1985 GMC 72 Passenger Howdy from Dallas

[Fubaru]

Hello all,

I went ahead and bought a 1985 5 speed GMC 366 Bus with out the support of loved ones. They did their best to talk me outta it. I even broke up with a G/F that wasn't very supportive of the decision & others I made at the time. So needless to say at this point I am all in on my idea to live in a bus & have it be my mobile tiny home with solar panels & all one day in the near distant future!! Here is the kicker... I am 6 foot 6 & as most of you all know that is too tall to stand up straight in these fine pieces of machinery, so I am in the process of devising a plan to raise the roof! I want to at the least raise it 2 feet for storage space & head room. Any info or advice you guys have is welcomed !! I've been watching a lot of videos on youtube of some of the people that have taken on modding these buses in such a way. I think I am going to make my cut under the windows & add footage that way. Thank you all for your time in advance!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=3&theater

Bus mods so far:
*seats removed
*windows & insulation/ inside paneling removed/ except riveted ones
*flooring removed


- Sincerely
Travis Scott Henry

[Robin97396]

Sounds good to me Travis. For some reason (weight mostly) people seem to do the roof raise from above the windows. There's a lot more flat steel to tie into under the windows, and as a bonus the windows aren't at underwear level anymore.
2 foot is going to make an interesting looking bus. Looking forward to seeing how it goes.

[dgorila1]

Are you planning on keeping the stock windows? If not and you plan to skin the sides and install new windows, the easiest way would be to do what most on her do and cut the window pillars about half way up (or staggered) and weld in sections of pillar to make the raise. Plenty of examples on here....aaronsbb has some good pics as do many others.

[skoolie_n00bie]

Great looking bus!
2'? isn't that a bit too much? I think ppl usually go between 10" and 12"...center of gravity and all...
More pics!

[slaughridge85]

Originally Posted by skoolie_n00bie

Great looking bus!
2'? isn't that a bit too much? I think ppl usually go between 10" and 12"...center of gravity and all...

naw, some of the most impressive and well done roof raises on this site are 2 feet plus... as long as you're not storing all your water on the roof or something you'll be fine...

[WIbluebird]

I sure hope you won't be driving it much. 2 ft roof raise and a 366 gas motor is gonna get you somewhere in the 3-4 mpg range

[cadillackid]

wow!! this is almost a long version of my last bus!!..

I had an 86 Bluebird wit ha 454 Gas V8 in it..

that 366 can be built up a bit to push out a but above that 200 HP range which the transmission and clutch will handle easily.. so it could be made to run better on the highway if power is an issue..

raising the roof will kill the already low MPG's these gas motors push out, however if you are going to make it more of a Tiny Home and not an RV then highway driveability and extra MPG may not be an issue.. ie if you are only going to drive it a few times a year rather than travel the country in it..

great project!.. Love these Heavy-built busses.. I drove one of these when it was BRAND NEW!! thanks to the nice blue-bird salesman I knew when i was a teen!..

-Christopher

[dgorila1]

Is the 366 carburated or fuel injected? If carburated switching to fuel injection may improve gas mileage a little.

[Fubaru]

It is carburetor I believe. Haven't messed with the engine much yet. Just glad it still runs as well as it does. Almost about half way done with tearing the aluminum paneling out & finish prep for the big cut/roof raise.

[Fubaru]

I am going to try to re use the stock Windows since this is my first one & just finally found my career & still budgeting big time to get by. I don't plan to travel the country in this one, but will still like it to be mobile for short trips & moving to new zip codes. Thank you all so much for the input & the support!

[cadillackid]

my 86 was carb and it was a 454.. I improved fuel mileage by changing its intake and installing an edelbrock 4 barrel instead of the stock 2.. I tuned the front barrels to be a little leaner and gained a bit of MPG when running lightly .. I had vacuum secondaries which I tuned to come on if I lugged the engine at all or romped on it..

-Christopher