New to the forum

[strabery]

Hi from Olathe, KS. I don't yet own my school bus but am going to look at 2 this week. I am looking for some feedback on the two I am considering. The first one is a 1962 Chev C60 School bus that has already been converted. The interior would probably need a lot of updating, but I am most concerned about the mileage...200,000. It has a 327 8 cylinder. It's a manual, but I can drive a stick if need be. The exterior looks like it's in really good condition and has already been titled as a motorhome. I have yet to see pictures of the engine compartment or underneath the vehicle but am hoping those come in tonight. I have also been told that the rear brakes and calipers need to be replaced. Is this a worthwhile endeavor, or am I wasting my time driving 5 hours to check it out. The price seems really good.
The second bus has also been titled as a motorhome and is a 1987 Bluebird, 55 passenger bus with 46K on it. It is slightly more expensive but still seems like an alright price. It has a bathroom in it, but the whole interior would have to be stripped as they have never re-insulated or anything and they have installed seating down the length of the bus, as it looks like it might have been used as a party bus.
Both buses look pretty solid and rust-free from the pictures but I won't know until I actually get eyes on them. Any thoughts on the two options?

Thanks in advance

[o1marc]

Rule number one when purchasing a bus, NEVER beleive the odometer. The dash boards are a common failure on buses, probably 90% of them have fail and been replaced without mileage correction. A 32 year old bus is likely to have close to 250-300K miles.
I would believe the 200K figure and have no qualms about that amount of mileage on a 20 year old bus. Figure a typical school bus puts 10k miles a year on them for 15-20 years before the "day care" or Church bus" you found with only 35k on it gets it. So with that said, keep in mind a bus that is 32-58 years old is going to have worn out heavy components. The one needing brakes is already a money pit. I would look for a bus between 95 and 04. You can find some for the same price you're looking at and have much fewer issues to deal with. What are the tires like on them if they are old , it's $2000+ for new ones.
You didn't mention price on either bus, but I would price them both between $1000- $2000. What are they asking?


A 327 Chevy in a bus is going to be woefully underpowered and get about 4mpg. You want a turbo diesl 6 cylinder. for reliability. I would be happy if the stated mileage on the 62 was real, it likely has double that and that would concern me, not the 200k, 200k would make that a low mileage bus, I doubt it is.

[strabery]

01marc, Thanks for the reply. I figured the 62 would have other issues, but I didn't think about the fact that the gauges stop working. I have read that on other threads. The 62 is $2000 and the 87 is $2500. I like that the 87 had lower mileage and it is close to home. So, no extended road trip to see something that I shouldn't have been looking at in the first place. I have heard that re-titling a bus to RV can be a little bit of a headache, so I was excited that this has already been done on both.

As for the tires, the pictures on the 62 were a little lacking for that. The 87 claims to have "3 year old tires and has a working rv restroom. Brand new 5 year battery. All lights work. Runs and drives like a 33 year old bus should. 366 Chevy big block. Alison transmission."