1975 Crown

[Rawlings]

Hi guys, my wife and I are planning on purchasing our bus for conversion we have read that Crown Bus are like the most sought after bus. We have seen one that is available for sale for $10k Below are the details and I am attaching some pictures

"Crown
$10,500
Peyton, CO
thanks for opening the door. we have a mid engine 1975 Crown Bus for sale. needs finishing. in Falcon Colo. Runs great Drives great. $10,5000 vin 37367. 140,000 miles. 270 hp 855 cummins w/ fuller 5sp.. rockwell rear. 12k front w/ 22k rear. air brakes. 232" w.b.. at some point of her life with the school district she was converted to a mobile work station for the kids. by Richwood Custom RV & Van out of Lakeside Calif.. she sports interior carpeting, lighting, plug ins, padding, window coverings, head liner, 2 roof mounted A/C units, (that blow cold. however the covers an exposed fins are damaged by hell), a Onan 980cc model 7nhmfa26105h marquis 7000 gen set w/ 702 hrs on the meter. guessing a 20-25 gal gas tank. power converter an 100 amp service panel in trunk compartment. back up alarm, 11x22.5 fronts, 12x22.5 rears..found rust on front panel both sides above door an window (shown in photos). pretty neat history kids names in rear of bus. comes with extra parts- 2 turbos, instrument cluster panel, 2 alternators, fuel injection pump, air compressor, an a vickers power steering pump.. everything works as it should, even the radiator shutters. have tried to cover all the good/bad. would certainly suggest a full service prior to a long road trip. please check the photos. questions just yell. gary added up date... the title for this old gal is Colorado. titled as a 1975. an under body type it is (MT). meaning Motor Home.. colo. title abbreviations for MT = a vehicle built on a truck chassis and designed to serve as self-contained living quarters for travel..
i will install new batteries. Less"

seller also responded to my email : "tried to give good an bad in the add description. do try start every 1 to 2 months. she does have a light smoke on cold starts until temp comes up. clean otherwise. she runs an drives great. pretty sure the miles are correct. 140k.. i suggest she will need a service prior to multiple miles to be on the safe side. i will attempt to send photos. have lost this do to to many or to much. will try again. "


Do you guys think this is a fair value? Thoughts and ideas appreciated.

We see it has carpet and the inside looks very clean, would we have to remove carpet and sides and re-insulate? Or do you believe these buses are very well insulated?

[o1marc]

Not sure $10k is a good price for that, even as desirable as a Crown may be. It's 43 years old and we are used to paying $2500-$3000 for bus 20 years newer.
The insulation in it was not meant for living in it in extreme conditions.
that said, I do like the looks of that bus, but not $10k worth.
Looking closer at the details there are some things that bring the price up, but then I saw the rust holes in the front cap and makes me wonder where other rust is hidden. Normally heavy rust issue is a " run away from this bus" deal.

[Twigg]

Originally Posted by o1marc

Not sure $10k is a good price for that, even as desirable as a Crown may be. It's 43 years old and we are used to paying $2500-$3000 for bus 20 years newer.
The insulation in it was not meant for living in it in extreme conditions.
that said, I do like the looks of that bus, but not $10k worth.
Looking closer at the details there are some things that bring the price up, but then I saw the rust holes in the front cap and makes me wonder where other rust is hidden. Normally heavy rust issue is a " run away from this bus" deal.

Crown are not your regular school bus.

They are proper Class 8 vehicles, and in good order are easily topping 10k.

[Rawlings]

Yeah I see some rust in the pictures on the exterior guess would need to take out the carpet and see the bottom for better assessment so you guys think 10k is high?

[Rawlings]

Originally Posted by o1marc

Not sure $10k is a good price for that, even as desirable as a Crown may be. It's 43 years old and we are used to paying $2500-$3000 for bus 20 years newer.
The insulation in it was not meant for living in it in extreme conditions.
that said, I do like the looks of that bus, but not $10k worth.
Looking closer at the details there are some things that bring the price up, but then I saw the rust holes in the front cap and makes me wonder where other rust is hidden. Normally heavy rust issue is a " run away from this bus" deal.

Yeah I see some rust in the pictures on the exterior guess would need to take out the carpet and see the bottom for better assessment so you guys think 10k is high?

[Twigg]

Originally Posted by Rawlings

Yeah I see some rust in the pictures on the exterior guess would need to take out the carpet and see the bottom for better assessment so you guys think 10k is high?

Well it depends on the extent of corrosion underneath. Crown have virtually all aluminum panels, so the skin should be broadly fine. Small areas can be fixed easily.

The frame rails are made from 125000 psi steel, not the 50000 most of us have so if it has some surface rust underneath, it will still be good.

You could have a diesel mechanic look it over, or a Crown expert, but to me the price seems fair especially given all the extras.

[M1031A1]

Pros: You're getting more than JUST a bus, you're getting spare parts in the deal. Most buses don't come with spare parts. The value of those parts can easily make the $10K price easier to swallow. This bus was used in an environment where kids took it easy on the bus so the service life was gentle.

Cons: The reason why they include those spare parts is due to the fact most of those Crowns are now made up of unobtanium..... Unobtanium is an extreme rare earth material seldom found even with due diligence. Just keep that in mind. The only benefit is these buses were designed to last more than 50 years with regular maintenance.

Just my two cents.....

M

[Coamack1]

The 855 Cummins and the Fuller transmission are worth almost half the asking price in my opinion. I have worked on 855's with closer to a million miles that ran great. Not great on fuel economy but dependable. These engines do not like to idle for long periods of time and the turbo will weep oil making it appear as there may a major oil leak. This is fairly normal for these and once cleaned up and driven the turbo drooling will subside. The smoking at start up is typical of a mechanical diesel that is tuned to run efficiently at operating temperatures not so much while cold. I don't personally know much about the Crown bus itself and have never even seen one in person but I think they are a great looking bus.

I just checked Ebay and the 855 heads are selling for $375 refurbished and in-frame rebuild kits can still be purchased for less than $1500. So as far as the engine goes parts availability is still great. I can't speak for the rest of the Crown as I have no experience with them.

[PNW_Steve]

Here is another crown for sale to give you some comparison:
http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f14/78...ans-21793.html

[Crown_Guy]

If you relish the idea of tearing apart a Crown full of Gulmite fasteners under all that pretty carpet to see what the insulation might, or might not be, then by all means give this one a try. If you don't know about Gulmites then you might not be ready for this. Santee is located just East of San Diego and is very balmy. I bet there wasn't very much insulation installed. Crown added insulation as the customer requested. I've seen everything from literally none, to lots and lots. Those spare parts are nothing special, it's all readily available today. That's what makes Crowns so special. Off the shelf common heavy duty truck components still in use today. That's pretty bad rusting in an area known to get normal rust problems. Whats the history of this before the current guy got it? did it spend time in snow and salt country?? I know Peyton/Falcon CO. and that's not what I would consider a really bad area. The engine may seem fine, but if you're not real ready to ride in that rodeo, you might wonder what this guy may know and why he's so interested in selling it. Most Crown owners wouldn't want to part with their baby's without very compelling (maybe an incipient problem?) reasons. If there are any serious engine issues, it could easily cost more than the $10k purchase price. If everything is in properly maintained condition and safe to run, the Crown can go for another 2-300k miles. If not, you're the guy that gets to pay the piper.

Crowns are not like any other school bus, that's a plain fact. They are extremely durable and over engineered with a lifetime of many, many, decades. The rub is that costs to keep them up and running will tend to rise as things need replacing, and finding mechanics to work on these pure mechanical engines is becoming interesting to say the least. Parts go up too, even though most are still fairly easily found. The hard stuff is the Crown specific coachwork and body fittings. But these can be changed and modified as needed to retain full function, some body panels are difficult.

You might check out that other '78 Crown listed here. It's had a complete engine rebuild, it's an automatic transmission, Can you drive a 5-spd double clutching non-synchronous manual transmission? It has Jacobs engine brakes, no rusting to speak of, other than the normal light pitting around the front and rear steel / aluminum interfaces. The really big $$ stuff has already been done. It's ready to rock. Check it out, it's all in the listing.

Best of all it still has all the seats in it, so you can start from scratch and know exactly what you will have in it and how it all goes together. That's more comforting than you may realize for when you're stuck someplace with a problem, and have no idea what or where that wire goes, or pipe, or what's leaking, or what's smoking, or making funny sounds, or vibrations, or, or, well you get the picture. I'm sure others here can relate to those feelings of helplessness. If you build it.........no, not that, You'll know what's in it, and how to fix it. It's a lot tougher, with more effort, but in the end it will pay off with true confidence, and knowledge that may save you from dire circumstances later. But then again, that's just me.

If you buy a Crown, you will step into a whole different universe. It's awesome and wonderful and can be scary $$ sometimes, but if you stay on top of it and treat it right, a Crown will Always get you there and home again. And you can hand it down to your kids when you're done with it. You can't say that about very many other vehicles today.

[ACamper]

The rust would make me run..

I really comes down to do you want a never ending money and labor pit ? Or do you want a bus to fix up and then get on with your life ?

[Rawlings]

Originally Posted by Crown_Guy

If you relish the idea of tearing apart a Crown full of Gulmite fasteners under all that pretty carpet to see what the insulation might, or might not be, then by all means give this one a try. If you don't know about Gulmites then you might not be ready for this. Santee is located just East of San Diego and is very balmy. I bet there wasn't very much insulation installed. Crown added insulation as the customer requested. I've seen everything from literally none, to lots and lots. Those spare parts are nothing special, it's all readily available today. That's what makes Crowns so special. Off the shelf common heavy duty truck components still in use today. That's pretty bad rusting in an area known to get normal rust problems. Whats the history of this before the current guy got it? did it spend time in snow and salt country?? I know Peyton/Falcon CO. and that's not what I would consider a really bad area. The engine may seem fine, but if you're not real ready to ride in that rodeo, you might wonder what this guy may know and why he's so interested in selling it. Most Crown owners wouldn't want to part with their baby's without very compelling (maybe an incipient problem?) reasons. If there are any serious engine issues, it could easily cost more than the $10k purchase price. If everything is in properly maintained condition and safe to run, the Crown can go for another 2-300k miles. If not, you're the guy that gets to pay the piper.

Crowns are not like any other school bus, that's a plain fact. They are extremely durable and over engineered with a lifetime of many, many, decades. The rub is that costs to keep them up and running will tend to rise as things need replacing, and finding mechanics to work on these pure mechanical engines is becoming interesting to say the least. Parts go up too, even though most are still fairly easily found. The hard stuff is the Crown specific coachwork and body fittings. But these can be changed and modified as needed to retain full function, some body panels are difficult.

You might check out that other '78 Crown listed here. It's had a complete engine rebuild, it's an automatic transmission, Can you drive a 5-spd double clutching non-synchronous manual transmission? It has Jacobs engine brakes, no rusting to speak of, other than the normal light pitting around the front and rear steel / aluminum interfaces. The really big $$ stuff has already been done. It's ready to rock. Check it out, it's all in the listing.

Best of all it still has all the seats in it, so you can start from scratch and know exactly what you will have in it and how it all goes together. That's more comforting than you may realize for when you're stuck someplace with a problem, and have no idea what or where that wire goes, or pipe, or what's leaking, or what's smoking, or making funny sounds, or vibrations, or, or, well you get the picture. I'm sure others here can relate to those feelings of helplessness. If you build it.........no, not that, You'll know what's in it, and how to fix it. It's a lot tougher, with more effort, but in the end it will pay off with true confidence, and knowledge that may save you from dire circumstances later. But then again, that's just me.

If you buy a Crown, you will step into a whole different universe. It's awesome and wonderful and can be scary $$ sometimes, but if you stay on top of it and treat it right, a Crown will Always get you there and home again. And you can hand it down to your kids when you're done with it. You can't say that about very many other vehicles today.

Thank you so much for your input the crown 78 crown looks to be in great working order. My wife and I are ready to make this lifestyle change and we plan on living on skoolie 4-6 months of the year as my job would allow the non busy months for me to work from remote location as long as I have decent 4glte to tether to my computer. My main concer would be buying something mechanically reliable and easy to find mechanics who can work out any issue that may come up. I am somewhat handy and could do some stuff but I have absolutely no experience working with cars, I've changed oil on my car before, changed a car starter and few other small things but this would be something out of my comfort zone. Safety would be our number one concern especially driving through some hills etc. Would you still recommend a crown for us or would your recommend something more standard perhaps with more mechanics available. Another thing and I know this might sound wrong but I don't trust mechanics a whole lot, I find hard to believe them Everytime and feel many just want to burn your wallet a hole. Lol not all of them but some of them.

[Rawlings]

Originally Posted by ACamper

The rust would make me run..

I really comes down to do you want a never ending money and labor pit ? Or do you want a bus to fix up and then get on with your life ?

We want one that is in decent mechanical condition, meaning we are willing to pay some mechanical issues, but not like complete overhauls etc. Also one that doesn't have major rust issues. Based on images I can't tell if this one has major rust issues but it seems like some parts do such as the top areas of the ends of the bus

[o1marc]

Every time I see the front cap pic show up I wonder where all the water that gets into those holes goes and what damage down below is going on. In a good rain i see a whole lot of water entering them. I'd search pretty well around the front floor area for more damage.
Just about every piece of metal on that bus can be rescind with sheet metal, except the front and rear cap. The only correct way to repair what is see is to remove the windshield and windshield from to get to the damage under the holes you can't see or access without the part removal. Then it's cutting out the damage and welding in patch panels to dress before reassembly. It's doable, but not something I would look forward to.

[Tigerman67]

I personally went and looked at this crown a few months ago when it first hit the market.

I asked a similar question about what the value of a crown was.

Most feedback I got said it was worth it.

It didn't fit the mission I was looking for in my bus (transport of motorcycles) due to the rear of crowns being a crumple zone and requires decent engineering to cantilever a frame extension 6-10 feet to get a sturdy hitch. That and you really couldn't get anything but the smallest bike in through the side emergency door (the owner is a cannonballer, and has motorcycle that would fit through the side door, but I don't).

The generator is huge, an older model, but not many hours on it. It is also gas. A question I would have is can I get parts to work on that generator as well. For instance, can you buy a carb rebuild kit or is it $400-500 for a new carb.

Other than the end caps, as others have said, the crown is aluminum. The floors are usually marine grade plywood, so no floor rust to worry about (although since this one was converted by the school district, whether the really high grade plywood from the factory is still in there or not, i don't know)

I couldnt see any damage on the inside from the leak, but I would think about taking that interior out up front and try to determine damage as well as closing the holes up.

If the automotive type carpet interior is what you will leave in it, and you don't find any serious damage to undo for the leak then that could save you a step. If your going to rip it out, then I think that the seats are already out is only a small gain.

The only other thing I would worry about is that crowns have been step children to the school districts for a while. While everyone wanted one, everyone knew that their life expectancy was going to be short lived due to California smog rebates. So some of the school districts may have not taken the best care of the buses and robbing Peter to pay Paul to keep the last few running. On this particular bus, there is some mismatch in the rims and the lug nuts even on the same wheel. I actually heard someone say that the white wheel was typical of this school district, so that is probably one of the originals. Where did the yellow ones come from. How come they couldn't put a matched set of lug nuts on the wheels? This was really the only indication I had that there might have been some parts swapping to keep this one running.
On the other hand, this one was converted to some sort of teaching lab by the district, so I don't think it got as many miles on it as the others either, so that could be a big plus.

I have watched a few crown sales since.
I think this is the last one I saw ($5800):

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NO-RESERVE-...53.m1438.l2649

But I have seen several others go for $12k as well. So a lot of variability in price. I'd suggest you go back and look to see if there was alot of difference between the crowns that have sold recently, or if the difference it that more people were competing for a few of them that drove the price up.

I personally would love to have owned this crown, and I will probably kick myself 5 years from now when I can't find one. But 10,5 wasnt in my budget and as I mentioned, it didn't fit the mission I was looking for right now.

So if you live close enough to drive out and look at it, that can be worth something as well, since most of these buses are out on the coast. The downside is that most of the crown experts are also on the coast as well.

Would love to hear about it if you do buy it.

[ACamper]

Originally Posted by Rawlings

We want one that is in decent mechanical condition, meaning we are willing to pay some mechanical issues, but not like complete overhauls etc. Also one that doesn't have major rust issues. Based on images I can't tell if this one has major rust issues but it seems like some parts do such as the top areas of the ends of the bus

A 40year old bus is similar to a 40 year old car. Mechanical stuff is made a designed to go so far. At 40 years... anything and everything can go out.

You are also dealing with something hard to get parts for. Which means it could take week or more to find an over priced 40yr old part that might be broken itself.

If you see rust expect a lot more in closer inspection. If you are a body guy/sheet metal worker/welder might not be an issue but if you are not paying for that kind of stuff is $$$$$.00

If you are looking for the least mechanical issues get the newest(that's not covered with emissions), least miles and best maintained bus you can find.

Classic stuff is very nice to look at but can and will suck up a whole lot of time and money.

[Twigg]

Originally Posted by ACamper

A 40year old bus is similar to a 40 year old car. Mechanical stuff is made a designed to go so far. At 40 years... anything and everything can go out.

You are also dealing with something hard to get parts for. Which means it could take week or more to find an over priced 40yr old part that might be broken itself.

If you see rust expect a lot more in closer inspection. If you are a body guy/sheet metal worker/welder might not be an issue but if you are not paying for that kind of stuff is $$$$$.00

If you are looking for the least mechanical issues get the newest(that's not covered with emissions), least miles and best maintained bus you can find.

Classic stuff is very nice to look at but can and will suck up a whole lot of time and money.

You are missing the point a bit.

A 40-year-old Crown is not in the least like a car. It is a heavy truck and built to last for decades. Most cars are built to last 10 years even though modern cars go longer.

The Crowns are almost all aluminum, with the exception of the end caps and some trim.

The chassis is Class 8 truck chassis steel, the floor is ply and easily replaced.

It is possible, but very unlikely that rust around the rear window has compromised the vehicle to any significant extent. It might be fiddly to fix which warrants a close inspection, but it will not be anywhere close to fixing a 40-year-old car body.

Most parts are not that hard to find, certainly not the mechanical parts, but they might be expensive.

[ACamper]

Originally Posted by Twigg

You are missing the point a bit.

A 40-year-old Crown is not in the least like a car. It is a heavy truck and built to last for decades. Most cars are built to last 10 years even though modern cars go longer.

The Crowns are almost all aluminum, with the exception of the end caps and some trim.

The chassis is Class 8 truck chassis steel, the floor is ply and easily replaced.

It is possible, but very unlikely that rust around the rear window has compromised the vehicle to any significant extent. It might be fiddly to fix which warrants a close inspection, but it will not be anywhere close to fixing a 40-year-old car body.

Most parts are not that hard to find, certainly not the mechanical parts, but they might be expensive.

A bus is very much like a car.

Most consumer cars/trucks are designed to go 15years or 200,000 miles. Commercial buses and trucks have a very similar life span. Commercial buses and trucks are usually taken out of service at about 15 years 250,000 miles. This is why we find 15 year old buses at auction. At the end of their estimated life span they become to unreliable and too expensive to maintain

Their will always be that guy that says " A _____ will run for 1-million miles" but statistics, odds and facts tell a much different story.

The bus in question already has rust rotting tru the roof. You can fix it, you can also fix a 1920 Model A or an old milk truck from 1940. You will spend $$$$$ and it will probably make it to the Sunday car show and need a new part by the time you get it home.

The OP is looking for a bus to drive and live in not a never ending restoration project with the risk of major things like drive train components needing to be replaced/rebuilt next month or body panels needing to be rebuilt and custom fabricated.

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by ACamper

A bus is very much like a car.

Most consumer cars/trucks are designed to go 15years or 200,000 miles. Commercial buses and trucks have a very similar life span. Commercial buses and trucks are usually taken out of service at about 15 years 250,000 miles. This is why we find 15 year old buses at auction. At the end of their estimated life span they become to unreliable and too expensive to maintain

Their will always be that guy that says " A _____ will run for 1-million miles" but statistics, odds and facts tell a much different story.

The bus in question already has rust rotting tru the roof. You can fix it, you can also fix a 1920 Model A or an old milk truck from 1940. You will spend $$$$$ and it will probably make it to the Sunday car show and need a new part by the time you get it home.

The OP is looking for a bus to drive and live in not a never ending restoration project with the risk of major things like drive train components needing to be replaced/rebuilt next month or body panels needing to be rebuilt and custom fabricated.

I sold my last bus in good running condition. Did I get "a million miles" out of it? No.

Only about 980k. But I am sure that the new owner saw it turn the million mile mark.

Crown, Gillig, MCI, Eagle and Prevost buses with 500K miles are not uncommon.

[Crown_Guy]

A 40 year old Crown that's maintained and driven regularly will outlive you.

They thrive on being driven, LOTS. I currently drive, in commercial service, a '76 Crown with a 6-71 and 5-spd transmission. It's as sound as the day it was made and will go for another 40 years, easily. Few here understand the concept of the Crowns. They will last as long as they are looked after and taken care of. Age, and mileage, means nothing at all, when it comes to getting parts, or having them worked on. They're simple in the extreme, and easy to understand. It's true, mechanics away from the West Coast will have probably never seen one, but once they get into them they'll find they are simple and use common truck equipment easily obtained.

Unlike the insidiously proprietary parts found on all other school buses. You know, like trying to find a specific year headlight bezel, or turn signal lens, brackets, fittings, even active systems are specific to a year and model. Simple stuff like that will drive you nuts on all the other mass produced buses. Not on any Crown. It's all available, probably from a local NAPA or Truck supply retailer.

I know a local school district that was forced into replacing all but two of their Crowns, which they fought to keep, due to the Kalifornia Holocaust. They bought brand spanking new Bluebirds (I think), and they tell me that every single day, one or the other of them break on routes, and they send a Crown out to rescue and finish the route. They are located about 90 miles North East of L.A. and one morning on my way to work, (driving the Crown) I saw both of their Crowns heading into L.A. on a field trip, probably museums. I laughed out loud knowing that they intentionally sent BOTH rescue Crowns on the trip because they wanted them to get the kids back that day, not using any of the new buses, since they didn't want any troubles on the road, so far from home.

I read the posts here regarding Crowns, how old they are, how expensive they are to get and keep(Tooo expensive!), how hard they are to get parts for, how hard they are to get fixed, all the many things that can be found to object to. In actual operation, they are cheaper to keep running and take care of, due to the high mileage, and daily tempo they were designed for. Once in good condition, and something gets repaired, a private owner probably can't drive it enough to incur failure on that particular part again. Just try to find a used car for $12k that will go another 300k miles, or another school bus for that matter.

All I can say about these constant negative vibes (Moriarity), is that you can't know anything about them, or what you're talking about, unless you've ever actually SEEN, or Touched, and preferably DRIVEN, a Crown. Once you've done that, I'll allow as how you may have a personal opinion on them. Till then, it's all just background noise from the peanut gallery, and worth exactly what's paid for it, nothing.

I learned to drive a Crown 5 spd while in college and have driven professionally, Crowns and every kind of highway coaches, right up to today. As far as I'm concerned, there isn't any reason to constantly have to justify the extreme robustness of a Crown or it's innate value. It's a totally different breed of cat much more akin to the high mileage highway coaches of yesteryear. Things like the GM 4104, 4106, 4501 Scenicruiser, MCI's 7,8,9, etc. Prevost, Van Hools, etc. All of these I have untold miles on and owned two Scenicruisers when I was in business, in addition to Crowns, including a 10 wheel 10-spd Tandem.

I mention this only to make it clear that when I offer observations or input, and very, very, seldom at that, I am attempting to raise the level of group knowledge and better inform everyone, based on my years of experience.

I suggest that all the questions and concerns regarding this particular CO. Crown has already found their answer. The previous mention of mismatched lug nuts is an indicator of other neglected, possibly larger issues hidden from sight. Like what kind of condensation and corrosion may hide under all that pretty carpet? How's the clutch, transmission, rear-end, brakes? There's plenty of other high dollar exposures that can crop up, and anybody dinking around with mis-matched lug nuts, and did I see him say the front and rear tire sizes were different too, 11's on front, 12's at rear??

These are all indicators of non-professional care and repair work. Many questions, that require careful examination by a Qualified mechanic, and a new owner with deep enough pockets to take on and correct whatever may crop up. As I said in headline. If you have to ask (how much?), You may not be able to afford it. There are several things that come to mind, I could ask about it, but they would sound like sour grapes, so I won't.

It's true that the other '78 Crown is posted by me, but I know what condition it's in, and we made every effort to make it as trouble free as possible, eventually deciding to sell it to someone for conversion, and no previous experience with large vehicles, let alone a Crown. If you want a Crown with no known problems and many years of fun and enjoyment, then this is a good one to consider. I initially intended to keep it to run it in commercial service, so we did all the work it needed as best we could.

Timing hasn't worked out yet for a second Crown, so then I decided to put it up for sale to someone who will appreciate the efforts made to keep it as trouble free as possible. It's worth every penny, and others, comparably priced ones sold lately, were nowhere near as mechanically sound as this one is. I knew many of them and the operator that sold them. As time goes by Crowns will continue to appreciate, as they are already attracting well to do collectors, and speculators, looking to cash in on a true and rare American Classic. Some are being sold oversees to foreign buyers, and they have serious $$$ to spend. We all feel this upward price pressure.

It's not for me to say that a Crown is the best choice for everybody, but if you intend to drive a LOT, and want to get there and back again, in safety and comfort, plus, have a total blast just driving the Crown down the road, and enjoy being the object of envy at every stop along the way, and waved at and honked at along the way, then by all means get a Crown. If not......Well there's plenty of other, much cheaper ones to pick from.