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Old 10-06-2015, 03:48 PM   #1
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My bus R.I.P.. I need a new one..

I posted in here a LONG time ago about acquiring a Blue bird 1988.. / chevy gasoline Classic style...

so now here im back because my Bus got Destroyed.. I wont go into details.. but the storage place in which I stored it had a careless tenant start his chevelle on fire while trying to pour gas in the carb.. it flared he freaked.. yeah lit gas under my bus.. lots of damage.. Insurance deemed hos chevelle, my bus and a couple other vehicles in the building total losses..

I got great money from the insurance since i had receipts for everything I did.. (including adding Carrier Air-cond to the body)( and modifiying the Hurri-hot defrosters with a completely custom refrigeration loop (man did that make those rainy drives easy to clear the windows)..

anyway the upshot is I need a new (old) bus..

trouble is I want another OLD bus.. like my 88 was or even older...

Would Love to get my hands on a Wayne Lifeguard or another mid 80s bluebird classic, or even an OLD carpenter or Superior.. I love the older busses from the 70s through the early and mid 80s...

can they be found unmolested? im interested in keeping it a bus.. I found that it wasnt bad at all to keep a bus as a bus in ohio and drive it.. while I hadnt driven my previous bus much in the last several years before it burned up (last year)...
where does one find older busses ? seems everything I find is newer and I dont like the newer busses.. I like the more industrial work-truck like drivers compartments of the older busses.. not the car-dash stuff thats a pain to work on or add A/C to etc...

I used to look to BGA bus sales for help with parts and such.. they were great when it came to Air-conditioner parts for the body... but it seems they are no longer in existence?

are there other places people go to buy old unmolested skoolies?

-Christopher

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Old 10-06-2015, 04:24 PM   #2
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"Older bus"...easy too find. "Unmolested older bus"...hard to find. But...good luck on the hunt. Maybe someone here knows of such a critter.
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Old 10-06-2015, 07:05 PM   #3
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Sorry to hear about the loss.

Looking forward to pictures of a new bus build.

Nat
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Old 10-06-2015, 07:14 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cadillackid View Post

Would Love to get my hands on a Wayne Lifeguard or another mid 80s bluebird classic, or even an OLD carpenter or Superior.. I love the older busses from the 70s through the early and mid 80s...
Theres a 80's something GM Wayne [I think it is] here. Just sitting on the side of the road. I'll see if I cant snag a picture next time I go by.
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Old 10-06-2015, 07:43 PM   #5
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was searching my craigslist, just by chance typed bus found this, one year newer though. seems to be a ruster though.

https://mankato.craigslist.org/hvo/5225380199.html
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Old 10-06-2015, 10:18 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cadillackid View Post
I posted in here a LONG time ago about acquiring a Blue bird 1988.. / chevy gasoline Classic style...
Sorry to hear about your bus.

My Wayne's a 78 and I can't find parts anywhere, but I'm not interested in selling. Mine is a rust bucket, too, but I'm O.K. with that for now. Been looking for windows and rear shock mount all Summer - no clue where to find them.

Good luck on your search.

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Old 10-07-2015, 02:35 PM   #7
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Head farther south and way out west. That's your only realistic option, aside from the proverbial needle in the haystack type thing. Anything in ohio that is over 15 years old always seems to have been molested the last 5 years to keep them on the road, and don't even try to look for one that is rust free.

All the busses from out in So Cal, Arizona, and New Mexico seem to be in pretty good shape from all the auctions I see. Inland texas is alright and maybe north Alabama, Mississippi and the like. Anything coastal will have rust as will anything up north. Good luck!
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Old 03-24-2016, 06:08 AM   #8
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so I have a lead on what looks to be a decent carpenter... How is the DTA-360 in a 7 row? I hear lots of people say that its tough to drive a 360 on the freeway because it is "gutless"..

I see a few of you have them(360s)... im not familiar enough with it to know, and I havent made the trip to drive this bus yet.. its only disadvantage is that it has air brakes so I have to go get an air-brakes endorsement before i can drive it home if I buy it.

-Christopher
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Old 03-24-2016, 06:31 AM   #9
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Do you REALLY have to have an endorsement? Check your state laws, I surely don't.
DT360 is a good engine. In a smaller bus, its a dandy, IMO. I've personally ridden in the One Nation Under Goat bus with its 360 and I like it. I'd consider it a major upgrade over an 80's gas engine.
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Old 03-24-2016, 06:50 AM   #10
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"I used to look to BGA bus sales for help with parts and such.. they were great when it came to Air-conditioner parts for the body... but it seems they are no longer in existence? are there other places people go to buy old unmolested skoolies?"

BGA Buses are definitely still in business. I just bought my bus from them a few weeks ago. Here is the link: Used School Buses For Sale - Better Buses @ Better Prices - We deliver school buses nation wide Good luck.
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Old 03-24-2016, 08:03 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EastCoastCB View Post
Do you REALLY have to have an endorsement? Check your state laws, I surely don't.
DT360 is a good engine. In a smaller bus, its a dandy, IMO. I've personally ridden in the One Nation Under Goat bus with its 360 and I like it. I'd consider it a major upgrade over an 80's gas engine.

I think because I keep my bus a bus that changes the requirements greatly.. if I were to make it a motorhome then a lot of the licensing requirements go away.

taking out enough seats to make it a 15 passenger or less also changes things... of course school bus passenger ratings are a PITA because to me, a 7 row fully populated isnt going to seat anymore than 15-20 .. but the laws see it differently..

I will re-check but I thought n ohio anything with air-brakes you had to get endorsed.. alas why all of the U-Hauls even the big 24 ft ones are hydraulic brakes. . so the standard license can operate it..

its tough to get good info in ohio..

did I do it right with my last bus? I have no clue.. and I also never got stopped by the DOT enforcement so there;s no way to know because it seems that the licensing offices and enforcement teams have different ideas about legal...

good info on the 360, I dont need a 'race car' but do want to be able to negotiate freeway ramps and traffic..

going 360 will increae my MPG im sure over that juice sucking gas engine..

-Christopher
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Old 03-24-2016, 11:01 AM   #12
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Just my 2cents, Here in Ca the DMV states under 40 ft the normal Class C is ok, doesn't say ANYTHING about airbrakes, 40ft & over need a Class B endorsement. My 38 ft Crown has airbrakes & when I talked to a CHP officer about it he told me I was legal.
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Old 03-24-2016, 08:01 PM   #13
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http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f14/97...ale-11815.html

I live in Cincinnati, in Ohio, you would need a CDL if the bus seats more than 14 and you are using it commercially or you are getting paid to drive it, also need a CDL if it has air brakes, if it is a private vehicle you do not need a CDL
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Old 03-24-2016, 08:39 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by Stu & Filo. T View Post
Just my 2cents, Here in Ca the DMV states under 40 ft the normal Class C is ok, doesn't say ANYTHING about airbrakes, 40ft & over need a Class B endorsement. My 38 ft Crown has airbrakes & when I talked to a CHP officer about it he told me I was legal.
Oh I geuss I should clarify that this is for RV titled only.
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Old 03-25-2016, 04:05 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FlyboyHPD View Post
"I used to look to BGA bus sales for help with parts and such.. they were great when it came to Air-conditioner parts for the body... but it seems they are no longer in existence? are there other places people go to buy old unmolested skoolies?"

BGA Buses are definitely still in business. I just bought my bus from them a few weeks ago. Here is the link: Used School Buses For Sale - Better Buses @ Better Prices - We deliver school buses nation wide Good luck.

yeah after i posted that last fall their site came back.. it was down for a month or so it seemed... I love those guys! there is probably better / other places, however they seem to get the older units Im interested in...

I may be able to fall under a historical vehicle titling if i get one 25 years old.. which makes things super easy... similar to what the guys in my classic car club did with their fire engines...

-Christopher
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Old 03-25-2016, 04:15 PM   #16
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I may be able to fall under a historical vehicle titling if i get one 25 years old.. which makes things super easy...

-Christopher
I had wondered about that. Do states issue historical tags to trucks? Big trucks? Buses? RVs? Would that make it harder to get insurance?

I got into an argument with the MD DMV about this a few years ago. They told me that the window tint on my 83 Mercedes was too dark and I would have to take it off. I argued that it was OEM and should be allowed. No dice; OEM tint is in the glass and this is an applied film. I brought them the dealer window sticker to show it was OEM; I brought an article from the club mag discussing how to repair the OEM film; no dice.

So I got historical tags and all of a sudden all I could get was historical insurance, which is 2500 miles a year of sunny Sunday insurance. So I couldn't use it as a daily driver (which i did anyways until I got tired of fixing it).

I wouldn't want to get boxed in like that by accident. Anybody have any real-life experience with this?
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Old 03-25-2016, 04:24 PM   #17
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I had historical plates on my old firewood truck about 35 years ago. Never got stopped or checked. No mileage checks, nothing.
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Old 03-25-2016, 04:28 PM   #18
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I know the guys with the fire trucks did it.. and they allowed them to keep the lights sirens hoses etc.. as long as they placed l;arge prominent 'NOT IN SERVICE' signs on all sides opf the vehicle.. and agree never to operate emergency equipment except on private property at shows...

they drive them all over the place... even out of state car shows...

I suppose it might be an issue if i was taking a busload of people to the amusement park....

-Christopher
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Old 03-25-2016, 04:37 PM   #19
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We have permanent plates here. I paid $225 to register my vehicle forever.
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Old 03-25-2016, 04:50 PM   #20
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Well... move over. I think I need to move to Montana. The pacific shelf is going to fall off when the big west coast earthquake happens. I want some of that new beachfront property.
Besides, I hear there is a lot more common sense in government over there.
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