I think it hit like -5 degrees below zero this week – so cold that it cracked the crappy bondo job on the right rear panel!  I knew the exterior had been repaired at some point, but obviously, that spot got more attention than the rest.  I’m thinking it got cold, the metal contracted more than the Bondo… and eventually… crack!  Not good!  I’m not freaking out too much because I figured I would need some additional bodywork done when I get a full paint job – but it kind of sucks having a big cracking running down the bus!  If it’s this cold in Chicagoland mid-December, I shudder to think what it will be like in January and February!  Maybe my next post will be from a nice beach rental in Florida…. maybe!

After running back in to tell Noelle all about the new expensive crack in the side of the bus, I got busy propping up one side so I had better access to the underside of the fuel tank.  My plan was to pull the underside hose and connector off, and see if it is all gunked up.  I got the old hose off no problem – it is definitely time to replace – the rubber felt almost rotten.  I then spent the next couple hours trying to figure out how to drain the gas out – I thought it would just rush out of the now exposed connector, but it was dry.  I tried blowing compressed air up into the tank, tried using a hand pump to siphon it out, nothing worked, I couldn’t get any gas out of the tank!

Thats when I realized  – yet again – I’m just being an idiot – of course I can’t get any gas out – the stupid bus is tipped up on one side, and all the gas is sitting on one end of the tank!  Seriously – I can be so dumb sometimes – yet here I am, trying to fix this cribbily old bus! As soon as I lower the bus, gas comes pouring out of the nozzle – I hook up an extra piece of hose and drain the tank.  My plan now is to remove the nozzle, clean it and any gunk that I can from the tank.  I’m also going to pull the old rubber hose and metal gas lines – replace the rubber, and clean out the metal.  But honestly – its frickin’ cold, and I can’t feel my toes – so I’m going inside!