I’ve wanted to take on a bus conversion for quite a while. A neighbor of mine converted a full-sized school bus, and seeing that project in person made me even more interested in doing something similar. It also convinced me that a full-sized bus was more vehicle than I wanted to deal with.

I wanted something smaller and easier to drive, without giving up the space that makes a bus conversion worthwhile. That’s how I ended up with a 2009 Goshen Pacer II.

Finding the Right Starting Point

The Goshen had already been converted by a previous owner. It had reportedly traveled across the United States and into Mexico, so it certainly hadn’t spent its entire life parked somewhere.

One of its more unusual features was a regular house-style door in place of the original folding passenger door. It wasn’t how the bus came from the factory, but it was part of the conversion I inherited.

My original thought was to use the existing interior for a while and see what I liked before making major changes. There were a few problems I knew about when I bought it, including a badly worn and unstable driver’s seat, a fuel gauge that didn’t work, no functioning air conditioning, and rear running lights that needed attention. There was also evidence of an earlier roof leak that had supposedly been repaired.

I expected to have some work to do. I just didn’t know quite how much.

The Door Incident

One of the first priorities was getting the bus through vehicle inspection.

On the way to the inspection station, the house-style passenger door flew off the bus.

Yes, the entire door.

That was a pretty clear indication that I needed to take a closer look at how some of the previous modifications had been done. Replacing the door became another item on the list, and inspection preparation turned into a more involved mechanical project.

Working Through the Mechanical Problems

A number of issues have needed attention before I can get the bus inspected and back on the road with confidence.

  • Exhaust: The catalytic converter was damaged and an oxygen sensor had failed. Both were replaced.
  • Headlight: The passenger-side headlight housing was shaking because its upper mounting bracket was broken. A replacement bracket was welded into place.
  • Battery: The battery was oversized for its tray and had no proper hold-down. I replaced it with the correct size and secured it with a bracket.
  • Air conditioning: The blower motor wasn’t working. Replacing it got the air conditioning blowing cold again.
  • Driver’s seat: The original seat was torn up and unstable. I found a replacement at a local salvage yard for $100.
  • Fuel system: The fuel gauge wasn’t working. The fuel pump was replaced this past Friday, and that fixed the gauge as well. It’s now working again.
  • Front suspension: The ball joints still need to be replaced before the next inspection attempt.

A friend has been helping with the mechanical work. We’re discussing when he can come back to help with the ball joints, and I’m hoping we can get that done within the next week or two.

Starting Over With the Interior

As I got further into the project, I decided I didn’t want to keep building around the previous owner’s conversion.

Between the wiring issues and the evidence of earlier water damage, it made more sense to remove the existing interior and see exactly what I was working with.

So I gutted it down to the bare metal.

That gives me a better opportunity to inspect the structure, trace wiring, address anything that needs repair, and plan the new layout without having to work around someone else’s choices.

It also means there’s no pretending the interior is anywhere near finished. Right now, it’s an empty bus waiting for the next stage of the project.

One More Surprise

Since the original round of repairs, I discovered that the glass in one of the windows had broken out.

I have no idea how it happened.

It’s another thing that needs fixing, although I don’t expect the replacement to be a major job. I’m hoping to have the new window around the same time we finish the ball joints.

Apparently the bus wasn’t quite finished adding items to the repair list.

Getting Ready for Another Inspection

At this point, the immediate goal is fairly simple: finish the ball joints, replace the broken window, make sure the remaining inspection items are addressed, and take the Goshen back for another inspection.

If everything lines up, I’m hoping to be ready for another attempt in the next week or two. Of course, that depends on getting the parts and help together, and on what the inspection turns up.

Once the mechanical and inspection work is behind me, I can spend more time on the part I originally bought the bus for: designing and building out the interior.

For now, getting it road-ready comes first. And preferably keeping all the doors and windows attached this time.