ever find something you dont need and have no room for ? but you HAVE to have it !!!!!heres the story...last year a good friend asked if id help him with his father in-laws cars.. pete who is 85 has been collecting an building cars for most of his life..really big into model As and mustangs..when i got to his place just east of witchita KS ..i didnt know where to start...he had so much and it was scattered everywhere...barns full of parts, cars half buried in mud...barns falling in on cars...i went through and told him what was good and what he should try to sell...and brought back stuff to sell for him...i had my eye on a few things..mainly parts and a model sedan..which someone bought out from under me...petes old and forgot i wanted it..no big deal..during this time (about a year of going back and forth)i really got to know him...he's a super cool old guy.none of his kids are into cars..they didnt care about the cars ,and just wanted everything cleaned up and gone...so we started clearing stuff out and selling the decent stuff , the scrappers got the rough stuff.when i first saw the bus i really like its look and the 348 sparked my attention..but after seeing what it would cost to get it moved to tulsa and the fact i didnt have a place to keep it.i decided id let it go..all this time pete was telling me storys about the bus ,how he built it ,about taking his family on trips to CO,MO, KS and OK .about pulling the chris craft boat and using the bus to launch it at the boat ramp. a crowd favorite!!everytime he would get this big smile and at the same time you could tell he was sad about it ...someone had made an offer to buy it,so a let it go...on my last trip to see him he said the guy backed out and the crusher was wanting it..i said NO WAY!! i paid him the money the first guy offered and made the arrangements to get it to tulsa.. about the bus .its a 57 chevy 6700,came with a 6 cylinder but pete said it didnt have the power to pull the boat so he put the 348 in it..he also added 3 bunk beds,a stove,sink, 2 fridges.table/seat and cabnets above the kitchen area... he took it on its last trip in 1982 and parked it parked in a barn he had built for it...years pass and the barn gets blown down in a storm. and there it sets until last weekend..now ive done alot of car hauling and dragged some out of some hairy places...nothing like this though..had to cut down a tree to get it out..it had flat on the drivers front and both rear passenger tires are flat.. it took 3 snatch blocks and all my 9500lb winch could muster to get it loaded..it didnt help that the rear bumper was dragging the ground either..we got it to tulsa and unloaded..i pulled the spark plugs and filled the cylinders with marvel mystery oil. the next day i turned the motor over by hand .and it was smooth as silk...i added a battery and after shaking all the dirt dobbers out the starter and rigging up a hot wire..it cranked !!!!!today i added new plugs ,wires, cap ,rotor ,points, condenser and coil...(the rats ate old the wires)..it fired up and ran...the lifters are making some noise but im hoping they will pump back up....now alls left is getting the fuel system in good shape ...then im tackling the brakes... if things work out it will have a black and white checkered floor ,and 50s style dishes and accessories..im adding a roof a/c unit,a radio.and a disco ball....it will look cool with a 53 ford gasser in tow at the hamb drags, and blasting up to hunnert and down to pistons and paint...i just couldnt let it go to the crusher !!!!!
The Jalopy Journal
