Making a 35 foot bus out of a 40 foot MCI 9 or 102

[Tom Y]

Yes 8 1/4" roof raise also. There was a reason for the 1/4" but I can not remember.

[mikelutestanski]

Hello      I have an 89 orion1 30 foot transit With a cummins   L10 b400r.   put the powertrain from another one in my mci 7.
  Anyway this orion bus is being converted . the roof will be cut off with the windshields intact and the dashboard.  I will raise that portion 16 inches .  THe new floor will be 14 inches higher covering the wheel wells.
    The bus sides are not straight so thats why i'm cutting the roof loose and replacing the sides down to the new floor. The width of the roof is 87 inches so I need to add 2 inches to each side to get the sides almost straight.  3/4 in 65 inches.
     most of the major problems have been worked out .  The roof is stainless and I need to peel back the edge to slip a new piece under it for the 2 inch extension.

   More on this stuff later. 
  To answer your original question take the plunge do the work.   just remember you will need some bushels of money to throw at the bus. Be not faint of heart...it will get finished... Make sure of your engineering expertese of find one. The monoque construction needs care to get it right where the seam will be.
   I have been thinking if there  is a next bus  for me; to take an mci combo and shorten it up to 32 feet.. put a  cummins in and see what happens..thats just a dream. this orion may be all thats left for me..getting on a bit.

    Regards  and happy bussin,,
     Mike 

[TomC]

If you want a custom RV, believe me when I tell you the truck route is much easier. Having the ease of the engine in front, all universally used industry items (I can still get virtually all equipment for my 1985 Kenworth-including the Cat 3406B [now a C]). I went the expensive route and had a box made. 32ft X 102 X 13'6" using 1.5" square steel tubing with 1/8" walls on 16" centers welded. At 40ft overall (I'm using a cabover) I can drive it anywhere and has tandem drives so probably won't ever get stuck. The empty weight before conversion was 28,000lbs-so no different than my 40ft transit. The conversion process has been MUCH easier than the bus. Now I can get going on it since I'm retired from L.A. Freightliner. Good Luck, TomC