Another long post, look at photos 1st. Then read all this. It will be easier to consume.
The radiator area turns out to also be a very severe rusted out area of my bus and I believe it is caused by using regular chlorinated water in the radiator because of the debris found in the radiator and also the serious motor mount framing area so badly rotted. Note, this area also is well hidden when covered with rubber in the bottom of the radiator.
Radiator removal from the bus frame was a real challenge as the radiator framing was so tightly built around the radiator that I had to use a jack to push out the radiator from its mounts. This was all I could think of doing, it worked but was stressful to do alone knowing how tight the radiator was surrounded by framing. The entire radiator weighs about 400 lbs. I think supporting the radiator on my floor jack as it came out of its resting place was nerve racking as I did not wish to do damage to this radiator any more than was visible. But little did I know what was ahead of me after finally removing the radiator from its frame.
The entire outer metal framing of the radiator was rotted with holes through it and just a mess. I decided to do more inspecting of the radiator and took the radiator core apart from the outer frame and found a cavity of calcium in the cores of the radiator so bad I could hardly core it out. I just knew this too would have to be replaced, Jesus! I called my friend in Florida, Dan, who lost his legs in a Eagle accident and sure enough he had another radiator and we just packed up and headed to Florida again to get one. At the time I could not find one for my bus anywhere other than Florida. Now things are getting tough, financially!! Think about it, nothing under $500 at a time for newer parts at any time for this bus. It does not take long to add up to something you want to lose track of because it is putting a strain on you desire to finish this bus, but you sure have a lot more to do Gary, a whole lot more and it is just now sinking in for good that you have purchased easily the worst Eagle bus to be born. What to hell did I do in life to deserve this mess. BUT, as stubborn as I am I just would never give up and haven’t yet!!
After removing the radiator I got so dam disgusted as i visually seen the very first time the main rail that houses the engine motor mount and this rail was 40% missing on the bottom and this rail was in such unsafe condition and with the weight of the engine and if it was running and vibrating surely could make the engine just tear out of the bus I believe. There was nothing, nothing on the bottom of this rail as you can see in photos.
There are cavities of serious rust in the bus frame in other areas of the radiator framing and it just took days of starting in disgust as to what in hell to do. I had no real clue so after feeling sorry for myself for days you might say, i started carving out all the old disgusting rusted metal and made a plan for rebuilding, like I had so many times in the past. I carved all this old metall out with nothing but a grinder and many, many grinding wheels. I had to support the engine as I carved out the main engine support framing and the thoughts in my mind were not good. I really, really got screwed good by being Naive and not having my bus inspected before purchase which is always “As Is”.
I purchased new 4” X ¼” square tubing for the engine motor mount frame and did what I had to do for the fitting of a new engine frame on the left side of the bus. I (Double Framed) as always the “A” frame support in the engine area and continued on to the main left hand support area of the bus engine framing. This took weeks to do alone, and so unsure of what to do but I had to use as much expertise as I could and just common sense to repair and replace all the framing that you see rotted out in the photos included here.
After many weeks of working at this repair job I finally saw light at the end of the tunnel. You will see how all my work is finally completed here and how nice it looks all put back together and painted to look pretty.
I also had to replace the support frame for the radiator and built this a little larger than the original so I could use shims to take up the difference when the new adiator was reassembled to the bus. This came out good and will make removal of the radiator, if needed in the future much easier from here on out.
I removed the original old Eagle air dryer from the back of the bus to the area where one of the 8D batteries used to be housed as seen in the photos. I now have replaced this air dryer with a more modern one, and more expensive again but more dependable than the ole Eagle one.
When I purchased the new radiator, or new to me, I took the entire radiator apart for inspection on the inside and cored it out by hand which was a real pain in the ass. I think there are about 300 individual cores to clear out by hand of any calcium or debris from using regular chlorinated water by the previous owner. I put it all back together using new gaskets and brand new stainless steel bolts and this was so time consuming but I believe I will never have to worry about again as I always intend to use only the best of antifreeze for 2 stroke engines and distilled water as well to mix to a 50/50 mix.
I fabricated a scalloped fin door to be placed in front of the radiator which is able to swing out from the bus about 6 inches allowing the curved fins to catch the cool air and force it into the radiator when I ever get to travel down the road.
Also in the newly left side of the bus modified battery door area is my new air compressor air dryer and in back of that is one of the two new fans I installed pointing at a 45 deg over the engine to blow any hot air over the engine out the back of the louvered doors I have enclosing the engine compartment which you will see in a later post.
This is the end of this post, so enjoy. More to come, believe me.