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Old 02-28-2021, 04:17 PM   #1
New Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Mid-Atlantic
Posts: 9
Year: 1977
Coachwork: Crown
Chassis: 36' Supercoach
Engine: Detroit 6-71, Eaton Fuller 10spd.
1977 Crown - Magic, the School Bus

Hi all,

After ~5 years of lurking and dreaming, I took the plunge and bought a bus... I'd like to introduce you all to 'Magic', my affectionately named 1977 Crown! Her instagram is @the_bus_named_magic and I'll be updating that, as well as this thread, as I do the conversion and then take her out for future adventures.

As Crowns usually are, she was over in CA. My friend and I flew there 2 weeks ago, got a 3-day crash course in how to drive a 10-speed stick shift, and then headed out to cover over 3,200 miles back home in under a week - literally from sea to shining sea....

I purchased her from Al Jennings, who I would be remiss to not say was incredible to work with and is one of the most honest people I've ever met - thank goodness, as I took a big gamble buying a bus I had never seen in person. The purchase process was seamless and I loved getting to know him.

And I have to give a HUGE shout out and much appreciation to Crown_Guy! I reached out to him on this site with just a hope that someone with Crown knowledge might be willing to give a total stranger a little help with figuring out if the bus I was looking at was truly worth it. He spent hours on the phone walking me through all the things I should consider and then a few days later drove to where the bus was and checked it out in person for me! When we got to CA, he then taught me and my friend how to drive the bus during the 3 days we were there and has continued to help us out and answer questions via text and call as we learned through trial by fire on our way back home. My sincerest gratitude!

First up is solidifying a place for me to do the actual conversion, as she's currently sitting in a friend's driveway... but hoping to have that sorted out in a week or so and then will be back with updates. Excited to officially be a part of this community now!
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Old 02-28-2021, 05:46 PM   #2
Bus Crazy
 
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: Near Flagstaff AZ
Posts: 1,951
Year: 1974
Coachwork: Crown
Chassis: "Atomic"
Engine: DD 8V71
Al is, truly, a wonderful guy. As is Crown_Guy. Welcome to the Crown club!
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Old 02-28-2021, 06:44 PM   #3
Bus Crazy
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 1,349
Year: 1990
Coachwork: Thomas 4 window w/lift
Chassis: G30~Chevy cutaway
Engine: 5.7/350 Chevy Vortec
Rated Cap: Just me and my "stuff"?
From the pic it looks to be in incredibly good shape for a 1977! The shine, the straight body panels, nary a scratch on the front end or bumper, etc.
Congrats on the buy, even if it probably cost you a bit more than a standard skoolie?

What is the current mileage on it?

Good luck going forward with your conversion, and post pics of the process if you can...
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Old 02-28-2021, 07:05 PM   #4
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Location: E Central Tejas
Posts: 2,094
Year: 1998
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: IH 3800, 8 window
Engine: T444E w/ Spicer 5-speed MT
Rated Cap: I prefer broad-brims hats
I am Chromium Yellow with envy!
SUCH a pretty baby!!!
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Old 02-28-2021, 08:32 PM   #5
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Join Date: May 2016
Location: Eastern WA
Posts: 6,401
Year: 2002
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: All American RE (A3RE)
Engine: Cummins ISC (8.3)
Rated Cap: 72
Beautiful!!!
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Old 03-01-2021, 10:04 AM   #6
New Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Mid-Atlantic
Posts: 9
Year: 1977
Coachwork: Crown
Chassis: 36' Supercoach
Engine: Detroit 6-71, Eaton Fuller 10spd.
Quote:
Originally Posted by peteg59 View Post
From the pic it looks to be in incredibly good shape for a 1977! The shine, the straight body panels, nary a scratch on the front end or bumper, etc.
Congrats on the buy, even if it probably cost you a bit more than a standard skoolie?

What is the current mileage on it?

Good luck going forward with your conversion, and post pics of the process if you can...
She is truly phenomenal shape!! I'm going to do my best to preserve as much of the original (including some inside) as possible! And will absolutely post pictures and updates along the way.

She did cost me a bit more, but Al also had a TON of work done after he bought her from the previous owner and she has good tires on her, so when I factored in all of the budget line items that were already done, it luckily was a pretty small difference between purchase price and what I'd budgeted. And for a Crown, I was willing to pay that difference...

And milage (after the drive home) is just shy of 495k. So she should have lots of life left in her!
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Old 03-01-2021, 11:35 AM   #7
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Dec 2020
Location: South Carolina
Posts: 29
Gorgeous Crown! You are truly living the dream now. Sounds like you are doing all the right things so far. If you are ever near SC let me know. I'd love to check out your Crown.
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Old 03-01-2021, 01:43 PM   #8
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Join Date: Sep 2018
Posts: 2,831
Year: 2007
Coachwork: Thomas Built
Chassis: Minotour
Engine: Chevy Express 3500 6.6l
OMG I’m so jealous
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Old 03-04-2021, 01:00 PM   #9
New Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Mid-Atlantic
Posts: 9
Year: 1977
Coachwork: Crown
Chassis: 36' Supercoach
Engine: Detroit 6-71, Eaton Fuller 10spd.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcduffieja View Post
Gorgeous Crown! You are truly living the dream now. Sounds like you are doing all the right things so far. If you are ever near SC let me know. I'd love to check out your Crown.
Will do! Depending on how things go over the next few months, there's a chance I'd be heading down to FL with her in late Oct, so might roll through SC. If we do, I'll let you know.
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Old 03-13-2021, 03:12 PM   #10
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Congrats!
And thanks for sharing your awesome story!
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Old 03-13-2021, 04:49 PM   #11
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Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Bly Oregon
Posts: 534
Year: 1986
Coachwork: Crown
Chassis: Supercoach
Engine: Cummins 350 big cam
Rated Cap: 86 passengers?
Great looking Crown! I have been documenting my conversion of one of the 40 ft Crowns at "The conversion of my 86 Crown supercoach" I have previously performed a conversion on an 81 Crown 35 ft bus with the Detroit 671 and Allison auto. A lot of the stuff I have documented would work on your bus also.
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