Service manual for GM P30 van platform carrying 85 Bluebird MiniBird

[Austin J Hampton]

Hi folks, new to the group here. Looks like a great community and resource.
I'm looking for manuals on a 1985 Blue Bird MiniBird bus. I've found and downloaded BlueBird's manual but it's not really a shop manual on the level like a Chilton's. It has nothing very useful on the drivetrain, chassis, brakes, electrical etc. Instead it blathers on ad nauseum about features needed to get kids to school safely.

I see that (per Wikipedia) the bus is on the GM P30 van platform, and I've found a Chevrolet service manual that includes the P30 on Amazon. It's $89.99, more than I'd prefer to spend. Does anyone know a) that's the right manual to get for a 85 BlueBird MiniBird, and b) where I could get (paper or pdf) a copy of the manual for less $? Better yet, free, but I'm certainly willing to pay something. Thanks.
Austin

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

for the chevy part you will need to find the chilton manual for your year model.
if you can find an old school chiltons manual it would be better.
now chiltons is owned by haynes so if you get haynes they will have the same lack of information as haynes does.
then search on here for blue bird portal or something similar and there is a link for bluebird portal support directly from bluebird online.
for me my 86 ford thomas came with the build sheet and wiring diagram and all maitenance from a single school district from the day it was ordered and my shorty 03 chevy with a collins body i have a chiltons 3500 express van book and no support from collins but the wiring was specifically labled every foot of what its number was and where it went.
and i am never that lucky so i hope it is a standard across the board.
good luck

[Austin J Hampton]

Thanks JR, I will check those leads out.

I've already started looking online for 1985 Chiltons manuals. Various publications come up besides Chiltons. Some are titled "Shop Manual" and some are titled "Service Manual." Are those two different publications, or just the publishers being loose with their wording?

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

those are two different manuals that were used in the chevy dealerships shop

[Austin J Hampton]

Thanks, much appreciated.

[Corbi]

Try Faxon Auto Literature on EBay. I found a shop manual for my 99 GMC Savana.

[Austin J Hampton]

Thanks Corbi, Faxon has the paper manual for about $90 but the CDROM for $38 w/shipping. Better deal, I guess we can print out what we need ongoing and keep it in a ring binder.