63 Wayne/International

[63Wayne]

Hello from British Columbia Canada

We have a 63 Wayne/International conversion we bought a couple years ago. We cannot find any information on this bus at all, we have spent hours on the net looking to no avail.

We need to replace the windshield and have exhausted all avenues there as well even went to the original manufacturer - problem is it is a tear drop windshield and they no longer have the mold. Any suggestions, ideas??

We believe the bus was built in Chicago, we purchased it in Calgary Alberta and think it may have been an army bus at one time and when they closed the army base that it was purchased and converted, we cannot locate the original owner and the second owner couldn't provide any info in that department.

If anyone has any information they can help us with we would be so appreciative.

Cheers

[Hex]

You might try checking some of the bus 'graveyards' and see if any of them would have a replacement that you could salvage. I know there's a list of bus 'graveyards' somewhere here, but I can't seem to find it just now ...

[RevBill]

WWW.WILLIAMSONSHEAVYDUTY.COM
I HAVE A LOT OF USED BUS PARTS SEND ME WHAT YOUR LOOKING FOR AND ILL TRY TO FIND IT

.. don't know them at all .. just ran across the add on Craig's List (of all places) .. can't hurt to give 'em a shot ..

[63Wayne]

Thanks for your replies and the sites to check out = we can't believe how "rare" this bus seems to be - no one let alone us seems to know anything about it. Happy Easter all!!

[61 Wayne]

I have a 61 Wayne International I bought. I haven't found another one like it! I need parts however. ...
Any luck?

[61 Wayne]

Pictures of when I picked it up

[cowlitzcoach]

The curved glass windshields for Wayne Type 'D' buses were few and far between in 1980. Our shop reconfigured the windshield mount on a couple of them so they could mount flat glass not unlike a Crown or Blue Bird windshield.

I could not even begin to guess where you might find replacements today. If the dealer couldn't get them when Wayne was still in business it doesn't seem very likely any new ones are available today.

[Mermaid73]

Hello! I have the opportunity to buy a 63 international, 33 ft bus . It's just down the road from my house, in driveable condition. Price is $2500. I'm not sure what the value is since there is no info anywhere on these things! Did you ever find a windshield? I also need one, if I go for this project. It's all new to me, not sure if I'm getting myself in too deep !

[cowlitzcoach]

Originally Posted by Mermaid73

Hello! I have the opportunity to buy a 63 international, 33 ft bus . It's just down the road from my house, in driveable condition. Price is $2500. I'm not sure what the value is since there is no info anywhere on these things! Did you ever find a windshield? I also need one, if I go for this project. It's all new to me, not sure if I'm getting myself in too deep !

Without seeing a picture and getting more info on a 1963 IHC bus I think I would be pretty gunshy, especially at the asking price of $2500.00. Now if it was $250.00, I would be willing to take a second look.

The problem with a bus that old is that everything on it is going to be old. It has been out of service at the earliest about 1968 and about the latest it would have been in service would have been about 1980. Which means that it has done a LOT of sitting since it was last in service. Unless it has been across the country multiple times I would be amazed to learn it has been on more than 20K miles since it was retired from school service.

It if is a Loadstar with a BD I-6 it is going to be pokey even on the flat. Even if it has an SV V-8 it isn't going to go much faster than about 55 on the flat. Many were geared to a top speed of 47 MPH. Parts and pieces are available for most IHC engines and they are pretty easy and straight forward when it comes to repairs. But if you don't resurrect one correctly you run the real risk of spinning the cam bearings out.

It most probably will need a full set of tires. Figure on low ball cost of $300.00 per tire or as much as $500.00 per tire.

If it has hydraulic brakes it will need each wheel cylinder service or replaced along with every flex line and probably even some of the steel lines. The master cylinder and hydrovac will need attention as well.

You may find the clutch is stuck so hard to the flywheel that it is impossible to get the clutch to release. If that is the case you are going to end up having to drop the transmission. At a minimum you will probably have to put a new slave cylinder in.

All I can say is if you can get it cheap enough it just might be a fun project. But at $2500.00, unless it has more than $2500.00 worth of stuff (gen set, new roof top A/C, new RV 3-way fridge, etc.), I would not give it a second look.

[Mermaid73]

Hi thanks for your response!
It has all new tires, an old propane fridge (not sure if it's three way but I'm guessing not) he drove it a couple years ago and it's been sitting since then. I believe it has a lot (200k?) miles on it. It's been converted so I think at some point it was being used. I know it is from Spokane (across the state from me and also where I grew up... who knows, maybe I even rode this bus, but that would have meant they used it up to 1978 minimum ) it's a pretty cool bus, I know it needs an alternator, it has a tiny hole in the radiator and a small exhaust leak. I have scheduled a mechanic to look but he's been a no show... twice

[cowlitzcoach]

If it is an IHC SV V-8 it will go and go and go and go as long as it has good oil in it and you don't get it hot. 350K-500K miles on one is not unknown. Just be aware that it isn't a speed demon. 55-60 is about as fast as you will ever get one to go regardless of the rear end gearing. You reach a point to where it just can't overcome the brick shape and won't go any faster. Drivability and reliability will go up a lot if you upgrade to electronic ignition and fuel injection. Bill Hamilton has a really great kit to upgrade an SV engine. Hamilton Fuel Injection

When the seller says the tires are new does he mean they are new and recently put on the bus or new as in very few miles on the tires since they were put on new? I have seen tires that looked brand new, they even still had the little nibs sticking out, that were more than ten years old.

Exhaust leaks on an SV engine is not that uncommon. The donut between the exhaust pipe and exhaust manifold tend to go to pieces over time and then they start to leak. It is an easy fix if the nuts on the studs come off. If they break off it can be a real PITA to get the studs out and replaced.

Radiator issues on a radiator of that size can become very expensive very quickly.

An alternator isn't very expensive but it might be a good time to replace the belts as well. Most of the gas powered buses back in the day had 70-90 AMP alternators. Upgrading to a newer design Leece-Neville that puts out 150 AMPS will help recharge a house battery bank while going down the road. Figure on upgrades and new belts in the $350-$500 range.

If the bus starts, runs, stops, and the house systems seem to work it might be worth the asking price. Just be aware that a rig that old is going to nickel and dime you in $100 bills quite often.

Good luck and happy trails!

[Mermaid73]

Hello. Thank you for your reply. I have decided against buying the bus, it's just all too much to do, since I can't even find a reliable mechanic near me. If I ever do buy one, I suppose I will do something newer. I hate car problems, it would drive me nuts dealing with that old bus I'm sure! I was looking at mci buses online, wow! But I have no plans in the near future, I just really fell for that old bus. I'm not prepared for it though, unfortunately

[Mermaid73]

I see that you are near me. The owner of that bus is planning to part it out. If you are interested, let me know, I can get you contact info