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Old 11-13-2017, 09:41 PM   #21
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Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Ashtabula, Ohio
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Year: 1996
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: International
Engine: T444E 7.3L
I brought this bus home today! We got up and hit the road at 6:00 AM and got there by 9:00 AM. I met the pastor of the church who was selling it and we went to the notary place to get the title notarized. We had lunch and after that went back to the bus. It fired up right away and hit the road at 11:00 AM after it warmed up for ten minutes. Stopped for fuel since it was on 1/4 tank. The bus took 30 gallons ($100.00) to fill it up.

I really was pretty confident the bus would make it home no problem after learning the history of it. The guy at the church who drove the bus drove it for 10 years. They put less than 3,000 miles a year on it and it was serviced, inspected, and maintained every 6 months. The bus actually drove better and better the more I drove it. It is slow to accelerate, but once it's up to speed, it's good to go. We climbed all the mountain hills on route 217 and 422 in Pennsylvania with no issues. The temp ran at 190, oil pressure at 50, and volts at just below 14 all the way home. Top speed is 64 MPH on this bus, but that is totally fine with me.

We got home at 3:15 PM and here it is waiting for me to tear into it and it has over 1/2 tank of fuel. I guess I will start a thread here as soon as the build begins............
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Old 11-14-2017, 06:37 AM   #22
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And I just drove the bus to work this morning
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Old 11-14-2017, 06:38 AM   #23
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Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Eustis FLORIDA
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Year: 1999
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Congrats, man.
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Old 11-14-2017, 06:54 AM   #24
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Join Date: May 2009
Location: Columbus Ohio
Posts: 18,751
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Carpenter
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: DTA360 / MT643
Rated Cap: 7 Row Handicap
congrats on getting your bus home!!! and yeah!! driving it to work! kudos!, im at a starbucks this AM and my DEV bus is out front

you'll find the T-444E likes to run warmed up.. they are extremely noisy when cold but once warmed up they quiet dowen and run smooth / efficient.

190 temp is about right for this kind of weather, they have factory a 190 T-stat which starts to open around 185 or so. 45-50 oil pressure at 1800 RPM or above is right normal too.. the navistar gauges are notorious for being off a few numbers either way.. but you sre right where you want to be .. keep the oil checked and dont over-fill it.. if you over-fill the 444E it will blow the oil out the draft tube..

once you drive it in warmer weather you'll wasnt ot keep attention to the temperature.. at 2200 rpm and above they like to run hot under load in hot weather.. no worries of that anytime soon here in ohio....

-Christopher
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Old 11-14-2017, 08:14 AM   #25
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Location: Houston, Texas
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Year: 1946
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Outstanding! Let the fun begin.
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Old 11-14-2017, 09:34 AM   #26
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Congrats !

It looks like a real nice bus, Mullet Man. I like that size.

Your neighbors will be asking if you got part time job moonlighting for the District.
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Old 11-14-2017, 09:44 AM   #27
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Here's one way to get a little more perkiness without having to change out the AT545...

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Old 11-14-2017, 11:12 AM   #28
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dang looks like the Heater works too
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Old 11-14-2017, 11:55 AM   #29
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It's the departure angle that I like.
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Old 11-14-2017, 05:46 PM   #30
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Location: Ashtabula, Ohio
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Year: 1996
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So since I drove the bus to work, all the guys wanted to check it out. I told them I will take them all to lunch and I was buying. This way everyone gets to check it out. First step in buying a Skoolie is making sure it's mechanically sound. This one is!
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Old 11-14-2017, 07:02 PM   #31
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Join Date: May 2009
Location: Columbus Ohio
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Rated Cap: 7 Row Handicap
yeah!!!! im a huge fan of driving the bus around as much as you can to get it used to running and you lear nabout any quirks it has.. then again im wierd.. i just drive my busses around more than I drive my car
-Christopher
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Old 11-14-2017, 07:26 PM   #32
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnny Mullet View Post
So since I drove the bus to work, all the guys wanted to check it out. I told them I will take them all to lunch and I was buying. This way everyone gets to check it out. First step in buying a Skoolie is making sure it's mechanically sound. This one is!
YOu should join the BUS RIDE GAME!
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Old 11-14-2017, 07:32 PM   #33
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Join Date: Oct 2017
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Engine: T444E 7.3L
The first step in building a Skoolie is making sure you have a good, reliable bus to start with. I have already put 200+ miles on the bus with no issues. I will daily drive it until the snow flies and then start to build just to be sure it is good to go. If anything major was to go wrong it would have happened by now.

I will start a project page on the bus soon, but since there are still seats in the bus, I am calling all my friends for a few bar hopping nights and have some fun with it for the next week or so

This bus is not as much as a slow turd as I thought it was. The warmer the engine, the better it goes! It was funny going to work this morning and having all the school bus drivers wave at me and watching the kids head for the edge of the road as I sped past them
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Old 11-14-2017, 07:40 PM   #34
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Join Date: May 2009
Location: Columbus Ohio
Posts: 18,751
Year: 1991
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Chassis: International 3800
Engine: DTA360 / MT643
Rated Cap: 7 Row Handicap
I still have all the seats in my red one my friends love to ride it.. the school bus drivers wave at me in both busses.. and both are painted other than yellow.. i get thumbs up from truckers..

your 444E is from the north so it likely has the Exhaust Back Pressure Valve which operates when the engine is cold and makes the bus very slow.. these 444E's quiet down and run great when warmed up.. I drove mine on several trips in near 0 temps last winter and it never missed a beat..

the EBPV is designed to help the bus warm up quickewr.. robs alot of power.. my bus doesnt have it and it warms up nicely in the cold even with all the heaters on High (I drive with short sleeve shirt on and coat not worn.. and I like it warm..

you can turn the EBPV function off in the computer if you dont want ot use it..

-Christopher
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Old 11-14-2017, 07:48 PM   #35
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cadillackid View Post
I still have all the seats in my red one my friends love to ride it.. the school bus drivers wave at me in both busses.. and both are painted other than yellow.. i get thumbs up from truckers..

your 444E is from the north so it likely has the Exhaust Back Pressure Valve which operates when the engine is cold and makes the bus very slow.. these 444E's quiet down and run great when warmed up.. I drove mine on several trips in near 0 temps last winter and it never missed a beat..

the EBPV is designed to help the bus warm up quickewr.. robs alot of power.. my bus doesnt have it and it warms up nicely in the cold even with all the heaters on High (I drive with short sleeve shirt on and coat not worn.. and I like it warm..

you can turn the EBPV function off in the computer if you dont want ot use it..

-Christopher
I can also upgrade it to a larger (1999+) turbo and get a non-ebp pedestal for it and do more upgrades, but right now I want to get it built with my current build budget and can do these upgrades later since it runs good.

We need to hook up one of these days since we are both tech minded cadillackid
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Old 11-14-2017, 08:09 PM   #36
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Location: Eustis FLORIDA
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Chassis: Freighliner FS65
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Bus name suggestion- ST the Slow Turd!
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Old 11-15-2017, 08:42 AM   #37
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Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Houston, Texas
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Year: 1946
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Chassis: 1- 1/2 ton
Engine: Cummins 4BT
Rated Cap: 15
Typically, "bigger" turbos add oomph to the upper RPM range but are much slower to spool. More low-end kick will likely require different injectors and a few turns on the smoke screw. You can find some excellent tuning/modding info and advice over on 4BTswaps.com. Despite the name, there all kinds of engine builders there and they are a friendly bunch, much like the folks here.
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Old 11-15-2017, 11:53 AM   #38
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So wifey talked to a friend about our conversion plans and he just GAVE us a motor home with a new rooftop A/C and a new furnace. His in-laws owned it and it quit running and they abandoned it.

Going to look at it Saturday and I got a couple guys here at work who insist we will get it running and drive it home or drag it home.
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Old 11-15-2017, 01:13 PM   #39
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Join Date: May 2009
Location: Columbus Ohio
Posts: 18,751
Year: 1991
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Chassis: International 3800
Engine: DTA360 / MT643
Rated Cap: 7 Row Handicap
now THATS total coolness!! not sure what kind of conversion you are doing but seems like you ought to be able to snag some good stuff off of that RV.. and also see how things like electrical / plumbing, etc were put together as a learning tool..
-Christopher
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Old 11-15-2017, 06:02 PM   #40
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Totally Excellent! That IS a friend. Bound to be a bunch of stuff usable off that donor.
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