So my brother is in Columbus at Ohio State and every year I go to the Columbus Volksfest. In the summer of 2005 we went to a Mexican restaurant after the show. After all day in the 100 degree heat the margaritas are working. On the way out we see a red bus in the parking lot that was at the show. It has great non-rusted metal, and I make the comment "I sure could use it as a donor for the crew cab I am restoring". Right then the bar tender walks out on his way home. He makes me an offer on the red bus and a split window crew cab. The next day I go to buy both buses. The crew cab is a red oxidized POS, but I buy the red bus.

 

 

My brother leaves in September to bring the bus we call "Red" from Columbus to Alabama. At this point I have not told my wife I bought another bus. I have to fess up now because it will be in the driveway in a mater of hours. I get a call from Brandon. He is outside of Cincinnati, Ohio and the bus will not start. My brother and his friend now have to push start the bus every time they stop.

 

 

 

The project gets started with the bright idea of stripping the good parts and swapping the rusted ones off my crew cab. I also decide to remove the delux trim to save it for "Rusty".

 

 

 

 

 

Once my wife starts to see the progress she decides to keep "Red" as a daily driver. The project now takes on a whole new level. I am out to eliminate all the rust and keep this bus for the next few years.

 

 

 

 

 

The bus gets its first coat of primer and bondo.  It has been underway since the summer of 2005, but September of 2006 is when I go at it full force. Nights and weekends now until it gets it's color.

 

 

 

 

 

 So I lied to myself. The project has not gone full force, but I have been working on it as much as I can. With the 55 hour a week job and two kids under 6 it has been slow going. The first coat of white goes on in the spring of 2007.

 

The first coat of green goes on and red in no longer. The folks at work suggest I get a vanity plate that says "Kermit" so Kermit it is.

 

The second coat of green goes on and Kermit is not so neon looking.

 

The color is over, at least so I thought. On to the clear coats.

The clear coat is not over. It looks like the hazards of painting outside caught up with me.

I think I have bug juice in the clear coat. They come around as soon as you start spraying.

I have to sand and repaint all the white. It yellowed in certain spots.
    The work to reassemble goes on the weekend before Bug Blast 2007. My wiife an I literally install the front windshield the night before. I was holding my breath we didn't crack the glass.
I make it to Bug Blast 2007 and actually take a third place trophy. There is no interior, no glass or handles on the passenger door, and no windshield wipers. I leave before the trophies are awarded because I don't think I will get one, and it is about to rain. I did not want a 1 hour trip home in the pouring rain with no wipers.
      

Paine Primary School in Trussville, Al has a car show benefit for a special needs playground. I took Kermit to the show along with some of my fellow CAVWC memebers. I took a top 5 trophy with no interior again.

 

The goal is to make Bug Blast 2008 with an interior in Kermit this year. I order white door panels and sent the seats out for upholstery. So far these are the only two things I have not built myself. The door panels would have been more money in materials than I paid for finished ones, so it made sense. My sewing skills are marginal at best, so the seats really needed a professional or seat covers. I did not want seat covers because I need loud green like the paint. It is two weeks before Bug Blast and I do not have seats yet or door panel clips. I do have the carpet and headliner in though. We shall see.

 

Kermit is finally complete after all these year. Man an interior costs a fortune. What you see is more than 5 grand worth of upholstery work. I tried to sew, but what a disaster. The seats went to a guy that went out of business. he did a great job, but it took 8 months longer than he said it would take. No wonder he went out of business. I was his last customer. Found a new guy to do the floor mats. $500 and he took a month and a half longer than he said. What is it with upholsterers? I would have done that myself like everything else, but that would have been a disaster.