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Old 05-05-2016, 06:46 AM   #21
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Originally Posted by cadillackid View Post
I still really dont understand the Hate for the AT545.. when i was driving busses all across the country as a teenager in the mid 80s.. wouldnt those have likely been 545s? at least the brand new Bluebirds?

my last bus was a 545 with a 454 engine that I beefed up and never exploded the transmission...

I think after seeing all the ceiling downing pics and tales of rivets.. I believe I have made the decision to leave my ceiling UP in my bus.. lolol

-Christopher
If you drove a 643 you'd know the difference. I've owned em both and if planning ahead why not get something better?

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Old 05-05-2016, 07:24 AM   #22
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Originally Posted by EastCoastCB View Post
If you drove a 643 you'd know the difference. I've owned em both and if planning ahead why not get something better?
if my 545 gives me problems im just going to drop a 1000 in it, crank up the DT360 a bit and instant new drivetrain...

also in a shorter bus it may be less of a burden than it is in the bigger busses.. so I'll say that.. a lot of my recent experience with 535s has been in shorter (lighter) busses..

-Christopher
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Old 05-05-2016, 08:51 AM   #23
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In it's day, the 545 was one of the best autos around and damned near bullet proof. They remain probably the most common auto on the planet and are in use all over the world. The only real issues are the limited number of gears (no OD) and the fact that they lack lockup which makes for spooky downhill runs and sucking a lot more fuel than more modern units.
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Old 05-05-2016, 09:24 AM   #24
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In it's day, the 545 was one of the best autos around and damned near bullet proof. They remain probably the most common auto on the planet and are in use all over the world. The only real issues are the limited number of gears (no OD) and the fact that they lack lockup which makes for spooky downhill runs and sucking a lot more fuel than more modern units.

i agree wit hthat.. I just wonder about every single person that comes along being told "OMG DONT TOUCH THE 545!! it'll be your death!"..

yet for some it may be no big deal.. the guy building a tiny home that plans to drive his bus 3 times a year. . or the person that builds a camper and takes it to the lake every weekend 20 miles away would probably have absolutely no issues with a 545...

no to the 545 to the person who is going to drive their bus to their favorite Mountain campsite 150 miles away every week.. or plans to run all over the place.. ( wait thats me and i have 545..)..

someone should explain what it is good for and what its not good for rather than just tell everyone its worse than the 1982 cadillac HT-4100

as far as bulletproof I never blew it up in my last bus and I had taken the wrenches to the 454 gas motor in that bus... I squealed the tires in that bus

-Christopher
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Old 05-05-2016, 09:34 AM   #25
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Are you using a bit on the air hammer or a hammer and punch?
The second one in this set is what I've taken out the mandrels with on at least a couple thousand rivets with and it could easily do a couple thousand more.
That's the same set I've got. I grind about a 1/4 inch long mandrel sized tip on the punch, otherwise the mandrels weren't pushing through and I was just making a lot of noise. After that the chisel bit takes the rivet off pretty quickly.

Yeah, I probably need to get some Marvel Mystery Oil to put through the pneumatics before they get put away.

It's actually going pretty well now that I've got some method instead of just madness. My ceiling panels don't look as tore up as some of the recent photos on other threads but they're never going to be pretty and smooth again, and re-installation of the panels doesn't sound reasonable. I really don't mind the metal ceilings and walls in a bus and if there were a good way to insulate without removing the metal I'd do that. I'm just not that into aesthetics. Functional utility over aesthetics.
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Old 05-05-2016, 11:12 AM   #26
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The bluebird and internationals I've de-riveted have been done on the one punch bit the way it came out of the package. About one in every ten to twenty didn't punch all the way through, so I used a hammer and punch for those.
I use some air tool oil before use, it keeps the tools happy. What kind of compressor are you running and what pressure are you running?
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Old 05-05-2016, 11:15 AM   #27
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Originally Posted by cadillackid View Post
i agree wit hthat.. I just wonder about every single person that comes along being told "OMG DONT TOUCH THE 545!! it'll be your death!"..

yet for some it may be no big deal.. the guy building a tiny home that plans to drive his bus 3 times a year. . or the person that builds a camper and takes it to the lake every weekend 20 miles away would probably have absolutely no issues with a 545...

no to the 545 to the person who is going to drive their bus to their favorite Mountain campsite 150 miles away every week.. or plans to run all over the place.. ( wait thats me and i have 545..)..

someone should explain what it is good for and what its not good for rather than just tell everyone its worse than the 1982 cadillac HT-4100

as far as bulletproof I never blew it up in my last bus and I had taken the wrenches to the 454 gas motor in that bus... I squealed the tires in that bus

-Christopher
I never said the 545 was "death" or anything.
But I just don't see the point in settling for one. There are MUCH better transmissions so why not discuss that?
I agree for folks going short, easy distances theres no problem. If hitting mountains or long stretches of interstate are in the plans, why not get something much better suited to the task?
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Old 05-05-2016, 11:34 AM   #28
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Originally Posted by EastCoastCB View Post
The bluebird and internationals I've de-riveted have been done on the one punch bit the way it came out of the package. About one in every ten to twenty didn't punch all the way through, so I used a hammer and punch for those.
I use some air tool oil before use, it keeps the tools happy. What kind of compressor are you running and what pressure are you running?
Maybe my punch is fatter or something. It wasn't even pushing them an 1/8th of an inch. I grind a short mandrel size tip and it pushes them out, but it does snap off probably from metal fatigue after about a row. The good part is with this modified punch I can do a row of rivets now in about 20 minutes. That doesn't say much for the 3 1/2 rows I spent two day learning on.

I tried it the way you suggested, but wasn't able to get the rivet to let go until I pushed the mandrel about a 1/4", then the rivets would pop right off. The holes are stretching out pretty good though as the back of the rivet pulls through.

I have a 40 gallon compressor that runs at about 125. It's been doing well and I never have to wait for it to catch up. Actually the compressor has to wait for me to catch up. It takes a little practice and a lot of coffee.
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Old 05-05-2016, 02:55 PM   #29
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MMMmmmm Coffee

You have me intrigued, try to show us some pics of your rivets.
Even with my pancake compressor my lowes bits and air hammer take out even crusty corroded rivets and mandrels.
Once I got into a rhythm and got rid of my headache, I got the rivets out of Sheila's Bluebird in about an hour. That was even taking a cigarette break.

I'm thinking maybe you have rivets with MUCH smaller mandrels than my Ward or Sheila's All American came with.
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Old 05-05-2016, 05:06 PM   #30
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These are the first interior rivets I've removed. I doubt they're unusual, but it sure is some hard steel in the rivets. The panels seem pretty soft. By time I got good at it, I was tired. I'll get back to it as soon as I work on a couple other projects that are more pressing at the moment. By hook or by crook, I'm going to be warmer next winter. It could be from insulation or it could be from a big pile of firewood. Propane is for noobs. If I put an interior in this bus, I mean van, I don't want it exposed to that much moisture.

We're having some funky weather. Gets up to 90 then goes back to the high 30s, but then I am in the coastal mountains. I've had to get my winter clothes back out twice already.

I'll take some pics. There's still rivets caught in every nook and cranny.
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Old 05-05-2016, 05:24 PM   #31
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I had screws, and my Ridgid 18V lithium battery impact. I had all my panels out of the bus in about 2 hours. Would have been sooner, but there were those few that I had to grind off bc the heads stripped out on them.

I think I have about a 3 gallon plastic tub full of the screws. I plan on using them for other metal applications, if I raise my roof......
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Old 05-05-2016, 06:44 PM   #32
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Those screws are a lot more useful than the rivets that are laying around my bus.
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