After the coach sat for a while in storage - I got it home and charged up the batteries. So far so good. We'll see if they hold a charge in a few days.  In the meantime - I fired up the ole girl to fill up the air suspension.

Smoke was coming out of the side panel above the suspension switches. I smelled an electrical fire brewing.  I removed the panel and saw two funky connectors. You can see the one circled in "red" that was melting and causing the smell and smoke.

Glad I had my halon extinguisher nearby, and was parked so I could remove the panel and avert a potential disaster.

I contacted our friend Jim Bounds at GMC Coop, and he's walking me through this so I can avoid any further problems.

Most importantly, you can't ever forget the potential for fire - and must always remain prepared and mindful. RV Buddies will be devoting a lot of attention to fire control this year. Feel free to check out FireFight1.com to see where we got our fire extinguisher.

Stay tuned for more updates on the ongoing GMC project.

Now live on RVBuddies, the 3rd Annual Florida Sunshine Statesman GMC Drag Race from Orlando, Florida.

Eastern correspondent and friend of the program, Jim Bounds, owner of Cooperative Motor Works, hosts this RV Buddies Online special event show-casing the historic GMC motor home.

Born of automotive heritage, the GMC boasts a 403 or 455 front-wheel-drive drive train – revolutionary for its time. These cult classics can still be seen throughout the United States and Canada.

There are a number of shops specializing in the restoration, and in some cases – "severe modification", of these classic coaches. RV Buddies is currently involved in a massive GMC project. Jim Bounds is known for his extreme projects which include dramatic styling changes, high-end audio and video systems, and of course – performance from turbos, new engines and diesel transformations.

Some GMC owners drove thousands of miles to attend the event. The camaraderie, along with the pride of ownership makes this one of the closest-knit communities within an already close RV world.

There are over 20 clubs nationwide under the FMCA (Family Motor Coach Association),  umbrella dedicated to these GMC aficionados alone.

There was a lot of fun at the event. Besides the GMC RVs - motorcycles, trucks and cars ran down the drag strip. Initially, the audience was a bit taken back by the site of the motor homes. The video shows some traditional "trash-talking" as spectators and contestants alike brag, boast and predict all possible outcomes. Strategies included whether to empty the holding tank or not for better traction on the track. One racer pondered turning the TV on during his run for entertainment.

Action in the pits was ever-present. GMC owners and experts helped each other out with maintenance and upgrade issues. Fire Fight, a provider of fire suppression systems  was on hand to educate the GMC owners on the value of these life-saving devices. Besides the practical pit-side activities – much food and beverage was shared.

There is nothing as American as an RV. And RVers love NASCAR and drag races. So the idea that the front wheel drive of an RV can burn rubber down a drag strip has to be a dream-come-true.

The winner of the event who set a new record (22.514 seconds at 62 MPH), was Bob Heller, driving #9587, a 1974 GMC running a 455 big-block engine with 110,000 original miles. Bob does all his own work and maintenance.

Many more events are planned for the future; and all who participated vow to continue to set new speed records.

The time has come. All the designs are complete, and I'm anxious to get started. So RV Buddies went on a road trip - to Applied GMC in Fremont, California.

Anyone familiar with the cult of GMC motorhomes knows that there are few high end shops that cater to this amazing futuristic marvel. One of course is in Florida, known as the GMC Coop. That facility is run by a man by the name of Jim Bounds. If you are on the Eastern portion of the United States, you will be familiar with his mad scientist-like obsession with these coaches. But it doesn't stop there, do visit his website and check out the CRUZ project. If that doesn't push boundaries, very little does. Jim also has an affinity for sound - and pretty much any machine coming out of his facility will have, as a requirement, a state-of-the-art audio and video system. (Or as close as the new owners budget will allow Jim's vision to design in!)

But we're on the West coast. So RV Buddies visited the other top shop of the land - Applied GMC. This shop is also run by a Jim, Jim Kanomata. This shop is located in Fremont, California - just a bit inland of the San Francisco Bay area.

After an uneventful 350-mile drive up from LA through the California Central Valley to the Bay Area - on a holiday weekend, no less, I arrived at Applied GMC – which was tucked away in the back of a non-descript industrial complex.

Rounding the corner to the building you see a parking lot full of old GMC coaches owned by customers - some showing their age, others in great condition for their age. In the back corner, a classic Cortez rests in dissaray, rusty, aching for some TLC.

Jim and I sat down and discussed the overall plan for the coach (video is being edited), and got to specific details for the chassis.

Before we sat down to cover the project coach, Jim gave me a tour of the facility. First off, it's huge. Second, it's like my desk. I know where everything is if no one moves anything on me! Applied GMC is the same - Jim knows where everything is. And there's a lot of everything. He has large quantities of the hardest to find GMC parts. And when an odd request comes up, he goes as far as coordinating a large buy with the other GMC gurus around the country to make sure the community is taken care of.

Wandering around the building was like touring a museum of old and new. There were several pallets of air bags, hundreds of feet of stainless tubing ready for custom exhaust systems, rare body parts, a complete wet bath compartment, gear sets, engines, and the list goes on and on.

It became clear that Applied GMC is seriously in this business. Several coaches were in the shop - one getting a much-needed upgrade to its air conditioning system courtesy of Vintage Air.  The bottom line here - RV Buddies appears to be in good hands with Applied GMC!

Before the coach arrives at Applied GMC, it will be stripped down to its original "Transmode" origins. Getting it there should be interesting. The suspension is leaking severly on the left, and the engine overheats. It's tempting to attempt the drive up in the cool of night - then if need be, a tow might come into play - but hopefully not.

Upon arrival, the drive train is to be pulled and some frame work can be done.  New positions for the black and grey tanks have been engineered, and the frame will be modified in the rear to increase the departure angle. Also, over the years there have been a few tugs at the under-carriage, and those will be repaired.

Starting with the rear end, the plan is for all discs, the quadra bag suspension, and the new anti-dive rear suspension. That one sentance sounds simple, but the price tag - well, nevermind that!

On the front end, the tranny needs a rebuild, new gear ratio, heavy duty control arms with new disc brakes, variable ratio power steering and... While we're at it - how about a new crate engine! So essentially, the coach will be brand new with 2009 technology. A new dash and gauges only seem appropriate. So that will be done during this phase, along with a new steering column and steering wheel.

Jim had submitted a bid to us a few months ago, and after meeting and revising a few things, he is reviewing the numbers. His quote is due to RV Buddies within the week. So it looks like a go. Cross your fingers, this should be a fun project!

Halftimeovens.com is participating in the remodel of the classic RV Buddies 1977 GMC motorhome. According to their press - "The only oven in the world that cooks delicious food like a gas or electric oven...in half the time!"

While not a straight remodel, but rather an updated interpretation of the vintage classic, RV Buddies wants all the products installed in the coach to reflect the era, the future, and integrate into the project.

Given the space limitations, the Half Time Oven and range combo are a perfect solution. The stainless casing, three burner gas range and combo microwave-convection oven bring the best of all worlds to this coach.

Final plans are being bid by several companies - chassis, interior, and body and paint. The first video segment has finally appeared on the website, and some footage of the untouched coach is in post production showing before the before!

RV Buddies has reported on the Half Time products in their reviews before. They are standard in a number of new coaches, including some Winnebago models including the Outlook and Aspect lines.

Half Time joins Thetford and Norcold in supporting the GMC project.

Take a look at this video as posted on the Half Time website. If you remember the animated series "The Jetsons", you're going to love it... Click the image to watch.

Click on the following image for differences between a conventional and microwave-convection oven:

Jensen has been in the RV and marine business for a long time. Now mind you, I've always preferred a certain name brand product having a broadcast industry background - until I lived at the beach. After a year, I opened the case (after the TV failed) and discovered a quarter inch of salt on all the circuit boards. Read what Jensen has to say about TV's on the road. While they may not top the CNET reviews, they will work year after year. And if you're camping, TV is not your main focus, and if you tail-gate, you can't focus. Now that's not to say they aren't a great set. But we've already spec'd one for our GMC project. (Mark)

Designed, built and tested specifically for mobile applications, Jensen flat panel LCD TV brings durability and high resolution, big-screen entertainment to the industry.

Jensen LCD's are designed with state-of-the-art, mobile-grade features such as conformal coated circuit boards, front controls, and detachable high output front speakers. The conformal coated circuit boards enable the LCD TV to tolerate humidity and fight corrosion commonly encountered in mobile environments. Convenient front controls allow for easy access and the detachable front speakers allow the LCD to fit in smaller areas or when a home theater system is utilized. The included remote control operates both LCD and DVD functions.

One feature unique to the JENSEN product is the sub-frame with a reinforced internal structure and integrated mounting points. The single piece metal chassis houses all internal components and does not rely on the plastic cosmetic cabinet as a mounting point. This offers users increased strength and mounting stability for harsh mobile environments. The Jensen is specifically designed and tested to withstand road conditions such as extreme temperatures, vibrations, and voltage variations, making Jensen the only LCD exclusively developed for over-the-road use.

Other key features include a high performance, 16:9 screen format, a high contrast ratio, a high brightness, ultra wide viewing angles, and HDTV tuners and HDMI inputs.

For more information CLICK HERE.

Mark and Dave ponder the condition of the GMC. They take a walk around and look her over, and in an un-edited piece, openly discuss the project. The camera captures the lights, the mistakes, and all the rough movements around the coach.

Finally inside the coach, the two discuss the various options - from being 100% loyal to a restoration, to the option of an interpretation of how the coach would look in the present.

"It's been in storage here for six months" says Dave. What he didn't say is that he was going to charge us for all the dust it was attracting!

It's nice to shoot this first piece of video - it symbolizes a start of the new project. After all the time has passed, the floorplan and section drawings are pretty much finalized. Now the chassis shop is delivering a bid, and the interior shop is pricing out their services. Dave at Final Touch has given us a price (help), and is now drafting up some illustrations with color treatments. We'll share those when we get them. In the meantime - here is the final-final floorplan. Really, I think!

The day started off with a trip to the DMV to finally pick up the custom plates! Boy they look good. An extra coat of wax on the front one should protect it from road grime!

From there, it only seemed appropriate to go and visit the coach and change out the plates and registration. She was still leaning a lot (See photo below), and I couldn't resist "mugging" for the camera. Notice the attention to detail - authentic looking bags under my eyes and extensive stubble! I worked very hard to achieve this look...

Whilst there, (how about that word?), I took a few moments to check some measurements. In the last several weeks, the final designs have been with engineers being approved and double-checked to see if everything is feasible.

The good news is that everything looks good. The bad news is the cost. For all the time, money and effort going into this project, we could have bought a brand new coach and been driving around right about now. But that's not the point is it? We're having fun and doing something special and unique. (Yeah - keep telling yourself that LOL!)

Okay, that said, there were a few things needed settled. After looking at the frame mods, there will only be room for fuel, grey and black water tanks. To improve the rear departure angle - certain demands have to be met under the chassis. So to make this work, the water tank needed located in the coach somewhere. The aft passenger corner ended up being a perfect location. After calculating all the gear being installed, the results were a 51/49 front to rear weight ratio, and almost perfect 50/50 side to side weight balance. I can live with that! (These figures are cabinetry and gear only - for balance - exclusive of drive train.)

The tank positions have left us in a "wait and see" mode on the toilet. It "appears" the toilet will be over a corner of the black tank. In a basement Class A, that would be no problem. Those tanks are deep. On the GMC, however, with the shallow tanks, "pyramiding" becomes a possibility. So we're looking at tank/frame options and a different toilet option. We'll see more on this at demolition when we mock up the layout.

The other thing that had me break out in a sweat was the clearance from the bottom of the convection/microwave and the top of the wheel wells due to the new kitchen plan. I measured today and there is 18" clearance. The height of the range/oven assembly? Whew - 18".

So, all-in-all, a great day. We're getting closer to our budgets, and have a tentative start date of June 1. Every step of the process will be shot on HD video - separate segments covering every phase of the process. And I've got some old video that I want to edit in the next month. Have a great holiday weekend!

It's been a while since we've updated because a lot has been going on. Take a look at the one drawing below, and you get an idea of the level of detail you have to put into a large-scale renovation. So we've split up the project into three sections: Chassis, Exterior and Interior.

As you can see on the partners page, we've added a banner to Final Touch Coachworks. These guys are near us and do incredible work. Before getting into the RV business, they repaired Ferraris and the like. So when they brought their skill set to the RV business, people were dumb-struck to see such quality.

We've been having a lot of meetings - going over exterior designs and color schemes etc. We all want to be faithful to the GMC concept. The driving thought is: "If they still built this bad-boy, what would it look like today?" So that in mind, our work continues.

I went into their shop, which was crammed with coaches in various states. One had a cracked rear cap. The manufacturer could ship one for $10,000 in a few months they told me. So instead, they were laying one up by hand in their shop - faster, better and cheaper. The group that runs this place is a pretty diverse one. As the coach goes into production, you'll get a chance to know them all as we'll be doing shows on every phase of the project.

Anyway, I went into the shop area and saw the GMC. Clearly, the suspension had gone ka-pooey. It was listing to one side like a ship ready to capsize. While I was out there, I took a look. I don't know if it was funny, sad or both. Dave, in the picture below, crawled under the coach to check a frame section. We're doing a few modifications and moving tanks around. I'm tired of the drag wheels, and don't want to crush the black water tank going out of a parking lot - that would be a stinkin' ordeal!

I gathered some of my personal effects (the hula girl and Tiki salt and pepper shakers) and drove home in my little toad. (I have a Scion TC - probably the cheapest car I've ever owned and one of the best.) Now I've set to the task of drawing out a bunch more "Section Views" of the new coach so everyone can see what I have been envisioning in my head for so long. Now all we have to do is negotiate price. Hmmm. If things go well we're set, if not, we're from California - we can always stucco the coach! I'll keep you posted .

After a few weeks of show production, I had a break and could go get the registration tags for the GMC. It's been sitting idle waiting for me to take in the smog certificate.

In the meantime, I've been working diligently on the plan for the coach. It's come down to three things: chassis, interior and exterior.

So, with a very detailed excel spread sheet, I drove the coach to a secret company north of Los Angeles. It will sit there for a few weeks while they go over it in detail, and convert my notes and design to pricing and project management.

I have to tell you, I have been inspired by GMC owners who have done true restorations, and those who have added their own personality to their projects.

The GMC community has so much depth, so much information to take in. So with that, I can honestly tell you that I've taken my and the shows needs in mind, stolen the best of all your ideas, and shamelessly learned from projects from Cinnabar, bdub.net, GMC coop and Applied GMC to name a few.

If you are in the GMC community – you know these two people. If you are not, they are the kinds of guys that fuel creativity in the RV industry. First is Jim Kanomata of Applied GMCin California. Jim's work has been an inspiration for this project. On the other side of the world (Florida), Jim Bounds at Cooperative Motor Works is doing some truly visionary work. Jim is a no boundary kind of guy. He got me thinking outside of the box. Jim and Jim. One scientist. The other - mad scientist. With both these mens ideas in my head, I was able to complete my design.

So on to getting the price quote (and figure out how to pay for it). If it is too out there, we might do a few interim fixes to use the coach on the road for a few shows. In the meantime, here are some of the major features and highlights of the plan…

First the design is to remain faithful to the GMC concept. i.e. If the product were built today, how might it have matured? So there are a few subtle body styling cues that are planned – most notably losing the chrome bumpers. Paint will be more mono-chromatic – not the curvy styles of today's coaches. That's about all to say at the moment without letting the cat out of the bag. Let's just say this – the coach must be "campable" which means improving the angle of departure. Bump stops are compatible with relaxation!

To start, the interior will be gutted and then the empty coach sent off for chassis work. The 403 goes bye-bye for a 455 crate engine with EFI, headers and free-breathing intake and exhaust. While the front end is exposed, time to rebuild the tranny, upgrade the torque converter and change the ratio to 3.55. Some frame work is needed, along with new tanks and lines. Brakes will be disc all around with upgraded boost. We're looking at an all air suspension solution using off-the-shelf components. Variable power steering will take out the mushy feel. Sort of a crossover will be a complete redo of the air conditioning system in the engine and drivers compartment. It was a bad design from the beginning. Out with the old and in with a high performance custom system - environmentally friendly. Noise insulation and heat shielding are planned - with generous applications to quiet the coach interior.

The new interior plan will be built out. It's designed as sort of what I like to call an RUV (Recreation Utility Vehicle). At 26', this will be the best tail-gate machine around and still be able to do serious dry-camping. Her classic looks with updates will make her welcome at any upscale RV park. (At least I like to think so!) See the layout below from Jan 29 for the floor plan.

Some of the livable features will include the new custom dash layout with GPS and 3 cameras, two sofa beds for single use or that come together to form a king, removable dining table, and truly functional kitchen and bath areas – The shower is a nice size and will have a skylight for added headroom.

Entertainment will feature a 26" 1080P HDTV and blu-ray player. A sine wave inverter will power these components, while audio will be provided by the in-dash controller, six channel amp, ribbon hybrid speakers and LAT subwoofer. (If you are an audiophile - I've got your attention!)

Up on the roof several major items bringing the coach into the millennium will be a satellite receiver and solar panel. Of course, a new 15K AC will keep the chill in the interior!

There are many more pieces to the puzzle. In fact, the spread sheet is 214 lines long. The colors are all muted. Décor schemes that looked good "lived in" and be livable . By that I mean you shouldn't be able to tell if they are dirty or not! I want a coach that is usable (meaning dog friendly).

And nothing against rope lighting and mirrored ceilings, but neither are on the list. It's always interesting hearing people compare some coaches at the shows as brothels on wheels. I'm sure the manufacturer didn't have that in mind. Or did they?

Ultimately, the old girl is destined for a facelift with new, servicable technology. I'm looking forward to being on the road knowing that the coach is usable, functional and dependable.

So is my vision crazy? Partially. At the end of all this, a new coach will have been cheaper. But as anyone with "GMC Fever" knows, that’s not the point. Our project is certainly not purist, which may offend some. At the same time, hopefully the end product will be appreciated by all for its vision.

It has been a hectic few weeks. I was supposed to get the smog certificate to the DMV by today, but alas they are closed on Saturdays. We're starting to shoot a special show on Monday (more news on that soon), and this week is hectic to say the least. So I have to hope the DMV will be understanding when I see them in two weeks.

In the meantime, I decided to take the GMC out for a drive last night, but all the house batteries were dead. It appears the converter part of the charger/converter works, but that's about it. I was upset so today, without the threat of impending darkness, I drove the coach around town and for lunch. That was fun. I have to work out some clearance issues in the remodel - I hate always hitting the drag wheels. It reminds me of when I used to own a sports car and had to be careful of the front spoiler. If this is going to be a good camper - I need to get this chassis to be a tad more functional.

Hopefully, I will get the pictures of the coach boiling over last week to show you. It's pathetic to think after all the work we've done to have over-heating be an issue, and at the same time - kind of funny. Today the drive was in range, even though traffic was stop and go. I won't tell you it was 84 degrees here today. Oh, sorry, I just did!

Part of me wants to get on the road with a simple restoration, and the other part of me is excited about a full rebuild. I think it will come down to costs. Either way, the labor should be about the same. We'll have to see what the material cost differences end up as... For now, I'm back to preparing for Monday's shoot. Have a great weekend.

Oh - here's a VERY IMPORTANT message from Jim Bounds of gmccoop:

"On the insurance people side of vintage motorhomes, take a read on my daily pose this morning about the difference in "full coverage" and "Agreed Value" coverage. An old motorhome has very little value in the book, the value comes in with all the stuff that is done to it, if there is no actual "agreed" price you will be screwed if something happens. This is a "soap box" issue that anyone with a vintage motorhome must understand - a vintage car or lawnmower too for that matter! Progressive writes agreed value policies, I do surveys for them and anyone else seeking such coverage - this is the #1 issue on insuring vintage iron."