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Old 02-06-2019, 11:47 AM   #41
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I was going to say, the best way to remove the ceiling panels is to buy a Thomas bus with screws
I thought Thomas was rivets like a BB? You need an International.

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Old 02-06-2019, 12:10 PM   #42
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I thought Thomas was rivets like a BB? You need an International.
Both of the Thomas's that I have worked on have used screws on the interior panels. The Bluebirds were rivets.
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Old 02-06-2019, 12:12 PM   #43
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I thought Thomas was rivets like a BB? You need an International.
Mine's a Thomas Vista. Most of the Thomas busses I've seen were screwed- literally, not figuratively.
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Old 02-06-2019, 01:23 PM   #44
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Min e is also a vista the the ceiling is all screws. Every Thomas I've seen was screws but to be fair that's not a huge number of buses and roughly all the same vintage.
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Old 07-13-2019, 10:56 PM   #45
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thanks for the vid, got my ceiling down madd quick like an hour doing this
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Old 10-08-2020, 12:54 PM   #46
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Hi everyone, I’m currently in ceiling rivet hell on my BB and wondering what I’m missing here. Please help!
I’ve watched the golden ticket BS bus video but am having nowhere near the luck he does with the air chisel. I’m running an 8 gallon compressor and the chisel seems to have enough oomph (this is my third air compressor to get the oomph). Have been trying to keep the chisel sharp but maybe it’s not enough? Maybe half of my sturdy steel rivets will punch almost all the way through, while the others stay stubbornly in place. Chiseling takes me 4 minutes per rivet right now, if it comes out at all. Took a good several hours for half a panel to come loose. 😭 That can’t be right! What else can I try here??
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Old 10-08-2020, 05:15 PM   #47
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You absolutely have to punch out the center pin on the rivet. I used a pointed air chisel that I ground down into a perfect sized punch that fit the inner diameter of the rivet. Once that gets punched out the head does come off. When you sharpen your flat chisel, take more out of the backside that rests on the roof metal so you don't have too much of an angle meeting the head of the rivet. I swear, I love having rivets. Sure got them off quick if not quicker than the YouTube video. My wife was on cleanup duty on rivet heats scattered about!

Let me add that you wear gloves while doing this. I kept my fingers in between the chisel point like a cue stick. Put the point on the center of the rivet, Push hard before firing up the air hammer to help prevent it bouncing around. Wear safety glasses too as it should be a given. Once you get the hang of it, you'll be a pro.
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