5 hours to do one light, seriously?

Today it was time to start the roof level amber marker lights. When I started, I did have a thought that I might get to do both of the roof level side amber markers. How foolish!

Climbing up the ladder with a pocketknife, the lens was easy to pop off the driver's side marker light. That revealed two crosspoint screws that were amazingly in good condition albeit rusty. That was where things began to go sideways - literally.

The first screw came out easily enough. The second one was at an angle so the whole light assembly was slightly bowed which probably accounted for the leaks on that side of the bus. Anyway, the assembly was removed and the area prepared with a brush in the pistol drill then primer then white paint.

The second screw broke the Milwaukee screwdriver bit. 

Fixing the crooked screws was the first priority so a new hole was drilled. That showed why the holes had been drilled as they were. The new hole was over a roof support beam. It was necessary to drill into that to put a self-drilling screw. There was no chance of putting a rivnut in that hole so the rivnuts were left out of the equation this time. 

Thinking about it, it was probably a mistake to use the hole because there's a slight gap between the roof skin and the support. It might have been better to shift the light half an inch up or down and forward. It might even have been a good idea just to put a steel plate over the existing holes and rivet that and to put the light in a different place. It only has to be as close as possible to the center. 

I'll have to revisit this light anyway because I forgot to include the foam gasket with which it was supplied. I might just unscrew it, slap some caulk between the light and the aluminium bracket and leave it at that.

Given the fact each light seems to come with innumerable issues that have to be resolved, these lights will take a while longer. I imagine the center light on the other side will be a complete day. The three at the front should be able all to be done simultaneously. 

Tomorrow should be the time for the second middle light to be changed. Following that it'll be time for the roof vent. Then the front 3 lights then the window plating followed by the last 4 marker lights that can be accessed from the ground. After that it'll be the 2nd battery, brakelines, tires and the wiper mount. Following that, some small internal wiring issues need to be resolved.