We bid on a bus through Ebay and WON!!!!
Michael is proudly posing in front of our 1978 MCI-5, which was lovingly cared for by the previous owners, a Hutterite colony in Minnsota who valued working hard as a virtue.
"Thou shalt not steal" is a popular commandment in all religions and we feel we violated this right off the bat with what we paid for it. Note that we did not literally steal it from the kind Christians. We figuratively did, however, with what we bid and in which the condition the bus is.
Who We Are
We are Michael (37) and Gigi (38) with two kids: Simone (4) and Max (2). Michael is an active duty Coast Guard JAG and Gigi is an architect who has been promoted to stay-at-home-mom status. Michael’s hobbies include day trading, flying, motorcycles, chess, blues, and drinking beer. Gigi’s hobbies include knitting, crafts, blogging, and being pestiferous. We are, as of this writing, from California.
Why a Bus
When Michael recently received orders to Florida, we were excited at seeing an area of the country (the southeast) that neither one of us had really visited before. We decided that we’d take weekend trips to different cities and events. The bus idea had been lurking in our minds for some time, and the moment appeared to be ripe. We decided that now was the time to get the bus, convert it, and use it for a family mobile command center / classroom (we plan to homeschool for secular reasons) / hangout. And busses are just plain cool.
Why the MCI-5
While we wanted a bus, we wanted one on the smaller end of the spectrum, as we wanted to be able to navigate unfamiliar cities and access smaller campgrounds. We were ready to pull the trigger on a shorty school bus, but a trusted advisor recommended that we go bigger. At 35 feet, the MC5 appears to be about the perfect fit.
We bought MCI-5 on eBay about a month ago for $7,780, which turned out to be a steal. The last owners were the Hutterite Church in Minnesota, who took meticulous care of it, but didn’t entirely disclose that on eBay. As it turns out, they put 6 new tires on it, two new 24v batteries, had the Detroit shop do an out-of-frame rebuild on the 8v71 and put in a refurbished automatic transmission concurrently. The thing indicates only $35k miles, which Michael thought was ridiculous for a 1978, and made the purchase on the presumption that the mileage was untrue. However, when he got it to his childhood farm in MN for storage / initial build-out, he opened the marque box to scroll back and see what sort of destinations it had been to. To his surprise, there were only two entries before the church: (i) “Flying Rifles Drill Team” and … “U.S. Navy.” Knowing that the military tends to dispose of its vehicles before they hit 50k miles, Michael thinks this bus might actually have only 35k miles! And, this speculation is bolstered by the fact that the thing looks like it rolled out of the factory last week. There’s no rust, no dents, and it appears to have been kept indoors its entire life. In all, for the purchase price, we couldn’t be happier.
Our Plan
Michael was lucky enough to finagle nearly 60 days of leave enroute to his new duty station this summer. Apparently, his current office can’t wait to get rid of him. So, the family is moving to the MN farm for as long as we can stand it, where Michael and friends will begin the conversion. We will, hopefully, at least get the shell and some of the major utilities done before we head off to Florida to find a place to live before Michael has to go back to work.
The concept is to keep it looking like a bus to the greatest extent possible so we can remain as incognito as a bus possibly can. We even thought of leaving the “Hutterite Brethren Church” on the side as a misdirection to curious onlookers, but after Michael spent the better part of a day researching the Hutterites (Michael has two philosophy degrees and tends to get lost in research), we’ve decided to remove the exterior references to the church out of respect.
We’ve picked the name “Silverliner” for the bus. Silver and grey will be the themes. Michael has long been of the aesthetic disposition that wood looks a little out of place in a motor vehicle. And, he’s admittedly no darned good at woodworking. So, we’re going with a metal / composites look. Michael also plans to build a kit airplane one of these days, and to that end, recently took a class in sheet metal construction. While we will have to delay the airplane for a while, Michael wants to practice by using some of the skills he learned in the bus instead. For example, the overhead compartments will be built out of .025 aluminum using the same construction techniques as an aircraft wing (ribs, spars, rivets, etc.). Gigi, the professional designer, will oversee these wild plans and will do the upholstery, select the coloring, etc.
Without further adieu, here’s the basic floorplan.
Isn't it nice to have an architect in the family?
Here's a few camera shots to give you a better idea of the layout.
CAMERA SHOTS
ROOF PLAN
While it likely didn’t jump off the page at you,
the floorplan above contains six “L” shapes on it, which reflect the tops of
angle-iron that run floor to ceiling. Four of them will make the four
corners of our kids bunks, and the other two form the inboard corners of the
bathroom. This is planned in order to add just a little more structural
integrity in the event of a mild crash. The iron will be welded / bolted
to the floor and ceiling frame, and the inner four columns will protrude through
the roof by about 2 inches to support a low-profile observation deck.
Michael has found it immensely helpful and motivating to watch the videos that Mike802 (Serama555) has posted on Youtube (thanks, btw!). He’s watched each one numerous times. And so, to help others and to chronicle these adventures for posterity, we’ll be setting up a youtube channel dedicated to our Silverliner project. We’ve completed an intro video and are nearing completion of the first instructional (plywood and fiberglass holding tank), so you can follow our (mis)adventures periodically.
Our Call to YouWe are calling on the bus nut community for guidance. We’re a family of four on a single income, so we’re not able to drown the project in cash and hope for a good result, or even to “hire it done.” We’re predisposed to doing the conversion ourselves for the experience, education, and gratification. That said, we don’t want to be pennywise and pound foolish – we’re going to spend money where necessary. And since we don’t have any experience converting busses, we appeal to you to be critical of our plans and offer course-corrections where it makes sense.
So, please chime in and tell us what you think. We’d rather hear the voice of experience now than acquire it at a hefty price. And reading the posts on this forum makes one thing clear: there is no better source of bus conversion wisdom than you all!
Who We Are
We are Michael (37) and Gigi (38) with two kids: Simone (4) and Max (2). Michael is an active duty Coast Guard JAG and Gigi is an architect who has been promoted to stay-at-home-mom status. Michael’s hobbies include day trading, flying, motorcycles, chess, blues, and drinking beer. Gigi’s hobbies include knitting, crafts, blogging, and being pestiferous. We are, as of this writing, from California.
Why a Bus
When Michael recently received orders to Florida, we were excited at seeing an area of the country (the southeast) that neither one of us had really visited before. We decided that we’d take weekend trips to different cities and events. The bus idea had been lurking in our minds for some time, and the moment appeared to be ripe. We decided that now was the time to get the bus, convert it, and use it for a family mobile command center / classroom (we plan to homeschool for secular reasons) / hangout. And busses are just plain cool.
Why the MCI-5
While we wanted a bus, we wanted one on the smaller end of the spectrum, as we wanted to be able to navigate unfamiliar cities and access smaller campgrounds. We were ready to pull the trigger on a shorty school bus, but a trusted advisor recommended that we go bigger. At 35 feet, the MC5 appears to be about the perfect fit.
We bought MCI-5 on eBay about a month ago for $7,780, which turned out to be a steal. The last owners were the Hutterite Church in Minnesota, who took meticulous care of it, but didn’t entirely disclose that on eBay. As it turns out, they put 6 new tires on it, two new 24v batteries, had the Detroit shop do an out-of-frame rebuild on the 8v71 and put in a refurbished automatic transmission concurrently. The thing indicates only $35k miles, which Michael thought was ridiculous for a 1978, and made the purchase on the presumption that the mileage was untrue. However, when he got it to his childhood farm in MN for storage / initial build-out, he opened the marque box to scroll back and see what sort of destinations it had been to. To his surprise, there were only two entries before the church: (i) “Flying Rifles Drill Team” and … “U.S. Navy.” Knowing that the military tends to dispose of its vehicles before they hit 50k miles, Michael thinks this bus might actually have only 35k miles! And, this speculation is bolstered by the fact that the thing looks like it rolled out of the factory last week. There’s no rust, no dents, and it appears to have been kept indoors its entire life. In all, for the purchase price, we couldn’t be happier.
Michael was lucky enough to finagle nearly 60 days of leave enroute to his new duty station this summer. Apparently, his current office can’t wait to get rid of him. So, the family is moving to the MN farm for as long as we can stand it, where Michael and friends will begin the conversion. We will, hopefully, at least get the shell and some of the major utilities done before we head off to Florida to find a place to live before Michael has to go back to work.
The concept is to keep it looking like a bus to the greatest extent possible so we can remain as incognito as a bus possibly can. We even thought of leaving the “Hutterite Brethren Church” on the side as a misdirection to curious onlookers, but after Michael spent the better part of a day researching the Hutterites (Michael has two philosophy degrees and tends to get lost in research), we’ve decided to remove the exterior references to the church out of respect.
We’ve picked the name “Silverliner” for the bus. Silver and grey will be the themes. Michael has long been of the aesthetic disposition that wood looks a little out of place in a motor vehicle. And, he’s admittedly no darned good at woodworking. So, we’re going with a metal / composites look. Michael also plans to build a kit airplane one of these days, and to that end, recently took a class in sheet metal construction. While we will have to delay the airplane for a while, Michael wants to practice by using some of the skills he learned in the bus instead. For example, the overhead compartments will be built out of .025 aluminum using the same construction techniques as an aircraft wing (ribs, spars, rivets, etc.). Gigi, the professional designer, will oversee these wild plans and will do the upholstery, select the coloring, etc.
Without further adieu, here’s the basic floorplan.
 |
| View of Salon and Galley |
 |
| View of Galley |
 |
| View of Bathroom |
 |
| View from Bedroom |
Isn't it nice to have an architect in the family?
Here's a few camera shots to give you a better idea of the layout.
CAMERA SHOTS
ELECTRICAL CONCEPT
Here's Michael's first-stab at an electrical concept.
ELECTRICAL PLAN
This plan shows the location of the electrical outlets (AC / DC / USB)
ROOF PLAN
The Silverliner Chronicles
Michael has found it immensely helpful and motivating to watch the videos that Mike802 (Serama555) has posted on Youtube (thanks, btw!). He’s watched each one numerous times. And so, to help others and to chronicle these adventures for posterity, we’ll be setting up a youtube channel dedicated to our Silverliner project. We’ve completed an intro video and are nearing completion of the first instructional (plywood and fiberglass holding tank), so you can follow our (mis)adventures periodically.
Our Call to YouWe are calling on the bus nut community for guidance. We’re a family of four on a single income, so we’re not able to drown the project in cash and hope for a good result, or even to “hire it done.” We’re predisposed to doing the conversion ourselves for the experience, education, and gratification. That said, we don’t want to be pennywise and pound foolish – we’re going to spend money where necessary. And since we don’t have any experience converting busses, we appeal to you to be critical of our plans and offer course-corrections where it makes sense.
So, please chime in and tell us what you think. We’d rather hear the voice of experience now than acquire it at a hefty price. And reading the posts on this forum makes one thing clear: there is no better source of bus conversion wisdom than you all!
