Raffle Bus 34 Work Party - Saturday, Mar. 22. 2025

What a great turnout for this week’s work party.  New faces, tons of work being done and just a good time had by all.  Thank you everyone.  

We started checking off items on our to do list with the front doors.  David C. and Brian led the team effort on these.  Mike, Laura, Sean, Miller and Ed all spent time trying to get these done.  The doors are never easy and nothing really changed this year.  We did get the regulators, most of the trim and the glass in place.  We’ll be back at it next week to finish up, hopefully with the correct inside scraper for the passenger side next time!  

Meanwhile under the bus a team was installing the starter, gas tank/sending unit/filler neck and firewall.  Mike and David P. headed up this effort.  Greg and Reuben were also there getting this done.  Lots of moving parts here while laying on your back so not much fun.  It took hours but it’s mostly done.  The fuel line we had was in worse shape than we thought so it was discarded.  Safety first.  We’ll buy all new lines this week so it can be finished next week.

The jalousie window screen frames were in rough shape. Reuben, Michelle, Sue and Sue R. worked on them and brought them back to life.  It takes a lot of elbow grease to undo decades of oxidation and corrosion.  David P. was even able to straighten out a bent portion of the frame.  They look really good now.  Ed took them home to finish them up by installing new screens. 

Installing the reverse lights, tail lights and rear side marker lights gave everyone fits.  Reuben, Miller, Ed, Laura and Wayne all worked on them.  The factory tail light screws are just short enough to not seem to be the correct ones and it takes a lot of prodding and tweaking to make them work but we finally did it.  And it’s a good thing I found a whole stash of the correct screws because I’ll get to do it again this week sometime.  Only this time I’ll get the lens oriented right side up!  

Wayne spent the morning painting all the left over bits that seem to be everywhere.  The license plate holder, front spare tire carrier, gas filler, front bumper side steps, and mustache bar, were all painted by Wayne to look good as new and can now be reinstalled next week. 

Greg B. was everywhere with his camera documenting all this and making sure Sue would have pictures to post. Maybe our new official photographer?  Thanks.

Also a special word of Thanks to the new members who are making this raffle bus a success.  Michelle and Reuben are becoming regulars and chipping in everywhere to get done whatever is necessary.  Sean is knowledgeable, focused, organized and is a big help. Thank you all for becoming part of our team.  

Just one final word about something special.  Sue R. had trouble with her bus not running right and was worried about getting safely home.  So Mike and David P. went that extra mile and diagnosed her problem (it was a vacuum leak), fixed it and made sure all was well.  This seems to be these guy’s specialty, always being available to help wherever they can.  

I think this is the personification of what this club is all about and why it is so special.  A Really Big Thanks To You Both.

Author: John Manning

More images on our Raffle Bus #34 page