Ready to buy a bus - appreciate the help

[dlipschitz1]

Hey Everyone,

Still searching for the right bus. Starting a thread i can update as i find them, instead of creating a new one every time.

Found this bus that i'm going to check out in the morning.

1990 Bluebird - Diesel - Auto trans - new battery - air brakes - recent inspection.
165K miles
$3000

He wasn't sure about the engine model, so i'll have to see what i can find out tomorrow. And check the tires, rust, etc...

Anyone know the model?
Anything specific i should look for or avoid?
Seems like a good price for the condition.

Thanks in advance!

[Njsurf73]

Originally Posted by dlipschitz1

Hey Everyone,

Still searching for the right bus. Starting a thread i can update as i find them, instead of creating a new one every time.

Found this bus that i'm going to check out in the morning.

1990 Bluebird - Diesel - Auto trans - new battery - air brakes - recent inspection.
165K miles
$3000

He wasn't sure about the engine model, so i'll have to see what i can find out tomorrow. And check the tires, rust, etc...

Anyone know the model?
Anything specific i should look for or avoid?
Seems like a good price for the condition.

Thanks in advance!

Looks like a tc. They were the "little" brother of the all American. Not in size, but in price. Not a bad bus.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

[PNW_Steve]

Looks like a TC to me. Two headlights instead of four.


It is also a front engine (FE). You may want to do some reading here regarding the advantages or FE vs RE or Conventional.

It is very important to find out details. Cummins engine & allison transmission is kind of like saying "Fort engine and automatic transmission". There are variety of engines and transmissions made by these manufacturers. Some good, some great and some not so good.

Get details from the seller.

Good Luck!!

[dlipschitz1]

Thanks. One more detail i left out - he said it was 34'.

Based on the year, and the TC model. It looks like 2 options for the engine.

Chevy 427 v8 or Cummins 6BTA5.9/ISB

Looks like almost all had Allison AT-545 automatic transmission.

Based on other feedback i've seen, better off with the cummins.
Any insights?

Thanks!

[EastCoastCB]

Looks like a nice bus. But if its a gas engine I'd totally pass on it.

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

Looks like a nice bus. But if its a gas engine I'd totally pass on it.

OP indicated that it is a Diesel. From what Dipschitz said I would guess that it is a 5.9 Cummins.

[Rusty]

I bet he buys it.

Cute bus, nice paint. Wonder what his purpose is ??

[EastCoastCB]

I'm not a huge fan of the 5.9 cummins. Its *ok*. But we've had at least a couple members this year that had theirs die. Had they been wet sleeve engines the buses might have been saved. But having to pull the engine out of the bus to rebuild is a deal killer for almost anyone.
But the bus looks NICE, and if the mileage is correct and its been maintained really well I'd say its a pretty great deal these days.