1998 International FE - T444E & Allison 545 [By Dealer - Pedricktown, NJ]

[Inner Love]

Here is a great-looking FE bus from a dealer, asking $4900. Don't know the reputation of this dealer.



This is good enough for me, if I could I would visit their dealer, get a test drive / engine start and if it was as good as it looked, make an offer for $4000 cash. If they say no than I'll negotiate up to $4900 because 1998 one-owner skoolies are only getting rarer. Yes I'm on the west coast and I'll need to spend $1000 to fly out and drive a bus west, before initial registration and insurance expenses. The best time to buy 90s buses from the school district was the early 2010s, the second best time is the time in which you are reading this post.



https://www.busesforsale.com/bus/497...tional3800?v=2


I hope the good karma comes back to me when it's buying time.

[EastCoastCB]

I'm still seeing plenty of 98 to 2003's. But they are drying up.
FWIW all my buses have been "one owner".

Buying a NJ bus is pretty much a fools errand.

That looks like a really low spec bus with a decent white paint job. Low headroom, base engine, base transmission. Gonna be a slow and labored beast.

[Inner Love]

Wow, didn't know the drivetrain was low spec.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by debit.servus

Wow, didn't know the drivetrain was low spec.

444 with a 545 transmission. Barely adequate in a shorty. Miserable in a full size bus.

[Brad_SwiftFur]

So, being on the West Coast, where the most desirable buses are, why are you even considering one from The Rust Belt?

[Johnny Mullet]

The T444E is a great engine, but underpowered in a full sized bus. That engine pulls my mid sized bus no problem, but still had to do some work to get more power out of it. It is nice the bus is already white, but yeah, buy a rust free bus.

[cadillackid]

yep ill echo what others have said.. by the way this isnt a real CROWN.. this is a Crown by Carpenter built in an old Wayne plant in richmond indiana..



-Christopher

[Inner Love]

I thought I had found a gem. Mixed up the T444 with the DT466. For me, NJ is far from the first state to come to mind when I think "rust belt". Thanks to EastCoastCB, Brad & cadillackid for pointing out the swill.

[cadillackid]

NJ is most definitely a Rust-Bucket state.. west coast busses.. I see so many beautoful classics coming up out in the west.. granted classics arent ideal for conversions as they often have lower-spec drivetrains.. but the poiint is a lot of my us in the bus-enthusiast world travel west to buy our rust-free classics and drive them across the country to where we live in the midwest and east...



each bus of course is its own entity when it comes to rust.. hoswever in general busses from Ohio, indiana, PA, Michigan, illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New york, Wisconsin, minnesota are often rusty.. OR have been beat to death by rough pothole-filled roads.. mid kentucky and lower and lower WV seem to produce some decent units.. Florida busses may not be rusty however they often come up as terrible mechanically... in the collector group we find a *LOT* of nice units from oregon, washington, idaho, ND and SD (believe it or not), montana, Colorado, some from california although many were fitted with aftermarket emissions that would need removed..



in the southwest Arizona, and certain parts of texas produce decent busses..



deep south are a toss up ive seen turds from deep south states and seen great busses.. Georgia, alabama, missisippi are in that category..



North carolina - watch out for 45 MPH or 55 MPH top-speed busses.. many are physically gear-,ited to be redlined at those speeds so whilde the bodies are generally nice, they require re-gesaring or trans upgrades to be highwasy cruisers...





these are just my observations on what ive seen in various states.
-Christopher