Quote:
Originally Posted by butterfly
First post! What a cool site!
After months of lurking and researching on the website, not to mention seeing a half-dozen buses in person and kicking a few tires, I have narrowed down what I need in a school bus for my first-time conversion project this summer. The concept is to build a mobile movie studio for full-time life that can handle some off-grid time along gravel roads. I am in the Seattle area, specifically Maple Valley, so I've got plenty of room to get my hands dirty. All I need now is a bus. Here's what I'm looking for:
Must haves:
Type C bus
Anywhere from 1990 to 2003
Between 8 and 10 windows
Little to no rust
Located in the Pacific Northwest
Very nice to haves:
DT466 engine and MT643 transmission
Less than 200k miles
Less than 8000 hours
Less than $5000
My list is partly inspired by a previous post, so thank you for getting me started: https://www.skoolie.net/forums/f14/s...pnw-22532.html
|
Hi Neighbor. I'm in Auburn, just down the road.
I can't comment on the engine. Per the transmission, I have the MT643, and there are some things to know. While an all mechanical transmission, there is a known issue with the ones with an electrical modulator. I'm dealing with that as I write this. It also has a pretty wide gear range due to having only 4 gears. Yet, when working properly and knowing how to drive to take care of the engine and tranny, it's a workhorse.
While the Allison 1000/2000/3000 series are electronic, they also have 5+ gears and good reputations.
As you get closer to the 2003 in model year, you get closer to having emissions. Since the early 2000s were when they were just starting to add emissions, they were not necessarily the best. In many ways, it's just gotten worse over time. So, it's good you're looking in earlier model years.
I found my bus on Craigslist (Catholic High School in Burien) for $2,300, yet I didn't know then what I know now and would probably have passed. But, she's mine and I keep moving forward.
We're a pretty target rich environment considering we are a major metro area. Even though we get a lot of rain, we don't have salted roads. My bus has lived its whole life here and had hardly any rust to speak of. Not sure about over the mountains.
That's about it. Nice to have a fellow skoolie so close. I'll PM you my contact info if you want to get in touch.