Lenny's battle with "cancer"

Rust. It's the cancer of cars, once it starts forming its hard to stop it~ usually the only way is to remove the cancerous parts completely. But when you have rust spots around the doors, around the windows, bubbling up here and there- a rust free car becomes unimaginable. And that is where poor Lenny stands today. The damage done to the driver's side not only impacts the nose, but also the entire length of the body. Bondo the previous owner patched is cracking, revealing more of a rust problem. I suspect that is what stopped the previous owner from restoration, this is also why I chose to do a spray paint job. His cancer does not mean I am going to get rid of him, or even stop driving and working on him- no way! I will camp in him and drive him until he can't be driven any more, I am going to get the most out of him while he is still whole, and when I am not driving him he will hang out in the garage.
The rust issue is really the only problem with Lenny that I can see. The Engine & Lenny's interior is complete, undamaged and restored. The mechanical parts are rust free, including the undercarriage. If it ever comes to it, maybe I'll just find a rust free shell and put his insides in it. That way Lenny can live on with a new "shell" and his old one will become my dream green house bus! Only time will tell I suppose...

Happy Anniversary Lenny!

*EDIT* I was finally able to get a good connection and upload some pictures of the "end of our trip... "

Leroy & Hank riding in "Dean"

Dust Storm outside of El Paso~ tumbleweed!

More petroglyphs we saw in Albuquerque

A year ago today we bought Lenny! It's been a bit since we've posted, but we went to Albuquerque NM after the painted desert and stayed with friends for a few days. We had a blast and were too busy to really get online to post. Then we heard of the winter storm that was passing through Monday the 31st so we left early and pretty much drove before the storm that had the Querque in single digits with a lot of snow! We did sleep shortly at a rest area in Texas because of a lightning/ice storm. We woke up at 6am with ice covering the INSIDES of our windows and continued onward. I'm happy that our heat does work, we just hung a blanket up behind the cab to keep the heat concentrated in the front as we drove. Tuesday we drove continuously and stopped in Houston for gas where the starter was finally dead. A nice man helped us push the bus to start it and we drove him straight to Greenville South Carolina, even kept him running while we filled up. It was a pretty tiring drive but I am glad we did it because that storm would have gotten us stuck somewhere for sure. There were also storms in Louisiana when we drove through at night but luckily we missed them all. We had great luck and Lenny drove great all the way here. Today my dad helped us put the spare starter on and Lenny started right up! His engine sounds great and he is driving good. So today we washed him and cleaned him out, he is almost perfect. I did notice that I may have to replace the rear break lines soon and we have to get a break caliper for the front, just minor things. Got to get him ready for "The Rides of March" which is a Bus campout the first weekend of March around Wilmington NC. Gotta get the Bus all spiffied up again! He was full of so much sand, I could have made a sandcastle! I am sort of bummed that we had to come back so quickly and didn't get to see New Orleans like we wanted to, so I foresee another trip out when it gets warmer... Lenny drove so great~ going to New Orleans would seem like a short trip!