We Bought A What?

10/15/2025

Engine starting & running

10/15/2025

Engine starting & running...

08/02/2025

The time has come... After two years and a lot of hard work, we've decided to go in a different direction and have made the tough decision to put our 1997 Classic By MetroTrans shuttle bus/RV conversion project up for sale.

If by chance any of our followers may be interested in purchasing, you can view details here:

Offered is a 1997 Classic by MetroTrans shuttle bus, purchased in 2023 for a RV conversion project, however, life has gotten in the way. The chassis is a 1997 Ford E-Super Duty (aka E-350) with a...

12/22/2023

IN A HOLDING PATTERN

December 21, 2023 – We wrote but neglected to post last week’s update (oops!) as we did little other than spend some time pondering our (shuttle bus building) fate.

On 12/14, MVP’s tech Mike got to work completing the turbocharger’s removal and replacement. He also advised me that the EBP valve purchased was not the correct part needed, however, rather than purchasing the part that was needed (at ~ $700!), he could easily bypass this at no added cost. Also, this week, I began reattaching the rear panel’s flashing, but not before a couple of hiccups. The screws I’d brought from home were of a diameter that were too small for the task at hand. Knowing that I did not have the correct size in my hardware stash at home, a trip to the hardware store was necessary. These were installed upon my return, completing half of the job, before discovering that I also did not have the correctly sized rivets to complete the task. These have since been purchased and are awaiting installation.

Back to pondering…

Between the turbo and alternator replacement, as well as several other “minor” unexpected maintenance issues which were found along the way, we’ve spent nearly $3,900 in unplanned and unbudgeted mechanical repairs. Considering that we went into this with a $45,000 budget for the conversion of the bus, we’ve now spent over eight percent of our total budget on items that were NOT planned for. While not necessarily a deal breaker, it as certainly got us gotten us thinking… How many more of these unplanned/unaccounted for expenses lie out there lurking in the future? As what point will the total cost expenditure make a conversion financially unfeasible? And, will we know before it’s too late? At some yet undetermined point, the outright purchase of a used, but newer pre-fab'd RV would make more sense, financially.

Way back when we first started to document our adventure, we’d noted that there was about a three-year time frame to complete our build. This was premised on the fact that Michelle will retire in April 2026 and we’ve planned to start traveling soon thereafter. Since then, we’ve watched with surprise as my aging parents—both now in their mid- to late-eighties—have almost suddenly needed ever-increasing assistance from their only child [me]. This demand of my time is only likely to increase over the next few years. Being well-grounded in my life's priorities, this will ALWAYS take precedent over anything that is not family-related. Once again, we ponder... Finances aside, how much time will I have to work on the bus and is its' completion in the next 28 months even realistically feasible?

Regardless of our yet to be made decision, there’s still some work to be done. At a minimum, we will need to replace the blown tire, complete the attachment flashing & apply galvanizing compound to the rear panel, and repair a damaged electrical connector in the engine bay. These will be a priority once time can be found. With the holidays just around the corner, this will likely not happen until after the new year. And on that note, we’d like to wish all a joyous holiday season and happy new year.

~ Patrick & Michelle ~

12/08/2023

WELDING COMPLETED AND MOVING FORWARD

December 7, 2023 – The week started off last Thursday with my (3rd) welder, Seth arriving to tackle the removal and replacement of the coach’s rear panel. The flimsy 23-gauge sheet was removed, the framing reinforced (with vertical 1” square tubing) and a new 11-gauge (1/8” thick) sheet was properly welded into place behind the existing flashings. To complete the job, I now have to apply galvanizing compound, re-adhere the flashing/trim and apply caulking to the seams where the trim meets the panel. Once done, I’ll cut three holes in the newly installed panel for a rear sliding window and two storage access doors at the outsides of the panel.

Now, with welding completed and being at least somewhat mobile, on Friday afternoon, I moved the bus four miles to its’ indoor winter storage location (my dad’s pole barn), where I will be able to work on ‘er for the next several months without the inconvenience of weather interruptions. The move itself, was not without its’ own issues… During the short drive, the soon-to-be-deleted coolant loop (from the previously removed isotherm water heater) sprung a leak and left a slight trail of coolant behind me as I pulled into its’ parking spot. Luckily, the leak seemed to have subsided after a couple of days (and hopefully will remain in this static condition until the hoses are removed). Also, at the tail end of the drive over, apparently just before arriving, one of the six tires blew out. Ugh! Well worn, I’d had these on the “to do” list, but was hoping/intending to put off their replacement until later. One more deferred maintenance item that I will now need to bump up the priority list.

After taking a couple of days off to attend to other issues, I spent time on Monday refining the priorities of my to-do list (now that the bus is “under cover”) and gathering up the tools and materials from home that would be needed to accomplish these tasks. On Tuesday, these tools/materials were transported over to dad’s barn so that work could commence. I competed trimming & framing in the box for the hole in the floor that I intended to cover and once done, took final measurements for the hole’s top cover so that, once home again, I could accurately cut a 1/4” plywood cover. While intending to also begin reattaching the flashing trim which was intentionally bent outwards to facilitate the rear panel’s replacement, the screws I brought were too small to tighten into the existing holes. Before my next trip, these ( #6) screws will be swapped out (for ). While unable to reattach the flashing as planned, I did manage, with the tools at hand, to mostly clean up the existing caulking at the mating surface between the flashing and the surface to which it would be attached. While I already had a 2” scraper on hand, this proved to be too wide for the task at hand, where a narrower (1”) scrapper was better suited for the job, but not available. So, one more tool to be added for the next trip.

Wednesday was a day for home to-dos, but I managed to sneak in enough time to pull my table saw out its’ hiding place in the garage and get the top cut to cover the now framed-in void in the floor. I also consulted with my mechanic Kelby and confirmed MVP’s return tomorrow morning to begin on the lingering mechanical issues.

11/30/2023

DOLLARS & SENSE

November 30, 2023 – Having taken last Thursday off to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with family, it was time to get back to work. With my welder, Seth, scheduled to work on replacing the rear body panel on either Friday or Saturday, I rang him up on Friday AM, to find out that his current projects had been delayed and thus he was pushing me back until next Thursday. :( Our goal had been to get this done BEFORE the first snowfall, which here in southern Colorado, typically occurs mid- to late-October. Now, between Aaron and Seth, having been pushed back for the fourth time, we’re looking at a late-November completion, as our rig sits beneath our second snowfall of the winter season.

In the meantime, our mechanic, Kelby, is working on identify parts needed to embark on the second phase of our mechanical work. New items include replacement of the turbocharger & exhaust back pressure (EBP) sensor and a repair/reflash of the engine control module (ECM). Additionally, two carryover items from the first phase—replacement of the aux. A/C system’s (bad) pulley & (missing) belt, and the deletion of the unneeded coolant loop (from the now removed isotemp/isotherm water heater)—are also to be addressed.

Kelby returned yesterday to identify and confirmed the parts which will need to be ordered for the next phase of our mechanical repairs—a turbocharger and an exhaust back pressure (EBP) sensor. The faulty engine control module (ECM) will be removed after the bus is relocated to its’ indoor winter storage location and sent in for repair.

This brings us to a point about overall budgeting for this type of conversion project (and the need to address mechanical issues first). With proper planning, one can pretty accurately budget for the major costs of conversion, those things like rough-in, insulation, cabinetry, etc. When we bought our bus, it was in running condition and made the 50+ mile drive home without a hitch. Even at that at the time of purchase, we knew that it has been sitting, untouched for nearly two years, with little to nothing done to it. As such, we’d planned for the typical “preventative maintenance” items which included an oil/filter change, transmission fluid/filter change, coolant flush, etc. For this work, we’d estimated and budgeted $500. These things are the “knowns”. What can be a project-breaker, however, are the unknowns. While troubleshooting the “won’t start” issue (due to a faulty lead attached to the positive battery terminal), the first unknown that was discovered was a parasitic draw on the battery, this turned out to be a faulty resistor in the alternator, which required its’ replacement. Once started an audibly noticeable misfire of the engine led to a bit more troubleshooting (where the eaten-up turbocharger was discovered) and a lot of worst-case speculation on our part such as injectors needing replacement or the engine requiring a rebuild—both jobs entailing thousands of dollars of unbudgeted funds. Further diagnosis at least partially relieved our concerns, but still… Versus our $500 budgeted, when all is said and done, between parts and labor, we’ll have expended more than $5,600 on vehicle maintenance… Over $5,000 more than was budgeted! While we are blessed to be in a (financial) position where we could absorb such a hit, others endeavoring on such a project may not be so lucky. To that, we must stress the importance of identifying and addressing all of ‘unknowns’ early on in the process, so as not to uncover them only after thousands of dollars have been sunk into their conversions and leave them financially unable or unwilling to see their projects through, thus abandoning their projects at a significant financial loss.

In closing, a bit more good news… Having spoken yesterday with my (3rd) welder, Seth, and after several failed attempts to schedule the work of replacing our coach’s rear panel, he’d indicated that he was a “go” for later this morning. We’re keeping our fingers crossed…

11/23/2023

FINALLY, SOME GOOD NEWS…

November 22, 2023 – So the week started off on the same (bad) note as last week. Mechanic Kelby arrived with the (2nd) generator in hand, removed it from the box and gave the pulley a spin, and… it was making a pronounced clicking noise (which it shouldn’t have). Back to the parts store and a bench test indicated that it was bad. Another (the 3rd) was ordered and due to be in on Saturday. Ugh!

With all parts on hand, Kelby & co. arrived Saturday morning to wrap up (this phase) of the mechanical work. This included installing the alternator (having finally gotten a good one after three tries), finishing the oil & coolant change, topping off the levels of both, and replacing the main (under-hood) battery’s positive battery terminal. At this point, all preventative maintenance/tune-up issues have been addressed, other than replacement of the air filters. Having previously ordered and received a K&N air intake system (57-2531), it was determined that this was for a F-series truck and not the same style as the E-series’ intake. Further research seems to suggest that K&N does not make a full intake system for the E-series vans. In lieu of this, I will be purchasing two K&N 33-2127 air filters for the existing factory intake.

Next up, on Wednesday, was a proper diagnostic to dig deeper into the engine’s issue(s) so that the extent of further work can be determined and its’ cost estimated. At this point, a new turbo is a given, however, any other underlying issues and the total estimated cost of repairs is yet be determined. Hooking up to the ODB II port, it was found that one of the engine’s sensors (EBP) is bad, which will require replacement and the PCM has an internal failure which will necessitate its’ repair and reflash. As of this writing, the cost estimate for all of this work, in addition to replacement of the turbo is yet to be determined. While it’s likely to still be a good chunk of change, this is nowhere near the worst-case scenario that’d been rolling around in my brain for the past few days and, so… Finally, some good news.

During this past week, I was also able to get a few other minor issues addressed. This included removal, repainting and reinstalling the dingy looking grille, replacement of the remaining LED dash lights & fan blower control switch, and sealing/insulating the framed-in the hole in the floor that was mentioned last week.

One more item to be addressed before the bus’s relocation moved into its’ winter storage location (my parents’ pole barn) will be the removal & replacement of the box’s rear panel. The welder, Seth, is tentatively scheduled for this work this coming Friday or Saturday, however, inclement weather forecasted may delay this (further). We’ll see…

In closing, we’re wishing all of our followers a Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃

11/16/2023

FINALLY, SOME PROGRESS… AND A(NOTHER) SETBACK

November 16, 2023 – After months of inactivity, there’s FINALLY, some progress… The welder/neighbor, Aaron, who I was using for my last project, had put me off for three weeks due to his tightly booked schedule, made a recommendation for another to complete the job (of removing and replacing the bus’ rear panel). Having contacted Seth, even he was booked solid for the next three weeks. At that, we’ve set a tentative appointment for Nov. 24th or 25th.

Next on the priority list was to get ‘er running again. Seeking local recommendations, I was able to identify a local diesel mechanic who does mobile service. Upon contacting her (Kelby, of Mountain View Performance) last Thursday, she was able to schedule an initial inspection/consultation for the same day and after meeting, we were put on her schedule for the following day, with the primary goal of addressing the electrical issue(s) which are preventing starting/running so that I can drive it to a (still undetermined) shop to address the other maintenance issues that I would want to have addressed (i.e. oil & filter change, tr**ny fluid replacement, coolant system flush, etc.).

Upon arrival on Friday (Nov 10), Kelby and “Tails”, jumped on the electrical issue and within three hours, they had diagnosed and temporarily repaired this issue, allowing for startup. Yay! The problem turned out to be a faulty ring terminal attached to the positive side of the battery (which is to be replaced/permanently repaired upon their return). Along the way, they also discovered a couple of other items which need to be addressed, such as a bad engine to chassis ground wire and a bad idler pulley & missing belt for the A/C compressor, which are also be repaired. Further discussions between us determined that they were also willing/able to address the other preventative maintenance items previously mentioned. On a somewhat disheartening note, once the engine was started, it also appears that two of the engine’s cylinders appear to be running cold/not firing. With this, further diagnosis will be required.

After a couple more days of further troubleshooting/diagnosis and sh****ng the parts and materials needed, the MVP duo returned on Tuesday to begin affecting repairs including the oil/filter and transmission fluid changes, and all electrical repairs other than the alternator (as the one purchased the day prior was not the right one). A quick peek inside the turbo’s inlet showed definite damage (see attached photo) which will necessitate its’ replacement at some point, however, more diagnosis is now needed to determine if whatever debris passed through the turbo did even more internal damage to the engine. At this point, and with a couple of other parts needing to be ordered, it was decided to put off the remaining work until Thursday, once all the parts are in hand.

In the meantime, I tackled a couple of other low-priority tasks including: 1) changing out the headlights (and while I was at it, sanding and putting a fresh coat of paint of their surround/trim rings); 2) starting to change out the OEM dash light bulbs for LEDs, but, having run short of the smaller T5s, I had to order more; and 3) starting to frame in the hole in the floor that was left when a PO replaced the bi-fold bus door with a RV-type entry door.

10/20/2023

BACK TO WORK, SORT OF…

October 20, 2023 – Unfortunately, very little has been accomplished since our last posting; as such there's very little (new) to write about. With several health issues arising over the past few months with my elderly parents (and my being their only child), most all of my time has been spent in a care-giving capacity. As such, this past summer—when I’d hoped to accomplish significant progress on our RV conversion project—saw little to anything being done. Now with winter just around the corner, I find that I must get at least a few things done in order to prepare for its’ winter storage,

My first priority is completing the “dry in” of the bus’ shell. While working off and on to source the material needed to reskin the rear panel, I finally came to the conclusion that what I wanted didn’t exist (at least not off the shelf). As this was to be an exterior body panel, what I’d been looking for was a 11-gauge sheet of galvanized steel. While I could readily find the sheet in the size needed, sheet steel of the desired thickness could not be found with a (hot dipped) galvanized finish. After considering my options, I choose to purchase a mild steel sheet, to which a (cold, spray-on) galvanizing compound would be applied. This was picked up from my local steel supplier today, along with the galvanizing compound, purchased from Home Depot. I’ve talked with my welder and we’ll get together early next week to set a date for its’ installation.

My second priority, it to get ‘er in for servicing (i.e. an oil/filter & transmission fluid change) and some other needed minor repairs. This is now complicated by the fact that, as of late spring, she’ll no longer start (Ugh!). Unless I’m able to diagnose and repair myself, this will necessitate a tow to a yet-undetermined maintenance facility which, as of today, has not been entirely identified. One of the issues that I’d come across early in my ownership is that, locally, I have found diesel mechanics that will not work on busses/RVs and I’ve found facilities that will work on busses/RVs as long as they are not diesels. I’ve tentatively identified one local biz that may be able to do this work, but for now, first things first; one step at a time…

06/01/2023

SOMETIMES, LIFE JUST GETS IN THE WAY...

June 1, 2023 – Well, I skipped last week’s update as little was accomplished while working around the still, mostly soggy weather. On Sunday (5/21), there was a slight break in both the weather and the welder’s schedule that allowed him to come by and get two of the four remaining patches completed. This, however, would be all that was accomplished for the week.

This past Sunday (5/28), with the dreary weather now seemingly behind us, the welder did make it back and completed the final two patches remaining, and with this I’m technically “dried in”, for now… In discussion with Aaron, the welder, I’d expressed my general dissatisfaction regarding both the material used (too thin; my fault) and the prior welder’s techniques in application of the rear panel’s sheeting. It was agreed upon that the best/easiest solution would be to simply remove the existing sheet metal and properly install a new one of a more appropriate thickness. As such I put in a call to our local steel provider to get quotes on a new (11 gauge) sheet of galvanized steel and am waiting to hear back. Once procured, I’ll have to schedule Aaron again for another three hours (est.) of work.

Apparently adhering to the principal stating that every task takes twice the amount of time anticipated and will cost twice as much, we’d originally budgeted $1,000 for all of the welding projects for this phase of our build. To date, we are now in for over $1,600 and still have the rear panel to replace.

On a side note, while there’s plenty of work that I could be doing in the meantime, progress is likely to be spotty at best over the next month. We (hopefully) have a (much needed) week-long excursion planned in the middle of the month. Also, atop my own ongoing health issues, as an only child, I’m now dealing with an elderly parent who’s sadly made a recent downward move into the “next phase” of dementia. For all the best laid schemes, sometimes life just gets in the way.

05/20/2023

MORE RAIN… LESS WORK

May 18, 2023 – The rains continued throughout the day and into early Friday morning. All told, the 2+ day downpour dropped over 2.5” of rain, which more expected on Sunday-Monday. In fact, it has rained more days than not for the past three week, this week included.

Aaron, the welder did manage to get his material picked up and measured for and cut the patches. Welding them in, however, has been hit ‘n’ miss. Dodging between downpours, he did manage to get two of the six patches welded in, but that’s as far as he’s gotten so far.

The one project that I could have gotten done in the interim—locating, cutting holes for, and installing the roof vents was also a no-go. I just couldn’t bring myself to scaling a ladder onto the roof with as wet as it’s been. And so, the holding pattern continues.

05/12/2023

APRIL SHOWERS… IN MAY

May 11, 2023 – With a stressful week—both in terms of the bus and in my personal life—I took Thursday off for a much-needed mental health/R&R day.

Mostly recharged, I was back at in on Friday. Reevaluating the two “deleted” windows, I was very unhappy with the results of the two (lower) window sections which I’d installed last Tuesday. In retrospect, I found the 3M Panel Bonding Adhesive to be difficult to work with and mostly ineffective (for a variety of reasons, mostly due to my technique). While the curb side seemed to adhere properly, the one on the driver’s side did not. As such, this panel was removed, with the residual adhesive cleaned off, and then reapplied; this time using Loctite PL Premium construction adhesive to join the surfaces as well as adding pop rivets around the perimeter. This adhesive was also used to bond the two sections together. While my intention was to do this on both sides, I did not have enough high-powered magnets to do so simultaneously and with this adhesive having a 24-hour cure time, I had to push out doing the curb side until tomorrow. Instead of this, I spent the rest of the day beginning to measure and cut patches to be used to cover the remaining miscellaneous holes in the body. With various pieces of leftover sheet metal, I was able to cut six of the seven of the patch panels needed; for the last, I will need to procure one more 24x24” sheet (along with more rivets needed to secure them).

With other obligations pending on Saturday, I did little more than re-adhere the second window’s lower panel (which again, was secured by rivets) and primer the first deleted window’s panels. Several weeks ago, when I was searching for a mobile welder to help with patching up the numerous holes in the bus’s body, I was aware of a nearby neighbor (Aaron) who was a welder, though during the process of my search, I was never able to get in touch with him. Later on Saturday, in an act of serendipity, I ran into and talked with him about the previous welders’ difficulties and he agreed to stop by the next afternoon to take a look at my project (that of welding/filling the holes in the lower, aluminum section of the coach.

On Sunday, Aaron came by to evaluate and—with his 25+ years of experience—knew almost immediately the issue (which in my case was that of these panels needing to be TIG welded on AC so that the material’s oxide later is broken apart). His assumption was that the previous welder was either not experienced enough to be aware of this or that his welding machine was not capable/suited to welding on AC. Confident that he could address this, he was to begin sourcing the needed material (sheet aluminum) for the project the following day. Assuming that this can/will be done, it will add significantly to my cost. Based on the original bid by welder #1, we had budgeted $800 in total for this welding and fabrication work. By the time he was “finished” (which still did not include closing off the seven holes in the aluminum), we’d already forked over $700. Between the needed additional material and Aaron’s $85/hour labor rate, we’ll end up easily exceeding our initial $800 budget. Even so, we’ll have the peace of mind in knowing that we did it right.

On a related note, as previously mentioned, I participate in the Facebook group, Shuttle Bus Conversions. This group consists of over 22,000 members which either have built, are building or are planning to purchase a shuttle bus for the purpose of RV conversion; needless to say, collectively, it’s been a wealth of valuable information. In a recent thread, one (experienced) member relayed to another (newbie) that, in terms of budgeting (either time and/or funds), one should calculate their best guess as to both the cost and time involved, and then double both. In our personal experiences this far, sadly, this has proven to be true.

So, at least for the time being, we are back in a holding pattern while we wait for Aaron to source material(s) and work us into his schedule. In the meantime, I need to reevaluate my to do list so as to be able to continue working on tasks which are in process (i.e., sealing windows) as well as possibly bringing some things forward from when they were planned, such as addressing roof penetrations (fans) and coating. This will also provide more time to consider how we might address the application of a “beauty” overlay on our new rear panel.

On Monday, the second “deleted” window’s patch panels received a coat of primer and theses along with the remaining windows were sealed with silicon lap sealant. Far from a perfect job, this was done quickly and thus, somewhat sloppily. These windows’ sealant will be stripped off again prior to and re-sealed after the exterior is repainted; with this being one of the last major items on the conversion’s checklist. As such, at this point, perfection is not what I was after, but rather a functional sealing so as to enable work on the interior to commence. Later in the day, I heard back from my neighbor, Aaron (welder #3). He was able so source a 4x8 sheet of aluminum (at $130), and quoted me at a discounted labor rate of $85/hour—estimating the job to take 6-8 hours. This part of the work—which was originally to have been included in welder #1’s bid at $800—will run an additional $650-$800, above the $700 already spent. Again, doubling what I’d originally planned to spend. Ugh! Aware that this had dragged on for some time, Aaron had indicated that he would be able to work this into his schedule later in this week—possibly as early as Thursday, and no later than Saturday. Thanks neighbor!

With some late-afternoon thunderstorms and light rain on Monday, I was a bit leery about applying the roof coating, as it required between two to six hours of dry cure time. Tuesday AM’s weather forecast, however, showed nothing of the sort and so I decided to press on with its’ application. The product we used (Henry Tropi-Cool 887) was applied with a roller, and start to finish took about an hour and a half, with only half of that taken up by the actual application; the remainder being for preparation and clean up (… Another possible example of how one might underestimate the time required for a project). On Wednesday, the roof got a second coat and just in time… Shortly after the full (6-hour) recommended cure time, we were hit with a massive thunderstorm followed by rain, which was expected to last through the night and throughout tomorrow (Thursday); dropping around 2” of rainfall. Where the high desert of southern Colorado typically receives only about 12” of precipitation per year, we’ve not gotten four inches in just the last two storms! Though this sets my planned work schedule back a bit, on the bright side, if I can bear the morning winds, this will be a great opportunity to evaluate how well the bus is currently sealed and identity areas that may need attention.