Planning
With Honky planted firmly in the driveway, we figured job number one was to remove all the old seats and have a layout plan of where things would go. We all got into including the kids, and Nona.
Nona (my mother) God bless her, was supposed to be visiting from Sydney and playing with the kids, instead, at 73 years of age, she found herself on the other end of an open end spanner, holding onto it for all its worth, while her son was swearing from below because he couldn’t free up 25 year old rusted bolts.
Everyone chips in to get the seats out.
But she is a trooper, and within two days, all the seats were out and the floor was plastered in masking tape mapping out rooms, beds, showers etc.
Once this was done, we had a fair idea of what we were looking at, and I had a rough guesstimate that we should be done in about two months. Like I said, No idea!
Storage Bins
With a plan now intact, we ordered all the relevant parts, and while we were waiting started on the welding and metal fabrication. But there was one small problem, I didn’t really know how to weld. I had done a little in the past, but this was a big job. So, I called in the big guns, and with a little persuasion and some trade swapping, my brother-in-law came to the rescue.
Paul cutting and welding the bins
A qualified boiler maker, he had our first storage bin fabricated in a few days. I was quietly hoping he was going to stick around a bit longer, but he gave me detailed lessons on how to weld, and I was on my own. Of course he came back to check on things later to make sure it was all up to scratch, and I must say he was quite impressed with my handiwork.
New Windows
By the time the welding and storage bins were out of the way, it was time to send Honky off to get the new windows installed. Unfortunately, this was the same time it decided to rain, continually for the next six weeks. But, finally two months after Honky left home, he arrived back with new windows and a new paint job.
Back home after two months with new windows and a paint job
The Whole Honky Story
1. THE BEGINNING WITH HONKY THE BUS
