| Author | Message | ||
| Christopher Goodwin (Cgoodwin)
Registered Member Username: Cgoodwin Post Number: 99 Registered: 10-2005 Posted From: 70.56.157.202 Rating: N/A |
I had one of my emergency windows propped open while loading my bus for a trip, I needed to pull the bus forward about 6' and when I did, the wind blew, a tree limb slipped under the edge of the window knocking the rod holding it open to the ground and as the window fell closed one corner cought the limb, this glass twisted and shattered into a million pieces. Determined to go on my trip I drove to a plastic supply business and cut a sheet of 1/8 plexi to fit the hole, stuck it in with a couple of tec screws and hit the road. The point of the story is NEVER move a bus without everything being secured and that I am looking for some replacement glass. I need one of the emergency windows from the passenger side of a Neoplan cityliner or spaceliner.... My email is chris@frybrid.com so if anyone knows where to locate some glass please let me know. Neopart shows one in stock but can not find it and I know a lot of these windows have been removed in conversions over the years... | ||
| Leland Bradley (Lee_bradley)
Registered Member Username: Lee_bradley Post Number: 15 Registered: 11-2006 Posted From: 138.163.0.36 Rating: N/A |
Too soon, too soon. I will be pulling the center window but not this soon. Good Luck, Lee | ||
| Christopher Goodwin (Cgoodwin)
Registered Member Username: Cgoodwin Post Number: 100 Registered: 10-2005 Posted From: 70.56.157.202 Rating: N/A |
Lee, Any Idea when you will have it available? I am in Boise Idaho now but will be returning to Seattle next week. I cut some plastic so I am not in immeadiate need but do need to locate one so I can sleep! Chris | ||
| marvin pack (Gomer)
Registered Member Username: Gomer Post Number: 67 Registered: 3-2007 Posted From: 76.4.136.26 Rating: N/A |
curvedglassdist/bus.com is the place that I find a lot of glass and they sell to all | ||
| Leland Bradley (Lee_bradley)
Registered Member Username: Lee_bradley Post Number: 16 Registered: 11-2006 Posted From: 138.163.0.36 Rating: N/A |
Chris, I don't expect to start re-skinning until this winter. | ||
| Christopher Goodwin (Cgoodwin)
Registered Member Username: Cgoodwin Post Number: 105 Registered: 10-2005 Posted From: 70.56.157.202 Rating: N/A |
curved glass does not have it, tried that already. Lee, If the coach is not in use I could make a 5052 aluminum .080" blank to replace the window and even come and remove and install the aluminum in the window hole and seal it up.... I'd even bring you a box of chocolates.... As for the reskinning; are you doing anything other than the windows, like side skin repair? If so maybe we should plan a Neoplan skin party this winter. I will be doing some re-skinning on mine and have a secure yard in Seattle and a mobile shop with an air riveter, shear, chop saw. TIG and MIG, lights, heat, etc. and best of all, the yard is behind one of the largest metal fab shops in Seattle.... We will be back in Seattle the weekend of the 10th but are hoping to make a trip to the coast for my birthday the week of Sept 10th and I sure would like to have a window in place. | ||
| Sean Welsh (Sean)
Registered Member Username: Sean Post Number: 628 Registered: 1-2003 Posted From: 67.142.130.11 Rating: N/A |
Chris, Check with Russ Barnes in Nashville. He is parting out his Skyliner and he also has a bunch of parts from one of the KSC Megaliners. You can find him over on the Spaceliner Yahoo group. As for your speculation that many of these were removed during conversions: I don't think so. First off, the vast majority of Neoplan conversions were done professionally (Marathon did 17, Pegasus did a dozen or so, and a couple of smaller converters did one or two each). These coaches were ordered new as "shells" with only the glass that was needed -- the other "windows" were skinned over at the factory. My bus came this way, for example. The ones that were converted later often had glue-ins removed, and glue-ins have a tendency to shatter during the process. Your best bet will be to find a carcass someplace, such as the KSC coaches now scattered around the country, or the one Russ bought. As you already know, neither Curved Glass nor any other aftermarket supplier carries glass for these coaches. If you do find one, please let the rest of us know about it -- we're always looking for parts. When you close those emergency exits, make sure they are fully latched. Otherwise, passing trucks will suck them right out and you will experience even more breakage. We've opened our emergency exits only twice since the conversion was finished (all the glass was out during conversion), to load furniture in and out. Otherwise, they stay sealed shut. FWIW. -Sean http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com | ||
| Christopher Goodwin (Cgoodwin)
Registered Member Username: Cgoodwin Post Number: 107 Registered: 10-2005 Posted From: 70.56.157.202 Rating: N/A |
I am in contact with Russ Barnes already and have spoken to several converters who have removed windows, (you neglected to mention Walker Coach) unfortunately they have all been long since destroyed. I have been speaking with a company here in Idaho which still has 13 Cityliners in service, another guy in Wa. running 5 in service and a company in Oregon running 3. It seems that there are quite a few Cityliners in service and Neoplan Gmbh in Germany has reissued the "Cityliner Classic" which is nearly identical to my bus except the bumpers and upper front glass, the side glass is the same. While Curved Glass and others do not have the glass, I have found several companies who can cut and form the windows from Lexan or Poly-carb for a very reasonable cost, this my be a better option in the long run for both weight and longevity. I built special latches for the windows to insure that they are locked when closed, the original system was pretty lame and I need to be able to open mine when parked, it was a lot of the reason I decided on the bus to begin with and a personal prefference which is not on the table for alteration, for me the windows will always be open when parked unless it is below 65 or above 80. | ||
| Mark R. Obtinario (Cowlitzcoach)
Registered Member Username: Cowlitzcoach Post Number: 146 Registered: 4-2001 Posted From: 204.245.250.15 Rating: N/A |
You might try TLC Towing in Ridgefield, WA (360-887-1606). They used to have a Neoplan that they were going to try and convert into a mobile incident headquarters. Since it had a lot of issues, mostly electrical, I think they gave up on the project. The last time I saw it, the bus still had all of the glass intact, including a plexi top windshield. Good luck. Mark O. Castle Rock, WA | ||
| Sean Welsh (Sean)
Registered Member Username: Sean Post Number: 631 Registered: 1-2003 Posted From: 67.142.130.37 Rating: N/A |
Chris, Walker Coach has never converted a Spaceliner or Cityliner, AFAIK. Sam Walker is a pathological liar, and if he told you he had some, I would call that information "suspect". He has a lot of great pictures of Neoplans on his web site though -- pictures he took at NeoPart in Honey Brook of buses that were not his. (He did have a few Neoplan transits at one time, but they have different glass.) Lots of information about Walker in the archives (or just go down to the courthouse). I did mention that there were several smaller converters who did one or two buses each. Polycarbonate (including Lexan) and acrylic windows are certainly an option, but they carry their own set of problems. Specifically, they craze over time, and can become more translucent than transparent. (We had an acrylic upper windshield when we got the bus -- it was terrible, and we sprung for a real glass replacement early on.) Of course, they will be cheaper than glass, and more durable. Also, you can have them made with sliders and screens in them, thus obviating the need to open the windows via the emergency mechanism. You are smart to have additional latches if you intend to open the windows this way. Just bear in mind, these windows are engineered to be opened and closed "several" times during their lifetime, not hundreds or even dozens. We've already broken off one of the latch handles (the plastic handle had become brittle over the years). FWIW. -Sean http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com | ||
| Christopher Goodwin (Cgoodwin)
Registered Member Username: Cgoodwin Post Number: 108 Registered: 10-2005 Posted From: 70.56.157.202 Rating: N/A |
Mark-- Thanks I will follow up on that lead. Sean-- There are photos as recent as last friday on the site at http://www.walkercustomer.com/NLC_7001.htm so it seems that they are doing at least one in house. I see your point about Lexan or Acrylic. The findges are extremely stout, the latches a joke (by design). I was planning to equip my window frames with gas charged assist cylinders to hold them open, I reinforced the frame in 6 spots where they are held together and built the mechanism I just had not installed it yet. If you like I can send you working drawings of the additional latch system. I did not mean to imply that you were intentionally misleading me about there having been smaller converters, either you misintrepreted my post or I am misintrepreting yours. To be clear, I am not challenging you abotu your Neoplan knowelage. | ||
| Brian Elfert (Belfert)
Registered Member Username: Belfert Post Number: 36 Registered: 7-2006 Posted From: 209.98.146.235 Rating: N/A |
That picture of the gold conversion on Walker's site was stolen from Music City RV's website. Music City was trying to sell a "Neoplan" for months or years that was determined to be some other German brand. Btw, who the heck uses sheetrock in a bus conversion? Heavier than heck and I would suspect it will crack with the vibration. | ||
| Sean Welsh (Sean)
Registered Member Username: Sean Post Number: 632 Registered: 1-2003 Posted From: 67.142.130.20 Rating: N/A |
Chris, Yes, he has one German Skyliner (still not a Spaceliner or Cityliner, as I said) currently in his shop. AFAIK, that's the only German Neoplan he has ever had. I'm not sure it even had any glass in it when he got it, as it was pretty much a rusted hulk. Honestly, I don't know how the guy continues to do business. One of these days, they'll either put him in jail for good, or an irate customer is going to cap him. As far as the drawings for your latching system, they are too late for me, but, please, go post them over on the Spaceliner group. I'm sure someone will find them useful. -Sean http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com | ||
| Christopher Goodwin (Cgoodwin)
Registered Member Username: Cgoodwin Post Number: 116 Registered: 10-2005 Posted From: 71.212.78.253 Rating: N/A |
OK, I have been in contact with Russ Barnes but his glass seems to be 69" in length, mine is about 61 1/2" and 32" tall. Does anyone know if this glass is specific to the cityliner or is it shared with other Neoplans.? Does anyone know of a cityliner being parted out? TLC Towing in Ridgefield no longer has the bus and sold it complete.? | ||
| Sean Welsh (Sean)
Registered Member Username: Sean Post Number: 655 Registered: 1-2003 Posted From: 67.142.130.38 Rating: N/A |
Hmmm... When I order side windows for Odyssey, which is a Spaceliner (and takes the same glass as a Skyliner), I order Cityliner windows. But they are "1.9M" windows, part # ed2203021. That said, there are two different sizes. IIRC, the 12-meter (~40') coaches take longer glass than the 45' coaches. (The shorter coaches have five curved windows per side, the longer ones six.) My windows are about 74" long (each long side, not accounting for the parallelogram) by about 36" tall, measured around the curve. Neoplan calls this a 1.9-meter window, and the other size is a 1.7-meter window. It sounds like you have the 1.7M windows, which would be around 66" (outside length, including the frame, or overall length for glue-ins). Is your coach a US-built (Lamar, CO) 45' model? -Sean http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com | ||
| Christopher Goodwin (Cgoodwin)
Registered Member Username: Cgoodwin Post Number: 117 Registered: 10-2005 Posted From: 71.212.78.253 Rating: N/A |
No mine was built in Stuttgart and is a 40, it has 6 windows per side, 3 opening, 3 glued in. Either way the addition of 5' (60") to the total length of the bus could not account for an additional 1.7m (66.25") window could it??? Here is a photo of my 1985 Neoplan Cityliner  As you can see there are 6 trapazoidal windows, 3 opening 3 not, the 2nd, 4th and 6th goping front to back open. Mine is part # EF2203023-001 and is 1.7 meter or 66.25" as opposed to the 1.9m or 74.80" glass. In addition they made double pane, single pane and glue in glass.... I think that unless I find another German built Cityliner with single pane glass I am out of luck. | ||
| Sean Welsh (Sean)
Registered Member Username: Sean Post Number: 656 Registered: 1-2003 Posted From: 67.142.130.36 Rating: N/A |
You're right -- the US 45' coaches must have six 1.9M windows per side. This was really built in Stuttgart (as opposed to Pilsting)? I know that Auwaerter was headquartered in Stuttgart (hence the Stuttgart coat-of-arms in the middle of the steering wheel), and listed a Stuttgart address on the builder plate. But I did not think they built this model there. (If you can send me the VIN, I can tell for sure.) -Sean http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com |