2026 Jamboree Splitty
Things got pretty intense today. Wayne and David came by early and David jumped right in with both feet getting the new rocker panel under the cargo door welded in. This is really tricky, precision work. The panel has to be aligned just so, welded just a little in one spot, tweaked some in another spot until it’s perfectly aligned again, welded some more, tweaked again…. He spent most of the morning getting it in just so but it looks incredible. His patience is amazing.
Meanwhile Wayne was working in the engine bay doing the prep needed to paint it with the blue body color. I had primed and then painted it black but it just looked wrong. Too dark. So it’ll be painted blue when Wayne paints the body and I agree that it’ll look way, way better. Thanks Wayne.
I spent most of the morning hand sanding around the window openings and wherever else I could. But mostly I just tried to stay out of their way while the pros got things done. Every time I turned around, Wayne was working and sanding on another area of the bus…. It’s beginning to take shape nicely.
After lunch David started in on the main floor patch right above the rocker panel he’d done that morning. While he was cutting out the old floor area I was sanding around the windows on the drivers side so I could easily watch what he was doing. He knows exactly where to cut the floor, how to grind away the existing welds and remove the old material and then how to precisely fit the new piece in place so it can be welded in. Watching a master at work.
Wayne and I got the six side windows down from their storage place and started washing, scraping and giving them a good cleaning. After a lot of elbow grease, the ones we worked on started looking much better. But some of them had been water sealed with silicone and just don’t look right. Mike and I have ordered new seals that go between the glass and the frame. When they get here, we’ll decide which ones really must be replaced and which ones are good as they are. We’ll see…..
David got an incredible amount done today but there is still enough to do that we felt it best if he came back Monday to finish. This is physically hard and really tough on your back. I was tired just watching him. So he’ll be back tomorrow and get more done. Thanks David. This is going to look great.
Author: John Manning
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