Lights or no lights remove or paint

[caeastwood]

How many out there just painted over the lenses of the overhead lights or did full on body work and covered the holes and made them flush? Got a Thomas short bus and it would be a fiberglass job.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by caeastwood

How many out there just painted over the lenses of the overhead lights or did full on body work and covered the holes and made them flush? Got a Thomas short bus and it would be a fiberglass job.

I'd just remove em.

[ermracing]

We have removed all 8 on our bus in order to get it inspected. However we plan to reinstall the back 4 and wire them up for flood/backup lights with white lenses. The plan for the front is to plate the holes from the back and fill in the gap to make it all smooth.

[caeastwood]

Plan to run lights both front and back. Going to tie at least 1 into the reverse light. Thinking about a led lightbar on front and side for campsite.

[weboughtabus]

Originally Posted by caeastwood

How many out there just painted over the lenses of the overhead lights or did full on body work and covered the holes and made them flush? Got a Thomas short bus and it would be a fiberglass job.

If you have fiberglass endcaps the lenses might not go through. On my Corbeil the lights are flush mounted on the outside, so I just have screw holes and holes from the electrical to fill. I'm going to use a trick I found on a boating website to patch the holes. You take cover the outside with packing tape, put some mesh drywall tape on the inside and then gob the whole thing full of epoxy. The mesh and the inner glob help keep the plug from falling out and the packing tape gives you a pretty good starting point on a clean, flush outer surface. I'm also going to be spray foaming the caps, so that'll provide additional support to the plug to keep it from getting pushed in.

[caeastwood]

This is what I have.

[o1marc]

I would remove them to paint and then reinstall if keeping them. My front yellows will remain turn signals on the front and the red ones will get replaced with bright driving lights. Same on rear, bright back up lights.
I'm leaving all my eyebrows.

[Dead pirate]

I covered them with diamond plate

[Native]

Welded then bodyworked ours.

[caeastwood]

The body there is fiberglass. Prob. Just glass it in.

[FamilyCircus]

I pulled them and but fiberglass panel on the inside with Epoxy and will fill in the holes with Bondo, I think the lights are ugly.

[EastCoastCB]

Heck yeah. I think they're also illegal in many places.
I like school buses but I like to get as much of the school stuff off em as I can.

[Dead pirate]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

I like school buses but I like to get as much of the school stuff off em as I can.

The day i primed over that yellowwas a great day.

[Elliot Naess]

Seems to me... we are wise to make our buses look minimally school bus and maximally RV.

On Millicent, I removed the school lamps, and riveted in place one sheet metal panel that covers the full width. The photo shows it installed and painted, and I finished it off with new marker lights.

[FuzzWantsABus]

Originally Posted by ermracing

We have removed all 8 on our bus in order to get it inspected. However we plan to reinstall the back 4 and wire them up for flood/backup lights with white lenses.

I did this front and back with 7" white LED lights from Amazon. I've wired them to a simple switch, and will use them as flood/backing lights. I haven't had a chance to use them yet, but after wiring and testing, I think they'll work fine.

[Pizote]

I will be keeping all lights and adding more. I will run all of the "special" lights off a "Parade Mode" power bus so that they can only be turned on in "Parade Mode" - here in the states. SotB, I will turn them all on to fit in

[REDD]

Filled mine in as well, cut patches and welded them in.

Then found a fiberglass sun visor off a 1989 K100 Kenworth cab over.

[Blueman]

I kept my lights. They're both amber in front and red in the rear. I'll be replacing the bulbs and rewiring them so I can use them as clearance/turn signals. REDD I really like what you've done. Ive never seen that before. Looks good

[o1marc]

Speaking of lights, mine on the 99 have a base with a single socket and what looks like a standard 1156/1157 build. I pulled these off the 87 BBAA, they are a sealed beam. Something tells me they will be a better option. If they are I'll run them on mine, but they require a bigger hole in the sheet metal to mount them.
Anyone have this type in their bus?

[Iceni John]

Originally Posted by Elliot Naess

Seems to me... we are wise to make our buses look minimally school bus and maximally RV.

On Millicent, I removed the school lamps, and riveted in place one sheet metal panel that covers the full width. The photo shows it installed and painted, and I finished it off with new marker lights.

Like Elliot, I put a single piece of aluminum all the way across the front of the front roof cap to cover the original red flashing lights there. I used 3M 5200 adhesive to bond it on - if it's strong enough for underwater joints on seagoing yachts it should work on a bus! The rear red flashers are now repurposed as extra high-mount brake lights that work when the fog lights are switched on.

John

PS - Elliot, that's one neat rivet job you did. I like how all your rivets line up perfectly - little things like that say a lot.