Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 07-16-2020, 05:35 PM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 20
35' MCI motor coach partially converted

https://rsymonds53.wixsite.com/mci-5c

Have some money invested in this bus. Need to sell it, too old to work on it anymore. Good bus for conversion and partially done. Looking for best offer. It is located in Tolland, Ct.

rsymonds is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-16-2020, 10:08 PM   #2
Bus Crazy
 
bus-bro's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Whidbey Island, WA.
Posts: 1,109
Year: 1984
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: All American
Engine: 3208 na boat anchor
Rated Cap: 2
Nice looking MC-5. That would a great foundation for someone to build on.

Nowadays people shy away from the '71 series engines, saying that it's hard to find someone that knows how to work on them, but those engines where designed to be easy to work on, even the V-engines.

Not that I'm going to buy another bus, but do you have a reasonable price that you would find acceptable?
bus-bro is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2020, 12:18 AM   #3
Bus Geek
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 3,856
Year: 2002
Coachwork: Thomas Built Bus
Chassis: Freightliner FS65
Engine: Caterpillar 3126E Diesel
Rated Cap: 71 Passenger- 30,000 lbs.
From the scrolling pictures, it looks like a good machine. Hard to tell since the images would go away about the time you looked at them.
Native is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2020, 06:22 AM   #4
Bus Geek
 
EastCoastCB's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Eustis FLORIDA
Posts: 23,764
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Freighliner FS65
Engine: Cat 3126
Rated Cap: 15
A lot of folks should look hard at these MC5's.

Good luck with sale, OP. Sweet lil coach you got there.
EastCoastCB is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2020, 06:23 AM   #5
Bus Geek
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Columbus Ohio
Posts: 18,753
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Carpenter
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: DTA360 / MT643
Rated Cap: 7 Row Handicap
Quote:
Originally Posted by bus-bro View Post
Nice looking MC-5. That would a great foundation for someone to build on.

Nowadays people shy away from the '71 series engines, saying that it's hard to find someone that knows how to work on them, but those engines where designed to be easy to work on, even the V-engines.

Not that I'm going to buy another bus, but do you have a reasonable price that you would find acceptable?



having just acquired my very own '71 based bus.. ive been reading up alot and also hands on with reviving them and working on them.. everyone I talk to says parts are still readily available for them.. now some of the peripheral parts on some of the older stuff may be hard to find.. ie fan clutches, A/C parts, etc..



realizing just how easy it was to bring a 6V71 to life that had sat 37 years was just amazing and to me a testament to the quality that those engines were.. I used to be afraid of them.. now im really finding myself very much fascinated with them..
cadillackid is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2020, 06:50 AM   #6
Bus Nut
 
Join Date: May 2019
Location: Lebanon, Indiana
Posts: 911
Year: 2000
Coachwork: Winnebago
Chassis: Ford F53
Engine: Ford Triton V-10
Rated Cap: currently 2
71 series engines aren't rocket science or voodoo, it's just that they haven't been in mainstream use for so long that the mechanics who best knew them are a dying breed. It's kind of like at the beginning of the COVID crisis when states' websites were crashing under the surge of unemployment applications and it came to light that most of their modern technology has been developed on the back of legacy technology like COBOL and Fortran but almost no one working in technology these days knows those ancient languages. It's not like they're shrouded in mystery, it's just that no one wants to bother learning something with little practical application until it all hits the fan. I would put these engines in the same category because they're actually quite basic and practically bulletproof and if society as we know it collapses or there's a massive solar flare that fries modern technology or whatever I'm guessing those old Detroits will keep on ticking away and suddenly become 'essential infrastructure' to keep whatever remnant of society trudging along and likewise anyone who knows how to work on them will find themselves in high demand.
Sehnsucht is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2020, 07:01 AM   #7
Bus Geek
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Columbus Ohio
Posts: 18,753
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Carpenter
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: DTA360 / MT643
Rated Cap: 7 Row Handicap
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sehnsucht View Post
71 series engines aren't rocket science or voodoo, it's just that they haven't been in mainstream use for so long that the mechanics who best knew them are a dying breed. It's kind of like at the beginning of the COVID crisis when states' websites were crashing under the surge of unemployment applications and it came to light that most of their modern technology has been developed on the back of legacy technology like COBOL and Fortran but almost no one working in technology these days knows those ancient languages. It's not like they're shrouded in mystery, it's just that no one wants to bother learning something with little practical application until it all hits the fan. I would put these engines in the same category because they're actually quite basic and practically bulletproof and if society as we know it collapses or there's a massive solar flare that fries modern technology or whatever I'm guessing those old Detroits will keep on ticking away and suddenly become 'essential infrastructure' to keep whatever remnant of society trudging along and likewise anyone who knows how to work on them will find themselves in high demand.

the most complex parts of a 71 are probably the roots blower and may be the injectors..



but of course anything 2 cycle will baffle a young guy fresh out of diesel school with his fancy laptop ...
-Christopher
cadillackid is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2020, 06:35 PM   #8
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 20
pictures

Quote:
Originally Posted by Native View Post
From the scrolling pictures, it looks like a good machine. Hard to tell since the images would go away about the time you looked at them.
Click on the pic and it will open in another window and you can view them as long as you want.
rsymonds is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2020, 06:39 PM   #9
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 20
I'd like to get 7.5K, have over 20K invested over the years. We were going sell everything and full time in it and my wife got sick. It is a good bus. Runs excellent. Needs a headlight and someone to finish it. If I wasn't 67 I'd finish it and fulfill the dream.
rsymonds is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2020, 06:47 PM   #10
Bus Geek
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 3,856
Year: 2002
Coachwork: Thomas Built Bus
Chassis: Freightliner FS65
Engine: Caterpillar 3126E Diesel
Rated Cap: 71 Passenger- 30,000 lbs.
Aw come on ... 67 is not old! My wife is well past that age and we are still working on our skoolie while moving from Texas to Florida.
Native is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2020, 09:08 PM   #11
Skoolie
 
Join Date: Mar 2020
Posts: 128
Those mission stickers in the bus are probably the best collection of them anywhere outside of Cape Canaveral. Ultra cool and irreplaceable. Maintianed as only NASA would, no doubt.


You have a piece of history there, and a flat out bargain at $7500, IMHO.


GLWTS
TomA is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-23-2020, 12:15 PM   #12
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: NY, USA
Posts: 18
Really nice build

Nice looking sheet metal work... best of health....
n2wbl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-23-2020, 12:16 PM   #13
New Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Posts: 7
Have all the side windows been removed? If so do you have them? What is covering the outside where they were?

Thank you for info in advance.
BohoBus is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-23-2020, 12:51 PM   #14
Bus Nut
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Posts: 334
I want it so bad
Seriousracer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-23-2020, 07:19 PM   #15
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 20
sheetmetal

The windows are gone, the frame is framed for RV windows. 2 in the living room, 2 in the back bedroom.The outside skin is 16 gauge aluminum. (.064) About 3000 rivets total went into the sides and there is aluminum skins on the inside under the plywood with more rivets.
rsymonds is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-01-2020, 10:34 PM   #16
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: NY, USA
Posts: 18
Came back for a second look,, really nice job on the skin!
n2wbl is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 11:55 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.