Husband bought a Greyhound Bus

[Bussy.McBusFace]

Hi. My name is Jessica. My husband bought an old Greyhound bus from the 50s. I know its not a school bus. Sorry about that. Its just that I was looking over your forums and found a lot of seemingly applicable information about turning a bus into a living space.

Our bus was converted back in the 70s. Its been parked in Yuma, AZ since the 90s. My husband is getting it running again. I think that I am capable of remodeling the inside but I think I'm capable of a lot of things so I guess time will tell. Meanwhile, I'm trying to learn everything I can about doing the inside of the thing because I want to contribute and be of part of getting it going and turning it into something cool we can enjoy.

[musigenesis]

Welcome to the site. Nobody here will be bothered by the fact that your bus isn't a school bus. Sounds like a fun project and looking forward to some pics.

[rossvtaylor]

Welcome to the forum. Like MG said, no need to be sorry it's not a school bus! A Greyhound bus from the 50s...would that be a GM 4104 with a Detroit 6-71 engine and a manual 4-speed transmission? That's my guess. Tell us more when you find out the details.

Post some pics when you can and feel free to ask questions of the group...and share your progress.

[DeMac]

Welcome, to the Insane Asylum Bussy.McBusFace.

Are you associated with the Bussy McBusface onYouTube, Instagram, FB & Twitter?

[cadillackid]

oh yes a good ole DETROIT!!!
if you guys havent already, go and watch Bus grease monkey videos on youtube to learn about that detroit 2 stroke it most likely has.. there are things you need to do BEFORE you ever attempt to fire that engine, or it can run away and you'll ruin it..



among other things its imperative to make sure the emergency shut-off system is fully functional.. having a CO2 fire extuigisher on hand as an absolute worst case scenerio if the engine takes off and the E shut off fails to operate..



the racks and injectors need to be 100% free and exercised.. removing the valve covers is a must for checking things out..

[Bussy.McBusFace]

Originally Posted by DeMac

Welcome, to the Insane Asylum Bussy.McBusFace.

Are you associated with the Bussy McBusface onYouTube, Instagram, FB & Twitter?

Hello there! Why no, I haven't heard of them but I'll have to look them up.

Bussy McBusFace is a nod to Boaty McBoatFace, a British vessel that got its namesake through a boat naming contest where the public was asked to cast votes for the boat name that they liked best. There were several more serious, official sounding suggestions but the name Boaty McBoatFace won by a landslide and that's how the boat became known worldwide.

I'm sure we will come up with a better name for the bus but nothing has really come to us yet but I'm sure something will as we get to know this bus a bit better.

[Bussy.McBusFace]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

Welcome to the site. Nobody here will be bothered by the fact that your bus isn't a school bus. Sounds like a fun project and looking forward to some pics.

Oh good. I didn't think so!

[DeMac]

Duplicate Post

[Bussy.McBusFace]

I hope this picture comes up. It did in the preview anyway. This is the lil bus sweet bus!

IMG]http://FB_IMG_1651543959339.jpg[/IMG]

[Bussy.McBusFace]

Originally Posted by rossvtaylor

Welcome to the forum. Like MG said, no need to be sorry it's not a school bus! A Greyhound bus from the 50s...would that be a GM 4104 with a Detroit 6-71 engine and a manual 4-speed transmission? That's my guess. Tell us more when you find out the details.

Post some pics when you can and feel free to ask questions of the group...and share your progress.

Yeah that sounds about right 😊

[DeMac]

Originally Posted by Bussy.McBusFace

Hello there! Why no, I haven't heard of them but I'll have to look them up.

Bussy McBusFace is a nod to Boaty McBoatFace, a British vessel that got its namesake through a boat naming contest where the public was asked to cast votes for the boat name that they liked best. There were several more serious, official sounding suggestions but the name Boaty McBoatFace won by a landslide and that's how the boat became known worldwide.

I'm sure we will come up with a better name for the bus but nothing has really come to us yet but I'm sure something will as we get to know this bus a bit better.

I am familiar with the AUVs of the Polar Explorer Programme in the UK

The name Boaty McBoatface was described as a homage to Hooty McOwlface, an owl named through an "Adopt-a-Bird" programme in 2012 that became popular on the Internet. Although Boaty McBoatface was the most popular suggestion in the #NameOurShip poll, the suggestion to use the name for the mothership was not followed.

Instead, Prince William and wife Kate formally named the new British polar research ship “Sir David Attenborough”.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by DeMac

Although Boaty McBoatface was the most popular suggestion in the #NameOurShip poll, the suggestion to use the name for the mothership was not followed.

They did use the name for one of the ship's boats IIRC. Guess they were sticklers for the whole "ship vs. boat" thing. ShippyMcShipFace is what the public probably should have voted for.

[Bussy.McBusFace]

I was unaware of Hooty McOwlFace ��

[Bussy.McBusFace]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

oh yes a good ole DETROIT!!!
if you guys havent already, go and watch Bus grease monkey videos on youtube to learn about that detroit 2 stroke it most likely has.. there are things you need to do BEFORE you ever attempt to fire that engine, or it can run away and you'll ruin it..



among other things its imperative to make sure the emergency shut-off system is fully functional.. having a CO2 fire extuigisher on hand as an absolute worst case scenerio if the engine takes off and the E shut off fails to operate..



the racks and injectors need to be 100% free and exercised.. removing the valve covers is a must for checking things out..

Yeah my husband found that Bus Monkey YouTube pretty fast and he's been watching all his stuff. We were out there in Yuma looking at the bus about a month or so ago just kind of assessing what all he'd need to do and it seemed to fire right up. It just didn't stay running. So now he knows what he needs to do to get it actually running and driving and the next time we go out there (bus is in Arizona) we have tires for it and he has all the parts he needs.

[rossvtaylor]

I sent you a direct message with my cell number, in case you have any questions I can help with. I'm in Arizona too, although up in the Northern end of the state. I have 4104 bus manuals and all the Detroit books (and the tune up tools) so I can look up anything you might have questions about. I've owned two 4104s...they're cool old rigs.

[Oldyeller]

Welcome to the site. Congrats on the purchase.

That's a cool bus and you'll have a lot of fun with it - in a masochistic kinda way.

I've been watching Bus Grease Monkey for some years now and he seems very knowledgeable about the Detroits and the tour buses in general.

[rossvtaylor]

Originally Posted by Oldyeller

... you'll have a lot of fun with it - in a masochistic kinda way.

Yup...like shifting into reverse. You first shift into first, then while in first and holding down the clutch pedal you press and hold the reverse solenoid button...then, while still holding down the clutch and the reverse solenoid button you shift into second...which is now reverse. Release the button and you're good to go, backwards. It's a process, but kinda fun once you know it.

[Tejon7]

Originally Posted by rossvtaylor

Yup...like shifting into reverse. You first shift into first, then while in first and holding down the clutch pedal you press and hold the reverse solenoid button...then, while still holding down the clutch and the reverse solenoid button you shift into second...which is now reverse. Release the button and you're good to go, backwards. It's a process, but kinda fun once you know it.

Huuuuuuhhhh???

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by rossvtaylor

Yup...like shifting into reverse. You first shift into first, then while in first and holding down the clutch pedal you press and hold the reverse solenoid button...then, while still holding down the clutch and the reverse solenoid button you shift into second...which is now reverse. Release the button and you're good to go, backwards. It's a process, but kinda fun once you know it.

ha!! so its got the same manual trans as my FishBowl then.. interesting

[Crown_Guy]

That was the GMC way of getting into Reverse. They ALL had that. Highway coaches, transits, suburbans. They even used most of the exact same parts in the drive-lines too. GMC was an extremely well engineered line of buses. and they didn't like making too many unique parts for different product lines. You could take the power pack of the engine/trans out of a 4104 and swap it into an old-look TDM-45XX or any of the various transit buses models. Same with many of the later years with various 6-8V-71's in them.

As Ross says that's definitely a 4104 and if it's still in place just inside the door on the vertical dash take note of the GMC ID plate which has the model number PD 4104 followed by the serial number. If it's not still there or covered up with upholstery or stuff there is another location where the serial number is stamped into the frame under the driver seat in the compartment there. The serial number will give an idea of year of manufacture, if you don't already have that on the title, which can be problematic in its own way.

As Ross said you can PM me direct or contact me via email and I can help you out as well. I have the manuals and engine books just like Ross does. Plus I've got 50+ years of experience driving and learned to drive in 4104's back in the day. Where will you be taking it home to?