B600 ready 2 roll

[Shortbusgirl69]

Hi,

I am a newbie to this site. Glad I found it. I have 2 Skoolies. A 1972 B500 Shortie with only 47K actual miles (cool huh?) and a 1968 B600 aka the millennium falcon. The Falcon has been 90% restored interior wise. It has hot water, a kitchen, bathroom,insulation, propane furnace. It is real Koolie! It is a bluebird and has a little rust but it runs great and we just finished replacing the monster double brake booster. There were only 2 left in existence. Gerald my new friend at Southern Truck and Bus in Louisiana said the last one he sold was in 1999. He wouldn’t sell me one until he had them go completely through it new seals and all. So we decided to send our old one to him for all new guts. He was great to work with and he knew our bus like the back of his hand. This was no cheap or easy fix.

My problem is which bus do we keep. I am 5’2” and not a very big person and the Falcon is a beast. It does have power steering where shortie does not. shortie is still just a bunk house. No water or heat, not kitchen but I believe my heart belongs to shortie. He has ZERO rust btw and is totally clean.

So if you have ever chosen one over the other would you pass on your pros and cons. The kids are grown so they aren’t tagging along right now and the dog is large but loves to ride. With my size and strength being the biggest concern I think I can maneuver better in shortie.

I’ll post pictures soon of the Falcon when she gets her final touches inside.

Peace, love and Skoolies.����

[Fredinbelize]

Hello,
I am not exactly in your position but I recently moved from a 27' Winnebago to a 22' shorty.
I lived in the RV for ten years and although I liked the roominess, I could not take it anywhere.
I love the shorty and actually have more room. There are a lot of things you really don't need in a big vehicle.
Parking is a breeze.
It's a tough decision for you.
Good luck.
Please post pics when you can.

[Shortbusgirl69]

Thanks! Belize would be cool.

[Fredinbelize]

Originally Posted by Shortbusgirl69

Thanks! Belize would be cool.

It is. I lived there for a little while, years ago.
You have to like mosquitoes!

[magnakansas]

We should be able to add power steering.......

[magnakansas]

I just confirmed that it was available in 1972. The pump should be easy part. finding the a good steering gear, or someone that will rebuild one is going to be the hard part. It is likely that f500 f600 will be the same . shaft diameters, and bolt locations are going to be the stuff to check.

[magnakansas]

might have found steering box from 1970 f-600 paola kansas...... let you know if i can confirm.

[Shortbusgirl69]

That would be awesome but I thought that might be a pretty big upgrade for a bus..

[magnakansas]

the one i found, turned out to be manual, sorry.

william

[Tootalltechie]

I have a 1974 Chevrolet c60 bb with power steering. If you need any information I'm here.

Originally Posted by magnakansas

We should be able to add power steering.......

[magnakansas]

Trying to illustrate that adding power steering is not a super big deal. Hoping to show that She could add the power steering to the short bus to make living with the short bus more ejoyable. I think she could do this her self with our help.Old farm trucks, or buses are probably the most common way of finding a power steering boxes on the cheap.

william

[Tootalltechie]

If I understand power steering / hydraulics you need a pump, steering box (control valve), and a hydraulic ram to move the steering linkage. The suspension under vehicles all pretty much the same. Would a suspension shop be able to put a system together?

In my area there is a hi way tractor trailer wrecker that has parts and does repairs. Maybe there is such a place near you.

[ol trunt]

Most power steering set ups from the 70's were of the integral type so no ram needed. Ford might be an exception to this as they hung on to the ram after others went integral. Jack

[Tootalltechie]

This is my power steering, pump, steering box, and hydraulic ram assist

[jibronee]

Originally Posted by Shortbusgirl69

Hi,

I am a newbie to this site. Glad I found it. I have 2 Skoolies. A 1972 B500 Shortie with only 47K actual miles (cool huh?) and a 1968 B600 aka the millennium falcon. The Falcon has been 90% restored interior wise. It has hot water, a kitchen, bathroom,insulation, propane furnace. It is real Koolie! It is a bluebird and has a little rust but it runs great and we just finished replacing the monster double brake booster. There were only 2 left in existence. Gerald my new friend at Southern Truck and Bus in Louisiana said the last one he sold was in 1999. He wouldn’t sell me one until he had them go completely through it new seals and all. So we decided to send our old one to him for all new guts. He was great to work with and he knew our bus like the back of his hand. This was no cheap or easy fix.

My problem is which bus do we keep. I am 5’2” and not a very big person and the Falcon is a beast. It does have power steering where shortie does not. shortie is still just a bunk house. No water or heat, not kitchen but I believe my heart belongs to shortie. He has ZERO rust btw and is totally clean.

So if you have ever chosen one over the other would you pass on your pros and cons. The kids are grown so they aren’t tagging along right now and the dog is large but loves to ride. With my size and strength being the biggest concern I think I can maneuver better in shortie.

I’ll post pictures soon of the Falcon when she gets her final touches inside.

Peace, love and Skoolies.����

Check out my 68' B500. All original, untouched. Still cruising with it's 330MD and 4-speed. I rebuilt the dual booster, brake system about 8 yrs ago. A local, industrial clutch/brake shop had all parts in stock. But you're correct in that the guys working there had never seen one of these dual booster/master units. Super rare!! My bus is a 24' footer and a little on the long side (no P/S as well, but manageable for me). I picked up another 21', 1961 bus a few years ago, which I plan on building a camper out of. Good luck with your build!!!

[Tango]

What an old sweetheart!

[dan-fox]

Originally Posted by jibronee

Check out my 68' B500. All original, untouched. Still cruising with it's 330MD and 4-speed.

That's an awesome bus!

[Jack Built]

Jibronee, what kind of wheels are those? Cool bus btw!