New Job, New Apartment, New city

So I was offered a very good position as sous chef of a restaurant in Philly.  It was to open July 1st, so Lynn and I talked it over and decided it was a good choice to make.  We set it up with my parents that we could put the bus in the backyard amongst a bit of trees and camp out until we found a place in the city.  We then packed up the house, and planned out how we would get our non running bus, and all our things to NJ.  Uhaul seemed to be the best choice we had.  We looked into having the bus shipped and having a moving company come to the house the cheapest way was to rent a uhaul and a car trailer.  We did that.  it was 500.00 plus gas for a uhaul packed to the gills and a trailer with a bus packed to its gills, then our car packed with records and two cats and Lynn driving it.  It was outrageously insane!  I could not believe how much the trailer kept jerking and almost stopping the truck at all speeds.  Being 2 mph or 20 it barely moved. The trailer felt like it was going to rip the whole back of the truck off.  It took us 12 hours to drive from Ohio to NJ.  It was the most nerve racking drive of both my and Lynn's lives.  But we eventually made it.

Ruby rested here on the trailer for 24 hours while we took all of our stuff to the uhaul self storage facility and returned then came back home to remove bus from the trailer, and replace the generator.  We have been waiting for about a month until we could fix it.  So the day after we got to NJ, Lynn, Luna, and I set off to replace the generator.  It was hella hot.  So we used an ez up to keep cool.  It took us about35 minutes to pop the motor out, then I skated down to the garage at the corner and they popped the generator bolt off, and replaced the fan on new generator for us.  Then back to the house.

So with the new generator in we went for a ride around the block.  All good!  So we went for it, cruised down to my buddy brads house to show him the bus for the first time.  We hung out and went home no problems in Ruby world.  So we have again a running driving Ruby.  We set out in the yard to find us a nice spot to park, and make our residence for a while.  Just behind the trees you can slightly see our Ruby.  

So we found a nice spot to keep our bus for the time being and ran an extension cord to the house to power our fan, and stereo, and laptop for dvd watching.  We were all set.  We had a few visitors come by and we took them for rides in the bus.  Lynn and I decided to go grocery shopping one day while it was slightly drizzling.  We stopped for windshield wipers, and then went to the grocery store.  We got our stuff and were back out in the bus.  About two minutes goes by, and the motor squeals.  We pulled over and opened the engine hatch.  It was of course the generator.  This new one was a used one.  It did not work out as well as we had hoped. The generator  bearings went bad, and so the generator is not charging.  We nursed ruby  back to the house.  In route losing the headlights, and so Ruby was once again undriveable.  I have to replace it again.  So now to decide what one to purchase and pull the motor again. ughh. We parked ruby in the spot you saw and stayed there until November 15th.  When we finally found our apartment.  Now the bus is sitting in the driveway covered by a few tarps awaiting the new year.  This leaves us at the present time. Ruby needs new steering, tires, front brakes, and suspension. First parts on the list will definitely be a generator, and a single vacuum advance distributor.  I am very excited to get Ruby running and we have a big summer planned for camping and finally yes finally we are going to camp in our bus not in our yard.  The last day we slept in the bus was November the 15th, and when we walked away with the bus empty we took this last picture.  

We spent 3 months in the bus, rain and shine and in through the cold.  It was incredible Lynn me and Luna in the bus Honestly it was great, I miss the bus.  Every day we spent in the bus made us love it even more.  It was a growing experience for us as a family.  I think we did great because we survived.  hahah. 

Next Stop West Cleveland Vw Swap Meet.

So with about a week of driving this semi-road worthy bus back and forth to work.  An average of 20 miles per day.  We had deemed it worthy of highway speeds.  We parked the bus in the backyard Wednesday before the swap meet, and decided to try camping out in our bus for the first time.  We set up our laptop to watch a movie, and had a small fire in the chimney  a few feet from the bus.  Luna was playing in the yard, and we had eaten hot dogs and hamburgers that we cooked on our small camp grill, perched atop the table we had received for xmas.  At this point we were sipping coffee from our camp percolator and relaxing in our camp chairs.  Bus open in the back and on the side.

What happens next of course you must have seen this coming on our first night in the bus sleeping ever.  The sky opened up and rain poured down on us.  We quickly jumped up and closed the rear hatch, and then jumped in the bus closing all windows, and doors to keep the rain out. . . . . . HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA that may have been the single most ridiculous thing I ever said.  We layed down on the bed, the wrong way.  heads towards the rear hatch, and instantly our faces and pillows were wet.  Apparently the rear hatch seal is not so great....  So we grabbed our cell phones, for our alarm clocks, because we did have work in the morning.  And we ran for the house, Luna right behind us.  Forgetting 1 important thing..  It had rained about 3 million gallons in the last 25 minutes, and we are parked in the lowest spot of the yard.  Which coincidentally is the only flat spot in the yard.  So when I stepped out the water was about 6 inches deep.  I went in to my ankles. Woooooo. hahah So into the house muddy and wet Luna totally drenched.  Bath time.  ugh and we are only camping in the back yard.....So hopefully Thursday is alittle better.  I do not have to drive to work Thursday so hopefully the bus does not sink in the yard while at work.  Luckily it did not.  When I got home most of the water had dried in the afternoon sun, but it was mud, and I was worried about making ruts through the yard.  So I left ruby there another night.  We did not go to the bus this day tho, we steered clear of the large mudhole.  Instead I collected things in the garage for the swap meet.  Old engine tins, hubcaps, and a few other odds and ends.  So Friday came, and we decided to camp out in the bus, Except this time I moved it to a higher less flat spot in the yard, and we layed with our feet at the hatch.  I have to admit, it was better than I expected.  The mattress was pretty comfy, better than some mattresses I have layed on .  But not the best.  So Saturday came, and we woke up early, loaded the bus and headed out.  We got on the highway very anxiously hoping it would be a not so busy day and we would be able to cruise without causing any traffic issues.  As I shifted through the gears the bus felt great.  It was smooth and nice right through to fourth gear and we were on the highway.  Not a single issue.  We both relaxed a bit.  I put the bluegrass station on with my cell phone and we could faintly hear it.  This was a nice cruise.  We got so many looks, and honks.  It felt good to be driving this bus down the road on a Saturday morning.  And we were going to see other bus owners.  Man this was great.  We arrived no problem.  Pulled in set up our stuff and waited for nothing.  We chatted with a few other owners, but we did not sell a thing, Lynn found a sun visor for her side with the small plastic end still intact so it would click back into place when not being used.  Previously it would hang down and bounce in her face because the plastic end was broken.  A few hours went by and it was ungodly hot, so we decided time to roll.  Packed up, went to fire up and nothing.... Turned key no start.  Just lights on dash.  So with my hammer I went smacking the starter.  Lynn turned the key and vroom running smooth and nice.  We pulled away, honked and waved.  Just two blocks to the highway and 35 mins to home.... I can see the sign for the highway and all the sudden I hear this crunchy squeal. and the rpm drop.  I pulled into the gas station, turned the key off, and the motor stopped dead immediately.  I went to the back and it just smelled like something was on fire.  I grabbed my extinguisher, and opened the hatch.  The spacers on my generator shaft had welded to the generator case and sheared causing the pulley back to hit the generator housing, and seizing.  There was dust everywhere from the generator insides.  I pulled the pulley off, or beat the pulley with a hammer until it because unstuck to the generator.  Dumped water on them to cool off, and tried to turn the generator output shaft.  Nothing.  it was seized.  This is the problem.  My generator bearing blew apart into the dust I now had all over the engine compartment.  So 2 blocks we drove back to the swap meet to purchase a generator.  And upon pulling in I remember that I need to pull the motor to remove and replace the generator. That's not going to happen here today.  So Lynn calls her mothers AAA.  Her mother comes down to wait on the truck, because we are in fact 2 blocks from her house. We sat here, waiting until Lynn's mother arrived sweating amongst the asphalt.

 So AAA tells us 25 minutes....  in the June heat.  Almost 100 actually. So we sit in Lynn's mothers car with the air con on waiting not 25 minutes but 4 hours. 4 hours the bus sat.  We waited.  They finally showed up.  and we got her loaded up on a flatbed for the first time ever!

At this point I am expecting the worst possible that the front will hit and rip a hole in ruby....I was wrong.

Such crazy day.  4 hours in the heat and a broken bus later.  We were back in the yard... with a motor we need to pull and a generator we need to replace... Ultimately a non-running bus.  The generator has two output shafts.  One on the front of the motor, and one on the rear.  The rear has the pulley with the belt coming from the crank pulley.  This spins the generator causing the electric system to charge, and the front output shaft to spin.  On the front output shaft is a fan that pushes air over the cylinders of the motor, maintaining a safe operating system and keeping the engine from failing.  It blows air over the oil cooler, which keeps the engine oil doing its job.  If the oil gets too hot it will not protect the engine and cause it to fail.  In maybe 2 miles or 3 minutes.  Total Engine Failure, and  a very large Repair bill.  With my engine brand new, I was not planning to do this so we parked ruby in the yard so we could live in her for the remainder of our time in Ohio.  The evening after breaking down I received a wonderful job offer in Philadelphia.  Lynn and I discussed it and decided to make the move.  We decided we could park the bus at my parents house because they have a large wooded yard and we can camp out until we find our new apartment.  I mean what is the sense of having a motor home and paying for an apartment I said.  It is summer and we have plenty of room to do it in the yard.  This would take alittle more talking.  But I had put the idea out there.  Anyway we had to be in Philly In July.  So we decided not to work on Ruby until we moved.  We could not afford to fix her at the time with the move, and having to rent a moving truck.  So we put her in the yard to practice living in her and see what we thought.  .....

Troubleshooting. Why Ruby Would not start back up after cruising.

So After our First ride, upon returning home I stalled out, and could not get her to fire back up.  Flooded her out cranking.  Had to leave in the driveway for the night.  So after work I got outside and fired Ruby up first try.  This got the hamster wheel in my head turning.  Starts cold, but not hot...  My first thought was carburetor issues.  So I checked the carburetor out, just to make sure.  The very first thing I did when I got the bus was rebuild and clean the carburetor meticulously so I did not expect this to be a problem.  I reset and tried again.  Started cold once I got her warmed up it did not start back up.  I flooded it, and depleted the battery trying.  So back to the research, I can not explain how much other peoples blogs, and postings helped me out.  I read about my carburetor, and motor.  I found out that I had an aftermarket distributor, that was a slight bit harder to dial in than the original factory equipment.  So I read some more and more.  I found that the 009 distributor that I have still today is very touchy, and you had to check it and adjust and try and repeat till you get it right.  So out to the garage I went.  I have a tachometer that I wired into the engine compartment to see what rpm I am running at, and I purchased an adjustable timing strobe light gun.  I had Lynn help me set the timing, and we tested, and set and tested, and set and tested.  We found our sweet spot, and set out timing there.  Time for a cruise.  We took this opportunity to drive over to brother Bears and get the lawnmower.  Mainly so we could take Dylan for his first ride in the bus.  He has been waiting longer than me, only because he got to go pick it up when Lynn bought it for me.  He is the small child pictured in the beginning of the blog pretending to drive.  He pretended to drive once a week from the time we got the bus till the time we left Ohio.  Our ride went wonderfully.  We cruised around the park, and through the neighborhood. No issues at all, Smooth sailing all the way.  After our cruise which Dylan loved every second of Lynn and I decided to hit the grocery store.  Nervously turning the key after shopping I hoped that everything was good, and vroom she came to life no problem.  We both sighed in relief, and away we went back home, with a lawnmower and some groceries.  Today had been a good day, and with the weekend approaching and a vw swap meet pretty close to us we were confident that Ruby would make the journey.  We had about a week before the swap meet where I drove Ruby about 15 to 20 minutes each morning to work.  With no radio, I really got to feel what it was like to drive an old vw.  Nervously, and precisely timing each shift.  Deliberately moving the shifter to the next gear in the sequence, hoping so dearly that you have it correct, and will not have to down shift.  Some of those mornings were  hairy.  With the joggers, and bikers, and dear all through the metro park of Berea.  But I made it.  Each day a tad smoother, spilling less of my morning coffee, and getting less cigarette ash on myself.  It was an experience in driving, putting me in a place long before distractions of gps, cell phones, ipods.  A time where driving a car meant working to keep that car running and on the road to get you where you were going.  Watching, listening, smelling, and feeling every aspect of the ride. Senses on edge, I lived a little each morning.  I loved every single second of it, and wished Lynn could share it with me.  Those beautiful crisp spring mornings, shattered by the vibrations of a vw air cooled engine and the rattling of every single piece not welded to the other in the bus.  Glorious chaos. I would not trade it for anything in the world.  We decided we could and would make the journey to west cleeveland.  On the highway for the first time, 20 plus miles, in June. Hot hot weather.  We decided why not.  Lets do it.... Man what a day that would turn out to be..

The First breakdown.

So with the brake line grommet fixed, and the brakes bled Lynn and I decided to take our first drive in the bus.  A short 45 minute ride down a farm road, that winds through the country up and down left to right at a speed limit of 50mph.  Needles to say I was nervous!  I found that we had about 3 to 4 inches of play in the steering wheel, and quite a bit of suspension sway.  Like a boat on a rough day...  We cruised along smiling wide because we had in fact done it.  Took this bus from troubled to driving in only a few months.  We pulled into a good friend and fellow Vw owners drive way.  Both Lynn and I were excited to finally show them Ruby.  We checked her out and then hung out for a while.  However with the tail lights being the way they are.  One turns off when the brake is applied.  We decided that we should drive home before dark.  So back into Ruby.  I turned the key....... Um.  Not a thing.  Lights on dash, no start, no crank, no sputter, no click. Nothing.  Not cool.  It is getting dark, and we have to go back down the road to grandmothers that winds through the woods and over the stream.. Yeah ....  Good friend Patrick with his years of Vw experience grabs a hammer.  At which I immediately say Hey WAIT!  He did not.  One good whack on the starter and bam she fired up.  Thank you Patrick!  Out of the driveway we rolled and down to the stop sign.  With the sun setting we were off homeward with our fingers crossed that we did in fact make it back.  Perhaps we should have stayed closer to home, but if we had we never would have had that glorious first ride.  The engine purring and the bus rolling along.  Lynn and I were the happiest people in the world.  The months of work had finally paid off.  We pulled into the driveway and opened the garage, to put Ruby away for a good nights rest.  As I pulled her into the garage she stalled out.  I turned the key to fire her up and she just cranked and cranked and cranked.  Ruby Did Not Make it home from her first ride.  She had to spend the night in the driveway, instead of in her nice new room.  But Hey At least we made it home before she called it quits.  I was so happy after our drive I did not even bother myself with what could be going on.  Just smiles and visions of that road to grandmothers.  What an amazing drive it was.  I do not have pictures but imagine the most beautiful tree lined road you have driven over hills and around corners.  That was this road.  Our First Ride.....This ride took place in May of 2013 probably about the 12th...

So It has been quite a while since I posted.  Last we posted was after our first drive in Ruby after the new motor.  That was may.  We came outside to find brake fluid under driver seat area of the vehicle.  So I got in there with a flashlight, and found that the rubber grommet that connected the hose from the brake fluid reservoir inside the vehicle to the brake master cylinder under the vehicle was rotted to falling apart.  The first time I applied real brake pressure the grommet just gave out.  So we decided that was it for the day.  Go get the grommet the following day at the parts store right... Wrong, we found a 2nd bus on the craigslist, and went out and bought it.
 A blue 1978.  no motor or trans 200 bucks.  Totally worth it, based on the fact that I needed a
lot of parts, and a bunch of sheet metal.  So we bought another bus that was not working. . . . . How I talked Lynn into this, I have not a clue.  Probably when I sent the picture. I mean it was blue after all.

                           

 So here we are after our ride home, Proud owners of the Grateful Busses.  They just look so good in the garage.  We already decided no cutting this blue boy apart, It is so nice.  Just harvest a few parts, Lynn's window tray, a door latch, a gas cap for a good friend Pat, and windows for a friend of a friend.  We did pass this bus on after a few short weeks with us, because as I said it just was too nice for the knife.  This bus went on to help another 78 continue its life as a bus, or maybe that one helped this one.  Who knows.

Of course before the blue bus left, Luna had to spend some quality time with him.  Also while this bus was with us, we made a couch out of the rear bench seat, and used the two plastic spare covers for arms.   Luna inspired us.  So the blue bus got us back on the road.

Engine Built

So I got motivated, and Built the motor!  Check out my work station, All good cup, Beer, Soda, Coffee, Cigarette's.

 This was a few days process, an hour here and there.  But I got it finished. I also painted all the sheet metal parts to go around the motor.  So here it is all built and ready to go in the bus.

 

 All sealed up and ready to run.  I think it looks great.   I still have to put the nice chrome crank pulley on it, but it is soooo pretty and so clean.  Lynn, Luna, and I went had planned attend a Vw cruise on May 4th.  We had grand plans of driving the bus.  I had Lynn pick up new brake pads, and shoes, and go to the Motor Vehicle to get everything in order.  May 3rd when I got home from work, we got to work on the motor install, and by about 1030 after grilling chicken and corn, and stuffing our greasy faces we fired the motor up.  It sounded amazing.  We were so excited, but did not want to wake up the neighborhood.  So we closed up shop for the night.  Saturday May 4th, we got on the brakes at about 7am, Hoping to be ready by 830. hahahahahahaha  So we drove the Hyundai in the Vw cruise.  It was incredible.  Everyone was so nice and they loved Luna.  We did not attend lunch with the Vw owners, we went back to the garage.  I changed the rear brakes, and put the wheels back on the bus.  Down off the jack stands for the first time in months.  I loaded Lynn, Luna, and our friend Missy in the gutted bus, with only a drivers seat and a bunch of tools and boxes and parts, and NO TAILLIGHTS.  Which at the moment I did not even realize.  We drove out of the driveway, Down to the corner, Did a U turn, and came right back.  During this short cruise I realized that the License plates were sitting in the back with the tools, the lights were not hooked up, and I did not know the shift pattern.  I shifted into reverse not 2nd.  WHOOOPS.  So we pulled back into the yard, up the driveway and into the garage.  I shut her down and we celebrated!  Our first ride in the bus YAYAYAYAYAY.  I went back outside to find a puddle of brake fluid.  boooooo.

Slowly But Surely

Sorry about the huge gap in posts.  I have been slowly getting things done.  My family was here for the weekend and I picked up a box of sheet metal cooling parts for the engine.  It was gifted to me by another Vw enthusiast, so I picked through this pile.

I did not need nearly as much as I thought.  I re posted these on Craigslist locally for anyone that needs them totally free.  I used 2 or 3 of the sheet metal pieces, and cut a tab off of another.  I then went about scrubbing with a toothbrush, and some degreaser these tin parts.  I let them sit in the sun to dry, and sprayed them with a flat black high temperature engine spray paint.  I am super excited.  I think they look fantastic, and I can not wait to see how the motor looks in the freshly white painted engine bay!  Here is a shot of a few sheet metal parts painted.  The largest one is not painted, notice the difference.  It looks clean.  I am happy with clean.  You will understand as I get further.  

So you get the idea, this main piece here is how it looked before painting.  Just old and rough.  The rest is painted with flat black. It is not perfect, but it is matching.  Below is the large piece pictured above, however painted.

I LOVE IT!  I see a problem brewing, all this pretty stuff is going to make the dirty old stuff look even worse! Now I have all the sheet metal cooling parts I think.  Just have to finish the motor to install tin.

Motor Building

I did not finish my engine yet.  On Tuesday I got the old pistons and cylinders off, cleaned the cylinder gaskets, because they are made of metal and I can reuse them.  I started cleaning and wiping down the engine block.  It was a complete mess, grease and grime and years of sludge from oil leaks and who knows what else.  The engine is as far torn down as I will take it at this moment I think.  I am not totally certain.  I have been having this nightmare lately.  When I get the bus done we go for the maiden voyage only to be towed home.  It is a concern of mine obviously that parts I have not checked for damage and or replaced in the bottom of the engine could fail causing me time and money to fix.  I do not want to pull the engine later to rebuild again!  It is a minor concern of mine at the moment.  I am pretty sure Ruby will be so pleased with the freshly rebuilt top end, New brakes, tires, shocks, floors, owners and puppy that nothing will ever go wrong again.  Plus I found that bad luck white lighter and sent it away.  This weekend my brother and sister are visiting.  Hopefully we can find the time to get a few things done.  I am taking it slow with the motor making certain I get everything together properly and I personally do not mess up any important parts along the way.  I should have the motor together by the time they get here.  Maybe we will put it back in.  I guess we will see.....

I got my parts!

So on April 2nd, Lynn and I drove to Youngstown to get our engine parts.  I got new pulleys, clutch, spark plugs, spark plug wires, pistons, cylinders, rings, push rod tubes, clutch, and heads.  Plus all the necessary gaskets.  So here is a picture of my engine as it sits now.  Ugly Dirty Greasy Broken. I have not yet started working on the motor.  I have had all the nice new parts sitting here waiting for me.  Last week I worked everyday, and we went to Hoopla In the Hills.  A music festival in Athens Ohio.  So we were getting ready to camp, and never got anything done.  So we came home from the festival, and cleaned out the car.  Monday consisted of setting the parts out so they looked awesome, and were ready for me to start the rebuilding of the engine.  Here they are.

 I plan to degrease the block today, and if everything goes smoothly, have a motor this evening.  I would really really like to start and tune the bus.  No driving yet, Still need brakes and shocks.  So with fingers crossed I will be building my beautiful new engine.  Wish me luck.  I will post up a picture of my work later this afternoon.

 






                         

 

HAPPY EASTER!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter.  Lynn, Luna and I went to NJ and hung out with the family it was awesome.  We had an amazing weekend and got to see our family.  It was wonderful!  We drove back in the middle of Sunday night.  I had to sleep in the car because I had to work at 7 this morning.  So Lynn had a visit with the Easter bunny today and this is what I got!  I could not believe the Easter Bunny knew exactly how much money I needed to get my engine parts from Rich, and new brakes! 

SUPER EASTER!  I am so excited to get the motor back together.  BUT I have to be patient, If I have a ready to run nice new motor on the bench I will certainly want to get driving..  Time to use my patients!  Thanks Lynn for the bestest Easter basket ever!

Unexpected stoppage.

So I had pushed the bus out of the garage about a week ago to do some pressure washing and painting.  At some point the brakes decided to stick, causing it to get stuck in the driveway.  Motor is still out obviously, and my garage has a step up into it, instead of a nice little ramp.  So yesterday I took the wheels off, sprayed some PB blaster in the rear drums, and beat the crap out of it with a small sledge hammer.  I get them off.  I then jammed a screwdriver between the front disc and the brake pad on the inside of the rotor.  I pried on it a little to loosen the front brakes.  Now my wheels spin FREEEEEEEEE!  So I made two ramps out of wood and pushed the bus up them attempting to put it in the garage.  I broke the ramps of course.  So I pushed the bus back about 20 feet, and waited for Lynn to get home.  When she got home we rebuilt the ramps, and reinforced them with other pieces of wood.  She steered and I pushed.  It took 2 tries.  The first time I almost made it.  So back I pushed the bus another 20 feet.  I put Luna inside because she was so interested in the moving wheels.  So the second attempt I pushed hard as I could and ran.  The bus rolled right up the ramps, and into the garage.  We then put it back on the jack stands.  I got a set of vice grips so I could take the broken screws out of the cabin floor sil plate.  I broke them off.  So I went and got the drill bits.  I broke 4 drill bits, and only got 1 screw drilled out.  So I have to purchase some new ones, Nice sharp ones and drill these screws out.  I cleaned the garage out very nicely today, and organized it.  This weekend we are driving to NJ to celebrate Easter with the family.  I will not be getting anything done on the bus.  I have to work all next week, So I am hopeful that I can pick up my engine parts and get the motor back in next week.  Very hopeful.  When I buy new drill bits they will not be RYOBI.

SNOW AGAIN

So this weekend I did not get anything done.  We had such a crazy weekend here at the house.  At 1 point 3 dogs, 10 people and a jam session.  Lynn was doing dreadlocks for her friend, and our nephews Dylan and Logan were playing video games.  Crazy crazy town.  So I had big plans for Monday morning.  Get outside, get the broken screws out of the floor so I could replace them and put the floor back in.  Thus being the beginning of getting Ruby back together.  I have to put the floor in before the closet and the seats, but I can not put the tack strip in with the screws being broken off in the floor.  So I walk out with my coffee and Luna.  This is what I saw.

Its Tuesday March 26th, and it is still snowing.  It started Sunday night.  I am going for vise grips to get these darn screws out, and interior back in.  I should have some updates later this evening.  

Wood Refinishing.

 So while I was Spring Cleaning, I thought I would refinish the wood panels that are walls of the living quarters.  They were that ugly whiteish paint.  Also they have years of water damage, and wear marks.  So I thought I would clean them up.  I was worried about sanding because the wood is so soft to begin with.  So I started by wet sanding.  It is cold.  So that lasted a short amount of time.  Instead I got some 180 and 220 grit sandpaper for my orbital sander.  That served the purpose just fine.  I just had to make sure to not press too hard.  That would take the wood down below the top layer.  Then it is just crappy filler stuff.  Cheap particle wood.  Here are some pictures of the whole process. I actually installed the wood this afternoon.

Wet sanding, Action shot.  Trying to find the perfect wet to not gum up the sand paper, but not to soak the wood causing more harm than help.

This picture below is the two trim pieces for the cargo area, and the panel to the right side of the rear seat. 

The two cargo area trim pieces are all sanded and waiting for polyurethane.  The wall piece is not.  

I did sand everything with my palm sander after I quit the wet sanding.  And I wanted everything to have matching sanding marks if there were any to see at at all.   So I sanded everything down to the wood, and used a spray polyurethane I purchased from Ollie's.  It was like 1.99 a can, and it performed exactly the way I wanted.  We plan to completely restore Ruby, but if we start now there is no way we will see Phish, or any music with her this summer.  So we are just doing a little bit, kind of enough to be happy with it for the summer. And mainly just a good cleaning.  I could not deal with the ugly worn white paint, so it is gone.   I wanted the finished product to look clean, but used.  I did not want it to look like all the wood was replaced with amazing care and everything else was just thrown in.  So I hung the parts in the garage, and sprayed them with the polyurethane I purchased.  To be honest it came out exactly the way I wanted. 

This picture below is a small piece that is already sprayed.  The large panel behind is still attached to the door.  This should give you an idea of why I wanted to refinish it.  

I hung the panels with some hemp rope from the rafters so I could get the spray can to perform properly, and get accurate coverage and drying.  So I sprayed the panels, and every single one looks different.  On ones with a lot of wear the wear marks are still there.  Just not as dark. And I kept the factory safety and locking function stickers.  I wouldn't be happy without them, and there is a square of discolored wood behind them.  

 

The larger panel I leaned against the wall and painted.  I did not want to chance the string failing and it falling.  I am on a budget and new wood panels are not in it.  While I had everything out, I thought I would do a temporary fix on the rusty holes in the floor.  A poor mans fix, Solely to hinder the water getting up under the plywood floor and causing a musky smell and molding.  I plan to restore fully next winter so this is just a summer fix.  Here is a picture of the floor during the time of wire brush world.

So all these discolored spots are the rust, and most of them are holes.  Good size holes.  The size hole that you could drop you're cell phone through.  So what I did was some really gheetto crap, I wire brushed the area, and spray primed them.  I did this to hopefully slow down the rust a little bit.  And I was planning to tape plastic down over the holes.  Planning.  I bought some "Commercial Grade Duct Tape" at Ollie's.  I know bargain tape, BUT it was made in USA so I had no worries it would be good tape, and do what I needed it to do.  Wrong.  It did not stick at ALL!  so No tape 

Now remember, this is all temporary.  Just to get me through the summer, I know this is not fixing my issue, but it may slow it a little.  So since my tape was not working out I sprayed black paint around the holes, and pushed the plastic down into the wet paint in the immediate area surrounding the holes.  I know super ghetto.  Temporary mold hindrance is all I am going for.  SO here is this ugly bit of work, I don't even want to post it here, but I am going to.  

I took a razor knife after all the black paint had dried and cut the excess off around the holes.  I was not really thinking about it when I did this.  I had not planned to go any farther with this temporary fix, but Luna jumped up in and stepped through one.  So I ran out and got a can or spray undercoating.  The rubber stuff. I sprayed the edges of the patches and sealed them a bit better.  Then just did a quick coat over the patch.  I should have made them better out of screen as if I was doing fiberglass.  But to be perfectly honest I was not thinking when I did it.  Lynn's sister Laura recommended it via cell phone from Buffalo.  I will remember for next time.  So yeah I sprayed the rubber undercoating. I also covered the holes where the rear seat belts mount in both fenders.  They were completely gone.  So I taped over the holes and then sprayed them with the undercoating. I waited for it to dry, and then went ahead and put the wood panels back in.  

You can not really tell here in this picture.  I will get some better ones tomorrow when I get out to the bus.  I did not check the pics out after I took them.  So needless to say you can not really see any of the ugly patch work.  Maybe better. haha.  I made the mistake of putting the wood panel back on before putting the ashtray back in.  That was dumb.  I had to pull it back out put the ashtray housing in and bend the prongs so it would stay in place.  Then put it back in.  So twice the work.  But hey most everything I am doing will be done more than once again while I have get Ruby back to happy life.

 So this was most of what I did today, I also painted the engine bay white, the gas tank panel is still gray.  I re-installed the wood panels and scrubbed the floor.  I was going to put the floor back in, but I forgot that the screws in the metal doorway plate broke, and are still stuck in the body. Here is a shot of the engine bay all taped off.  And Luna helped me out with the taping.  

 

I washed it all out, and put the wood back in.  Here are the trim pieces. All refinished and replaced.

 So we spent the day putting the wood back in patching the floor and cleaning up things.  Luna helped me tape off the engine bay, and paint.  It was actually tough to keep her away from me while painting.  Something about the sound I guess.  But she was certainly helping.  Jumped in while I was painting the floor and tracked her little puppy prints painted black all over. It was quite cute.  Then She played queen of the stump.

We had a long day and got a lot done.  I am happy with where we left off for the day, and I am happy to finally have the blog caught up to where I am in real time.  We put time in, and it shows in the look on Luna's face.