On and MC9....is it possible to remove the huge sidepanels where the bus company

[ilyafish]

names are written?  haha sorry i have no idea what they are called, but you guys know what im talking about.

I unscrewed one of the border pieces, and it seems like there is a flat stainless steel skin that is located behind the 'sidepanel'.....i know it is riveted on, but im basically wondering if i were to drill out the rivets, would it be possible to remove that sidepanel.

i am just asking this because when i go to paint the bus, i think it would be a little more aesthetically pleasing this way.  i am basically looking to paint it similar to an average entertainer coach, though i dont have money to get flat skins....so yea i was just wondering about this.

[John316]

Basiclly, if your MC9 is like our 102DL3, the answer to your question is yes and no.

First off I would assume that you are talking about the letter board, the portion that is between the windows and the baggage doors. I'm not sure about a 9 whether there is rivets on the side or blind riveted (somebody help me out here...Jack Conrad you might know). If it is blind riveted (riveted behind the trim on the side) then it isn't a big deal to drill the rivets out. If the whole side is riveted then it would be a different issue.

My question is, why would you need to remove the letter board to paint your coach? We had to remove ours to check for rust and to make sure that that was in good condition,  but I'm not sure if that was really necessary.

Inside, in ours, I would assume that they are similar, the portion of the bus, that is below the windows, has metal plates that are welded and riveted on. Those plates are structural, which, according to MCI, need to stay there. Those would be awful to remove and then replace after spraying insulation (we ended up leaving ours on and just losing R's to that...oh well).

That is just what I am aware of. HTH

God bless,

John

[Ednj]

There is only insulation and frame work behind those panels.

[ilyafish]

yea the metal plates on the inside i kept....too much work to remove them...not to mention especially if theyre structural.

my only reason for removing the letterboard is just pure aesthetics....im not big on how it looks, and when i paint the bus, it would be ideal if there was no letterboard, just a flat side of the bus on the upper portion of it

[John316]

The best thing to do would be to paint that letter board. I don't think that you can remove it because you would just have metal and insulation behind there, which would look worse...LOL. Anyways you might have to strip that letter board before you paint.

I know, you should post some pics of that.

BTW I will pm you shortly.

God bless,

HTH

John

[ilyafish]

i think i will do that actually....i found some mc9s painted pretty sharply so i think my confidence on that issue has gone up :-)

[Sojourner]

If you have a photo of your bus's skin to better verified your question.

Caution...by all mean do remove structural solid rivet that hold outer main skin onto frame. The interior skins are partial structural with non structural pop rivet. MCI-8 & 9 has no (secondary?) smooth skin like the DL series. I am not sure about MCI DL series if they are fully SS framed and trusses as the MCI E series. I do know that all MCI-5,7,8,9 and 12 are monocoupe constructed design that require structural type rivet to hold skin to non truss framing to control the lateral forces,

BTW...is there anyone acknowledgeable about the MCI-DL series in regard to be equips with truss design frame? Or are they structural rivet dependent?

FWIW

Sojourn for Christ, Gerald

[Jriddle]

The inner and outer skins are structural. I would not remove outer skins unless you need to repair frame work. The inner skins have been removed by many including me to insulate.  Bracing needs to be installed to make up for the loss of structure. Pictures of what you are tyring to describe would help. My first take on what you are asking is that the panels must stay.

John

[John316]

Gerald, I don't think that our DL3 is structural rivet dependent, but then again I'm not a pro. What do you mean by

I am not sure about MCI DL series if they are fully SS framed and trusses as the MCI E series.

. I'm not trying to be dense, I just might be able to answer your question if it is reworded for a dummy (there's a new book title for somebody "Busing for dummies" LOL ). What does the "SS" mean? I don't think that our bus has structural rivets (I'm not an authority on this remember).

Thanks,

God bless,

John

[Sojourner]

Gerald, I don't think that our DL3 is structural rivet dependent, but then again I'm not a pro. What do you mean by

I am not sure about MCI DL series if they are fully SS framed and trusses as the MCI E series.

. I'm not trying to be dense, I just might be able to answer your question if it is reworded for a dummy (there's a new book title for somebody "Busing for dummies" LOL ). What does the "SS" mean? I don't think that our bus has structural rivets (I'm not an authority on this remember).

Thanks,

God bless,

John

SS mean stainless steel.

Trusses design buses are equips with diagonal brace between vertical & horizontal frame. Similar as a flat roof trusses in the manufacturing plants.

Below, I have attach a drawing of 2 difference type of frames.

FWIW

Sojourn for Christ, Gerald

[John316]

Gerald, thanks for helping me out there . I just wasn't exactly sure what you had meant earlier (I am still learning, thanks for bearing with me).

Anyways, the best I can tell it is a truss system. I am ninety nine percent sure that that it is the truss system. It has the smooth skin and doesn't need the skin to keep it from "flexing".

HTH,

God bless,

John

[buswarrior]

MCI DL3 have laminated side panels, not structural.

I've seen them unglue on buses that lacked proper ownership and maintenance.

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[Hartley]

If you have what appears to be lines of rivets both vertical and horizontal
these are part of the structure of the bus. The logo/name areas on an MC9 are usually surrounded by an aluminum molding from front to back.

If you remove the molding and any sheet panels that the molding was actually holding in place you will see the base aluminum sides that are usually riveted and painted.

You cannot remove the structural sheets that run the length of the buses exterior because the bus will sag and probably fall apart.

If you have what I have in this picture. You will probably have to live with the rivets in all their uglyness unless you install smooth sheeting over that whole area and leave the original panels and rivets in place.

An MC9 is NOT a DL3, They are different designs. What works on one does not necessarily work on the other....

[John316]

Thanks Dave,

That was sound advice.

God bless,

John