Well, it has been a very long day :) Patty and I drove from our home on the
Eastern side of MI (about 80 miles North of Detroit) down near South Bend,
IN. It was about a 4 1/2 hour drive. Great day for driving - weather was
near 50 and sunny. and there was very little traffic on the expressway -
awesome.

The goal of out trip was to meet our friends Scott Hengert and Pete O. at
Scott's house - to pick up our "new" '85 GL. She's beautiful - runs and
drives like a dream - and gets us back in bus business after that
unfortunate affair with Grover.

I tell you I loved Grover but this new bus (Gertie) is by far the best bus
I've owned. Scott, Pete, and Pete's brother Chris did a wonderful job fixing
her up. She was rescued from a recycling yard in IN - Pete said she was due
to be crushed any day - I can't see why - she is straight and nearly rust
free - what little rust she does have is very very superficial - especially
for a 25 year old bus that has lived in IN and IL it's entire life. She has
the expected scratches and dings of a 25 year old vehicle - and the paint on
her roof needs some attention - but I'm amazed at what great shape she is
in.

There are a few things to work out but nothing major at all - especially
compared to the things I needed to do to get Grover on the road. Biggest
thing is getting the heat hooked back up  - it was bypassed due to the bus
being used in summer and a "rush" to get her on the road - the heater hoses
were suspect so Scott removed them with the intention of replacing them. No
big deal there - shouldn't be too hard to get that taken care of. I'll also
need to R&R the gas tank - she over flows when filled up. The only other
thng i'd like to do right away is get a proper fuel pump mounting bracket -
she has a new pump but it's mounted right to the frame and is VERY loud -
again not a big deal (By the way if anyone has one of these for sale or a
DIY alternative I'm all ears).

I quite enjoyed the 4 1/2 hour ride home - even with no radio, the noisy
fuel pump, and loud snow tires - honestly I was in heaven. Pete is right
this bus is something special.

Turns out - as Pete tells me - the bus was "born" in March of 1985 so it was
sort of cool I was picking it up now - I'll call today her 25th birthday.
According to carfax it was delivered to the US 4/11/85 - it's
destination...Indiana. So it hasn't traveled too far. Looks like I'm the 4th
(maybe 5th) owner.

I want to thank Scotty for making me such a nice offer on it - I can't wait
to get her all set the way we want her (and get some quieter tires). Pete -
thank you too for the pictures, meeting us there today, and just being a
good friend - it was good to see you today.

So there you have it - Gertrude "Gertie" Blue (named after the Gertrude St
Recycling yard it was rescued from) has come home to our house - hopefully
for a very long time.

Life is good!
--
Thanks,

Jeff
'85GL (Gertie)
'90 Carat (Grover) - preparing to become an organ donor
'86 (soon to be scrap)
'78 Bus (Melissa) Patty's Bus