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Old 01-24-2017, 12:37 AM   #1
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are any of these worth checking out?

i know that comes down to preference.... so im asking your preference. all ive been reading through it seems like folks travel trying to find a bus and all these are right here miles away from me with 3 days left on the auction. im going to go down, inspect for rust and find exact motor ( in the description all theyre say is cummins diesel) theyre all at about 100-125k miles. i know you guys get a lot of these questions but as much as im trying to pick up.. im about to spend all my savings on the damn thing and dont want to screw it up.. and im on a time crunch if im going to make this work (had a great job, needed brain surgery, lost my job, lost most everything else... not about to spend the next 30 years trying to get it all back) any help is much appreciated. if anyone enjoys this scouting stuff i would be glad to paypal someone 50 dollars if they lead me to the bus i pick up. looking for the largest bus i can find and it will do lots of traveling. looking for beautiful land in tn to park it on and build around it...


http://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/bro...Submit4=Search

i just turned into the guys i hated in my poker forums...

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Old 01-24-2017, 05:20 AM   #2
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Doesn't hurt to check them out, and they are close to you!
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Old 01-24-2017, 05:51 AM   #3
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I keep telling folks who ask about buses to check those out.
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Old 01-24-2017, 05:57 AM   #4
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go for it, great engine tranny combos. them buses will go for at least 5 gran, prepare to bid in the last minute
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Old 01-24-2017, 06:00 AM   #5
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Yup, they're gona probably go up to four or five g's.
But a dealer would want a MINIMUM of 8-10 for one. Of course- the dealer will hold your hand and tell you how special you are for that extra money, though.
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Old 01-24-2017, 10:07 AM   #6
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Looks like Cummings ISC 8.3. Would be willing to bet they have the Allison MD3060 transmission. That's a good combo for a hiway bus. Was my first choice in a bus. They will probably go for over 4k
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Old 01-24-2017, 10:08 AM   #7
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All three of those are 24 valve 8.3 Cummins.

Look at the shifters in the first two. See if they have an overdrive.

I would suspect that the first two buses (the two TC2000s) have MT643s in them. They have 4.78 rear ends. The last bus (the A3) has an MD3060 and 5.38 rear end gears.

Expect the last bus to sell for a little more than the first two.
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Old 01-24-2017, 10:24 AM   #8
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Looks like Cummings ISC 8.3. Would be willing to bet they have the Allison MD3060 transmission. That's a good combo for a hiway bus. Was my first choice in a bus. They will probably go for over 4k
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Old 01-24-2017, 10:27 AM   #9
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Posted from my phone. Damn autocorrect !
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Old 01-24-2017, 11:56 AM   #10
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Definitely a pet peeve of mine too.
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Old 01-24-2017, 12:23 PM   #11
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Talking

Cummings 🤠
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Old 01-24-2017, 03:46 PM   #12
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Quote:
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All three of those are 24 valve 8.3 Cummins.

Look at the shifters in the first two. See if they have an overdrive.

I would suspect that the first two buses (the two TC2000s) have MT643s in them. They have 4.78 rear ends. The last bus (the A3) has an MD3060 and 5.38 rear end gears.

Expect the last bus to sell for a little more than the first two.
Educate me ... how do you know what rear end gear they have? Is it that all MT643's have 4.78's and all MD3060's have 4.78's, or is there something else that clued you in? Would be really cool to know what gear ratios buses have so when I do go shopping, I know what to look for.

Thanks,
Mike
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Old 01-24-2017, 05:16 PM   #13
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Educate me ... how do you know what rear end gear they have? Is it that all MT643's have 4.78's and all MD3060's have 4.78's, or is there something else that clued you in? Would be really cool to know what gear ratios buses have so when I do go shopping, I know what to look for.

Thanks,
Mike



Bottom left corner of the black data plate.

Blue Bird was nice enough to put the rear end ratio on one of the tags above the stairwell in their buses. I don't think any of the other manufacturers do that. As for the transmission/rear end correlation, buses without an overdrive were typically built with a faster rear end ratio. The vast majority of buses you see with an MD3060 behind the engine have a 5.38 rear end in them.
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Old 01-24-2017, 05:17 PM   #14
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He is correct! ^
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Old 01-24-2017, 05:30 PM   #15
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However, just because a bus has a rear that's faster than a 5.38, that doesn't necessarily mean that it isn't equipped with an OD. Mine has a 4.78 and an MD3060. But that is by no means common. The two TC2000s also have shift levers rather than push button shifters. That, also, doesn't necessarily mean that it isn't an OD transmission, but again it would be very rare to have that shifter on an MD3060. It was because of both the faster rear ends and the shift levers that I said I'd suspect they have MT643s. Still it's worth looking at the shifter when you go look at them to see if they indicate an OD.



Quote:
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He is correct! ^
Always nice to hear a little positive feedback! Thank you!
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Old 01-24-2017, 07:35 PM   #16
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looked at these this morning online

I too was looking at these this morning. They have a lot going for them from what I could tell. My question is I've read some of the RE are easy to "slide out" to work on them while others are harder. Does this type slide out fairly easily to work on? How can you tell?

I live too far away as I'd have to bid "sight unseen" and I'm just starting to learn what to look for. I would assume there will be NO RUST on these being in the Phoenix area (no salty roads and not much rain to leak in anyplace). They also have pretty low mileage (probably high hours) but I'm sure they didn't ever get much above 35mph by looking at google map satellite view of the area.

I'm assuming you know the engine by the looks (I did not) and the transmission by the rear end ratio? Is the 8.3 Cummins a good engine? The 5.9 would be easy to get parts for as I would assume it shares parts with the 5.9 in the Dodge pickups and a lot of stuff would be on the shelf at any NAPA but I would guess the 5.9 would seem a little underpowered in the mountains.

For me I'm thinking I might actually want a bus with a lift near the back to load motorcycles in a back "garage room." I actually hope to buy a bus before a move from Michigan to Wyoming in the next year or two as it will be cheaper than to rent a large U-haul. The lift would be good to get larger items into the bus (think gunsafes). I'd remove all but the front row seats (to help hold back junk if I had to stop quickly ie keep stuff from sliding forward and squishing me). After I move I think a skoolie would be pretty cool. Because of the dual uses, I need to think of both uses.

Anyhow, any answers to the questions above would be greatly appreciated as I learn what I should be looking for.
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Old 01-24-2017, 07:41 PM   #17
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5.9 is small and lower on power, can't be rebuilt in-frame. Have to completely remove it and tear it down and totally rebuild it.
8.3 is bigger and better and CAN be rebuilt without removing it.
To me the choice between the two is a no-brainer.
Unless you get lucky most Michigan buses are rusted out beyond much usefulness once they're retired.
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Old 01-24-2017, 08:16 PM   #18
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Michigan buses are rusted out beyond much usefulness once they're retired.
A Michigan Bus is not an option. I'm probably going to hold out for something from the Western States but Southwest is a bit far. I am not in a rush and just started learning. I have cash but also have a ton of time. In the mean time I want to learn all I can.
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Old 01-24-2017, 08:20 PM   #19
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Thanks a lot for the info guys, I'm afraid my money isn't going to come in until after this is done 2-4 days... but we'll see. I'll only have 4.5 got the bus so it may not even matter. Hopefully this isn't a rare deal I've found... do these come up often in az? I'll have 2k a month to put towards the project
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Old 01-24-2017, 08:21 PM   #20
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Quote:
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that is hilarious. Auto correct did that to me too almost didn't catch it
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