Building Comfort Eagle (1986 Gillig Phantom)

[Seriousracer]

The vent is spring loaded and opens out

It is the drivers Ac.

[dan-fox]

Yeah; the bent piece of metal pipe at the outside of the piece is the handle. Grab-push-pull; all it does is open a hole in the bus to let air in. My 61 Econoline van had the same setup.

[ComfortEagle]

Originally Posted by Seriousracer

The vent is spring loaded and opens out

It is the drivers Ac.

Originally Posted by dan-fox

Yeah; the bent piece of metal pipe at the outside of the piece is the handle. Grab-push-pull...

Thanks guys, so do folks use that vent much?

The driver side windows open both ways...

I could insulate and build over it...

[Juicifer]

Yeah, you've got me thinking too. With the two fans, and massive driver's window, does the driver really need that additional vent? It might be nice to insulate it. Then again that's part of why I'm choosing to hang a big heavy curtain behind the driver's seat and make the driver's area more of a "mud room." I'd have to tear out everything up front to effectively insulate it, and I've still got the massive windshield, huge driver's window, and big door that just can't really be helped.

So mine will stay, but I think yours can go

FWIW I tried the push/pull, two hands, couldn't get it to open, and if my driver's seat was still installed, how would I even get down there and why would I want to?!

[cadillackid]

that vent comes in handy in the winter.. part of it may be piped through the defroster.. (on many busses it is)...

in summer I completely close and cover all my outside vents and just run the Air-Conditioner to stay cool(A/C is a better defogger than those outside vents)...

your driver window wont bring in much air.. it will create more of a negative pressure on your bus.. if you have front engine it will tend to suck sucj heat in from any cracks of the doghouse... if you arent going to run A/C, id keep that vent.

-Christopher

[ComfortEagle]

Originally Posted by Juicifer

Yeah, you've got me thinking too. With the two fans, and massive driver's window, does the driver really need that additional vent? It might be nice to insulate it. Then again that's part of why I'm choosing to hang a big heavy curtain behind the driver's seat and make the driver's area more of a "mud room." I'd have to tear out everything up front to effectively insulate it, and I've still got the massive windshield, huge driver's window, and big door that just can't really be helped.

So mine will stay, but I think yours can go

FWIW I tried the push/pull, two hands, couldn't get it to open, and if my driver's seat was still installed, how would I even get down there and why would I want to?!

Originally Posted by cadillackid

that vent comes in handy in the winter.. part of it may be piped through the defroster.. (on many busses it is)...

in summer I completely close and cover all my outside vents and just run the Air-Conditioner to stay cool(A/C is a better defogger than those outside vents)...

your driver window wont bring in much air.. it will create more of a negative pressure on your bus.. if you have front engine it will tend to suck sucj heat in from any cracks of the doghouse... if you arent going to run A/C, id keep that vent.

-Christopher

Got mine to open and close, seems to be in working condition, adds value, I will be keeping it.

[jimburke77502]

HA!! My 95 step van has that. Push the bar forward, air comes in from the front. Pull the bar, and it acts like an exhaust when you're driving down the road.

[ComfortEagle]

Originally Posted by jimburke77502

HA!! My 95 step van has that. Push the bar forward, air comes in from the front. Pull the bar, and it acts like an exhaust when you're driving down the road.

Mystery solved...

[HappyInTN]

LOVE THE CAKE REFERENCE!!! Like Beck or Radiohead... one of the very few consistently cool veteran bands.

[ComfortEagle]

Originally Posted by HappyInTN

LOVE THE CAKE REFERENCE!!! Like Beck or Radiohead... one of the very few consistently cool veteran bands.

Dude, who is Cake? That's right; I am calling you DUDE...

[ComfortEagle]

FWIW, I started a separate "Dashboard/Cockpit" rehab thread here. I am trying to break some of the work up into separate threads and will summarize overall progress here, whatever...

Here is a pic of the finished cockpit area floor.

[ComfortEagle]

I have finally started the process of removing and re-sealing all those big beautiful Gillig tinted window. This is a big deal for me because once I get the bus weathertight I can finish prepping the interior, and then on to the build.

I am currently removing the passenger side upper and lower exterior window trim; many of the fasteners were already stripped or would not budge, and had to be drilled out...

Here is what I found under the upper trim. It looks pretty bad, but I did not find any rust thru. I hope to get a sanding disc on these spots this weekend.

[Juicifer]

Hey Rick,

As you know, my experience was almost identical when I pulled off that rain gutter.

While I believe it is salvageable, like the dash it is just not a great design and execution. If I were you, or anybody else converting a Gillig Phantom I would at least consider some kind of upgrade/alternative solution.

I've put plenty of work into getting my rain gutter sealed up and functioning, and I can tell you that it is currently preventing water from touching the tops of the windows, and that water is not getting trapped behind it contributing to rust again, but for how long that will last I'm not sure. I'll stay on top of that. For me, I wanted the stock bus, and I wanted to do less work.

But I used larger screws with a hex head to reinstall it, and regardless that gutter collects leaves, it pools and holds water, it traps pollen, and gets dirty. In a heavy rain, it doesn't function quite right and water pours off the sides in some locations. One of the places it's supposed to pour off all of the rain is right onto the edge of the front step! WTH!

I can't think of a good reason for a gutter, and something like the Bluebird "eylashes" protecting the windows, would be a preferable solution.

Just some food for thought. Good luck this weekend!

[ComfortEagle]

Originally Posted by Juicifer

Hey Rick,

As you know, my experience was almost identical when I pulled off that rain gutter.

While I believe it is salvageable, like the dash it is just not a great design and execution. If I were you, or anybody else converting a Gillig Phantom I would at least consider some kind of upgrade/alternative solution.

I've put plenty of work into getting my rain gutter sealed up and functioning, and I can tell you that it is currently preventing water from touching the tops of the windows, and that water is not getting trapped behind it contributing to rust again, but for how long that will last I'm not sure. I'll stay on top of that. For me, I wanted the stock bus, and I wanted to do less work.

But I used larger screws with a hex head to reinstall it, and regardless that gutter collects leaves, it pools and holds water, it traps pollen, and gets dirty. In a heavy rain, it doesn't function quite right and water pours off the sides in some locations. One of the places it's supposed to pour off all of the rain is right onto the edge of the front step! WTH!

I can't think of a good reason for a gutter, and something like the Bluebird "eylashes" protecting the windows, would be a preferable solution.

Just some food for thought. Good luck this weekend!

Justin, it sounds like you harbor a good deal of resentment against those rain gutters...

I will be re-using the crappy rain gutters too, but I agree, not a great design.

I removed my first window (the broken one) yesterday afternoon, and took it to the local glass shop. All the "glass guys" were out on jobs, so I'll have to wait until Monday to get a quote to replace the glass and replace the old worn out rubber.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Juicifer

Hey Rick,

As you know, my experience was almost identical when I pulled off that rain gutter.

While I believe it is salvageable, like the dash it is just not a great design and execution. If I were you, or anybody else converting a Gillig Phantom I would at least consider some kind of upgrade/alternative solution.

I've put plenty of work into getting my rain gutter sealed up and functioning, and I can tell you that it is currently preventing water from touching the tops of the windows, and that water is not getting trapped behind it contributing to rust again, but for how long that will last I'm not sure. I'll stay on top of that. For me, I wanted the stock bus, and I wanted to do less work.

But I used larger screws with a hex head to reinstall it, and regardless that gutter collects leaves, it pools and holds water, it traps pollen, and gets dirty. In a heavy rain, it doesn't function quite right and water pours off the sides in some locations. One of the places it's supposed to pour off all of the rain is right onto the edge of the front step! WTH!

I can't think of a good reason for a gutter, and something like the Bluebird "eylashes" protecting the windows, would be a preferable solution.

Just some food for thought. Good luck this weekend!

I like the lip edge of the Amtran/IC design best.

[Twigg]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

I like the lip edge of the Amtran/IC design best.

The rain gutter on the Thomas is not an add-on piece. It's a continuous part of the roof so there really is nothing to leak.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Twigg

The rain gutter on the Thomas is not an add-on piece. It's a continuous part of the roof so there really is nothing to leak.

same with the ic.

[ComfortEagle]

Originally Posted by ComfortEagle

I removed my first window (the broken one) yesterday afternoon, and took it to the local glass shop. All the "glass guys" were out on jobs, so I'll have to wait until Monday to get a quote to replace the glass and replace the old worn out rubber.

I got my window back today; $120 to replace a single pane of glass... The glass shop wasn't interested in doing any restoration work on the windows so I'm on my own, which is fine with me.

I went ahead and pulled out the rest of the passenger side windows; had to grind off a bunch more fasteners.


No rain in the short term forecast but just in case.

[Juicifer]

I'm having a wild case of deja vu right now. Get it done Rick!

[thjakits]

ROOF RAISE!!

YOU are right there - and you will be happier later!!

Cheers,

thjakits