Wanted: Parts for older Ford B600 School Bus

[jake]

Hi - I just bought an old (1965) B600 conversion and found out (a little too late) about its many problems. I need an alternator, and I also need front brake drums, and a back bracket for the left front leaf springs. Anyone out there got an old B600 you're parting out? Or does anyone know of junk yards that might have one?

[frank-id]

There are lots of parts for your bus. Many, many trucks use thew exact same parts. Go to a salvage yard and ask for the interchange numbers and what years fit together. This is very easy. After you discover what parts years are the same, you will be looking just for truck parts. Any large parts store can tell the same info. Try any large truck shop, Napa, Car Quest, and others for the interchange. Frank

[wmah]

When I change out parts I like taking them off first and bring them with me to the parts store so they can not only see it themselfs they can also get the number off it. If it is a more common part such as brake pads/shoes or brake rotors/drums I just get the numbers off them and bring them in. A place like napa isn't much help here unless you know if the number is a Spicer, Dana number or another company number.

This is what part of the country you are from helps us help you better in finding parts that you need and where to go local to your location. I my area southern minnesota http://www.catcoparts.com is a good one to go to and the Burnsville guys there showed me a cheap part to fix my problem I had when my rear wheel clamps on the right side were not holding the dayton rim tight. Something they called a cheater ring. Which was a 20 inch ring to act as a spacer to help the clamps hold tight. The thing worked great for less than $10.

[KaptnKAOS]

Hey Wmah...

I don't know if you have a Shucks, Checker or Kragen auto parts near you or not...
We have Shucks here in NW Washington... most people don't know that they usually have a commercial counter in the back... you might have to ask at the front counter... they have differant catalogs than the main counter... I can get nearly anything for the Ford chassis or running gear for my '68 Ford Bluebird, new from them.
Good luck

KaptnKAOS

[jake]

Thanks for everyone's helpful answers. I live in Longmont, Colorado, but thought there might be a good truck salvage yard in Kansas where I could get parts? I'm told that the B600 and F600 parts are interchangeable. Is that correct?

[KaptnKAOS]

Hey Jake...

Yes, A B-600 is simply a Ford F-600 with a bus body... any of the chassis or running gear is Ford Truck.
Where you run into problems is the coach parts... Not sure which coach you have.
I have a '68 Bluebird coach and have run into dead ends trying to find anything for it.

I have looked all over the Northwest and have yet to find any '67-'72 B-500/F-500 or B-600/F-600 trucks.
I did find a Ford/Carpenter B-600 bus from that series, but it didn't have anything I really needed.
The guy was a jerk and wanted 3 times what I figure the parts were worth...
I got a pair of new marker lights on e-bay that were nearly perfect matches for the one I needed.
I got them both delivered to my house for less than he wanted for the single light. He would not guarantee it would even work...

Good luck,
KaptnKAOS

[patrick young]

I have parts for Ford B700 buses. Just give me a call when you want. I've scrapped out about 4 of them.

Patrick Young
Fresno, CA
(559) 251-3814

[Sstegemeyer]

I have just become the proud owner of a 1965 Ford Superior Coach school bus.
I am somewhat stumped as I cannot figure the bolt pattern. It is a large 5 lug, that I am unable to find a reference to with a mikitary style wheel. See pic. Thanks for the assistance ahead of time.

[CHEESE_WAGON]

That is the older Dayton hub / wheel arrangement before Budd-style wheels became more common. I hardly think it's military, but it was the way medium and heavy-duty trucks were built until at least the early 70s.

I'm pretty sure these are split-rim, and most tire shops won't touch them. The good news is, you may be able to swap the axles for later units with the Budd-style arrangement, which will also give you the opportunity to upgrade to air brakes as well, depending on how much extra work you are willing to do.

Cool old rig, I'd say you're probably going to find a 330, 361, or 391 under the hood.

Hope that helps!

[Sstegemeyer]

Thanks Cheese_Wagon,
Not sure what engine yet, but I did notice it does have an aircompressor of some type installed in the engine bay on the engine driven by main belt.i will post more pics once I get back to it. I was told that it drove to its current location under its own power, and parked. Now just worried brakes are seized, but I was able to turn crank by hand, so engine should be okay after fluids changed and typical maintenance.

[CHEESE_WAGON]

Everything depends on how long it's been sitting. The brakes are almost certainly rusted to the drums. I would try to get an idea of how long it's been sitting and if it's been started or anything since it was parked. Rubber fuel lines and such will rot over time.

Existing air compressor could indicate it already has air brakes, which will mean any axle swap will have to be sourced from an air-brake equipped donor. But then, if it already has air brakes, just swapping the hubs for Budd-compatible units might be possible. Look for a knob on the dash marked Parking Brake. It should be yellow, but could have faded to white on an older model such as this.

New members generally won't be able to post pics until 5 posts or so, so be patient.

[Ronnie]

I did have a 47 Dodge truck with budd wheels, so they have been around for a long time. The ford bus pictured is as mentioned Dayton wheels, and you can get 22.5" rims for modern radial tires that fit right on. 10R22.5 is most likely what you would be able to fit. This will give about 5mph higher cruising speed as they are about 3 or so inches bigger in diameter then the current tires, which are most likely 8.25 x 20

Are you planning to restore it? resto mod? Good luck with it certainly is a classic.