The Adventures of Betty the Bus: Fresh Paint

After years of waiting, Betty is finally starting to come together. From my last post, I had the following list to get done before our last home game Nov. 13th -

-Carpet in the back -->Done!

-Windows out, rust removal/repair and POR-15 front and rear window sill, and everything removed to prep for paint -->Done!

-POR-15 the gutter rail -->Forgot, oops.

-Exterior painted -->Done!

-New seals / windows reinstalled -->Done!

And all with one weekend to spare. I got it back from the body/paint guy on Thursday Nov. 4 and had the windows reinstalled the next day. I was a bit unhappy when I arrived at the painter's, I had gone over more than once exactly what I wanted done and they didn't do it right. They had painted it red all the way to the roofline when they were supposed to stop just below the windows. I've decided to keep it as is after getting some good advice from some guys at thesamba.com, and it's growing on me but I still wish they had done it right.

Some pictures...

A few of the windowsills with the glass out. The front one was a real head scratcher, it had been leaking since I owned the bus yet there was no rust there to speak of. And I broke the front window getting it out. Oh well, that's what the parts bus is for I guess.

Of course I didn't take pictures after the clean up, but it looked good. I scraped/cleaned, applied metal ready and then the POR-15.

Fresh back from the painters, right after the window installers left...

To get ready for the game, I installed some carpet in the back, rattle-canned on a couple coats of white on the rims, and put on her "Sunday's Best" hubcaps...

And finally off to the game. The date was Saturday, November 13. NC State 38, Wake Forest 3. Betty was a pretty big hit, we were getting thumbs up, woo-hoo's, and peace signs thrown at us all day. And, for the record, Betty is now 2-0 at home game appearances.