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Old 10-29-2018, 01:59 PM   #21
Bus Crazy
 
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Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Virginia
Posts: 2,324
Year: 1971
Coachwork: Wayne
Chassis: International Loadstar 1700
Engine: 345 international V-8
Lots and lots. Ok kidding. Most of this is fix up, not regular maintenance. Mine had been sitting 12 years at least in the woods. So much of it is brake work and lots of little stuff.

My steering box also has the input shaft moving up and down a bit. It is a Ross unit and as long as the bearings are ok there a slack adjustment inside the top end of the box to adjust. I have rebuilt a few myself just hope not to.

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Old 10-29-2018, 02:06 PM   #22
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Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Virginia
Posts: 2,324
Year: 1971
Coachwork: Wayne
Chassis: International Loadstar 1700
Engine: 345 international V-8
Just thinking about I have about $3000 in parts and tires to get road worthy. This is not counting conversion/ interior stuff
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Old 10-29-2018, 03:25 PM   #23
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Join Date: May 2009
Location: Columbus Ohio
Posts: 18,758
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Carpenter
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: DTA360 / MT643
Rated Cap: 7 Row Handicap
it doesnt take much for the $$ to add up.. I drive my busses across the country as well as often times one of them ends up as my daily driver.. I want them to run and run right plus whenever something busts I use it as a chance to upgrade... the result is i end up with great running cool-as-heck busses but it costs $$ as well as lots of time since I do 99% of my own labor... being a little 140 lb dude swapping a 650 lb tranny gets interesting..
-Christopher
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Old 10-29-2018, 05:30 PM   #24
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VIN = Engine Type

I've got the VIN but not the engine type. For a 1978 International Harvester, I'm not sure that the VIN will give engine type.



From https://oldihc.wordpress.com/2012/11...ial-numbers-2/


Model: D0835
Model year: H = 1978
Plant location and Line: HB
Then the last 5 are the serial number.



Hoping it's the DT466. The model number is the only clue, and I can't find it anywhere on the internet.



How expensive is the DT466 to replace, if need be?
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Old 10-29-2018, 06:46 PM   #25
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Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Virginia
Posts: 2,324
Year: 1971
Coachwork: Wayne
Chassis: International Loadstar 1700
Engine: 345 international V-8
Say I was just looking at the photos you posted, and you can see clearly the engine valve cover in one photo and the last few letters are the end of International. Also look at the position of the valve cover and it is close to the frame rail with exhaust manifold right under it. So it would have to be a V-8 diesel. Most likely the 444.
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Old 10-29-2018, 08:03 PM   #26
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Year: 1971
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Chassis: International Loadstar 1700
Engine: 345 international V-8
I think I am incorrect on the engine size, think the 444 was not made then. Maybe 9.0? Clearly a V-8 but can not say with any surety which one.
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Old 10-29-2018, 08:22 PM   #27
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Year: 1991
Coachwork: Carpenter
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: DTA360 / MT643
Rated Cap: 7 Row Handicap
that sure looks like a 9.0l its def not a DT-466. its doghouse is what im familiar with for the 9.0. the IDI engines (which one of was the 444) were not out till the 80s.. there were various variants of the 9L. they were V8's



the 1850 was a truck chassis, it may be that the hood was damaged and swapped from a truck.they were pretty common. im used to seeing the 1853 as a diesel bus..



-Christopher
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Old 10-29-2018, 08:33 PM   #28
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It may have been built on a truck chassis because it was built for transporting fire-fighting crews, not school children?


I told my friend to determine the engine type in order for me to be interested.


What would be the right price for this? He wants $3000 but I'm starting to think it's too much.


I may go back to looking at box trucks.
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Old 10-29-2018, 08:39 PM   #29
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Join Date: May 2009
Location: Columbus Ohio
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Year: 1991
Coachwork: Carpenter
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: DTA360 / MT643
Rated Cap: 7 Row Handicap
3000 seems high for this.. though it does have the MT643 trabs which is a good one.. if its in good running order than i might offer 2k for it..



its possible it was a re-body? but not likely.. however that said there were a lot of custom builds created and spec'd by various body and chassis manufacturers
-Christopher
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Old 10-29-2018, 08:47 PM   #30
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It's definitely a May, 1979 body on a 1978 chassis because we have the documentation, so not a rebody.


I have looked around the internet several times and I cannot find a configuration anything like it.
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Old 10-29-2018, 08:54 PM   #31
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Join Date: May 2009
Location: Columbus Ohio
Posts: 18,758
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Carpenter
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: DTA360 / MT643
Rated Cap: 7 Row Handicap
thats why I suspect the hood is replaced from a truck at some point.. or as you say possibly was built specially for the fire dept.. nevertheless the engine and trans combo is likely pretty common.. a D-series 9L.. possibly the higher HP variant.. hard to tell without seeing better pics of the engine compartment.
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Old 10-29-2018, 08:54 PM   #32
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That said, you have an international 3800, 1991, and here is a 1992 3800: https://tampa.craigslist.org/pnl/cto...729656487.html. Better deal?
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Old 10-29-2018, 09:29 PM   #33
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Join Date: May 2009
Location: Columbus Ohio
Posts: 18,758
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Carpenter
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: DTA360 / MT643
Rated Cap: 7 Row Handicap
I have a smaller cousin of that bus.. (I also have a 1978 Loadstar ).. check that bus out carefully for rust... Largo is near the gulf coast.. not sure where that church is.. sure looks like the driver window was left open a lot or its gotten a lot of coastal salt near it..



it likely has the AT545 transmission.. the DTA360 engine is small but reliable and solid.. parts are still readily available for it. it wont pull real hard in the mountains.. (mine slows down a bit on hills but in 20k miles or so i havent had a lick of engine trouble.. though I blew up my AT545 transmission and so I swapped in a MT643)
-Christopher
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Old 10-29-2018, 09:31 PM   #34
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Yes, it looks just as rusty as the 1978/79!
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Old 10-30-2018, 07:01 AM   #35
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Location: Eustis FLORIDA
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Chassis: Freighliner FS65
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9.0 is a sort of obsolete bastard these days.
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Old 10-30-2018, 02:24 PM   #36
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Can it be replaced with something better without too much trouble?
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Old 10-30-2018, 02:36 PM   #37
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Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Virginia
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Year: 1971
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Chassis: International Loadstar 1700
Engine: 345 international V-8
Quote:
Originally Posted by AndiW View Post
Can it be replaced with something better without too much trouble?
Depends on what to much trouble is. As long as you get another engine that is or was mated to the same trans it should go well, might have to make up new engine mounts or source them from a doner vehicle. A couple weekends work for someone with some experiance doing this.

If it were my bus I would drive it as is and see how it drives, and what condition the engine is in. If it really is low miles then it could well be in great shape and be trouble free for many years. I am not saying it is a good engine,or not good engine, just you need to check it out first.
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Old 10-30-2018, 06:14 PM   #38
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Mystery Solved

Finally got the info on the engine. It's a Caterpillar 3208, 175 HP, 2800 RPM.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/njmBeRBwRxSvr7Jz7


Thoughts?

I'm thinking I should get something newer and a little smaller, that won't need tons of maintenance.
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Old 10-30-2018, 07:23 PM   #39
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Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Virginia
Posts: 2,324
Year: 1971
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Chassis: International Loadstar 1700
Engine: 345 international V-8
Ok so that explains why I see the last letters of International on the engine. well you just went from 9 liters to over 10 liters. I do not know much about the 3208, do have one in a piece of Railroad track maintenance equipment. we hardly use it so can not really say if it is any good. In my Dodge truck forums it get poor reviews.

Pros,
good trans
low miles

cons,
old tires, likely split rims
has been sitting a long time?

maybe,
engine
rust
if really been sitting for a long time, rubber hoses, electrical , just plain fussy stuff

Can it be started and driven even if just in the driveway? If so do it just to see what it is like.

My bus is hardly the norm for most building a skoolie, and this one seems to be another odd ball. Great for someone really mechanically inclined and willing to step out of the ordinary. Only you can say if that fits for you.
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Old 10-30-2018, 08:07 PM   #40
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Thanks.

It has been driven several hundred miles in the past 7 or 8 months, in at least two trips. At the moment, it has a starting problem - starts, barely, and dies. It has been sitting a couple months, so maybe the battery.

That being said, I don't think it's for me. If anyone is interested, I'll put you in touch with my friend. I believe it is about to be posted on Asheville Craigslist. It's actually in Marshall, NC.

As to the low miles -- I don't know how it could be correct. It would rack up almost 3000 miles driving from Oregon to NC, and it actually was used fighting fires in Oregon -- there are stickers for named fires.
One last con -- someone cut the wire for the brake lights.
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