Hello from North Alabama - 1960s Bus Resto-Mod Project
Well....something a little different than tractors for once. I've bought an old 1960's bus (school bus sized "greyhound style" bus) for my future Father In-Law. I was riding the backroads near where they live and spotted an old Blue Bus in a guys yard almost hidden from view. Having heard the story about his late Father's and Grandfather's Bus Transit Company, I knew they had Blue Buses (only just a few buses because it was a family owned business). This business was called "Joiner Transit" based out of Florence, Alabama. They offered Greyhound Services and had their own line. His dad passed away when he was an early teenager in the early 1970's; and the company has since been just a memory. Upon pulling up to look at this bus, I quickly spotted "Joiner Transit" on the side.......and even more clearer on the other side!!!! Oh my, what have I found!?!? Well his birthday was actually that day and I was headed to town to get a birthday card. How nice would it be to snap a picture to go along with that card!! I did just that and he was very emotional saying that was the very bus he and his sisters took on a trip with his dad all the way to Canada camping along the way. One of the last memories he had with him. Well....I had already talked to the old man who owned it as a storage building for his antique car parts and he told me he would sell me the bus if I wanted it. Well I knew I did but didn't play my cards just yet. When I heard my future FIL say "Man, I ought to buy that old Bus and bring it up here to the Farm!", I knew I HAD to go back and buy the bus as a surprise for him! With the help of an uncle in the family, we used his Low-boy Trailer to load and haul the bus about 4 miles to their farm. What a find, and piece of family history!!!
Now the task to restore the bus is about to begin. The uncle who helped me haul it has a MF Tractor & Industrial Compressor Dealership; so I have access to a big shop and parts accounts. The other uncle owns a Sand Blasting Service Company so we can get it cleaned up. I am just wondering if anyone here has or just knows what all is possible when fixing up something like this. I know they would want it so they could hire a driver and go to dinner in it with friends and family, and maybe some day-trips. They have a motorhome now they do that with, so what fun would it be to do it with the old family bus~!!
Can you guys point me in the right direction as to where (which sub-forum) I should make my first posts inquiring about the information as read in the post above? I have alot of initial questions and need alot of answers.
Congratulations on finding that treasure so dear to the future filaw.
So many possibilities with that ole girl.
Looks like you are in the family for sure now, lol.
I can't really refer to any specific threads but there is a wealth of info here on many areas you will find interesting.
Make sure the driver picks me up for dinner!
Yeah, this is the place. This thread, unless you want a different name.
Contrary to what you might have observed lately, we hope that people will have a singular build thread telling the entire story of your build. Lately people are making a new build for each and every little challenge, but there is no continuity and no continuous build story. People here will follow your build and answer questions without a new thread every day.
It's an unusually quiet day today on here. Life gets in the way sometimes.
Great looking rig. And do be careful blasting it. I'm hoping your connection really knows his stuff as the wrong pressure or medium can do a lot of damage in a hurry.
And if he DOES know his stuff...I just wish he was closer!
Have you ID'd the exact year, make and model yet? And what about the engine & tranny?
I think I want to make an initial post in a specific forum so the main build thread isn't in the "welcome forum". Make sense?? What do you all suggest?
Great looking rig. And do be careful blasting it. I'm hoping your connection really knows his stuff as the wrong pressure or medium can do a lot of damage in a hurry.
And if he DOES know his stuff...I just wish he was closer!
Have you ID'd the exact year, make and model yet? And what about the engine & tranny?
They have been in the industrial blasting and coatings business since the 1960s. Not saying his current operator is that expierenced though. We are all aware what the wrong media and wrong operator can do to metal when blasting.
Great looking rig. And do be careful blasting it. I'm hoping your connection really knows his stuff as the wrong pressure or medium can do a lot of damage in a hurry.
And if he DOES know his stuff...I just wish he was closer!
Have you ID'd the exact year, make and model yet? And what about the engine & tranny?
I believe the engine to be a Chevrolet 327 V8 and not sure about the tranny.
Well, let me take a stab at answering your original question. Due to the strange and arbitrary nature of the "security firewall" at my current employer, I can only see pics #s 10 and 13. The front looks Chevrolet or GM to me; I can't count the number of passenger windows which is used here as a quick shorthand method of determining how big your bus is. It looks longer than a "short bus" to me.
Go to http://www.skoolie.net/forums/ and you'll see the forum structure laid out for you. Your demolition/build thread would fit well in Bus Conversions->Skoolie Conversion Projects, since it's not a short bus and it's not a coach (Greyhound/intercity transit style).
Your questions about engine and drivetrain belong under Skoolie Tech -> Mechanical and Drivetrains -> GM/Chevrolet (I think you said). That being said, everybody posts everything anywhere around here and we seem to be very tolerant of that, so don't sweat it too much. Everybody wants to know the year make model engine fuel transmission brakes so dig that up. If you can take a legible pic of the data plate(s) and post it you will get 50 comments, at least 15 of them useful.
Most of us here are tearing out the interior, optionally insulating, optionally raising the roof, fitting walls/floor/furniture/kitchen/toilet/bed, and hitting the road for a weekend or a lifetime. I can't tell if you are of that bent or if you want to do a respectful resto of a school bus so it looks like a school bus. Tell of us of your plans!
Also, one universal piece of advice would be to spend 100 hours or so reading all the build threads. That'll give you a good handle on methods, materials, and best practices. It'll save a hundred questions, and it's fun!
Thanks so much for your reply and I will start posting my info and questions. I wish I had a picture of the data plate(s) but I don't at this time.
Try clicking on the link of the other pictures to pull them up. For some reason the forum displayed 2 of the pictures but not the rest.
I think posting in different forums for different questions is good becuase you get specialized exposure and sometimes more help; but then again I see the importance of keeping a build thread in 1 place all together. I might keep it in one place (where you suggested) and ask specific questions elsewhere on here as I see fit.
Linear Mode
