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Old 07-25-2019, 03:41 PM   #21
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Join Date: May 2015
Location: Central Tx.
Posts: 1,951
Year: 1999
Chassis: Amtran / International
Engine: DT466E HT 250HP - Md3060
Quote:
Originally Posted by Versatile View Post
Store it a farm etc to get a cheap rate. Go back to Tx and lick your wounds and think on it a month or so. Maybe farmers can set you up with a mechanic etc.
$14k is a lot of money to walk away from.

This to me sounds like really good advice.
Back in the mid 80's, my dad and I used to buy lots of used school busses and drive them from New Jersey to Honduras, central America where we would yank out the old gassers and replace it with a 354 Perkins.

I distinctly remember two trips where we blew an engine and what we did was find a cheap place to store the bus, continue our trip and come back a few months later with money, time and patience.

If you got the chassis you wanted at a fair price then I would strongly consider the option of putting it in storage somewhere. That would give you time to make the next moves calmly and hopefully get things done at a much better price than 14K.

Heck you even find a good used motor, freshen it up before you drop it in and restart your journey!

Best of luck!

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Old 07-25-2019, 03:48 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Versatile View Post
Store it a farm etc to get a cheap rate. Go back to Tx and lick your wounds and think on it a month or so. Maybe farmers can set you up with a mechanic etc.
$14k is a lot of money to walk away from.
Excellent response! with a little time to make arrangements, you could find a good used engine and somebody to install it at an affordable price. You don't have to do it all in a day, or make a rash decision.

You really don't have any legal recourse.
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Old 07-25-2019, 03:50 PM   #23
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Originally Posted by ewo1 View Post
If you got the chassis you wanted at a fair price then I would strongly consider the option of putting it in storage somewhere. That would give you time to make the next moves calmly and hopefully get things done at a much better price than 14K.

Heck you even find a good used motor, freshen it up before you drop it in and restart your journey!
Excellent advice, thank you ewo1, JustKip and Versatile...I'll look into doing just that!
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Old 07-25-2019, 04:48 PM   #24
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Don't know where you're stuck at in Arkansas but here's a listing in Little Rock for a DT466 and transmission. Then you just have to pay someone to swap it out.

https://littlerock.craigslist.org/pt...937893920.html

If you opt to walk away from it have you tried calling metal recyclers or scrap metal places that take auto's?
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Old 07-25-2019, 08:58 PM   #25
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Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Eustis FLORIDA
Posts: 23,764
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Freighliner FS65
Engine: Cat 3126
Rated Cap: 15
I've had a major failure and sold the bus. I'm glad I did the bus we have now is fantastic.
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Old 07-26-2019, 08:43 AM   #26
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I got the situation resolved...ended up going with option A. I ran a Craigslist ad in Little Rock asking for offers on the bus and a guy with access to a tow truck gave me $500 for it.

Thanks so much for all the words of advice and encouragement. This was an expensive mistake, but I'm grateful for the lessons learned.
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Old 07-26-2019, 09:55 AM   #27
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Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 6,995
Year: 2003
Coachwork: International
Chassis: CE 300
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I got the situation resolved...ended up going with option A. I ran a Craigslist ad in Little Rock asking for offers on the bus and a guy with access to a tow truck gave me $500 for it.

Thanks so much for all the words of advice and encouragement. This was an expensive mistake, but I'm grateful for the lessons learned.
Sorry to hear this, man. Better luck with the next one - unless the lesson you learned is don't get into this in the first place.
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Old 07-26-2019, 10:03 AM   #28
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Location: Lebanon, Indiana
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Coachwork: Winnebago
Chassis: Ford F53
Engine: Ford Triton V-10
Rated Cap: currently 2
Sorry for the financial loss this time but if you're still into it I hope this episode won't discourage you. Just know you are not alone!
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Old 07-26-2019, 08:54 PM   #29
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Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: E Central Tejas
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Year: 1998
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: IH 3800, 8 window
Engine: T444E w/ Spicer 5-speed MT
Rated Cap: I prefer broad-brims hats
Don't know if it can be made to fit. Looks to be a new/reman'd Cat V-8 engine, leave it to you gurus to choose which one...
$1005 ATM. Biding closes 31 July, 1 bid to date.
https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?f...50&acctid=3553
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Old 07-26-2019, 10:18 PM   #30
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Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Picton,Ont, Can.
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Year: 1997
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Chassis: GMC
Engine: Cat 3116
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Quote:
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Don't know if it can be made to fit. Looks to be a new/reman'd Cat V-8 engine, leave it to you gurus to choose which one...
$1005 ATM. Biding closes 31 July, 1 bid to date.
https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?f...50&acctid=3553



Pics show it only good for working at or below 1500m...no mountain goat


Heckuva nice job renewing visually. Better for a boat.



John
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Old 07-26-2019, 10:46 PM   #31
Bus Crazy
 
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Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: E Central Tejas
Posts: 2,094
Year: 1998
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: IH 3800, 8 window
Engine: T444E w/ Spicer 5-speed MT
Rated Cap: I prefer broad-brims hats
All I know about Cats is their litter box needs to be shoveled out every coupla weeks...
Quote:
Originally Posted by BlackJohn View Post
Pics show it only good for working at or below 1500m...no mountain goat


Heckuva nice job renewing visually. Better for a boat.



John
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Old 07-29-2019, 07:58 AM   #32
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Join Date: May 2014
Location: West Ohio
Posts: 3,678
Year: 1984
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: International 1753
Engine: 6.9 International
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BlackJohn View Post
Pics show it only good for working at or below 1500m...no mountain goat


Heckuva nice job renewing visually. Better for a boat.



John
It's a naturally aspirated engine, so the injection pump was timed and fuel setting was set for sea level usage. If you want high altitude, they simply reset the pump.

You'll lose power doing that but it won't smoke so badly at altitude. With only 150 hp means it's low powered compared to the 466 they'll be removing.

They should find something else.
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Old 08-07-2019, 04:07 PM   #33
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So which of you Arkansas skoolies just got a cheap project bus?


Sorry about your luck, OP.
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Old 08-07-2019, 05:38 PM   #34
Bus Nut
 
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Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: MONTANA
Posts: 471
Year: 1995
Coachwork: AMTRAM
Chassis: INT
Engine: DT466
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Any photos of the bus?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jacamar View Post
It could honestly go either way. The bus has an MT643 transmission, no rust, a high ceiling and 8 basement storage compartments. I'd keep it if I could get the engine replaced at a low enough cost, but I'm totally willing to walk away if I can find someone to take it off my hands.
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Old 08-07-2019, 10:17 PM   #35
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Posts: 271
Don’t bother trying to sue. You won’t get anywhere and the attorney will make money. Get a used engine for it. I needed a engine bought a used one and had it installed. I went with a 300 hp vs 250 and all is well. How much did you spend on the bus? If you dropped 10k in the engine would you still have a great bus or can you get another unit for $4-5k? Balance out the value and expense. My bus was under $5k and only had 145,000 miles. For
Me to drop $10,000 in it I would buy another good bus at Auction.
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Old 08-07-2019, 11:39 PM   #36
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Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: Mt Vernon, WA
Posts: 523
Year: 1996
Coachwork: Bluebird, Collins
Chassis: G30 Bluebird Microbird, E350 Shuttle Bus
Engine: 1995 Chevrolet 350, 1992 Ford 460
Find another and start a collection of parts buses?? If I had acres of land I would collect spares. I realize for most people this is not a practical option.
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Old 08-08-2019, 06:33 AM   #37
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Join Date: May 2009
Location: Columbus Ohio
Posts: 18,758
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Carpenter
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: DTA360 / MT643
Rated Cap: 7 Row Handicap
his bus is already gone, but its a good lesson to anyone to be observent when getting a bus.. spread the word that Navistar gauge panels fro mthe 90s were sopme of the worst ever.. most have failed at some point... or may be partially failed when you buy the bus..



my guess is the weather was hot and his fan clutch never engaged, tenp gauge didnt work so the bus got run till the coolant dumped in the oil and either tossed a rod or Spun a Main...



its a tough situation to break on the road where you are away from the abilityto take your time in getting things fixed.. even with a used engine he wouldve been at more than 5K to get it installed.. and then you have an unknown used engine from an unknown seller...



if time and storage unit arent an option than cutting it loose was his best option...



as to the seller scxrewing him? not really? maybe that seller never took off flat out on the highway with that bus.. so it never got hot enough to over-temp.. so the seller may never even knew the bus had an issue...

-Christopher
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Old 08-08-2019, 07:05 AM   #38
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Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Eustis FLORIDA
Posts: 23,764
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Freighliner FS65
Engine: Cat 3126
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Doktari View Post
Find another and start a collection of parts buses?? If I had acres of land I would collect spares. I realize for most people this is not a practical option.
We are working on getting some land in the next year or two so I can "collect" stuff like this.
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Old 08-08-2019, 07:21 AM   #39
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Hey I may be able to help I have lived in the Little Rock area all my life. Me and my brother both have skoolies and have been raised up in a family trucking business. You can give me a text or call. 501-516-5797
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Old 08-08-2019, 07:34 AM   #40
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Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Austin, TX
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KalamariSafari View Post
So which of you Arkansas skoolies just got a cheap project bus?


Sorry about your luck, OP.
No prob lol. The guys I sold it to turned it into a storage shed on wheels.
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