As someone who has driven just about every power package combination that has been put into a yellow bus I have some recommendations. 1. Dont even think about a gasoline powered bus unless you dont expect to drive it anywhere. The ones that got over 5 MPG also didnt go over 47 MPH. That later model ones that could get up to 60 MPH with automatic transmissions got uner 4 MPG. Ford 534 V-8 powered buses routinely saw fuel mileage under 2 MPG. 2. Stay away from V configuration engines. Not only are they more trouble prone but they do not pull hills as well as inline engines. Back in the day we had some rear engine Blue Birds with 250 HP turbocharged Cat 3208s and a some IHC conventional DT466 powered buses. On the flat the IHC buses couldnt keep up since they were governed to 57 MPH. But they always caught up and passed the Cats on the hills because the DT466s didnt slow down. 3. When it comes to engine brands it is best to stay away from Cat power unless you have deep pockets. They dont call it Caterpillar gold for nothing. 4. lways opt for the turbocharged over the non-turbocharged engines. They continue to pull even at higher elevations. 5. Surface rust is okay. Anythink deeper than surface rust isnt worth messing about. For what it would cost to repair you can go get a rust free bus from the west or southwest. 6. Look for a bus with luggage compartments. They tend to be speced with more highway friendly gears than those that dont. Regular route buses are great for regular routes but I cant tell you how many I have driven that had top speeds of 47 or 57 MPH--it takes a LOOOOOOONG time to get anywhere when the top speed is only 47 MPH. 7. Look for a bus with 12 window openings. Those buses will have the 77-78 headroom. The buses with the 9 window openings tend to be as low as 72 headroom. All IC buses since about 2003 and all Thomas C3s have had 12 window openings, 12 window openings are still optional on Blue Birds. All Crown and Gillig buses had minimum of 78 headroom stanard. 8. IC/IHC or Freightliner are great chassis under a Type C (conventional/dog nose) bus. Both companies support their product. You can still get parts to fit Loadstar and Fleetstar chassis from the early 60s. While Reo, White, Mack, Studebaker, Dodge, Ford, Chevy, and GMC made great chassis back in the day finding parts for them can become very difficult. When Lee Iaccoca took over Chrysler part of the agreement was that they would get out of the medium and heavy duty truck business. They sold all of their OEM parts and you just cant get some of those parts and pieces for any price unless you have them made for you. The same thing happened when Ford sold off their medium and heavy duty line to Sterling. And when GM stopped making their medium duty line they also stopped making parts. I have some customers who own GM medium duty chassis buses that are less than 10-years old that they cant get parts to fit. Many times when you see classic sheetmetal up front it is on top of a modern truck chassis. 9. If the choice is between a bus with great rubber or a bus that is better mechanically that has almost worn out tires always go with the bus that is better mechanically. You can spend $3K-$10K for a transmission and $7K-$15K for an engine if they munch. A set of tires will cost around $3K. And usually, if it takes you a while to complete your conversion, the tires that were good when you purchased the bus have rotted out or have gotten flat spots. 10. Always ask if you can have the maintenance records. Most of the time you cant get them but if you are lucky you just might be able to get them. Good luck and happy trails.
Posted on: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 13:33:31 +0000
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