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Old 12-10-2019, 07:50 AM   #21
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Originally Posted by musigenesis View Post
The door was deformed by it also (you can see the bend at the bottom). Lot of work involved in getting that mess straightened out - and probably every opening in the back (lights and windows) is leaking now, if they weren't already.

If you were going to turn the back of the bus into a flatbed like some people do, I guess this would be a good candidate.
I think the low lying sheet metal fore of the door is easy to bend. Mine looked exactly like that one but my rear cap wasn't smashed. The lights on every bus I"ve owned have leaked in some way.

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Old 12-10-2019, 08:57 AM   #22
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Tires a good. Guy said it’s got “excellent rubber” on it. Spent its life in Montana so the only rust he said is that one spot in the wheel well.

As far as the leaks and damage go, I can fix all that. I’m not absent minded when it comes to structure, and if I had to, I’d cut the rear portion off, and build it again. Not that hard working with some metal. I’m really after the engine on this bus, and the trans, meh I guess it’ll do. But the size is almost perfect. Big as a tc2000 with a shorter wheel base...
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Old 12-10-2019, 09:06 AM   #23
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Tires a good. Guy said it’s got “excellent rubber” on it. Spent its life in Montana so the only rust he said is that one spot in the wheel well.

As far as the leaks and damage go, I can fix all that. I’m not absent minded when it comes to structure, and if I had to, I’d cut the rear portion off, and build it again. Not that hard working with some metal. I’m really after the engine on this bus, and the trans, meh I guess it’ll do. But the size is almost perfect. Big as a tc2000 with a shorter wheel base...
Find out what the rear axle is geared at. Mine was 4.44 and topped out at 62.
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Old 12-10-2019, 09:08 AM   #24
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Find out what the rear axle is geared at. Mine was 4.44 and topped out at 62.
He crawled under it and had no avail, it was replaced by freightliner, and didn’t have a stamp on it. Is there a way to tell without that?
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Old 12-10-2019, 09:11 AM   #25
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Have him take a pic of tires showing the dates.

To find out the axle ratio you need the tire size and rpm at a given speed. Have him take a pic of the gauges while going down the road at 55-60mph.
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Old 12-10-2019, 09:11 AM   #26
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He crawled under it and had no avail, it was replaced by freightliner, and didn’t have a stamp on it. Is there a way to tell without that?
I wonder why freightliner would mess with a Navistar chassis.
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Old 12-10-2019, 09:29 AM   #27
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He crawled under it and had no avail, it was replaced by freightliner, and didn’t have a stamp on it. Is there a way to tell without that?
Jack the rear end up in the air, rotate the driveshaft one turn and count how many rotations (full and partial) the tires do.
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Old 12-10-2019, 09:30 AM   #28
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I wonder why freightliner would mess with a Navistar chassis.
I’m not sure. The seller is just a guy selling it for the owner. He called the shop that did the work and they didn’t have paperwork on it since it was from 5 years ago. Other then that he has all the paperwork of maintenance from when it was in its district wheee it spent most of its life. In Montana it’s few and far between once in these small towns. I’m sure freightliner was just the one who did the work.
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Old 12-10-2019, 10:45 AM   #29
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The door was deformed by it also (you can see the bend at the bottom). Lot of work involved in getting that mess straightened out - and probably every opening in the back (lights and windows) is leaking now, if they weren't already.

If you were going to turn the back of the bus into a flatbed like some people do, I guess this would be a good candidate.
I too would shy away from a bus with a bent door. Repairing the frame so it closes right can get extremely expensive. The company I work for has a bus down at the body shop right now that got a glancing blow from a skidding Honda that bent the door frame. Insurance could potentially total the bus, still waiting on the estimate for repair as we have 4 other buses already there that are higher priority.

This other bus the OP is looking at looks like a good one. Underbody storage is a plus to me. Very good looking rubber too. A bit higher on the miles than I would prefer but if she runs good and doesn't smoke I would bite.
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Old 12-10-2019, 11:02 AM   #30
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Mine looked very similar-


Had to see it right in the pic but similar.

I've never had a bus with 100% straight service door/frame. This one wasn't bad.
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Old 12-10-2019, 11:13 AM   #31
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I too would shy away from a bus with a bent door. Repairing the frame so it closes right can get extremely expensive. The company I work for has a bus down at the body shop right now that got a glancing blow from a skidding Honda that bent the door frame. Insurance could potentially total the bus, still waiting on the estimate for repair as we have 4 other buses already there that are higher priority.

This other bus the OP is looking at looks like a good one. Underbody storage is a plus to me. Very good looking rubber too. A bit higher on the miles than I would prefer but if she runs good and doesn't smoke I would bite.
If your talking about the 1995, the service door in the front is good to go. The rear however was backed into a tree. Some roof dents, but looks like the emergency door is good. I’m thinking all is well here. This is the one I’ll take a bite at. Won’t be for a couple weeks til I get up there but the guys hanging onto it for me.
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Old 12-10-2019, 11:15 AM   #32
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Mine looked very similar-


Had to see it right in the pic but similar.

I've never had a bus with 100% straight service door/frame. This one wasn't bad.
Was yours a 35footer or 40? I like that roof raise. That’s a thought of mine but I’m short. So might be able to get away without it.
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Old 12-10-2019, 02:38 PM   #33
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If your talking about the 1995, the service door in the front is good to go. The rear however was backed into a tree. Some roof dents, but looks like the emergency door is good. I’m thinking all is well here. This is the one I’ll take a bite at. Won’t be for a couple weeks til I get up there but the guys hanging onto it for me.
I think for that price its a decent deal. But seriously stick a few grand aside and get a 643 for it and you'll be REALLY happy. If the gearing is lower (numerically higher) than 4.44 you're gonna want to look at regearing. Plan on that being $600-$1200.
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Old 12-10-2019, 02:40 PM   #34
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Was yours a 35footer or 40? I like that roof raise. That’s a thought of mine but I’m short. So might be able to get away without it.
Forty footer.
The ceiling wasn't much over 6 foot and I'm 5'10ish. We raised it ten inches which I think was perfect. Any more would look goofy.

Roof raise was COOL. Was nerve racking at first but when it was all done I was really happy with it.
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Old 12-10-2019, 04:05 PM   #35
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I think for that price its a decent deal. But seriously stick a few grand aside and get a 643 for it and you'll be REALLY happy. If the gearing is lower (numerically higher) than 4.44 you're gonna want to look at regearing. Plan on that being $600-$1200.
Yeah I think I’ll be able to get away with the 545 until it burns out. I have a friend who works solely on transmissions so if him and I can rehear it if needed.
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Old 12-10-2019, 04:06 PM   #36
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Forty footer.
The ceiling wasn't much over 6 foot and I'm 5'10ish. We raised it ten inches which I think was perfect. Any more would look goofy.

Roof raise was COOL. Was nerve racking at first but when it was all done I was really happy with it.
The roof raise would be ideal for me also, I’m a decent welder and could fabricate some things. How’d you do yours? Any thread links to the raise?
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Old 12-10-2019, 04:15 PM   #37
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The roof raise would be ideal for me also, I’m a decent welder and could fabricate some things. How’d you do yours? Any thread links to the raise?
Do a search here, there are several roof raising threads.
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Old 12-10-2019, 04:17 PM   #38
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The roof raise would be ideal for me also, I’m a decent welder and could fabricate some things. How’d you do yours? Any thread links to the raise?
YEah the link is at the bottom of all my posts. Roll Your Own.
I used all thread and some custom c channel I had bent up at the local fab shop my step dad works for.
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Old 12-14-2019, 04:30 PM   #39
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Old 12-14-2019, 06:58 PM   #40
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The door was deformed by it also (you can see the bend at the bottom). Lot of work involved in getting that mess straightened out - and probably every opening in the back (lights and windows) is leaking now, if they weren't already.

If you were going to turn the back of the bus into a flatbed like some people do, I guess this would be a good candidate.
Yeah I’ve considered the body damage on it, and I think it’d be fixable, especially with a roof raise. But, I’ve also thought about taking out the last section (if the roof) and making it a platform for a motorcycle. A lot of fabrication behind that though.

Tires on it are good.
Finishing up a job here in North Dakota then headed back to Montana to get eyes on it after Christmas.
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