ding

[Airbag]

I have been living with this ding since I bought the bus and now that I have installed a gate on my property allowing me to get the bus back to the shop area I decided to fix it. I drilled the skins off and whoopa what a mess. The darn thing has been repaired before seeing the lower bow is spliced and the verticals are spliced. Funny the sections of the verticals they welded on corroded away to nothing. Probably did not bother to paint them. Having the shore bats right there did not help either. My plan is to fabricate new or repair pieces for the verticals and try and straighten the skins. I have a Pexto edge roller that might get the corrugations back in them if I machine some wheels. Unless anyone knows where to find new ones. The rivets where half powder with corrosion being aluminum. God I envy you guys with enough cabbage to own a bus built in this century.    Anybody have a light bucket this one has seen better days.

[gus]

Rick,

I'm assuming your panel is Al.

Since you are an airframe guy why don't you use Al square tubing in place of the steel and rivet instead of weld? I say this because there is the problem of Al attached to steel anyway so why not make it easier?

There is no way I know to weld steel tubing and rustproof the inside at the weld. Al to steel is a bad deal no matter how you do it.

I have an oldie because they have more class. Even if I could afford a new one I wouldn't want one. When they started making the monsters with so much glass they lost my interest. Of course I'm an old fart and the oldies bring back memories of my youthful bus traveling days.

If the roller doesn't work try making a mandrel to fit the grooves and work it gently over a nice big shot bag. I just finished reshaping a dinged panel on mine like that.

[Airbag]

Rick,

I'm assuming your panel is Al.

Since you are an airframe guy why don't you use Al square tubing in place of the steel and rivet instead of weld? I say this because there is the problem of Al attached to steel anyway so why not make it easier?

There is no way I know to weld steel tubing and rustproof the inside at the weld. Al to steel is a bad deal no matter how you do it.

I have an oldie because they have more class. Even if I could afford a new one I wouldn't want one. When they started making the monsters with so much glass they lost my interest. Of course I'm an old fart and the oldies bring back memories of my youthful bus traveling days.

If the roller doesn't work try making a mandrel to fit the grooves and work it gently over a nice big shot bag. I just finished reshaping a dinged panel on mine like that.

Gus we think alike my plan was to rivet the new verticals in place. The panels are stainless and will be a bear to straighten but I am gunna give it a shot, I do have a planishing hammer that might help. It has to look better than what I had.

[Singing Land Cruiser]

Good Luck with your fix. I hate when a small job turns into a major project. We would love to see some before & after pics. All the Best, M&C

[NewbeeMC9]

From your picture your, I believe you have an MC8 and I think the original verticals and the and the upper and lower horizontals are stainless,

Somebody may have tried to do a repair using carbon steel.  May want to check to see if I'm misspoken


you can also buy those skin pieces.  check MCI and maybe Mohawk

[Tom Y]

I have a pair of lights from my 5C if intrested. Need cleaned up but solid.  Tom Y

[Airbag]

I have a pair of lights from my 5C if intrested. Need cleaned up but solid.  Tom Y

Tom those are not the lights but thank you anyway. My bus is a 1965 MC-5A. I have been talking with Sam Caylor and he thinks he has everything I need including the new skins. I am awaiting his call back.

[blue_goose]

I thought they said only Eagles rust away. 
Jack

[gus]

Rick,

Stainless is another thing altogether. That stuff is hard to work, good luck on that.

Every day I'm thankful that my 4104 is almost all Al although I live in fear of ever having to remove any panels.

I hate opening up stuff knowing full well that the more I open the worse it gets!! Out of sight out of mind.

Unfortunately we aren't making our annual trip through your area. I would love to come by and see your bus and your airframe operation. Buses and airplanes, it doesn't get any better!

Next year we will most likely take our usual route again.

[Dreamscape]

I thought they said only Eagles rust away. 
Jack

Gee Whiz Jack, I was gonna say the same thing, you beat me to it! 

So sorry to see rust on any bus, good luck and let us know how you fixed it!

~Paul~

[Charles in SC]

Steel tubing can be made fairly rust proof after welding by drilling a small hole in the tube and after welding spray the inside with fogging oil, then plug the the hole with a rivet. Steel tube airframes were built this way sometimes although I think they used a type of linseed oil.

[gus]

I believe steel tube airframes are filled with oil then rotated on rotisseries until fully coated, then the oil is drained and the hole plugged.

There is another type of oil used now but I don't know what it is. Rick will know.

[Airbag]

It's great having so much good feed back. I am buying the vertical pieces from Sam Caylor he said the later series MCI's used the same stuff. I am not sure what the material was originally/ probably stainless steel. It is a _/\_ and l_l shaped pieces. I was hoping he would get back to me today to confirm he had the skins but he got busy and will do it tomorrow. I hate have a gapping hole in my bus.

You Eagle owners don't have a patent on rust. I would love to peel open the front of my bus and clean and treat the rusted tubing. But hey where do we stop. I want to get the bus back together for the bus gathering here in AZ on the 20th. I will keep you posted on my progress. Thanks for all the encouragement. 

I believe the lastest rust treatment for tubing is LPS 3.   

[Barn Owl]

Even GM put enough steel in their buses to keep us from beating up on the Eagle owners to much.

[Len Silva]

Rick,

Stainless is another thing altogether. That stuff is hard to work, good luck on that.

Every day I'm thankful that my 4104 is almost all Al although I live in fear of ever having to remove any panels.

I hate opening up stuff knowing full well that the more I open the worse it gets!! Out of sight out of mind.

Unfortunately we aren't making our annual trip through your area. I would love to come by and see your bus and your airframe operation. Buses and airplanes, it doesn't get any better!

Next year we will most likely take our usual route again.

It's no worse than owning an old house.  Try to replace just one faucet, there's no telling how far back you have to go to find pipe that is solid enough to work with.  Every $10.00 project I start costs a couple of hundred!