Ok, so it’s not a Civilian, but Don & Marilyn from Queensland, when raising the roof on their Mazda T3000 have created a Civilian look-alike roofline. :-) Raising the roof of a bus is quite a daunting process for many who need extra ceiling height, often farming the job out to professionals. If you’re looking for more headroom maybe after checking these pics out you might decide to save yourself the cost of paying someone else & give it a go. Cuppa Hi Cuppa , We bought the bus from Caloundra , we live north of Brisbane. It was a kindergarten school bus . We bought it from some people up there that were going to convert it but gave up before they started. RAISING THE ROOF I started by removing roof lining to find main structure , the strength of the bus. After finding this I decided to cut out the main centre section of the roof without cutting into the main structure. Cut it out with a 4" angle grinder and an oxy set. I bolted a lifting lug in the centre of the roof and connected it to a block and tackle on an an overhead gantry to lift and support the cut out roof centre section. I then made support legs out of 20mm square box steel, had a few goes to get the angle right. Once that was worked out I made 10 of them , slid one end into box sections on the original roof and the other end sat into main section of the bus . When all square and lined up , welded them into place with oxy and mig welder. Now the roof was raised but had no sides. For this we used plywood; easier to bend and shape than metal unless you have all the equipment to do this. So I then became carpenter & worked it out eventually. To seal gap's I used Sikaflex ( good stuff ) . After nearly giving up many times wondering what had got myself into to, I’m glad now I didn't give up. I sealed the plywood and undercoated it with 2 pack primer ( not painted yet ) Now for the interior , NEXT CHAPTER !! Regards Marilyn & Don Raising The Roof inspiration for lovers of angle grinders!
Contact Marilyn & Donmailto:harbour_lights@optusnet.com.au?subject=Cuppa500.com%20:%20Raising%20the%20roofmailto:harbour_lights@optusnet.com.au?subject=Cuppa500.com%20:%20Raising%20the%20roof.shapeimage_4_link_0
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