The clock was ticking a lot faster than normal. Saturday was approaching and the Hoopty had to be ready for its inaugural run. Thursday and Friday was a mad, mad, mad flurry of activity starting with the final dress-up of the exterior.
Exterior
Let's talk about the most obvious change first - the mirrors. Alright, maybe not the most obvious but they do make a difference. New stainless mirrors on the doors help me see who I'm passing while the refurbished white mirrors let me ensure I'm actually taking up only one lane at a time.
Ooooh, now the lettering. Roberta at Bruce Signs was great to work with and very helpful with getting the final, but most important touch on the Hoopty. Vinyl lettering now adorns the front, sides, and rear of the bus. Man, that lettering really makes the Hoopty stand out. Thanks to the Diehls for footing the bill on this one.
The steps were finally installed and a little cherry cover plate for the non-functional step light.
Driver's Throne
With all of the interior work mostly finished, Jeanell thought the driver's seat should get some of the same love that has been showered on the rest of the Hoopty. After several attempts (which I unknowingly botched) she was able to put together the greatest of surprises. While I was at work she ran the Hoopty down to Fears Upholstery in downtown Lynchburg and those guys worked some abbreviated-schedule magic. In a half a day they turned the ugly brown driver's seat into something amazing and beautiful. Jeanell you're the best - thanks. Check it out.....
That orange really sets off the dark, cherry, black, and maroon interior.
Trimwork
The last bit of trimwork was installed on the ends of the benches...
....and around the rear door opening. Also note those groovy orange accent pillows courtesy of Colette Walker. Definitely a nice touch. No, the rear curtain did not arrive in time, but we have to leave something for future blog updates. You can also see the chair cart neatly tucked into the cargo area.
Entertainment
The electronics/entertainment panel above the passenger door was installed (credit to Colette again for making the anti-head-banging cushions and credit to Steve for installing them). Our nice sony radio/cd player and the sirius satellite radio are both mounted on the panel. To the right of the satellite receiver is a general storage box that is sized just big enough to hold cd cases. Two accessory outlets were installed in the back of the box and will be used to charge cell phones and power mp3 players, etc. The two toggle switches at the bottom of the panel are for the 12v power supply. In the down position, the left switch powers the radio and satellite receiver from the bus battery while we're driving. With the switch in the up position the radio equipment is run off a spare deep cycle battery stored in the back of the bus so while we're tailgating we won't drain down the starting battery. The right switch does the same thing for the three accessory plugs. Three plugs?.....
Yes, the third plug was located around the corner on the wall facing the bench seat (top left of the VT). The hope is we can have an ipod dock plugged in there and the passengers can easily pick the music they want.
So there it is. The Hoopty 85% complete and ready for its first tailgate. Strangely enough, the first tailgate has already gone down, but you'll have to wait a couple days before I get that posting up. Thanks again to Colette, Steve, Ellen, Rob, Cathy, Lance, Jeanell, and Sophie for various contributions over these last two days getting the Hoopty ready. We're ready to roll and here's our new view of Hokie happiness....
Exterior
Let's talk about the most obvious change first - the mirrors. Alright, maybe not the most obvious but they do make a difference. New stainless mirrors on the doors help me see who I'm passing while the refurbished white mirrors let me ensure I'm actually taking up only one lane at a time.
Ooooh, now the lettering. Roberta at Bruce Signs was great to work with and very helpful with getting the final, but most important touch on the Hoopty. Vinyl lettering now adorns the front, sides, and rear of the bus. Man, that lettering really makes the Hoopty stand out. Thanks to the Diehls for footing the bill on this one.
The steps were finally installed and a little cherry cover plate for the non-functional step light.
Driver's Throne
With all of the interior work mostly finished, Jeanell thought the driver's seat should get some of the same love that has been showered on the rest of the Hoopty. After several attempts (which I unknowingly botched) she was able to put together the greatest of surprises. While I was at work she ran the Hoopty down to Fears Upholstery in downtown Lynchburg and those guys worked some abbreviated-schedule magic. In a half a day they turned the ugly brown driver's seat into something amazing and beautiful. Jeanell you're the best - thanks. Check it out.....
That orange really sets off the dark, cherry, black, and maroon interior.
Trimwork
The last bit of trimwork was installed on the ends of the benches...
....and around the rear door opening. Also note those groovy orange accent pillows courtesy of Colette Walker. Definitely a nice touch. No, the rear curtain did not arrive in time, but we have to leave something for future blog updates. You can also see the chair cart neatly tucked into the cargo area.
Entertainment
The electronics/entertainment panel above the passenger door was installed (credit to Colette again for making the anti-head-banging cushions and credit to Steve for installing them). Our nice sony radio/cd player and the sirius satellite radio are both mounted on the panel. To the right of the satellite receiver is a general storage box that is sized just big enough to hold cd cases. Two accessory outlets were installed in the back of the box and will be used to charge cell phones and power mp3 players, etc. The two toggle switches at the bottom of the panel are for the 12v power supply. In the down position, the left switch powers the radio and satellite receiver from the bus battery while we're driving. With the switch in the up position the radio equipment is run off a spare deep cycle battery stored in the back of the bus so while we're tailgating we won't drain down the starting battery. The right switch does the same thing for the three accessory plugs. Three plugs?.....
Yes, the third plug was located around the corner on the wall facing the bench seat (top left of the VT). The hope is we can have an ipod dock plugged in there and the passengers can easily pick the music they want.
So there it is. The Hoopty 85% complete and ready for its first tailgate. Strangely enough, the first tailgate has already gone down, but you'll have to wait a couple days before I get that posting up. Thanks again to Colette, Steve, Ellen, Rob, Cathy, Lance, Jeanell, and Sophie for various contributions over these last two days getting the Hoopty ready. We're ready to roll and here's our new view of Hokie happiness....
3 comments:
Randy, you (and your support crews) have done one fantastic job of preparing the HH ready for tailgating. Megan and I are certainly happpy that we were able to contibute is some way to "furnishing" the HH wth those very special chairs. Happy tailgating days!!!
Larry Boy
I predict BEAMERBALL Most Valuable Tailgate in your future!
Oooooh Jilian. That looks like a definite possibility if we can just get them over to us. We should be back in Lot 8 for GT. Hopefully early enough to get a more "centered" location. Thanks for the heads-up.
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