Quote:
Originally Posted by Quest_techie
well I was sort of looking at them as a pallette, these are the basic 3 classes of bus I'd been looking at and I'd sort of been looking for anidea which class of the three would be best
thanks for advice
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I can tell you the Hall engine in the Crown bus reportedly gets about 2.5 to 3 mpg.
It says it needs a distributor and
if you could find one it would likely cost more than the asking price of the bus! Parts are all but impossible to find for those engines now.
The second bus could have been the best buy of the bunch...depending. They really didn't give enough specific information, like what model of engine it has. There was a thread on VIN numbers here so it's likely a lot of info could be gotten from that. It's an International S-1800 chassis and it could have had the DT466 engine. It's listed as having 56,890 miles; that's like new for a diesel. Government buses often had taller roofs as well. Depending on the engine/transmission model and what body it has I'd have gone to $3000 for this bus in a heartbeat (pending a look at the body for rust); $3900 is pretty optimistic.
The last bus looks nice but there are way too many unknowns and issues...which engine model, which tranny model, unknown mileage; and "does use a little oil", tires at or below 30%, cranks and runs good "for the model year it is" (what does that mean?). I'd take a wide path around this one; too many others available.
The best school bus for you is going to be the one that has a list of features closest to your list, with the least amount of problems for the least amount of money in the best condition possible. I know that sounds simplistic but we often get so wrapped up in details that we forget to go back to basics and look at the big picture.
IMHO, what you need to do is identify specifically what you want to do with your bus...how many miles will you dirve it, where will it have to be parked, how many folks do you have to accommodate, does it have to be an automatic, what service is available in your area and who's got the best reputation (that may narrow down the 'brand' choices), what roads will you want to be able to drive on (may determine length), how many days in a row will you spend aboard, what's your budget for purchase, what's your budget for repair, what's your budget for conversion, what's your budget for maintenance (a lube/oil/filter service on my diesel bus at the International dealer is $175); how long do you want to keep the bus, do you want to tow something, etc.
I think it's impossible to make an intelligent choice until you indentify your particluar needs. If you didn't do that when time to purchase a private vehicle and went to a car dealership you could drive home in a Corvette instead of a pickup; lots of fun maybe but that Corvette isn't going to tow your 32' fifthwheel trailer! And just like autos, once you identify your needs and rank them in order of importance the choices narrow down significantly; you get to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Anyway, these are just pointers and my opinions (good or bad!). It should be a fun process so just keeping looking till one really grabs you!