Old Bus, New Chassis - Good deal?

[davido]

ALL of my parts are old old old. After looking at my mismatched old stuff vs. a newer bus it makes me want for newer parts. I've had the idea of finding a wrecked Dodge Cummins truck and transplanting the engine and transmission from it. After looking more, I think I have a better idea (or insane)... take a whole bus and transfer my body to it. I have access to a giant forklift. I may have to shorted the frame. I would have to customize the pedals and steering connections. Or I could take ALL of the drivetrain from a newone and move it to my old body. I was thinking of something like this as donor:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 0027924812

So first off, is that a good deal on one of those or not?

At that price, it's less than buying just a truck engine. With that, I get ALL of the systems: front and rear axles, engine, trans, steering parts, pedal setup, braking system, and all of the little canisters, containers, holders, odds and ends. Seems like the way to go instead of peicing it together.

The other option would be to find a wrecked one. Does anyone know of a good source for buying everything out of a wrecked one? Basically I'm thinking of a scenario where I could go to a yard and spend a weekend stripping one down. If I went with the ebay one above, what if anything would the body/frame be worth? Scrap? Sell/give away the glass?

Lots of odd ideas here. Just seeing what other ideas are out there.

[lapeer20m]

i like that idea. You get teh look of the cool older body, but the safety and convenience of a newer up to date chassis.

having brake lines from the 1960's seems less than desireable to me when cruising down an 8 percent grade in the mountains as you're heading for a sharp curve. I'd way rather have the newer hydro disks, or better yet air brakes.

[busone]

I would personally avoid that bus. It has a lot of miles for a 5.9 in a school bus. The main thing that scares me about that bus is the Ford hydraulic brakes. I have heard nothing but bad about them.

[the_experience03]

Lewis-Ghirling or whatever brakes....the ones with the emergency brakes like air brakes that require the power steering pump to back them off....yep....bad news. They have a big steel line that runs down the middle of the bus containing fluid that likes to rust. On top of that, the guts of those drums are ugly. I'm sure a person could convert them though I do like the idea of updating though.