I lost motivation too, but I guess that kinda happens when you shift focus from one muse to another... And I've done that a FEW TIMES!
My latest '71 (I named him MILES) was fun, and I saved it from sitting in a carport for years. It was rattle can painted black and red, and improperly slammed.
I cleaned him up!
We had a lot of memories together, including my first (and only) Maupin trip!
The Oregon Coast
Sunset
But Miles wasn't my IDEAL bus. Camping was kinda awkward without having a walk thru, or a poptop. I bought a small pop top from a guy on CRAIGSLIST and was determined to cut a hole in my roof. My friends at the Lucky Lab talked me out of that idea. My headliner was a PERFECT custom job. I thought about hacking my bench seat and making it into a FLIPSEAT like the old splitty SO-34. But I have no skills for that. So Miles sat...
...and sat.
So I decided to sell Miles to a very nice couple from out of town. They brought their VW specialist friend to give it a look over and a test drive. The next week, Miles drove off to his new home with new eager owners... And now I had a handful of cash! The only thing on my mind was to get myself a walk thru, pop top bus...
Hmmm... What's this “twin” bus Neal is always alluding to? I LIKE his bus, it's just what I want!
I dug around the internets and found some info:
RAMONA is Bertha's twin, a 1970 Montana Red Riviera camper bus that Barry used to own. Story goes: a few years back Barry, opting for the creature comforts of a newly acquired 1979 Automatic Bus, let Neal take the '70 off his hands. Neal used bits and pieces from Ramona for Bertha, and the bus sat in a field for a few years. That's the gist of it at least.
viewtopic.php?t=5768
I inquired.
Neal and I set a date to go take a look at Ramona... “Bring gloves and I'll bring the hatchet!” he says...
Sure enough, the trail to where Ramona lay was overgrown with sticker bushes, and many a Studebaker was buried within.... Seriously!
After a good half hour of bush-whacking the trail opened up to the graveyard of cars, and there was Ramona... Waiting to be saved.
She's BEAUTIFUL, and will clean up just nice! It took a lot of muscle to maneuver her from her resting spot, especially since Neal forgot the KEY!
STEERING LOCK! 
But we put our heads together and got the bus to a spot where the flatbed truck could pick her up.
WENDY was there too!
The flatbed arrives!
Neal knows this sight all too well...
Ramona knows what's in store for her now: a new life.
Driving home! Melannie follows behind in the Jetta.
Unloading into the driveway... Parts bus in the background.
So now I begin the cleanup process, and make a list of things to do. It's A LOT!
Here is a shot the day after I got her home. I think at this point I cleaned up the sliding door mechanism so it would actually open!
Surprisingly this bus has very little RUST! It is all surface rust and then there is the crushed nose, which I'll take over rust anyday! I'll try the football trick and see what I can do to pound that out.
After a wash, I got all the paint buffed out using 2000 grit wet sand and a treatment of rubbing compound, then a fine compound. Still need to do a finish coat of wax. I did NOT give the sliding door any wax treatment so it looks the same as I got it! I wanted to save it so everyone can see the difference! Speaking of sliding door, I replaced the bottom roller and cleaned all the mechanicals so it opens and closes like factory! Still a little noisy though...
Yesterday I got the BFG's mounted on freshly sanded, primed, wet sanded, primed, wet sanded, and double top coat wheels. Man, it looks like a little mountain climber now!
Added some trim and bumper guards too. I have a lot of accessories for the bus that I'll eventually add, but first things first.
Clean, Clean, and Clean! Ripped out the fridge cabinet to get rid of the water tank. It's just too bulky plus it was destroyed. Keeping the ice box though so the overall cabinet will be significantly smaller, but still functional with flip up tables and spice rack. Custom woodwork gonna hafta farm it out to my buddy.
Installed different seat belt and misc odds and ends from my parts bus, gene berg shifter, ordering up some of this stuff for the pop top canvas:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CORDURA-LIGHT-G ... 417611bb81
Melannie is a wizard on the sewing machine so we're gonna make a go at making our own.
Cork flooring is the plan. But NEXT is going through the brake system now that I can get this girl to roll with my own muscle!
***LOCAL PDX GUYS**** Also on the list is the helicoil for the mustache bar motor mount bolts and get the tranny and motor in. BTW that engine compartment is CLEAN!
I'm also looking to replace the bed closet with an early westy style, you know the kind with a treasure chest mechanism. But this will work in the meantime.
That's it for now I'll keep this post updated with progress and if I have any problems I'll post to other threads accordingly... BRAKES!
Thanks again Neal
