New here but not my first build.

[EZBUZZSAW]

Hello All,
My name is Austin and I am currently in Houston TX. I built my first motor home about 25 years ago. It was a high top dodge van and I still miss it today. My wife Madeline and I are shopping for our bus now and would like a Blue Bird 26 foot bus with the cummins FE. We are working hard on plans while shopping all over the country. I have already missed 4 busses in auctions and on ebay ARGHHH! Hopefully driving one home soon as part of the adventure. This sight has been a big help already to us. We look forward to starting our Gulf Coast beach tour soon. I am in construction so I should be able to get it livable rather quickly. We look forward to meeting up with other skoolies soon.
Thanks,
Austin
AKA
EZBUZZSAW

[1olfart]

Welcome, Austin.
Houston is a good place to be if you can wait for Cypress Fairbanks Schools to get there buses to auction. I'm not sure when the next batch comes up, but someone here might. There are a couple of other places around town with busses, too. Biggest place I know of is on Hwy. 290, near Cypress. There is a place off of N. I45, that list some busses on C/L.
Is your plan to build your bus in Houston, or in Austin? There seems to be a good group of "skoolheads" in the Houston area, and word has it that some type of meet up has been tossed around.

[EZBUZZSAW]

Originally Posted by 1olfart

Welcome, Austin.
Houston is a good place to be if you can wait for Cypress Fairbanks Schools to get there buses to auction. I'm not sure when the next batch comes up, but someone here might. There are a couple of other places around town with busses, too. Biggest place I know of is on Hwy. 290, near Cypress. There is a place off of N. I45, that list some busses on C/L.
Is your plan to build your bus in Houston, or in Austin? There seems to be a good group of "skoolheads" in the Houston area, and word has it that some type of meet up has been tossed around.

I will be building it in Houston, my name is Austin... NW Bus in Houston doesn't have much on the lot right now. I will keep looking for a less than rusty southern bus and nab it up soon. I need to have it at least livable by mid summer so I need to get the searching done and the drive home started!
Thanks!

[Tango]

Howdy Austin...and Welcome --- quite a few Houston area Skoolies on this site. If you are still shopping, touch base with the chap who goes by M1031A1. He worked and drove for the Katy SD as I recall and has some excellent inside lines and info on local bus deals.

[Phatman]

Hey Austin welcome to THE MADNESS. There are quite a few of us here in Houston area. Me & Graycoyote are south of Houston in the Alvin area. Tango is right though about M1031A1. He drove for Katy ISD and he personally knows a couple of our busses. We will probably pester him to death. I just sold this bus Tuesday.

[Phatman]

Originally Posted by 1olfart

Welcome, Austin.
Houston is a good place to be if you can wait for Cypress Fairbanks Schools to get there buses to auction. I'm not sure when the next batch comes up, but someone here might. There are a couple of other places around town with busses, too. Biggest place I know of is on Hwy. 290, near Cypress. There is a place off of N. I45, that list some busses on C/L.
Is your plan to build your bus in Houston, or in Austin? There seems to be a good group of "skoolheads" in the Houston area, and word has it that some type of meet up has been tossed around.

Hey 1Olmert, are you in the Houston area?

[EZBUZZSAW]

Originally Posted by Tango

Howdy Austin...and Welcome --- quite a few Houston area Skoolies on this site. If you are still shopping, touch base with the chap who goes by M1031A1. He worked and drove for the Katy SD as I recall and has some excellent inside lines and info on local bus deals.

Thanks I will!

[EZBUZZSAW]

Originally Posted by Phatman

Hey Austin welcome to THE MADNESS. There are quite a few of us here in Houston area. Me & Graycoyote are south of Houston in the Alvin area. Tango is right though about M1031A1. He drove for Katy ISD and he personally knows a couple of our busses. We will probably pester him to death. I just sold this bus Tuesday.

Thanks looking forward to a Houston Meet Up.

[Tango]

I met up with Phatman at RE:HAB Bar on the Bayou and we have been trying to get the local Skoolies together there for a while now. How about next Sunday about noon? If you show up, fine. If not, fine. Might help to start a new "Houston Skoolie Meetup" thread.

[cadillackid]

welcome!!!

CyFair has an auction starting next week...(tuesday ) I'll know once it starts if there are any busses and can post a link.. they havent set up a link for it yet.. just a notification that an auction starts... I have one of their shorties and it seems to be a really great Bus..

I youtube chat with someone who went to achool there and says Most all of their busses are designed for highway speeds and are DT-466 Powered.. they had a few like mine that were T-444E. but not many...

advantage you have being in Houston is you could go over and inspect busses in person..

-Christopher

[EZBUZZSAW]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

welcome!!!

CyFair has an auction starting next week...(tuesday ) I'll know once it starts if there are any busses and can post a link.. they havent set up a link for it yet.. just a notification that an auction starts... I have one of their shorties and it seems to be a really great Bus..

I youtube chat with someone who went to achool there and says Most all of their busses are designed for highway speeds and are DT-466 Powered.. they had a few like mine that were T-444E. but not many...

advantage you have being in Houston is you could go over and inspect busses in person..

-Christopher

Thanks Christopher

I don't think they use any of the busses I want to convert. I know the 5.9 Cummins well and want a FE Flat nose Blue Bird with the short wheel base. I am willing to wait a while to get that one. I know I am being to picky but I don't want to relearn a power-plant.

Thanks,
Austin

[EZBUZZSAW]

Hello All,
I just got in from an uneventful drive home with our new bus! It tops out at 63 MPH at this point, fuel economy was not what I had hoped either. But nothing broke!!! It was a great first drive all and all, tomorrow night I will start what little tear out the is. It is a BB TC2000 set up as a mobile class room but it was already gutted and somehow titled in Texas as a MH already. It is almost boke in with close to 4K miles, I was able to verify the mileage today through the title info. I never thought I would find such a new drive train! No air brakes and under 25K DVW. My designs were based on a shorter wheel base so I have a lot of redesign to do now. Pics tomorrow.
For now it is time to rest.
Austin

[EZBUZZSAW]

Originally Posted by EZBUZZSAW

Hello All,
My name is Austin and I am currently in Houston TX. I built my first motor home about 25 years ago. It was a high top dodge van and I still miss it today. My wife Madeline and I are shopping for our bus now and would like a Blue Bird 26 foot bus with the cummins FE. We are working hard on plans while shopping all over the country. I have already missed 4 busses in auctions and on ebay ARGHHH! Hopefully driving one home soon as part of the adventure. This sight has been a big help already to us. We look forward to starting our Gulf Coast beach tour soon. I am in construction so I should be able to get it livable rather quickly. We look forward to meeting up with other skoolies soon.
Thanks,
Austin
AKA
EZBUZZSAW

UPDATE
We bought our bus yesterday, let the build begin!
My wife was dying to find me an It's Demo Day shirt from Fixer Upper!

[Phatman]

All right EZBUZZSAW, GREAT TO HEAR.YES WELCOME TO THE MADNESS. I JUST POSTED A MESSAGE TO THE HOUSTON SKOOLIES ABOUT A TEXAS MEET. CHECK IT OUT AND SEE WHAT YOU THINK.

[mdeese]

Congrats on the bus! I look forward to seeing the build. I'm down for a Texas Skoolie meetup!