Shorty Schoolie Advice

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by Sirirah

Yeah in a perfect world I'd buy a bus from somewhere dry but with my work situation I don't really have time to, but I have plenty of time to worry about rust once I have a bus! I'm planning on working on it after work and weekends so if several of those weekends are spend combating rust then so be it

Arizona definitely turns out some nice buses but don't discount "wet" locations.

I have purchased three buses from Western Oregon and Washington. All virtually rust free.

It appears to me that buses that come from heavy snow areas that "salt" the roads are the rusty ones.

Another plug for NW buses...... I live in Washington and hear regularly "I couldn't live there. It rains too much"... I live in the desert....Well almost. I have to drive about 20 minutes to find sagebrush and rattlesnakes. We get more snow than I care for but they don't say the roads. Makes for nice buses.

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by PNW_Steve

Arizona definitely turns out some nice buses but don't discount "wet" locations.

I have purchased three buses from Western Oregon and Washington. All virtually rust free.

It appears to me that buses that come from heavy snow areas that "salt" the roads are the rusty ones.

Another plug for NW buses...... I live in Washington and hear regularly "I couldn't live there. It rains too much"... I live in the desert....Well almost. I have to drive about 20 minutes to find sagebrush and rattlesnakes. We get more snow than I care for but they don't say the roads. Makes for nice buses.

I used to think that about where my brother lives in Seattle, too rianny for me. I then checked and was quite surprised to see we get more rain anually in Atl, than Seattle gets. But it's more damp and dreary there which is depressing.

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by o1marc

I used to think that about where my brother lives in Seattle, too rianny for me. I then checked and was quite surprised to see we get more rain anually in Atl, than Seattle gets. But it's more damp and dreary there which is depressing.

There are a number of cities that get more annual rainfall than Seattle. Houston and Philadelphia come to mind.
. The difference is that in Houston it rains an inch of rain in an hour or two. In Seattle it rains an inch or two in a week or two

Wow! I just looked at the rain in Atlanta. 52 inches annually compared to Seattle's 38 inches.

Where I live we get 16-19 inches annually.

[Doktari]

Indeed almost every vehicle I’ve owned has been a West Coast vehicle with little rust. Worst I’ve had to repair was a few battery boxes that corroded out from battery acid. Then I tried living in Florida and bought a bus from Pennsylvania sight unseen. It had a lot of frame rust. Water was even getting into the diesel tank somehow. On top of the tank where I could not see. I was under that bus for a couple hours per day for about 3 weeks pressure washing, banging, scraping, chiseling, and spraying 3 gallons of ospho, then a special mix of equipment paint and Owetrol (from Israel). I knew that bus would eventually rust out but I slowed it down considerably. I drove it all the way across the country twice as it was the nicest driving bus I’ve had yet. Ford E450 cutaway.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Doktari

Indeed almost every vehicle I’ve owned has been a West Coast vehicle with little rust. Worst I’ve had to repair was a few battery boxes that corroded out from battery acid. Then I tried living in Florida and bought a bus from Pennsylvania sight unseen. It had a lot of frame rust. Water was even getting into the diesel tank somehow. On top of the tank where I could not see. I was under that bus for a couple hours per day for about 3 weeks pressure washing, banging, scraping, chiseling, and spraying 3 gallons of ospho, then a special mix of equipment paint and Owetrol (from Israel). I knew that bus would eventually rust out but I slowed it down considerably. I drove it all the way across the country twice as it was the nicest driving bus I’ve had yet. Ford E450 cutaway.

funny how most of the running buses for sale in FL are from OH and PA. A few even make it from MI.
I hate the rust on vehicles from that region.
We don't have a rust problem in non-coastal regions in FL. My GA bus is rust free thankfully.

[jmccoola]

Definitely check the rust situation. I bought a 5 window Collins E450 with a rebuilt 7.3L from Iowa- I thought all the rust was surface and workable but now Im realizing the steel piece that lifts the bus body above the chassis is almost completely shot and I am pretty much back at square 1
(but with a sweet engine and a more knowledge).

Bad choice to get it in the first place, I know, but I was eager and naive. Now I am also looking for a shorty to start over with. Someone just bought my dream bus out from under me in Pueblo, CO.

Good luck!

[Native]

Originally Posted by jmccoola

Definitely check the rust situation. I bought a 5 window Collins E450 with a rebuilt 7.3L from Iowa- I thought all the rust was surface and workable but now Im realizing the steel piece that lifts the bus body above the chassis is almost completely shot and I am pretty much back at square 1
(but with a sweet engine and a more knowledge).

Bad choice to get it in the first place, I know, but I was eager and naive. Now I am also looking for a shorty to start over with. Someone just bought my dream bus out from under me in Pueblo, CO.

Good luck!

Are you going to strip the bus body and make it a flad bed pick up truck?

[jmccoola]

Originally Posted by Native

Are you going to strip the bus body and make it a flad bed pick up truck?

I'm still trying to figure out the next step. Options are: find a new bus (which is proving difficult so far considering I'm looking for something pretty specific) and sell the engine, find a new bus with a sub-par engine and put my engine in there, or find the body of a cool old vintage bus and chop mine and replace the body.

The latter seems like it would probably be a ton of work that I don't know how to do but it would be super duper cool.