raising the roof

[hargreaves]

so we began the project of raising the roof of my MCI 102a3 today.  here are a few of the progress pics as of tonight.

the coach as it began in the morning




the raising bracket assembly that we fabricated




after the cut was made and roof was raised slightly




this is me raising the roof.  on a side note the brackets worked flawlessly






here is a couple of my buddies lending a hand




here it is raised the 8"





here is the filler section tacked in place







and that's it for today, more progress pics will be posted as the project continues

[FloridaCliff]

Nice Work!

That was on of my many favorite projects on the bus.

I made my lifting brackets a little different, but I like yours better.

Keep up the good work and looking forward to more updates.

Cliff

[Tom Y]

Looking GOOD!! You need to tell me how to post the big pics to. Well maybe I'd be lost.  Thanks Tom Y 

[TomC]

Now that is a very cleaver way of doing the raise.  I'm glad to see that those threaded rods were strong enough to keep the roof from moving or falling on its own.  Lot's of work ahead!  Good Luck, TomC

[captain ron]

Nice project and pictures.  I wish I had taken pictures of mine.  I like your jacking method it's rather ingenious. The way I jacked mine up was I built 4 beams that spanned across the bus and 2 sat on the window sill that runs the full length of the bus. I put one up front and one in the rear. Then I set 4 jacks (1 at each corner) on them then put the other beams on top under the roof frame. I put square tubing in the existing channel that fit perfectly. This was done on 4 corners of the bus and kept the roof from moving in any direction but up or down.

Good luck.

[boogiethecat]

Oh I know the look on your face VERY well!! 

[grantgoold]

Hey, is that toilet already installed?

[coachconverter]

Looks great, we need some "pull-back" shots, to see what you're doing with the front cap and around the windshields.  I know the logical places, but would like to see what it looks like floating in air!

So worried were you that the roof might shift to one side or the other and bend that allthread right over with it? 

Nice pictures, I wish I would remember to take them more often.

Todd

[hargreaves]

todays progress


removing the old front cap




with the old front cap removed.  i still have to fabricate the new support structure due to the difference in cap shapes and heights




my son and i lifting the new front cap into place for a test fitting.






here's the cap in place before the cuts are made to the exact size







also welded in some new supports for the windows as they will be raised by 4".  couldn't get those finished as the wlder ran out of gas.  tomorrow's projects are to get those all finished and grow the balls to actually make the cuts in the new front cap to make it the exact size.

[ea187]

wow, the roof raising is impressive but what i'm more impressed with is that you can get your son to help you work on it.

[jackhartjr]

Buddy, let me tell you and I'm sure everyone else will agree...you don't need to grow bigger balls...with what you have done so for...you already got 'em!
Jack

[jjrbus]

Not too late.  Its a good idea to cover every piece of glass and plastic that you don't want to replace with carboard, wood, something to stop the sparks from welding, cutting and grinding. Its hard to belive but the sparks from a grinder can melt into a glass window. The sparks can also leave a nice mess to clean up on stainless.

[hargreaves]

Thanks for the pump up Jack I needed it.  I never even thought about the windows. the windshields are being replaced but the drivers and door windows aren't. todays project get gas and more welding. It's raining so the caps will have to waitand I can remeasure AGAIN!!.  Gerry

[jackhartjr]

One of Chazwoods post reminded me that I may want to take all of the glass out if I even have a chance of breaking it.
Since a lot of my glass is made from unobtainium or "Yougottobekiddingmeium", you best believe I will!
I meant to say something about the glass when I saw it...at least jjrbus did.
Jack

[boogiethecat]

Yeah, I found out the hard way welding with my Crown's windshields still in.  Those little sparks really love to stick to glass and make a mess of it.  Ya know how much that one cost me?

OUCH

Good reminder!!!!!

Looks like a great job and I wish I were there to help! Raising the roof is my most favorite fun part of it all!!

Cheers