Bus Build - Part 1
For the past week (August 18-21, 2018) I have been working full time with Luke at the Blue Sparrow Food Truck for our next launch, a 1956 Greyhound Bus. I have been tasked with getting it ready for Kevin from Sugar and Spice to build out our systems inside. This included getting the bus from Cumberland Maryland which I am so glad that my Uncle Larry and my Dad were able to go with us to pick this bus up, it would not have been possible without them. Once the bus was back in Pittsburgh I began the gutting of the inside. This bus was originally delivered to Reading PA for the Reading Transportation company back in 1956 as 1 of 5 charter busses. It was then used, as far as we know, as a tour bus for a band in Michigan, and as a camper by the previous owner in Maryland.
The inside of the bus was in great shape, but was not ideal for serving food. The ceiling was all carpet, well actually everything was carpet. There were 6 pairs of original seats, the back bench seat, a bathroom and shower, and 2 build in beds. The first step to take was removing all of the interior to prepare for the making a food bus. This was met with many struggles such as rusted bolt, stubborn carpet, and other obstacles, but over all it was not an overly difficult task to remove the big items.
After removing all the big things this week the bus started to feel a lot more open. It was easier for Luke and I to see where things were going to go. There was something cool about dismantling this bus because we got to see how much time and care went in to making this over 60 years ago. Everything was custom made and manufactured during a booming time in America, and it was really nostalgic to see that by figuring out how everything was put together. Looking at the photos you will see the original green laminate flooring, blue padding by the seats, and a hint of what the ceiling looked like before having glue applied to them. In the photos you will see what the floor looked like under the laminate and what was behind the padding. At first I thought the black flooring was a cause for concern, but we quickly realized it was the glue holding the floor. The insulation behind the padding was old authentic fiberglass from the 50's and was very itchy to take out. Now with the whole interior stripped we were able to start making plans to outfit this beautiful new rig to our needs for Blue Sparrow.
One of the days last week was dedicated to putting a new subfloor in the bus. Aside from cutting around the wheel wells, it was a pretty easy install. Everything measured and cut to 7 feet 9 inches, laid down, and attached to existing floor to add stability and a clean smooth surface for our diamond platting that we are installing.
Many people have been asking me during this build how I know what I'm doing, and the answer is, I don't know what I am doing. Through everything thing I have learned about construction from my father, everything about food trucking from Luke, and just some general sense things, I have been able to piece this project together the best way I know how. It also helps that putting a mobile food truck on a 1956 Greyhound has never been done before, so no one can tell me that they did it differently, and there is no book to consult for this project. It is a daunting and exciting venture to do something first, but I am excited to see this book through to the end.
Thank you for reading this post and I hope that we get to feed you at the Blue Sparrow one day. Follow along to see more posts about this build, hopefully I will be posting each week. It all depends on how much I get done, or how much I remember to sit down and type one of these up.