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[bansil]

545 is not a preferred tranny,altho most buses have them
No lockup torque convertor,means they slip a lot when trying to do hiway speeds in hilly/mnt areas

Good luck ad post pics..

There will always be nay sayers about every combo...it's the nature of man

[Accordion]

One of the most desirable motors is the IHC DT466. It is a six cylinder.

The desirable tranny is the Allison MT643.

Perhaps you could find a bus with those components.

There are, however, many Allison AT545 trannys out there.

I have not heard many good things about the CAT 3116. That does not mean that they are bad motors, though.

The preferred CAT motor is the 3208.

Most people like the Cummins diesel motor better than the CAT motors.

Don't buy the first bus that you look at. Shop around.

You can often find a good bus for around $3000.

[PDBreske]

If you haven't yet signed the final papers on your bus, you could consider something besides a "bus," but built on a bus chassis. I got lucky and found a bookmobile built on a 1995 International 3800 bus chassis. It was relatively expensive, but the benefits of the aluminum body (no rust) and square ceilings more than compensate for the perceived lack of rollover strength compared to an actual school bus. Of course, a good bookmobile isn't easy to find, but you never know what will turn up. Mine was being sold by another member here and I was willing to drive from Florida to Tennessee to pick it up.

And mine also has the much-acclaimed DT466/MT643 combination. See? You can find perfection!