Cockpit Removal and Upgrade

[phorner]

Hey Joe, if ya like the lights go with them!!

I guess us Liberty owners like them 'cause we've never seen the inside of a whorehouse.......never needed to !!

[Petervs]

Gee, cabinets with panel thickness exceeding 1.5 inches, any wonder these coaches are heavy? Might be a little more wood than you really need there.

Hey Joe, how about backing up and explaining what kind of coach you started with, you know, the rest of the story? I do like seeing your project progress.

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Peter it is ours a 40ft Hickox, 86 XL. It was originally converted as a VIP charter floor plan. We are opening things up a little.

There are thicker walls in this bus. Combine the bathroom lower cabinet, the wall dividing the bathroom and the kitchen, and the lower kitchen cabinet on the other side of the wall, all 3 constructed of 3/4 in ply. 2&3/8 thick! ( side note: all 6 sides completely laminated regardless of the fact it is buried!

When we first got it I went down in there with a forstner bit to enlarge an existing mechanical chase.

Iy yi yi.

Here is today's progress. All the tops are still in the process of being tweaked but they are getting close.
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I wanted the drivers seat to be as comfortable and natural in the front room as it is a drivers seat. This is one option and it works well.
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[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Joe, I think they laminate on all 6 to keep warpage down. Do the same on your shelves!

JIM

[lewpopp]

Joe,

I did away with the shelf that swings forward where you put your feet over. The thickness of the wood didn't allow much storage except for a flashlight or so. I made a swingout piece that sits on the dash and swivels out for my drinks and lunch. Works great. It also opens up the entrance area that always seems conjested.

I think without the forward swing you could use the large cabinet for a place to eat when you have friends. Can you swing the front seat 180 degrees with the forward cabinet?

Now for a question. How dificult is it to pull the instrument panel off the the upholdsterd part. I want to recover that and really don't need too large a can of worms. Are ther a few bolts behing the dash panels? I should look myself, but I'd like a heads up for a problem.

[Darrell McCarley]

LEW...........When you replaced your entry steps, what did you use for the edge of the first step? I have the white rubber that I installed from Prevost but would rather have a polished stainless steel edge for the first step. I remember that you were looking around for this part several months ago. Do you know where I can purchase the stainless steel entry step edge?

[Joe Cannarozzi]

I transferred patterns of the tops to wood. I have used the 1 inch stuff that used to be the wall. I did 95% of the cutting on the table saw and 5% with a jigsaw. The final will be with a belt sander and a large medium file.

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We are going to laminate the tops with a wood veneer. I like burl, Debbie has not committed to anything yet
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[Alek&Lucia]

Joe,

Nice work !
You will have your bus ready by the Oysterfest Rally, right ?

Alek

[phorner]

That's really lookin' good, Joe. Quite a difference from the original setup!

[tdelorme]

Joe, your looking great. You are going to need this company just any day now.
http://www.pro-dec.com/