Episode 2 · November 1, 2026
Demo Day 1: The Seats Come Out
Day one of the gut. Every school bus seat is held down by bolts that have been rusting in place for nearly twenty years. Some spun right out. Others needed the grinder, and the sparks went everywhere.
While the seats came up, the ceiling screws started coming down. Everybody in the family pitched in, and by the end of the afternoon a good stack of seats was out.
Next: the rest of the seats, then the rubber floor, to see what the steel underneath looks like.
Photos
Sparks flying: grinding off a seat bolt that would not let go
Peeking through the windshield on demo day
Wrenching on seat bolts down the aisle
Helping out, mid-demo, among the loosened seat frames
Ceiling screws coming out — still smiling
Pulling ceiling panel screws with the impact driver
Running the impact driver on a seat bolt
Teaming up to pull a seat frame
Wrestling a seat out together
End of day one: rows of seats out and stacked, arms up