Well not exactly a Volvo but a Leyland bus with a volvo engine. Anyway i thought that somebody may find this interesting.

A friend and band member of mine has had this bus for a few years now and has converted it in to a mobile music studio. He current makes his living either going to schools and teaching kids rock or doing recordings for bands.



The bus is made up of two areas, the studio (see pic below, it is lager than the pic shows) and a chill out room at the back which has a sofa, stereo system, wide screen tv, dvd and a small kitchen.



For a little while now he has been thinking about extending the versatility of the bus and converting it in to a mobile stage as well as keeping it as a studio. This came about after he organized a few outdoor events last year and was disgusted at the cost of stage hire(£6000 plus for some crap scaffold and a PA), but then relised with the existing band PA which is huge, it would be a nice little earner to just be able to turn up, open the side of the bus and viola a stage. So over this bank holiday weekend we decided to go for it. With the only issue that the bus had to be in a suitable state for Tuesday as it was booked for a rehearsal.

So it began.
Within about 2 minutes of myself turning up we had the windows out.



Then the first cut. I've never seen anyone go that white. Paul was still unsure if had made the right decision and there was no turning back now.



More chopping.




That's one big hole. On the floor you can see Paul fabricating the top door on the C section frame that would support it.



Our drummer turns up 5 minutes to late to help the two of us lift the frame in to place.




With the frame in place we used a trailer Pauls' building as a workshop (Mobile of course) to get the top door into position and on to the hinges.




A celebratory can of beer as the first door swings close.



The frame being tacked for the bottom door.



Quick check to see if it still fits with a steel skin on it.



And the doors are in place.




And they open, thank god. The bike you see in the pic is a 1951 Norton Big Four.



Don't ask me what i was trying to do here, but Paul is definitely playing a grinder on the new stage.



Well by the end of Monday the bus was closed and sealed and ready for the work it needs to do this week. Next weekend we will re clad the inside, make some acro props to support the doors when open, do all the finishing touches and hopefully a graffity artist is coming over from Ireland to paint the whole bus in something outrageous.

Cheers
Carl

That looks pretty cool. It's always good to see old vehicles being re-used for something different rather than just scrapped.

That is sweet Carl! I hope you know you've now got me and Nick looking on ebay for a bus... mobile workshop anyone?

Oh dear.. just found a way to drive them on a car license too...

Yup, Paul only has a standard car Licence. It's a bit mad, that isn't the easiest thing to drive around a town if you have had no experiance.

Carl, very cool indeed! I think that's super cool and it looks like that will make a great mobile stage. Yeah, the costs seem ridiculous for a bit of scaffolding. The other thing is a curtain sided lorry as a stage, but it's not as pimp as that, or as useful and versatile!

Pete

Thats awesome where abouts in the country are you know a couple of bands that would love that sorta thing for a backdrop.

Matt

Arrrrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh!!


Please tell me that's all photoshop........


You've cut up a Mk1 Leyland National Twin Door which is as rare as an NHS Dentist specialising in hens teeth!

Oh, it should have the original Leyland 680 engine which is an 11.6 litre straight 6 NA diesel, not a Volvo lump.

We are based in Ludlow Shropshire. The whole idea of the The Buzz (As it is correctly known) is to have the ability to go anywhere. There is a group of guys behind this that are also a band called Speed Triple, Paul realised that we could do a mobile stage, the group decided that we could do what we wanted to do which was play things like biker gigs ect. rather than the pubs. The band has also agreed that if another bbq happens like Griz's this year (and the right spot is found) they may come and do a performance. The drummer is an ex Volvo service center employee.

V6 Man wrote: Oh, it should have the original Leyland 680 engine which is an 11.6 litre straight 6 NA diesel, not a Volvo lump.

Not sure why but the engine was changed on it some years ago, Paul did tell me what was originally powering it, but i can't remember off the top of my head.

Paul did know it is quite a rare bus, but he's a bloke who rather uses it than have it as a museum piece.

And to honest, if it was rare to start with it's got to be even rarer as a mobile stage.

Yeh, I remember seeing that bus and trike before. V. v. cool!

http://www.volvo300mania.com/forum-uk/v ... php?t=3469

Grandad's just upset because this type of bus was the first one he rode on after getting his free bus pass

Interesting project there Carl. Live audio is my trade, so if I can be of any assistance...do shout!

cheers

James

foggyjames wrote: Interesting project there Carl. Live audio is my trade, so if I can be of any assistance...do shout!

cheers

James

Just be aware he'll tell you that your using the wrong amp and speakers

:p :p :p :p

He'll hit me tonight for saying that

anyway, cool project!

I think that is wicked its a shame you guys are so far away ,

the schools round here could do with a good rock band to clear there heads from all the gangsta rap shit they keep listening too ,

Just one question ,

how much extra weight has all that framework put on the nearside of the bus and is it not going to throw the thing off balance ,

keep us updated Carl especially when the art work is done