mci interior panel removal

[luvrbus]

I remove mine also Bob on my 8 never caused a problem I know of, the bus is still out there on the hiway.
Guys fwiw the aircraft tool place have different tools to remove those rivets sure makes life easier for you.


good luck

[robertglines1]

Cheap harbor freight air chisel with flat blade does wonders also. Plus sheet metal chisel available for it also.

[challenger440]

Mark, nice work, thanks for the pics.  I'm not sure if I've got the courage to dig in that deep!  jm

[Kenny]

mike I was going to use roofing black jack from a caulk gun tube, home depot has it in their roofing department. it is almost a tar like substance that has rubbery sticky holding yet never gets hard as a rock. should do the trick rather nicely with minimal mess. And stop any metal to metal viberation noise. I have used it for the drip edge and first layer of shingles on roofs for many years. not to expensive and goes a long way.

The tape you spoke of not only prevents vibrations and squeaks but if not more importantly acts as an insulator to prevent galvanic corrosion between the aluminum panels and the steel structure.

I must be thinking of a differant panel than you guys are referring to. Before my involvement in the board(didn't even know it existed) I built a MCI8 removed the sheet metal along wall where air and heat traveled up and exited just below windows. The bus didn't fall down or sag.I replaced it with 3/8 plywood screwed about every 6 inches. Ran coach for 7 yrs before moving on to another. seems to me the small pop rivits that hold it on would have sheared or egged out if there was any flex there.  Is the MCI 8 any differant in side structure than the 1978 MCI 8 I had?   confused

Interesting to here everyones experience's relating to the purpose of aluminum interior panels and blocking up the bus when removing them.

Kenny

[bevans6]

I seem to think the consensus on the MCI monocoque construction is that the exterior panels are definitely structural but the interior panels are less so.  Aluminium rivets with steel mandrels that are retained in shear inside the rivet body are generally considered structural rivets, in race car work, but depending on type may be more or less so.  I think that lots of people have removed the interior without issues, and not worried overmuch about replacing it.  Putting tape between the framing and the panel is not going to improve it's structural capacity, but bonding it with an epoxy would. 

Brian

[mike802]

Mark, thanks for the tip on Black Jack, never heard of the stuff, but it sounds like it would be perfect.  I was thinking of using Ice and Water shield, but then I would have to remove all the sticky tape that is still good because of the additional thickness.  I think the Black Jack would be much better.  I was originally not going to put the panels back on, but many people on the forum cautioned me because of the structural issues, I figured better safe than sorry.  Plywood, if tightly applied may have as much strength, or more than the original sheet metal, at least until it rots out, but I am not a mechanical engineer so I really have no idea. I figure there will be so much time and money in my conversion I might as well stick with what is known to work.

This coming weekend I am planing on sandblasting and painting the pass. side radiator tanks and side frames, so interior work will have to wait, unless I need something to due while the paint dries.  Good luck with her Mark, I look forward to seeing your progress.

[Tony LEE]

I must be thinking of a differant panel than you guys are referring to. Before my involvement in the board(didn't even know it existed) I built a MCI8 removed the sheet metal along wall where air and heat traveled up and exited just below windows. The bus didn't fall down or sag.I replaced it with 3/8 plywood screwed about every 6 inches. Ran coach for 7 yrs before moving on to another. seems to me the small pop rivits that hold it on would have sheared or egged out if there was any flex there.  Is the MCI 8 any differant in side structure than the 1978 MCI 8 I had?   confused   Bob

There were three layers - first the decorative panel, then the thin aluminium dimple plate - both of which aren't regarded as structural - and then a thicker sheet fastened to the stell frame. This is regarded as structural. Of course that doesn't mean some other sheet material can't perform the same function and in your case the plywood and frequent screws might well be as good or better than the original.

[Highway Yacht]

Awesome details and pics Mark... Thank You!!

[babell2]

Those Rivets with the steel pins inside them are in Aviation Cherry Lock rivets and are concedered structural.  If you look closely at the top of the pin at the inside of the rivet head you can see an extra lock ring that seats in the head around the pin and holds it in place.  These are used in places where a "bucked" rivet can not be used due to not being able to get to the back side to buck it or set it in place. Standard method to remove is just what the OP stated to do. After either chiseling or grinding the ring out Punch the center out and drill with either a #30 or #27 Drill to just remove the head and tap the rest out into the structure. I don't know how you get the tails out of the tube.

[bevans6]

"Punch the center out and drill with either a #30 or #27 Drill to just remove the head and tap the rest out into the structure. I don't know how you get the tails out of the tube."

I restored an old 1960's sports racer with a tube frame and riveted on aluminium floor.  I cut the front of the main chassis tubes off, and about 10 lbs of rivet bodies eventually got fished out.  the floor had been replaced a couple of times...  and several hundred rivets held it on!

brian