Eagles International Forum

That's some pretty amazing stuff, right there! Now incorporate that 'vacuum suck down' thing from an MCI into the other side of the door and you will have the tightest sealing Eagle ever!

Wow!!!
Bill

You might try using magnetic locks Wayne. Using a couple electric solenoids like they use on doors with a cam to pull them in could also be made to work.
BTW, your hinges look great. I used the same style but much cruder on my bus 15 years ago (about what K S had in BCM a while back).
Keep up the good work,Hal

Thank You all. Some sort of electric magnet or solenoid makes the most sence. The only time the lock is needed is when you are driving down the road. The problem I see is having it work when you open the door. Maybe a relay tied to neutral on the shift pad. When the trans is in neutral the lock is open. Or maybe tied to the park brake. When the park brake is set the lock is open. Any thoughts?

Thank You Wayne

Wayne, nice work on the billet hinges, very impressive. you might do some research on magnetronic locks, here you will find a starting point for your search http://www.magneticlocks.net/products.asp?cat=10" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
years ago back when the bank kiosk became all the craze, we were installing these as the primary lock for thge kiosk front doors (alum) so customers could gain access to the 24/7 teller machines. these were pretty effective at the time although the doors were not, doors were being ripped down by intruders but the lock and plates would remain in place after the may lay. good luck and lett us know what you come up with for the solution. Van

It would be simple to use a limit switch at the door handle to over ride the ignition switch. Of course you'd want the whole system disabled when the vehicle is parked. The tall 15 doors can use all the help they can get. Hal

Post # 12 Hydraulic Clutch
With the autoshift transmission you need a clutch to get things strarted. I am not the first to use a hydraulic clutch in a bus. After watching several people do the conversion I decided to use a hydraulic clutch from a Volvo truck. In a truck they did not use any sort of assistance with the clutch. In a bus the master cylinder and the slave cylinder are 40 feet apart and there is some line friction to overcome. I decided to use the air assist parts from the Eagle bus for my assist. This consists of a control valve and an air cylinder. The control valve is mounted between the clutch pedal and the master cylinder. The air cylinder is mounted on the master cylinder linkage. When the clutch pedal is depressed and resistance is encountered the valve will open letting air thru to the air cylinder and help move the master cylinder. I used a clutch pedal from a cabover truck (I don't remember the brand). I mounted the clutch pedal and the fabricated arms on a shaft that has bearings on both ends. I had to fabricate the arms to get the proper travel.
The master cylinder and the air cylinder are mouted in the spare tire compartment. The master cylinder moves 1 1/4 inches and the air cylinder moves 2 inhes. I mounted both cylinders on the same arm at different positions so both will have maximum travel. I could not find a mount for the slave cylinder so I fabricated one. I will use stianless steel tubing between the master cylinder and the slave cylinder. You can use rubber hose but make sure you use a hose that does not expand under pressure. If the hose expands it will affect the travel of the slave cylinder.

Clutch pedal and linkage
Control Valve Master Cylinder Air Cylinder and Master Cylinder Air Cylinder and linkage Slave Cylinder and mount

Nice work Wayne your making progress

Nice work. Pedal looks like an I/H

Looking good Wayne! I'm surprised you find the time traveling around the country to the Eagle rallies!