this year,they have only just started harvest and the line ups are long already.
But by time she trundles across at 65ks they will be seeding next years crop:D:D:D:D:D:D
Andrew


Ours have been downgraded by about 40%, so far. Bad year here. Real promising opening to the season, then no rain at all for 8 weeks. Some local blokes put the livestock into the crop paddocks weeks ago because there is bugger all to harvest. Yet 60 k's down the road they talk of a bumper year. And I drove the bus down to the CBH site on Tuesday evening, and the lass opened up for business Wednesday morning. Luckily, the CBH site is between us and town at the bottom of the hill. That's probably how she got up to that hurtling pace.
Full Throttle Hill Descent Assist.:p:p

[Quarks]

Looks like a good bit of work, Shorty! :)

I for one am glad the ol' bus can't do more than 65 - it means there won't be any of that horrible fast food being served!! :D:D

[Killer]

Can she bring it to Cooma to feed us all?

Cheers, Mick.

[shorty943]

Looks like a good bit of work, Shorty! :)

I for one am glad the ol' bus can't do more than 65 - it means there won't be any of that horrible fast food being served!! :D:D


:D:D:D:D Not a fan off it myself.

Killer, can you wait a bit? Low gear assent and all that.
Might take a while.:angel:

BTW, NOT Killer Durdin is it?

[Quiggers]

Nice bus shorty! Well done!

Now, what's the longer term plan for it?

GQ

[shorty943]

Thank's Quiggers.

That is the long term plan for it, in the short term that is.:)

While we were still struggling to get her up to scratch for commercial use, there was a short discussion on where the shower, toilet, etc were going.

This one is an earner.
But we do have some ideas for future projects.
This only took 3 1\2 months, start to finish, with myself being the only full time worker. And I'm a cripple.
With 3 of us in partnership working full time, we should be able to knock out a full mobile home conversion, designer interior and all, in about 6 weeks.
Look out Winnebago, the Mallee boys are coming to town.

[Killer]

BTW, NOT Killer Durdin is it?

Sorry, but no, I am Mick Kilmartin.

Cheers, Mick.

[shorty943]

Phew.

Long time back now. A Navy cook, a senior hand, earned the name "killer". Hung over or some such and mistook the dish washing detergent drum for the cooking oil drum.:(
Easy mistake, they were both a different colour.:D

Eggs and bacon were not a popular dish for a while.

Killer, was forever, banished from the galley, and spent his last couple of years in the Navy as the "Captain" of the Cafeteria.

True story, it happened on board HMAS Melbourne, when I was still only under training as a 16 year old kid.

[Quiggers]

I never been in the service shorty but back in the mid 70s I had few mates who served aboard HMAS Stalwart (I think? fleet supply vessel?)

...anyhoo, I spent a day on board (Garden Is, Syd), one of them worked in the kitchen (galley?), and had his own supergazoo icecream maker! very impressive!

rambling old tub it was, quite amazing - the fleet 'fix it' ship.... top grade cold beer, too!


cheers, GQ

[shorty943]

Served on her 1974\5.
Recalled from leave on Christmas Day to go to Darwin.

She was the largest warship ever built by an Australian Dockyard, Cockatoo Docks in Sydney.

Fix it ship indeed. She was the Fleet Maintenance Vessel.
2 crews, ships staff and Fleet Maintenance Unit (we the elite?).
Main propulsion was by 2 Scott Sulzer Marine diesels. 12,500 HP developed, direct connected prop shaft, no gearboxes. Sleeve valves in the cylinders took care of reversing the entire engine running direction.
Top speed ahead was 276 RPM.:) Baby flew fast.:p

Ships power was supplied by a total of 7 YJ16 Paxman diesels. The very same engines, the Patrol Boats and Oberon subs, used for MAIN engines.:eek:

She had electrical, engineering, weapons, and carpentry workshops. We had our own foundry and blackies shops.
The main lathe in the Engineers work shop was a "Grey",
had a bed over 30 feet long, and turned 3 foot in the gap, which was 4 foot long.
That workshop also contained Cincinatti Milling machines, surface grinders, line borers, broaching engines, you name it we had it.

Medically she had 2 operating theaters and a dental theater.

We could tow 4 destroyers alongside at sea, 2 each side, supply all their needs in food, power, water, steam all at the same time we were fixing them up. Do you remember seeing the bakery, right next to the Galley? And the Butchers shop?

And for fun?
We used to race the Crown Electric Pallet trucks around the decks. You try controlling one of them in a "power slide" on a steel deck, moving at sea.:p

Mayhem.:twisted: