Newbie with some questions

[racermom]

I've been reading the boards for a while but decided to finally register today. I've been looking at getting a school bus to haul a sport compact to a local track. I have found two buses cheap but am unsure of which one would actually be better. One is a 1979 Chevy with a 366 gas engine and the other is an 1983 GMC with a Detroit Diesel in it. The 79 is a bout $400 more but both are in good shape. Is one engine better to go with versus the other?
Thanks in advance for any information!!

[madpsalmer]

It depends what your looking for honestly. Some folks love their diesels other their gas, for me I know gasoline engines so I bought a gas bus terrible gas mileage 5mpg but I know the in's and out's of the electrical and the mechanical working of my rig. My experience is gasoline are cheaper to work on. Again my opinion. I have towed with my skoolie with no problems so not sure it there would be a weight issue with what you need to tow. Might look into the tongue weight and trans type a bit more than worry about engine type?

[lornaschinske]

I vote for the DD but I also belong to the "diesel engines will handle high mileage better" school of thought. You can learn to work on an older DD. They aren't that difficult. the newer electronic ones are more difficult, just like the newer gas engines are. Any diesel mechanic should be able to work on a DD of that age.

I am biased. Our BlueBird is diesel. MPG is roughly 10mpg.