Looking at an MC-8...HELP

[EagleOne716]

Hello All:
Am a new member here on the board and have been lurking and reading. Great ideas and suggestions.
I am SERIOUSLY looking at a 1974 MCI MC-8 bus. It has been converted but I do not like how the owner did a lot of his conversion. I am unsure of his wiring (seems to have only wired for 110 shore power with no provision for generator (none onboard) etc. Will probably rewire from the ground floor. I am also not too happy with how he did his plumbing. Hey, I am a Virgo and retired military..am a bit anal on quality control.
I have been reading about MC-8 conversions and I am really worried about all the talk about rust. I looked over the prospective bus very carefully and did not see anything but surface rust but there could be underlying rust that I have not seen. Also, what about steering problems...I.E. conversion?
The price seems to be right on this vehicle ($10,000) so I am very interested but do not want to get stung. We are planning on retiring permanently in about 4 years and want to get something that will last. With 4 years to go, I have time to put into fixing the 'ol girl to what I want it to be.
Any suggestions/ideas on the MC-8???  Also, anybody in N.W. Missouri area that I could talk to/come to for assistance??? Kansas City or even Des Moines, IA area?  I am about halfway between the two.
Thanks all for your assistance. 
Eagle
(I know, I will probably have to change my name if I buy it but this has been my online name for ages) 

[makemineatwostroke]

You don't need to change the screen name I have a 60S in the bus now and still use the same name. The MCI 8 will rust on the engine cradle also look in the spare tire compartment and  behind the electrical panel behind door # 2 I bought 1 several years ago that was so bad I scraped it.Jack will give you a answer he owns ones

[roadrunnertex]

Well I do not want to throw cold water on your future MC-8 that you are looking to buy.
A old bus company owner once made this statement to me when I was looking for a bus that had a so called cheap/good price.
When you buy a cheap bus for X number of dollars you get a cheap bus or in another words you get what you pay for.
Also as MCI owners have found out the MCI's will have rust problems.
One person that you might talk to is Sam Caylor in Rantoul Kansas he has the corner on MCI knowlege as he sells used MCI parts.
He can be reached at 785-878-3405.
Better yet go by Sam's place and look at his shop and his parts buses.
All ways remember it buyer beware once you get it home it to late to say well I should have done or seen this before I bought it.
jlv

[makemineatwostroke]

That's funny Roadrunnertex mine was one he done the conversion on I didn't buy it from him but a individual

[jjrbus]

I have one of the most rust and corrosion free buses around. It's a 79 MCI Saudi model. Spent the first 10 years of its life in Saudi and then on the west cost tll I purchased it.  They told me to look under the D windows in the front,  sure enough one side had been replaced and the other needed repair!! 
When I gutted the insides, the upper rear framing members were rusty, it appeared that water had wicked in throught the upper marker lights and sat in the insulation and rotted the framing there.  There is a large plastic area inside so moisture did not show inside.
I was also told to check the front framing under windshileds, I had no problem there, solid as a rock!!
HTH Jim

[tekebird]

If it is reusty on the surface there is likely rust underneith.

Places to look.

1.the supports for the radiator Blowers

2.Rear suspension structure

3.sight down the side of the bus ( painted area) if it is wavey it is likely rusting on the inside

4.Check the fresh air inlets just aft of the steer on both sides in the painted area......rusty there.....likely rusty inside

10k is not a bad price, but don;t know what it looks like conversion or bus wise.

Like RRTex said, buy a cheap bus you generally get one....always exceptions to the rule but for the most part.

generally when you buy the cheap one...you either have alot of time or $$ into it before she is ready to roll safely.

My guess is that the 10k bus will cost you min 15k

[JohnEd]

Bird#1,

I think it is solid advice that you were given that cheap and good are almost always mutually exclusive.  On the other hand...... I will be visiting with a new friend today to help him with his "new" RV.  No this is one heck of an RV and has a really unique story/history.  Seems a older gent back in 73 was disappointed with the standard selection of RVs.  He decided to build his own from scratch.  He went down to the wrecking yard and bought a Dodge truck chassis for a starting point. He pulled the engine and installed an Olds 455 in it place.......(wait for it)......a 455 ci in Toranado trim and he installed it as a pusher with the engine backwards, off set and the drive shaft running forward along side the pan.  Differential is offset a smidgen and I can only assume he had the rear axles cut and lengthened to do that.  The ex is a couple feet of pipe with a glass pack in each and no cross pipe.  IT SOUNDS SWEET!  The entire front of the thing is a single piece of formed heavy gauge sheet steel and it is complex and looks factory from a step van but the seller said the original owner had "shaped the entire front end cap from a single piece of metal.  The sides are made from Winnie stuff that has corrugated alu glued to it and foam in the middle.  The interior is made from trailer type framing and the roof edges are rounded and follow curved sheet metal segments.  HAND MADE RV.

It gets better:  My friend called me over to look at the new box he discovered in "the corner".  It was the shroud of the rooftop Coleman AC unit.  I pulled it from the box and immediately noticed two things....it was unused/brandnew and it was stamped 1973.  Now the AC was dusty and funky but I guess it had never been connected or started.  He asked me to help with his stove as he hadn't been able to get it to light.  I lifted the burner cover and saw a in-line splice in the copper tubing but it was made with flared compression fittings and not ferrule's.  I told him those things are dangerous and you should have a clean run without splices.  I got the gas on and bled the lines and then lit the burner with a match.  The WHUMP that followed that match strike lifted the top cover of the stove and the "splice had 3 inches of flame coming out of it that the turning off the front burner didn't discourage in the least.  He tightened the splice that was loose.  I opened the oven to give that a try and found cardboard wrapped around the shelving and taped in place....brand new and never tested.   4 burners and an overhead oven with a built in ex fan.  Next we did the Dometic refer.  You guessed it....brand new with cardboard and tape everywhere.  Electric start water heater...new I think and the furnace was as new looking as you might expect for a unused unit that had sat in a RV since 73.

All the holding tanks are in and plumbing is almost finished.

Now for the punch line....he paid $1,000 for the thing and yes it needs finishing.  I think he has more than 2 thousand worth of appliances and I don't know what a Olds 455 is worth with less than 500 miles.

Moral?  Sometimes you get lucky so keep looking and above all "be careful".

John

[Busted Knuckle]

All good advice above! Especially about Sam Caylor of Caylor's Supply & Used Bus Parts. He's definetly a very knowledgable source for info, parts & service on MCI's! He even offers a special on the steering conversions! Good luck & enjoy! FWIW   BK 

[mccarlk]

i also think that good deals are out there , i just bought my 5a and there is no way i could have even got the kitchen area cupboards done for what  i paid for the bus , sure i will drop another 5k but will have a one of a kind conversion for way less than i could have built, just my 2 cents worth,   ken

[tekebird]

I agree some supurb deals out there, but the big picture shows more people digging a big hole rather than not when it comes to the cheap bus.

We have found 2 supurb deals, my 1975 MC8 Custom Coach conversion which has 160k on the ticker when I bought it
and a 1975 4108 that was converted professionally from new which had 70k on the clock

of course neither were 10,000.00 buses, but were turn key and basically NOS

[captain ron]

I got a sweet deal but was told by people on this board to run from it fast. 78 MCI 8 with a 8v92 DDEC and Allison 740A Atec  very little rust which I fixed and has given me 0 problems. Just look at all the issues it has and decide if your willing and capable or at least can afford to have someone deal with them.Good luck, it's a buyers market.

[Tom Y]

Eagle, Has the roof been raised? If so maybe some rust problems have been fixed. Did the inside walls get removed to convert? I have a 5C spent its whole life in AZ, it had some rust inside the walls but not to bad. Don't let these guys scare you based on price. Look for rust were Teke said and see if you can find someone to look at it with you. I have seen some nice looking 8s.  Good Luck  Tom Y