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Old 07-20-2016, 09:28 PM   #1
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Talking 1976 Crown School Bus

I have this 1976 crown bus and trying to find out an approximate value. I know there are lots of variables. The rust is minimal and only in a few spots and is only surface rust. The seats are in fair condition but need some love. Mechanically, this bus seems amazing. It runs like a champ, stops great, has new brakes, new tires, and two new giant batteries.





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Old 07-21-2016, 12:20 AM   #2
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It's really not worth much. After all it is 40 years old. I'll give you $1200 for it.

In all seriousness... Crowns are very highly sought after by skoolies. Skoolies also tend to be cheap. The market varies by demand at the exact moment you're looking to sell. You might get $5000 for it. You may have to settle for half that. Depends on how fast you want to get rid of it. You "might" find a sucker willing to give you $10,000 for it. I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you. Plan on somewhere between $2500 & 5000.

Well, the driver's seat doesn't look stock. What drivetrain does it have? A/C? That kind of stuff will make a difference.

Good luck
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Old 07-21-2016, 04:41 AM   #3
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I'd stick it on Ebay with no reserve and start the bidding at like $5999.
Honestly, I've seen folks pay nearly that for clapped out bluebirds from michigan.
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Old 07-21-2016, 03:28 PM   #4
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it's beautiful. Great shape, great character. And runs great? Good luck!
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Old 07-25-2016, 10:45 AM   #5
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If you are considering selling it please PM me.

Thanks

Steve
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Old 07-25-2016, 09:27 PM   #6
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Have you listed it to sell yet? Where are you located?
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Old 07-25-2016, 10:38 PM   #7
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Hey, fellas. The OP was simultaneously in another thread, looking at purchasing this bus, not selling it. So, I'm not sure where he stands at the moment.
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Old 07-25-2016, 10:56 PM   #8
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Have you listed it to sell yet? Where are you located?
With the extra lower rub rails and 8-way flashers, it looks like a WA bus, maybe. The yellow roof also tells me it's probably not from CA! Wherever it's from, it's a beaut.

John
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Old 07-26-2016, 12:01 AM   #9
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Rear plate is an Oregon school bus plate.
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Old 02-01-2017, 12:14 PM   #10
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Easy, peasy, detroit power, $3500.00 Cummins Power, $4500.00, ONLY because it runs and drives! I looks to be in great shape, don't get taken advantage of!
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Old 02-01-2017, 12:40 PM   #11
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I think it would be worth $2k assuming it is in good mechanical and physical condition. I would look at it as a disposable bus. Likely spare parts are difficult to find and may be impossible to find. I would not put much money into conversion and what you do, if it is removable, could then go into a newer bus at the time of scrapping.
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Old 02-01-2017, 01:16 PM   #12
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I would look at it as a disposable bus. Likely spare parts are difficult to find and may be impossible to find.
What're you basing that hypothesis on?
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Old 02-01-2017, 01:58 PM   #13
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Coachwork: Crown, integral. (With 2kW of tiltable solar)
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Engine: Detroit 6V92TAC, DDEC 2, Jake brake, Allison HT740
Rated Cap: 37,400 lbs GVWR
And that is one thing Crowns and Gilligs are not - disposabuses. If anything is made to last, it's a Crown. Where are you getting this idea that they are disposable? Have you ever owned one, driven one, or worked on one? I've never heard anybody seriously suggest that, ever! Plenty of school districts in CA still prefer their 30-plus years old Crowns to their newer BlueThomTrans buses - simpler, more dependable, more easily repairable if something does go wrong. The main reason they're being retired is due to CARB laws, not because they don't still do the job. Mechanically they're essentially a Class 8 truck, so any heavy truck parts supplier will have whatever's needed. Crowns and Gilligs were the only school buses to use true heavy-duty engines and transmissions - would you ever find a 14-liter Cummins Big-Cam or a big Detroit in any other make? What other makes used the big HT740 transmissions? Did Crown or Gilig ever use pickup truck engines or medium-duty delivery truck running gear? Very little was custom-made by Crown because they were a small-scale maker compared with the big Eastern-US makers, meaning that almost everything mechanical is still readily available from many different sources.

The current buses being made by the Big Three makers are not, and never will be, in the same league as a Crown or Gillig. Even Thomas' WestCoast-ER, good bus though it was, was not directly comparable to the Supercoach II with which it was intended to compete.

John
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Old 02-01-2017, 02:20 PM   #14
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Quote:
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I think it would be worth $2k assuming it is in good mechanical and physical condition. I would look at it as a disposable bus. Likely spare parts are difficult to find and may be impossible to find. I would not put much money into conversion and what you do, if it is removable, could then go into a newer bus at the time of scrapping.
You're calling a crown "disposable" but you say Starcrap is good quality?
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Old 02-01-2017, 04:45 PM   #15
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Quote:
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What're you basing that hypothesis on?
Common sense, anyway anyone can ask any high price they want for their bus due to it being THEIR BUS! and for a buyer, it can be any lower price they are willing to pay, what a bus is worth to a buyer is different. I can imagine a bus being worth $5k to one person and $500 to someone else.
Each of us gets to render their opinion. If you feel that a nearly 50yr old bus has available parts and is not a factor for what it is worth, who am I to dissuade you?
When someone asks me my opinion about worth? then I give my opinion based on my needs not the OP
WHICH IS EXACTLY LIKE EVERY OTHER PERSON POSTING!
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Old 02-01-2017, 05:12 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluespoet View Post
Common sense, anyway anyone can ask any high price they want for their bus due to it being THEIR BUS! and for a buyer, it can be any lower price they are willing to pay, what a bus is worth to a buyer is different. I can imagine a bus being worth $5k to one person and $500 to someone else.
Each of us gets to render their opinion. If you feel that a nearly 50yr old bus has available parts and is not a factor for what it is worth, who am I to dissuade you?
When someone asks me my opinion about worth? then I give my opinion based on my needs not the OP
WHICH IS EXACTLY LIKE EVERY OTHER PERSON POSTING!
So your opinion is that parts are hard to find because it wasn't made recently? You've never actually tried to find parts for one and failed to find them, or anything like that?

Just trying to help the op better understand your opinion, not trying to tell you that you aren't welcome to express it. And for the record, I haven't expressed an opinion one way or the other. Should I put that in all caps for you?
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Old 02-01-2017, 05:31 PM   #17
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I would agree that the lower rub rail indicates it was a WA spe'c bus. WA spe'c buses could also be used in OR while OR spe'c buses could NOT be used in OR. The OR spe'c's are not as "high" as WA so the "higher" spe'c's of a WA bus would pass muster in OR while the reverse was/is not true.

A 1976 Crown with a 5-speed most likely has a Detroit Diesel 6-71 without a turbo. It was the "base" engine and didn't cost as much as the other options. The Cummins Big Cam cost an additional $9K so it wasn't spe'c'ed very often when buses were purchased by low bid.

With the Alcoa rims I would put a value on that bus around $5K. It could be easily worth $10K if the tires were new, if it has the Cummins Big Cam, and it has highway gearing.

Most Crowns of that vintage with a 5-speed had a top speed of about 62 MPH. Any faster gearing with only a 5-speed meant you really would have to slip the clutch to get going on a hill with the 6-71. Swap in a 10-speed with much lower low gears and you could step up the rear gears to really fly. I know of one 6-71TAC equipped bus with a 10-speed that had a top speed of 105 MPH. And on Friday night runs to Las Vegas it routinely pushed the top speed.

The only real issue on that bus that would reduce the price is it doesn't have an automatic. For a lot of people a stick shift is a deal breaker.
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Old 02-01-2017, 07:32 PM   #18
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Goodness i love a stick shift; feeling that connection between the motor and the wheels. But if i were a bus driver for a living... lol totally different story!

In fact a 40 mile trip through town in the GMC was tiring.
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Old 02-02-2017, 09:28 AM   #19
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In one of the pics it looks like an old OR plate and in another it is plainly a newer WA plate.

Every time I see a Crown for an affordable price I have second thoughts about my Bluebird....... I'm unfaithful.......

Hmmm.... I know where there is a fresh 671T & 10 speed sitting....

This thread started 8+ months ago. Is this bus still around?
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Old 02-02-2017, 10:04 AM   #20
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The only real issue on that bus that would reduce the price is it doesn't have an automatic. For a lot of people a stick shift is a deal breaker.
Silly people, if anything having an automatic is a deal breaker for me...
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