Bus conversion update #2

[mike802]

This video is a continuation on the replacement radiators for my mc9

How to disassemble mc9 radiators

How to recore a mc9 bus radiator

Hope everyone enjoys these and maybe the info will be helpful to those who need to replace the radiators in their bus.  I am no expert in this area, so the info here my not be the "professional" way to do this, but hopefully it will all work out.  The one thing I can say for sure is it is much more involved than changing the radiator in a car.  It sure felt good to get one done, but I still have to redue the process all over again with the second one, should go faster the second time.

[mike802]

why cant I delete this?  Not the videos, just this.

[bevans6]

you can't delete posts at all , but you can edit them in the first 24 hours after first posting.

Brian

[edvanland]

Mike
What year Nash Metro is that in the back ground. My late wife had a 1957. If you are going to restore it I have a set of real nice hub caps for it.
ED

[MikeH]

Very helpful videos. Thanks for posting them. Did you have to do any welding, or was it all just nuts and bolts.? How long did the process take you? It looks like you should be set and not have to worry about them for a long time.

Mike

[longjohn]

Awesome instructions. Now it dont seem to be such a hard job.......Thanks

[Oonrahnjay]

Thanks for these vids, Mike.  A couple of questions ... you say that you "sand blast" the tanks and frames.  Do you really mean blast with sand or do you "bead blast"?  IME, real sand is too abrasive for sheet metal or thin castings.  If you're using sand and it works well, please let us know how you're doing it (type of blasting tip, pressure, etc.).  The paint looks good - what have you been using?  I've been using POR-15 on my bus whereever I can but it is some NASTY sh*t and if I can get by with regular Rustoleum etc. in at least some places, I'd like to know that.   (Thank goodness my radiator is in good shape but I have a few mounting details to get right.  I hope it doesn't turn into a big job).

Excellent, clear vids.  Thanks.   BH NC USA

[Van]

Mike, another batch of great video's. Well worth adding to the library, thanks!

[Chopper Scott]

Great vid and thanks for taking the time to make it for us. I'm glad my radiators have already been redone. Your old ones really look rough. The po of my bus did not reinstall the shutters and for when I drive it I don't need them.

[mike802]

What year Nash Metro is that in the back ground. My late wife had a 1957. If you are going to restore it I have a set of real nice hub caps for it.

Thanks Ed, that is my wife's, it's a 1961 and she has been patiently waiting for me to make some real progress on it.  So far I have replaced the clutch, slave cylinder and the exhaust.  I also cleaned out the fuel line and gas tank, next on the list is a new set of floor boards and then the body work. If the hub caps you have are the same for both years I would be very interested, send me a pm and let me know how much you need to get for them.

Very helpful videos. Thanks for posting them. Did you have to do any welding, or was it all just nuts and bolts.? How long did the process take you? It looks like you should be set and not have to worry about them for a long time.

Mike, I did not do any welding, there were no holes in the tank, but I could have done some welding on the outside upright frames, but it would only have been for looks and you really don't see that in the bus anyway, so I decided not to. The real trouble was the nuts and bolts as you can see in the video they were real bad, the angle iron that was rotted away I just replaced with a piece of 1" angle iron cut to the right length.  I am not sure how long it took, I worked on it during my free time which is not much these days, it has taken longer than I would like and I still have the second one to due. If I can remember I will keep track of my hours on the next one and let everyone know, it may be a few months though.

Thanks for these vids, Mike.  A couple of questions ... you say that you "sand blast" the tanks and frames.  Do you really mean blast with sand or do you "bead blast"?  IME, real sand is too abrasive for sheet metal or thin castings.  If you're using sand and it works well, please let us know how you're doing it (type of blasting tip, pressure, etc.).  The paint looks good - what have you been using?  I've been using POR-15 on my bus whereever I can but it is some NASTY sh*t and if I can get by with regular Rustoleum etc. in at least some places, I'd like to know that.   (Thank goodness my radiator is in good shape but I have a few mounting details to get right.  I hope it doesn't turn into a big job).

Oonrahnjay The type of rust I run into up here in the rust belt is to tough for glass beads.  I have good luck with a product called Black Beauty, it is a slag byproduct with very sharp edges.  I have heard of people warping sheet metal panels by sand blasting, but I guess I have been lucky so far.  The tanks on the radiators are fairly thick and I was not worried about the sand effecting them and it did not.  If I used a large commercial blaster it might have been a different story, especially in my past experience with sheet metal.  Most of the cars I work on are antiques with thicker sheet metal than modern cars.  The last car I blasted was a 1949 Packard and I had to blast the whole body, I went through 4 tons of sand and never warped a single panel.  The blaster I use is from Eastwood and it holds about 90 pounds of sand, not sure what size nozzle I use, but it has about an 1/8" hole it.  I have a fairly large compressor, I have to because the sand blaster demands a lot of air, I run about 90 lbs. of air pressure at the blaster. At times when I was worried about warping something I have held the nozzle farther back and kind of fogged the panel with good results, but most of the time my sand blasting is centered around a rust spot that need further repair, like welding in new metal and the heat from welding can be more dangerous than sand blasting when it comes to warping.  The paint I use is very similar to Por-15, it is called Miracle Paint and is sold by Bill Hirsh Automotive, I have had good luck with it so I haven't given Por-15 a try.  Once a part is thoroughly sand blasted there shouldn't be a need for por-15, or Miracle Paint, but I like to use it just in case I missed some rust. You are right, it is nasty stuff and I would never put it through my spray guns, so I just use a disposable brush.

[Oonrahnjay]

Thanks Mike.  I know what you mean about rust.  My bus came from England and the climate there is variable cold and warm with lots of moisture from the ocean.  My bus was from a seaside town.  Because "black ice" is a bigger problem than snow or sleet there, they use a lot of salt and they plan to do a body-off overhaul every 4-5 years so they don't bother with long-term rustproofing.  But my bus had remarkably little rust really and what few spots there were were small and not very deep.  Having seen the cancer on some bus pictures posted here, I got off really light. 

Thanks for the info on your paint.  It looks like a similar kind of paint to POR. And you're right - never spray, always disposable brush.  I hate putting the stuff on but once it's on right, it's really good.   I've found that bead blasting is good what what I've needed.  And I've been told that sand has much heavier particles than beads so maybe your black stuff has light particles, too.

Good luck.  (And BTW, I so identified with the frozen bolts that had to be broken off or drilled out.)  BH

[niles500]

"why cant I delete this?  Not the videos, just this"

You have to hire an attorney