Buying a bus and have some questions

[MorningOwl]

I've read a lot on this forum and done a lot of research on line. I've been looking for a school bus for over a year to convert into an RV. I want a dog nose, 76 passenger, with DT 466 engine, and an Allison Transmission. The problem is finding them together and the older DT 466 is rare now. Here is a list of what I'm currently looking at, any advise would be much appreciated.

2000 Blue Bird $5500 (delivered)-Vin 1HVBBAAP2YH304281
96,000 miles
Engine - DT 466E
Trans - He doesn't know but sent me a pic of the sticker, it reads;
Spicer Transmission Division
Serial M000306075 Make 301638-38 Model ES066-7B
Is this a good tranny?


1998 Blue Bird $3500 (Not delivered)-Vin 1HVBBAAN5WH628319
222,000 miles
Engine - DT 466E
Trans - They haven't called me back yet on this bus, I really like this one and am hoping it doesn't have the dreaded 545 or a lot of rust both are deal breakers for me. When I look up the vin it says;
Vehicle Type - Incomplete Vehicle
Body Class - Incomplete School Bus Chassis
What does that mean?


1998 Blue Bird $7500 (not delivered)-Vin 1HVBBAAN5XH670281
230HP DT466E Diesel Engine
MD3060 5 speed Allison automatic transmission
Miles: 222,000
Hours: 9,600
Again when I look up the Vin it say Incomplete.
I like this one too but it seem expensive, it would also need new tires, is it worth the money?

I've got some one emailing me tomorrow about a bus that has a DT 408 all mechanical. Is that a good engine? I like the all mechanical part. I'll post specs on that when I get the info. I work nights and sleep days so if you post questions for me I will get back to you, but it might not be until 2am.

Thank you to any one that is willing to share their knowledge, I really appreciate it.

MorningOwl

[Ronnie]

The spicer transmission is a 7 speed manual trans. That right there would be great to have. But if you want an automatic well then not.

[EastCoastCB]

466 with the spicer would be great. And much more rare than "466 with allison". Almost every bus has an allison.

[MorningOwl]

Well being told the spicer was a good trans I called him and told him I would take it. He sold it this morning and the guy is on his way to pick it up. So I guess it's back to the drawing board. Really disappointed.

[EastCoastCB]

what's your location?

[Willie_McCoy]

Originally Posted by MorningOwl

1998 Blue Bird $3500 (Not delivered)-Vin 1HVBBAAN5WH628319
222,000 miles
Engine - DT 466E
Trans - They haven't called me back yet on this bus, I really like this one and am hoping it doesn't have the dreaded 545 or a lot of rust both are deal breakers for me. When I look up the vin it says;
Vehicle Type - Incomplete Vehicle
Body Class - Incomplete School Bus Chassis
What does that mean?

MorningOwl

I looked this one up, it shows it was delivered on 8/1/98 to DEUEL School District, in SD, shows the headroom as 77" but no info on the engine or transmission.

Originally Posted by MorningOwl

1998 Blue Bird $7500 (not delivered)-Vin 1HVBBAAN5XH670281
230HP DT466E Diesel Engine
MD3060 5 speed Allison automatic transmission
Miles: 222,000
Hours: 9,600
Again when I look up the Vin it say Incomplete.
I like this one too but it seem expensive, it would also need new tires, is it worth the money?


MorningOwl

I also looked up this bus and it shows the same info, delivered to Eagle County School District in CO on 11/30/98 but oddly enough no info about the driveline.

If you can get serial numbers off the trannys Allison has a serial search you can use.

I used the Bluebird Portal to look up the vinshttps://vantage.blue-bird.com/Portal...?srcaud=Portal

[MorningOwl]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

what's your location?

Pendleton, Oregon

[MorningOwl]

Thanks for the link Willie McCoy.

[MorningOwl]

I got a call back from Harlow's about the 1998 Blue Bird $3500 (Not delivered)-Vin 1HVBBAAN5WH628319. It's located in South Dakota and he doesn't know what kind of tranny, says he'll get back to me next week with pic's of under belly of bus and tranny info.


Found another post with 5 buses for sale ranging in years from '92 to '99. He's going to get back to me tomorrow with spec's and pic's of those. He say's he's got 2 with the old DT 466 engines all mechanical. But he couldn't remember the tranny type off hand. He's in Colorado so shipping will be a factor. I can't take time off work to go get it. But he said he knew some guys I could pay to drive it to me in Pendleton, Oregon.


So the hunt continues..

[EastCoastCB]

Lots of good buses out there. Just be patient and you'll get a real good one.

[MorningOwl]

This is not far from me just a few miles. I would have to check for rust, but what do you all think?


https://eastoregon.craigslist.org/hv...145052748.html

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by MorningOwl

I got a call back from Harlow's about the 1998 Blue Bird $3500 (Not delivered)-Vin 1HVBBAAN5WH628319. It's located in South Dakota and he doesn't know what kind of tranny, says he'll get back to me next week with pic's of under belly of bus and tranny info.


Found another post with 5 buses for sale ranging in years from '92 to '99. He's going to get back to me tomorrow with spec's and pic's of those. He say's he's got 2 with the old DT 466 engines all mechanical. But he couldn't remember the tranny type off hand. He's in Colorado so shipping will be a factor. I can't take time off work to go get it. But he said he knew some guys I could pay to drive it to me in Pendleton, Oregon.


So the hunt continues..

Thanks for making me question my eyesight here.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by MorningOwl

This is not far from me just a few miles. I would have to check for rust, but what do you all think?


https://eastoregon.craigslist.org/hv...145052748.html

That's a real good one. Go look at it! Its got all the right stuff.

[MorningOwl]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

Thanks for making me question my eyesight here.

What made you question your eye sight? Mine isn't that great either so what did I miss?

[MorningOwl]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

That's a real good one. Go look at it! Its got all the right stuff.

Thanks EastCoastCB. I wasn't sure if the Allison 2000 was a good one or not, and the 242k miles. I called and left message, maybe I could go see it tomorrow. I work tonight, 4 to midnight, ye-haw.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by MorningOwl

Thanks EastCoastCB. I wasn't sure if the Allison 2000 was a good one or not, and the 242k miles. I called and left message, maybe I could go see it tomorrow. I work tonight, 4 to midnight, ye-haw.

in school buses ANY Allison that's not a 545 or 542 is a good one.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by MorningOwl

What made you question your eye sight? Mine isn't that great either so what did I miss?

Your post that I was replying to somehow picked up some weird HTML tags that made the font especially small (if you hit the "Quote" button underneath that post you'll see all the SIZE=2 tags in the editing box that comes up). Probably you copy-and-pasted from the listing and it picked it up that way.

I'm happy it was a one-time thing. Sometimes people like to do weird stuff like make their text purple or upper-case everything, and it's a pain to read. It's not quite as bad as MySpace was but it's in that direction.

[MorningOwl]

I went and looked at https://eastoregon.craigslist.org/hv...145052748.html
It has a DT466E with an Allison MT643. No rust. Is the MT643 a good trans?

[WIbluebird]

Originally Posted by MorningOwl

I went and looked at https://eastoregon.craigslist.org/hv...145052748.html
It has a DT466E with an Allison MT643. No rust. Is the MT643 a good trans?

Yes, it is, it has the lockup torque converter and is the one that most people with AT545s wish they had

[Ronnie]

Yes good trans. The MT 643 is a 4 speed with lockup torque converter. No overdrive.

The 2000 and 3000 series are 6 speed with double overdrive. However 6th gear is normally locked out in school buses. So 5 speed with 5th being overdrive. Also these have a lockup torque converter.

Overdrive is not in itself an advantage. However if the rear is geared low then it is. So it really depends on what the rearend ratio is.