Hey guys,
we are 2 days away from finishing our tour and coming home, which means time to really start working on the bus. Now i dont know about you guys, but i love prevost style windows. I was wondering if anyone has ever experimented with prevost windows on an MC9. Basically i just wanted to know if this is possible, and if so, what a project like that would require.
FWIW-buy a Prevost. On the other hand, I saw an MC-9 in California about a year and a half ago that was raised 12 inches or more and Prevost windows installed. Talk about Hybrids! ;D Man spent a lot of money on this project and sold it for peanuts. Most people couldn't appreciate it. Good luck, Will
I love the look of the Prevost, that is why I bought one but the curved windows make converting the inside a challange. If I had to do over I would have bought an MCI 102 C3 with the flat sides and higher roof. Trying to put Prevost windows into a MCI 9 to me would be costly and trying. All depends on how deep your pockets are and how much time you want to spend converting.
how much would a prevost window go for typically? just out of curiousity. chances are i will stick to the mc9 windows
Look here = http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php?topic=4563.0
Its a MCI6
maybe you can stick some windows in the curve at the roof, kinda like the old vw van
If the prevost widows are found to be too expensive, find yourself some Eagle windshields and turn them sideways! I was told the early early prevost used the same glass from an 01 05 model eagle! How true? Not sure but looking at them up close and personal was very hard to tell a difference!
FWIW ...
Ace
True the sides of the Prevost are curved, the windows are not that expensive, tinted ones are about 120 each, the rubber gasket that holds them in runs about 100 each also, if you add sliders from Peninsula the price for those runs another 240 each. Cutting windows in the side of a non LeMirage or XL or H3 would probably not work, most bus sides, besides a Prevost are almost straight up! Older LeMirage windows are not dual pane! On the XL and H3 they are. but those babies are expensive from the factory! Both windshields and side windows on a early model LeMirage are the same with the exception of being tinted! If you want to take a look I cut my new skins using an old window frame that I saved! The LeMirage starts curving right after the bottom sill for the window and comes in about 5" at the top. My take is that they won't work on a straight sided bus...........!
Quote from: muddog16 on October 06, 2008, 06:53:34 PM
True the sides of the Prevost are curved, the windows are not that expensive, tinted ones are about 120 each, the rubber gasket that holds them in runs about 100 each also, if you add sliders from Peninsula the price for those runs another 240 each. Cutting windows in the side of a non LeMirage or XL or H3 would probably not work, most bus sides, besides a Prevost are almost straight up! Older LeMirage windows are not dual pane! On the XL and H3 they are. but those babies are expensive from the factory! Both windshields and side windows on a early model LeMirage are the same with the exception of being tinted! If you want to take a look I cut my new skins using an old window frame that I saved! The LeMirage starts curving right after the bottom sill for the window and comes in about 5" at the top. My take is that they won't work on a straight sided bus...........!
Muddog, Where would one find these windows for an older Mirage (83) or can the sliders be added after the fact to the existing windows? My wife wants some cross ventilation in the lounge. Thanks, Will
Hi PP,
Just to give you something else to think about, several of the many Prevost owners I know have had both the slider windows and then the newer awning windows when they got a newer coach. They have all liked the awning windows better. With the sliders, you only get about half the width of the window open. With the awning you get the whole width open and the openning part of the awning windows is taller than the opening part of the sliders. Thus, you get much more ventalation with awning windows and you can leave the awning windows open in the rain if the wind isn't blowing. However, when I checked, the awning windows were only available from Prevost.
Good luck, Sam 4106
Will, the sliders are made from your existing window you send them to Peninsula Windows in Washington (not the capitol) the cut the bottom 15 inches and they make a slider unit!. I'm not sure exactly what Sam is referrring to unless he's talking about the fiberglass units on the transit models that were used as an emergency exit the whole unit does tilt up, if you don't use that style it would be very expensive buying the whole unit. Here is the link for Peninsula: http://www.peninsulaglass.com/ What I did in the bedroom is put a slider on each side for cross ventilation. In the lounge I put two on the drivers side and one on the passenger side!
Hi Muddog,
The windows that I am refering to are in the Prevost Le Mirage XL conversion shells begining in the mid 90's, not transit buses. Next time you sse a '95 to '99 Le Mirage XL conversion shell, Angola, Country Coach, Liberty, Marathon, Royal, etc, take notice of the windows. They will be the awning windows that I refered to. The top half to two-thirds of the window is the same as the curved window in a passenger Le Mirage XL. The lower portion is the openable awning window with the screen on the inside. I gave my manuals to the guy that bought my Prevost Le Mirage XL or I could scan and post a picture from the parts manual.
Good luck, Sam 4106
Quote from: Blacksheep on October 06, 2008, 06:41:52 PM
If the prevost widows are found to be too expensive, find yourself some Eagle windshields and turn them sideways! I was told the early early prevost used the same glass from an 01 05 model eagle! How true? Not sure but looking at them up close and personal was very hard to tell a difference!
FWIW ...
Ace
Ace -Close, very close. Actually, the early Prevost Champions, designed to compete with the MC-7 and the forerunner to the Le Mirage, used GMC windshields. Larry Plachno, in his book "Modern Intercity Coaches", says that Murry Hill requested Champions with larger windows for their sightseeing service, and Prevost's design staff took the stock GMC windshield and mounted it vertically. (Legend has it that one of the design staff got the idea after a shipment of windshields were stacked vertically next to a Champion that was in the shop for service.) Murry Hill took delivery of the firs five in 1968, calling them Panoramas. This was a MH exclusive until 1973, when it was released for general sale and renamed the Prestige, which remained in production until 1981. In 1977 a new model, based on the same basic chassis as the original Champion, Panorama and Prestige (TS-47, for the nomenclature folk) was released. These were called Le Mirage, which went on to become Prevost's best selling model. Distinguished from the Prestige by the front glass extending all the way to the roof, elimination of the step-up roofline and ten vertical side windows vs nine, the Le Mirage was also the first wide-body coach to be released for sale after the 102" restriction was lifted, in early 1984. That same basic coach is still in production today, now known as the Le Mirage XL II.
Although the windows are the same dimensionally as the windshields, they are not interchangeable due to the tinting.
Here's a couple of pics of the early Champion and Prestige:
Pat, Sam is correct on the Prevost awning window part #29-2126 they were double glass sliders or roll out I don't have any idea what it cost now but in 1998 when a kid shot 1 of mine it cost his dad over $1200.00 for one window Good luck
Thanks Pat (Muddog), Sam, and Luvrbus for the great information! Since we are usually in Oregon, Peninsula glass is very doable for us. ;D The wife says she will be more than happy with the sliders even though the awning style sound intriguing. They are definitely on the Honey Do List! ;D
Checked out your blog Pat, we are very impressed with the job you are doing on the Prevost. Keep up the great posting and we'll keep checking back! I have a lot of questions but don't want to keep you from your calling. (I'm sure everyone here will get updates-right?) Thanks again and good luck with her, Will & Wife
Thanks for the information Sam, and I need to make a correction on those prices, that I quoted above, Curved Glass has been great when I needed windows, but I understand now that they are having problems getting the side tinted windows, there seems to be a problem with the supplier, I purchased two windshields from them Tuesday, they were 140 each, I still need 4 tinted windows to finish, Prevost has them, lol.........now the last time I purchased them from Curved they were only 120 each, Prevost wants
492 each.......its taking me a while to come to the point of actually buying them from Prevost, I probably will, but that's the price! I'm just stubborn! :-X
This maybe a little unrelated, but at one point I talked to MCI about smooth sided windows. The windows that MCI has on their D4505, and later, can be purchased as an upgrade for at least a DL3, and maybe earlier. The guy I talked to said to convert to that style (still doesn't wrap around the top like Prevost :() would cost roughly $20,000 :o (granted that is all the windows not including the ones that are blanked out). Needless to say we went with double pane, Peninsula, T-sliders.
God bless,
John