Building new engine doors

Sam 4106 · May 05, 2012, 01:47:48 PM

Hi Rick,

Please take this for what it is worth because I am not 100 percent sure. I believe from looking at the pictures of Gary's bus that the radiator is behind the big grill on the drivers side and I don't see the squirrel cage blower belt that is typical of most older MCI's. Good advise otherwise though.

Good luck, Sam

Seayfam · May 05, 2012, 03:22:49 PM

Sam,
You are correct, I have a very large radiator behind that grill and I also have another large radiator on the other side. The one on the right side has four 12 volt fans that cool it and the one on the drivers side has a belt behind the bumper that runs a clutched fan. I'm not really sure what the 6's came stock with when they had the 12v71 in them?

Rick,
Those are backup lights for those long dark parking spots here in Alaska. They are controlled by a spring loaded toggle so they aren't left on. It would probably work good for tailgaters also.

You can't see it in the picture, but I have a remote controlled spotlight on top of that light box. It has come in very handy at some hunting sites that I have never been in before. It always seems like I show up at night.

I've been out cutting vents into the lower half of the doors today. I'm still not sure I want to install any in the upper half of the door? I have never had any heat issues with my bus, but I have never been in over 90°F with it.

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thomasinnv · May 05, 2012, 09:39:53 PM

silly me, didn't even realise that his radiator setup is different from other MCI's.

Chopper Scott · May 14, 2012, 05:33:23 AM

Actually Gary I made my vents in the side doors. On the curb side I have a tranny cooler and fan set up also. I used stainless steel donut cooling racks (you red it right!) that I found on Ebay for the screens. You can find various sizes. Later

RICH GREGG · May 14, 2012, 09:43:26 AM

Guess bus is no longer for sale didn't the old eagles have rear doors that worked like the shutter stats on the rads if over heating is a problem maybe someone has done the work for you already Rich

Seayfam · May 14, 2012, 10:10:26 AM

Scott,
That sounds like something I would do! I bet it looks good too! My entry door is operated by a sears garage door opener. It is mounted under the floor at the top of the spare tire compartment. Gears and chains connect it to the original door hardware, some nice buttons and a remote and your in.

Rich,
I did pull the adds shortly after I posted them. It got nice out and I started tinkering with it again, and had a change of heart. One part of me tells me it is a poor investment, and the other part of me don't care

;D;D

I got the doors finished, the vents installed, got the upper part painted, installed some marker lights on the lower portion, and now waiting on the graphics so I can get them installed. *vinyl graphics* I hope they look good! I'll post pics when all done.
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Chopper Scott · May 14, 2012, 10:31:24 AM

Thinking outside the box can be interesting Gary!

Seayfam · June 01, 2012, 11:27:40 PM

Finally got the rear of the bus finished!

well except for the bumper. That will be after we return from our trip.
Filling it up with water and driving until we find some sun, or go broke, whatever comes first.

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boxcarOkie · June 02, 2012, 06:05:15 AM

Quote from: Seayfam on June 01, 2012, 11:27:40 PM
Finally got the rear of the bus finished! well except for the bumper. That will be after we return from our trip.
Filling it up with water and driving until we find some sun, or go broke, whatever comes first.

Sent from my GT-I9100

Nice work Gary, drive it up to Fairbanks and pan for some gold! The Discovery Channel sez it is everywhere up there!

Looks really good pard,

BCO

chev49 · June 02, 2012, 06:35:02 AM

maybe go a bit past there and get ornaments at north pole.

thomasinnv · June 02, 2012, 09:18:26 AM

Hey Gary, how about a close up shot of the louvered area on the doors?

Chopper Scott · June 03, 2012, 07:53:37 AM

Lookin good Gary!

Seayfam · June 03, 2012, 10:34:36 PM

Thanks for the complements guys!
Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, I got all caught up in roasting a wiener.

The bus and I were purring like a kitten. Neither of us wanted to stop.

BCO,
We have been going 100 miles north of Fairbanks for the last 10 years to hunt for caribou. We always bring a pan with us and do a little panning while we are there. So far the grand total over that time is one ounce. Not quite as good as discovery makes it out to be.

Chevy49,
That is a stop we always make when we are up there. We have to go to the Santa Clause House at North Pole and buy a bunch of, well, should I say? "junk"

Derrick,
Here is some pics. I hope it's what you were wanting.

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RJ · June 04, 2012, 02:41:53 AM

Gary -

Nice work! I think you'll also find that those vents will help the engine compartment cool down once you've parked for the day - a hidden bonus! (Oh, here's another project: Rig up a couple of electric fans on the doors to suck cool air in thru the vents when parked!

Love those back-up lights!! Reminds me of the rectangular Cibie halogen fog lights I put on the rear of my '66 Corsa Convertible way back when. . . (Because I dislike folk behind me who won't dim their headlights, hehehe!)

A suggestion in the interest of safety: Perhaps change out the rear red turn signal lamps for amber? Especially some of the new LED models, which seem to be much brighter, and are an easy swap on your 6. Truck-Lite and other vendors have a good selection nowadays.

Anyway, nice work on the vents, and I like the graphics, too!

FWIW & HTH. . .