Need Information on 1986 MCI 102A3

[Dreamscape]

A friend is looking at the above coach tomorrow. I do not have much knowledge on MCI's, so any input is appreciated. It is not a converted coach, with some original seats in the front half, bunks in the back.

Is this a good coach to convert? I tried talking him into one already done, but he wants to do one his way.

What areas should be looked at for potential problems?

I'm an Eagle guy, what can I say!

Thanks for any help,

Paul

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Hi Paul,

It's a good coach to convert. It's 102 wide but still  3 inches shorter then my coach. "C3".

I would say that he must look at all the usual things when buying a bus like engine, trans, and structure.

The usual problems that MCI's had were rotting at the bulkhead. Tell him to open the rear baggage compartment

and inspect the rear wall at the floor for rot.

Good Luck
Nick-

[luvrbus]

Paul, me being a Eagle guy I will give  my opinion I had 1 for for awhile that is a great bus it is 90% stainless and aluminum on the sub frame like Nick check the other 10% and the 102in wide is like a model 15 Eagle it starts from behind the driver area so the 96 in windshields work for it plenty of head room and came with a 8v71,6v82 and the 8v92 watch out for heating problems make sure the engine has not been over heated It is my favorite MCI but this coming from a Eagle guy.forgot one thing  take the air off the tag and check for slack the tag is not cheap to repair don't ask how I know

[Dreamscape]

Thanks Nick and Clifford,

What do we look for when dumping the tag air? Slop in the axle?

I'm pretty dumb when it comes to these MCI's!

It has an 8v92TA in it. What do we look for in overheating problems in the past?

By the way Clifford, what bus have you not owned?

Paul

[Runcutter]

Paul, if the coach is in the Dallas-Ft Worth area (and if "tomorrow" means Sunday), and if you want another pair of eyes/hands (gee, I just ran out of "ifs").... let me know.  Phone is 972 466 four six one one.

Arthur

[luvrbus]

Paul, pay close attention to the air box drains( slobber tubes hate that word) for any signs of moisture and excess oil drive it for about 20 miles and remember they open on idle only not like the ones without check valves.Another thing check the wiring from the rear to the front if it is not neat and still in place it will have wiring problems. If I was buying the bus I would stop a Cat and buy a test kit and pull samples on the engine,differential,cooling system and transmission you can have the results in 2 days even if oil is new Cat will find any problems    good luck

[Dreamscape]

I'm up in Vancouver WA, the bus is in the Seattle area.

Thanks for the offer Arthur!

Clifford,

This is good information, Thanks a bunch!

I will take my laptop with us, so if anymore wish to reply, please do. Heading out in a few minutes.

Paul

[Busted Knuckle]

Paul call me when you are at the bus! 270.705.1139 cell
I will walk you around the critical areas to check!
One of our favorite buses in our fleet (mom & dads, not mine! but still a nice and dependable coach) was an '86 102A3!

But we recently had to retire it from service do to bad structural damage that "suddenly" appeared on a 2200 mile tour! Upon inspecting it I was shocked it'd made it home! It is a very serious issue that several  (but few) people I have talked to have experienced or seen!
And it is the second one I have seen do it after looking back on past experiences! I drove one from FL to CA that had the same symptoms as ours , but at the time I had no clue what it was. Also had no way of getting under it to look and see what I WOULD HAVE SEEN!

AS I SAID VERY NICE COACH, but beware you have to look it over close! By the way I saw the coach you are describing on ebay too!

FWIW!   BK 

[makemineatwostroke]

Paul; that bus is very prone to electrolysis be careful and check,where the different metals attach together if any type bulge beware and check the headlight system if all the lights are not the same brightness it will be a problem  looked at several converted coach's by Bruce that had these problems      have a great day

[luvrbus]

I tried from BlueBird up Paul and Eagle was the last on my list till my wife persuaded me to look and drive one now I am hooked but I still like BlueBirds a great bus,never owned a GM probably missed out on a good bus you can buy a lot of buses in the 40 years I have had one even bought a class a motorhome 1 time still have it in my shop hasn't been driven in 10 years  happy shopping

[Dreamscape]

We drove up to Seattle and looked at the coach.

I explained to my friend Doug all the suggestions and help that you gave about what to look for.

It was raining pretty good, (go figure). I was impressed with several things, the exterior sides looked very straight, no waves or bumps. Checked the rear bay door in front of the bulkhead, found very little rust. The outside electrical panel looked very clean and organized. The owner fired the ole girl up and had white smoke for a few seconds then cleared up. Aired up in a very short time, estimated 5 min or less. We took it out for a spin and checked everything while driving, Jake's, transmission, clutch, heat and air. No problems that we noticed. Tires had aluminum rims with at least 80% tread. PO had owned it for three years and did not notice any temp over 195. Had driven it over 10,000 miles in that time. The blows fans, drive and all belts were new. Two new 8 D's. New rebuilt starter. Anything that he found while owning the coach he fixed them. I believe him, could tell by looking at his house and yard. Any repairs that he could not do himself was done by a shop that knows buses.

Doug has been looking for quite some time locally for a coach to either convert, or one already converted. Not too many coaches for sale in the NW area.

We then drove over to look at another MCI, it was a 9. You could tell the coach had been driven hard and put away wet. Tell tale signs all over that it was a hound in the Michigan area. Lots of rust too. We couldn't get away fast enough. 

Well long story short, Doug and his wife Lori are now the proud owners of the 1986 MCI 102A3. I'll let him explain the whole story, it is quite amazing.

You will see them on the board shortly asking all kinds of conversion questions. You might have met them at the Busn' USA Rally in Rickreall OR this past June.

I did call Bryce, aka Busted Knuckle, and chatted with him for a while and received some very good information of which I passed along to Doug. Thanks BK for taking your time to do that! Clap, Clap, Clap

Also many Thanks to all who contributed to this thread, very helpful and I learned a lot.

Happy Trails,

Paul