• The body is really taking shape now with most of the sandblasting and priming complete.
• The big news is that the roof construction is underway. General Motors has redesigned it completely and is starting to construct it in three sections. Material has been ordered and they have made many visits to Zeeland for measurements and confirmation of the design. The first section (full length front to rear) will be built, delivered to the site and the light fin assembly added before it is installed. Then the final dimensional checks will be done and the two side sections constructed. Considerable bracing needs to be done prior to that step however and it is underway.
• An anonymous volunteer donated a substantial amount of money ($1900) for the roof material – a major contribution that we appreciate!
• Another anonymous volunteer donated $3200 for the construction of the lower side doors that have been completed now at Sparta Sheet Metal.
• Brakes parts are being assembled after Bendix redesigned the overall system and donated the parts.
• A new windshield frame is carefully being developed to match the new windshield we have. This is critical since the windshield is unique and expensive.
• Ron Elzinga of Jenison Michigan has joined the Tuesday work sessions volunteer group.
• Reconstruction of the last of the large sections – the huge 16’ side doors is underway.
• Don and Del Carpenter spent a full day one warm Monday in December pulling the vehicle out of the barn, sandblasting parts of the interior and moving it back inside for the work crew to resume the next day.
• Dave’s Custom Sandblasting has been invaluable in preparing large parts for priming and painting.
• Other jobs in process include sorting and developing patterns for the upholstery, identifying and obtaining gages and other electrical parts, restoring the air compressor tank, replacing the rear transmission seal, removing the steering wheel (so far, it has won the battle but they have not given up) and cleaning and repair of the light fin.
• The powered step to the drivers compartment has been restored, installed and looks like new.
• Wally Snow has spent hours at home designing the engine, instrumentation and operating electrical diagrams and has developed about 15 pages of notes and illustrations.
• Dick Saddler volunteered the use of a gantry style crane to remove the roof, install the new roof and install the new light panel. Special modifications were made to allow it to raise high enough inside the barn. The crane now straddles the Futurliner and can be pushed on its wheels back and forth the length of the vehicle.
• Wayne Jackson has loaned the crew his sandblast cabinet, a much needed and used facility.

• One of the more interesting stories came recently from Paul Neighbour and Jim Morris. Jim recalls that in the early 50’s, a gentleman approached him and inquired about buying one of the tents to use in his ministry. He introduced himself as "Oral Roberts, an evangelist". Jim had not heard of him at the time but was surprised that he did not seem to mind the estimated $25,000 for just the tent replacement, not counting the supports and associated hardware. Paul recalls that in 1959 (after the Parade was closed and he was 5 yrs old), one of these vehicles was used by Oral Roberts with a new paint job and "Jesus Saves" on the side. Paul’s father at the time was a missionary in Brownsville TX and the man with the bus was Don Spires, a missionary to Mexico. Don and Paul’s father used it on missionary trips to Mexico and Paul recalls the thrill of riding "in the dome" and the reaction of everyone who saw it. It was one of 3 owned by the Oral Roberts organization and he recalls that they planned to have one in Europe, one in South America and one in Central America. This could be the missing 3! Anybody else have knowledge of these? Paul wrote to Oral Roberts and got a reply to the effect that he remembers the vehicles and tent but has no idea where they might be today.
• Andy Elliott in Peterborough, Canada sent a photo of the 1955 Parade in Toronto. It shows that all 12 vehicles were present, something we had thought rarely happened. He also included a copy of a brochure that lists all the stops in Canada and a copy of a 1936 pamphlet for the Parade of Progress. Thanks Andy!

• Tom Kuhlman donated an Army truck used in the Korean war so that we can have an extra engine and transmission. GM used the same powertrain when the Futurliners were rebuilt in 1952 so this is a valuable donation.
• Dick Humphreys donated $500 worth of bronze material (18" x 12" x 3") to allow us to make two new internal threaded nuts for the side door actuators. We were given a quotes of $3,000 - $5,000 to manufacture these nuts. Phil DeVries offered to make these at home for us on his CNC milling machine. He has completed the machining of these large nuts for us along with making all the hinges for the lower doors and the bearing support brackets for the lower 16’ jack shafts that power the tow sets of 16’ doors on each side.
• And, in the important but who would have thought category, Ryan and Linda DeVries recently purchased a cow and donated 20 pounds of meat for the Tuesday work crew lunches this winter.
• Randy VanderBrook of Bare Hill Design in NY State has volunteered to do all the upholstery in the cab. They will get the material donated and when we are ready, bring their equipment to Michigan to do the job on-site.

• In addition to financial donations to the museum for parts we must purchase, we are planning to built a second engine and drivetrain assembly for a separate operating display. Parts needed include:
• Oil pan, oil pump, lines, mounting hardware plus new distributor
• Timing cover ** (** - May be available on Tom Kulhman’s
• Front crank pulley ** donated army truck)
• Water pump and fan **
• Cylinder head assembly **

• Frank Farone donated a complete set of the leather case and playing cards that we mentioned in the last newsletter along with the gin score pad and pencil. Thanks Frank.
• R. John Bradfield also donated a set of playing cards along with an original rubber raincoat and rain hat used in the Parade. The coat has a label inside that says " Products for Industry, The B.F. Goodrich Co., Akron OH". John joined the Parade in Feb of 1956 and continued until it closed. Thanks John. As we’ve said, all of these donated items belong to the NATMUS museum and will be on display either at the museum or with the vehicle.
• Don’t forget that on Sept 4 this year, Jim Morris is organizing a Parader reunion in Saugatuck, MI with visits to the project site in nearby Zeeland.

Any help is greatly appreciated. Again, donations go directly to NATMUS as tax deductible donations to the museum. They control all the expense accounts for the project.

• Stu Allen in Flint, Michigan updated our project presentation by adding photos and putting it on in a PowerPoint format. It should be available on CD soon so others can use it.
• An excellent summary of the project was written by Pat Shellenbarger of the Grand Rapids (MI) Press. With 5 color photos and interesting quotes, he captured not only the facts of the project but the true spirit among the volunteers. One comment from John Martin Smith (President of NATMUS) mentioned when the vehicle had been donated to the museum but siting idle out back - "I was getting a lot of static from the neighbors. It looked like an unsightly piece of junk, but I knew someone would fall in love with it, and along came Don." Pat also quotes one of the faithful volunteers, Ed Devries – "I remember the first time I saw this here, I said "Anybody who’d restore this is nuts." And here we are":
• We have a request for a presentation to a group of GMC Motorhome Registry in Florida this spring if we can locate one of our project members that might be in the area.
• Motor Trend magazine is preparing an article on the Futurliners and this project in a future "In Retrospect" column.
• The Inliners International will be having their August 2002 convention in the Detroit area and many hope to travel to Zeeland to see the project first hand. They have been invaluable in supplying parts and info on the engine restoration.
• The web site continues to be a big source of contacts from all over. It is cross referenced from a variety of other sites and brings a lot of people into the project. Jim Crame continues to update it regularly and it includes all of these newsletters.

• Photos of Brad Boyajian’s two unrestored Futurliners in Calif are on his web site – http://www.bradboyajian.com.