P30 Bus - who actually HAS one?

[mick_sal]

Originally Posted by o1marc

Consider the lost airfare the cost of education in buying buses. You were wise to cancel. Chances are good you would have been upset with how much rust you would deal with on a used NJ bus. You're probably much better off with a bus from your area.
The link is for the bus you walked on? You dodged a bullet on that one
Whoa, they are asking $8 for that? Way over priced, those can be had all day long for less than half that price.

I completely agree with you, it was a learning experience and to realize that hey I live in Texas, we have anything and everything you could want here. It also thought me to be more patient, hell I got an even better deal here. And to add, the bus I found here was literally 10 miles from my home and cost me $3k versus the $6500 that I offered and paid for the P30. Yes, the link is to the bus I walked out on. I would have been even more upset if I got that bus, then started my 1800 mile drive home to get stranded in the middle of nowhere because of the bad rear end.

[mick_sal]

Originally Posted by WIbluebird

P30s are like Vistas, they're low budget ugly buses and nobody should pay more than $1500 for one. Rust state ones are scrap tier.

They're not any "easier" to work on than a "freightliner" style bus. It's still a bus.

If you're in Texas don't even waste your time looking at buses on the East coast, that's literally the worst part of the country to buy a bus in. Go look in AZ/NV/NM where you'll actually get something that's rust free and decent spec for a quarter of the asking price of that scrap pile in NJ.

I just really liked the style of the body, that’s what won me over. Well and also that it was a diesel. Also being on a heavy duty gm chassis, will be easier to convert into 4x4 rather than a freight liner. Which again, with patience, I found a heavy duty truck yard locally that said when I was ready, they will have a front drive axle for my bus to convert. Overall, yea I’m so much happier with the bus I purchased, little to no rust and a biiiig reliable engine.

[o1marc]

Go to the UserCP now and fill out your profile with your bus info and location. It'll help us answer your questions better.

[mick_sal]

Originally Posted by o1marc

Go to the UserCP now and fill out your profile with your bus info and location. It'll help us answer your questions better.

I’m getting some error that I think is not saving my info...says the “The URL entered could not be opened”.

Edit...I fingered it out, my bus should be visible now.

[Bleamer]

I had the good fortune of stumbling across a 2000 p30 shuttle bus in California and more or less traded a eurovan for it. It took me awhile to realize what a sweet ride it is. It had 50,000 on the odometer and was serviced every six months from new to when I bought it. Its clean and now has everything I need. I got burned out of house during one of the recent fires in cali but I still have a home thanks to my sweet P30! Peace

[magnakansas]

good to hear your bus and you made it through the fires.

william

[Bleamer]

Thanks brother!

[Missinghiker]

Im converting one rn. Shes 22 feet, 1977

[multihued muse]

Good day! I know this is an older thread but thought i would reply to it and see what happens.

Just purchased a 1993 Chevy Carpenter Cadet sitting on a P30 chassis from a local chruch with 107000 miles on it. About 100000 if those miles was from our local school bus system, the church purchased after 2002 and it hasnt been tagged in 12 years, but church states 5-6 of those years they still drove it regularly down the country road to keep batteries charged and such, but not so much the last 6 years and its been over a year (perhaps longer) since they last cranked it. So it has sat for a while, but surprisingly it started on 3rd crank of key with a hot battery i supplied. Has the j-code 6.2 liter diesel and im very excited...and scared to death at the same time.

Has anyone out there bought one of these and put it back on the road? Would love to hear any stories you may have, good or bad about bringing your beasty slug back to life. This one seems to run well, shot out some white smoke when it first started while pumping accelerator pedal after it first sputtered but it cleared up quickly and surprisingly has very little blow by.

Below are a few pixs. Hope to hear from some of y'all. Be good be happy and be blessed.

[Missinghiker]

My bus. She has 87k miles, and she is an absolute GEM

[multihued muse]

7dtijShe certainly is! Congratulations on your new ride. Looks like you have a nice platform to begin with. I look forward to having mine hauled home next week. Almost took the chance of traveling the 29 miles home but the tires have 23 year old date codes and are not safe even though they look fine. Also, the church cant remember when they put diesel in the tank last time. It has a 1/2 of tank showing and who knows how old it is, even if it did start it I may not want to chug 29 miles worth of it thru my fuel system...lol. My bus seems to be in great shape but needs bath terribly. Its sat so long it has moss growing on it - first order will be a good scrub-b-dub-dub

[Bleamer]

Hello fellow bus lovers. This has been a fun reference and I'm sure will be useful in the future. Thank you for responses to my probably too wordy excited posts. Just read some posts re folks bashing the Escort Festival. "Terrible bus...no one should pay more than $1500."..etc. I'm no expert on this growing genre of vehicles but I know what I like and I can see with my own eyes aspects of durability, quality, esthetics. Just saying, I don't see the point of bashing certain sorts of buses or shuttles or transits or whatever they are because they don't meet your personal requirements. I've been driving my 2000 escort for 6 years almost daily...often daily...and so far it has only exceeded my hopes. In addition wherever I drive I get smiles and waves and thumbs up which doesn't hurt the bus ego levels. It would be cool if all I read here was helpful advice and encouragement. But then if ifs and buts were candy and nuts...Said my piece. Keep loving what you love and to those who feel the need to cast dispersions on such a fine vehicle as the escort festival well, I say it's the most beautiful, personality rich 'bus' out there and don't be jealous! lol loveallbuses

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by multihued muse

7dtijShe certainly is! Congratulations on your new ride. Looks like you have a nice platform to begin with. I look forward to having mine hauled home next week. Almost took the chance of traveling the 29 miles home but the tires have 23 year old date codes and are not safe even though they look fine. Also, the church cant remember when they put diesel in the tank last time. It has a 1/2 of tank showing and who knows how old it is, even if it did start it I may not want to chug 29 miles worth of it thru my fuel system...lol. My bus seems to be in great shape but needs bath terribly. Its sat so long it has moss growing on it - first order will be a good scrub-b-dub-dub

awesome cadet!! thats a bus Id love to cruise around in.. that one even air-conditioned.. really rare to find A/C in a cadet... I saw one a few years ago I tried to buy. but got beat by someone else buying it who then has just let it sit for several years now.. this one looks like its really nice! great bus!

[kidharris]

Originally Posted by Bleamer

But then if ifs and buts were candy and nuts...

If?

"IF frogs had wings, they wouldn't bust their ass so much"

[tucktuck]

Originally Posted by Tango

Odd...most full sized Skoolies are WAY over sprung, especially on the rear. I replaced mine with a rate that was 50% of the original and it is fine now. Sounds like you have the opposite problem. What about some heavy duty coil-over booster shocks?

I have a 21ft 2000 p32 workhorse and mine has a crazy amount of leaf springs. Everyone that's seen the suspension looked surprised at just how much metal is there. As a matter of fact, before I converted it, the thing was so stiff, i could feel a pebble under the tire while driving. It's a much smoother ride now that it's full of stuff. It rides even better if the 100 gallon water tanks are full.