EIS nose skin

[camerod]

YES! I did perform a search before posting this and came up empty handed....

anyone out there intall a EIS nose skin yet? comments? quality?
obviously nothing beats OG ...BUT originals are getting nearly imposible to find that are worth using! I would love to hear about the over all fitment and visualy quality of the EIS panel if anyone has first hand experience. I would be installing one on a '67 double cab.
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DON'T SHIT WHERE YOU EAT!

[33 Willys]

Works for me! I have found that replacement parts...DON'T! Just about all parts require some fitting, pushing, bending etc. If you are replacing a bashed and rotted nose with an aftermarket unbashed, non-rotted replacement that requires nudging to get it right then it's all good.

[hugheseum]

its a bummer topic,but were very close to an interesting era where it makes no sense to replace metal with rusty metal......i almost responded to your wanted ad but then thought to myself....."yes i have a rustfree nose but theres going to be rust",its hidden in the lower section you cant see from outside


of course everyone has their own ideas of "rustfree" but when were talking about original sheetmetal theres no question theres going to be rust,its just how much isnt showing........and im afraid this goes for all regions of the globe,in fact the desert rusts just as fast as the pnw,anyone who disputes it is dreaming/disillusioned
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www.vintagemotorsportsor.com

looking for.....

-early or mid 52 bus wheels
-thru 53? bus hornbutton
-any pre 1930s era motorsycles absolutely any condition
-genuine dinosaur fossils

[mrfallon]

[Braukuche]

[splitpile]

[hugheseum]

i used to live in the desert too,it still has rust but its less pitted,like i said everyone has their own ideas of what "rustfree" means
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www.vintagemotorsportsor.com

looking for.....

-early or mid 52 bus wheels
-thru 53? bus hornbutton
-any pre 1930s era motorsycles absolutely any condition
-genuine dinosaur fossils

[Douglas Denlinger]

In the 25 years I've been fortunate enough to find buses in the desert of Arizona, most are VERY rust free. Considering Arizona only had 7 dealerships, not many buses were sold here to begin with.
Look at it this way, I have never had to replace a drivers side rocker, ocassionaly a passenger side rocker, never have had to replace belly pans.

As for the replacement nose skins, if the are anything like the nose skins that were available 15 years ago, they fit like dog@#$.

[splitpile]

[hugheseum]

sure,but even "dusty" rust is rust,and it grows,in the desert it gets cold at night and often forms condensation....which leads to rust

while i will admit that the desert cars have less rust,i would never consider them "rustfree" unless the were opened up to prove it

that said,if i found a "rustfree" (well most folks opinion of rustfree anyway) bus in original paint with no holes and its metal can handle a hearty tap from a hammer i wouldnt likely cut it open to see how much rust is in there,but if i was considering painting it i would definately open it up
_________________
www.vintagemotorsportsor.com

looking for.....

-early or mid 52 bus wheels
-thru 53? bus hornbutton
-any pre 1930s era motorsycles absolutely any condition
-genuine dinosaur fossils

[mrfallon]

ok, so everyones got there point across...now back to nose skins and whether eis suck or not! ?????????????

[splitpile]

[smokeybus]

I just finished installing the Klokkerholm one. It fit pretty good, but not perfect. With the side flanges lined up, the bottom was off 1/8" on one side. With the bottom lined up, the passenger upper flange ends up off a bit and there wasn't enough metal left to wrap around the seam. The only other issue was that the flange on the bottom was narrower than stock, so I had to grind down the flange on the inner panel to allow the bottom of the skin to bend under. Despite these minor issues it came out really nice and is 100x better than the rusty, dented piece of crap that was on there.

[65Nsqback]

[smokeybus]

Here's the panel in place. Pretty good fit overall:



The driver's side seam is pretty much right on the spot:



Passenger side is close, but will need a little bit of work to get the flange to be perfect:



Backside shows not enough metal to completely overlap and fold over the flange at the very top. I'll add a small piece here so it will look correct:



Bottom edge is about 1/8" narrower than stock. Hardly noticeable and will be under the bumper:



Overall pretty easy job and minimal extra work to make it perfect. I would use this piece again for anything but a concourse restoration.

[ekimikem]

[smokeybus]

Yes, that is my main criticism of this panel. The lower lip comes pre-bent to allow it to fold-over the flange on the lower nose panel. However, the bend isn't deep enough to fit over the stock flange. I considered banging the lip flat, then spot welding it and bending it over, but there wouldn't be very much metal left to bend. Instead, I ground down the flange that the panel sits on so it all fit together and I still had enough metal to bend under. Not quite factory, but close and no one will ever notice. If you were really anal about it, you could extend that lower lip a bit and keep the stock dimensions, but I didn't feel that the results justified the extra work on this particular bus.

[bherder]

Are there any other options besides the EIS skin or a donor?

[camerod]

Gerson said they will have their version available hopefully by the end of this year! I would wait if you can, I have not seen or heard any good feedback on the current available repops. 2 real options, wait for Gerson or find good used!
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DON'T SHIT WHERE YOU EAT!

[BarryL]

Either brand replacement, that looks like detailed work. I'd imagine anyone making that piece would find it difficult to be exact. How are they made? Good job.