1986 International in Colorado

[Don in E Texas-SKO]

Not very constructive

I own a 23 year old bus and a 40 year old coach. All it takes to insure them is money.

I fail to remember any comment I made about money, or the lack of it, for any bus insurance. Guess I'm missing your point?

 

[turf]

I fail to remember any comment I made about money, or the lack of it, for any bus insurance. Guess I'm missing your point?

CB is right, buses are easy to insure..... most of us have allstate or state farm but i bet the top 20 companies that you can think of will write a policy.

failure to obtain insurance is a communication problem between you and your insurance agent.

this is not an insurance thread. go read some those and if you have questions and post over there.

 

[EastCoastCB]

I fail to remember any comment I made about money, or the lack of it, for any bus insurance. Guess I'm missing your point?

You alluded to a "36 year old coach" and insurance. Was just stating what it takes to insure my 40 year old coach. That's the only point that could be made and the only point I was trying to make.

 

[ol trunt]

ECCB is right--all it takes is money (and patience and persistence). It took lots of Benjamins and only coverage for the other guy but I do have ins on my 85 year old bus. I drive carefully and quietly make my annual ins payment on time. Sorry but I won't tell who insured my bus--no point in rock'n my own boat. Jack

 

[cofrari]

How bad is underbody rust in Colorado?

For those of you familiar with Colorado buses, how bad is rust compared to buses in the Northeast?

 

[cadillackid]

colorado mixes in a pretty high concentration of sand and less salt, busses used in the larger cities will be subjected to more salt as people in cities expect roads to be perfect.. whereas the outer-lying towns people often drive on a bed of plowed snow and very little salt is used.. a bus this age id want to see pics or visit in person.. however I believe the price is way higher than its worth.. my guess is the reserve will be 5K plus on it..



as for insurance.. its not only YOUR $$.. insurance companies work by risk factor and thats often much different for various zipcodes.. some states / counties / cities have different regulations and procedures for how claims are handled, how liability is dealt with etc.. which can make it more or less lucrative for the insurance company.. remember the insurance company isnt a service.. its a for-profit business selling a product they make money on. if they dont make $$ on the product it doesnt get sold.. alas why as you travel around and find one walmart may have certain items that another doesnt... what products are profitable in what areas... and the primary driver is a factor too... driving record, credit score, demographic often used in insuring vehicles..

 

[Booyah45828]

Decent old bus. Like others, I wouldn't give 9k for it. Looks pretty rust free for the age in the pictures.

Could have a retarder on it. Dashboard shot shows some gauges and other add-ons on it that weren't standard options. Not sure if a retarder was law or not in CO, but they outlawed 2 speed rear ends in a lot of states because of the monarch pass accident that happened there. Retarders might have been just a commonly ordered option in the mountains after that. Cowlitz might have the answer to those questions.

Retarders are nice, but not needed if you're in the flats. It'd be like having air conditioning in the arctic.

466's are great, but if it's never had the liners and o-rings replaced, you can bet you'll end up having to do that if you buy this and try driving it for 30 hours against the governor.

Being a 1986 model, I highly doubt it's got highway gearing. Federal speed limit of that time was 55mph, so there's no reason to gear it any faster. Plus, you wouldn't want it geared for highway speeds being in the mountains. Could have a governor on it. It'd be a box that's mounted on the throttle cable between the pedal and injection pump. Removing it might gain you a few mph, but you're still very likely gear bound.

 

[EastCoastCB]

Decent old bus. Like others, I wouldn't give 9k for it. Looks pretty rust free for the age in the pictures.

Could have a retarder on it. Dashboard shot shows some gauges and other add-ons on it that weren't standard options. Not sure if a retarder was law or not in CO, but they outlawed 2 speed rear ends in a lot of states because of the monarch pass accident that happened there. Retarders might have been just a commonly ordered option in the mountains after that. Cowlitz might have the answer to those questions.

Retarders are nice, but not needed if you're in the flats. It'd be like having air conditioning in the arctic.

466's are great, but if it's never had the liners and o-rings replaced, you can bet you'll end up having to do that if you buy this and try driving it for 30 hours against the governor.

Being a 1986 model, I highly doubt it's got highway gearing. Federal speed limit of that time was 55mph, so there's no reason to gear it any faster. Plus, you wouldn't want it geared for highway speeds being in the mountains. Could have a governor on it. It'd be a box that's mounted on the throttle cable between the pedal and injection pump. Removing it might gain you a few mph, but you're still very likely gear bound.

From the description and q&a it appears to have standard route type gearing. It maxes out at 60-65 at max rpm so its got something like 4.44 in the rear.
I had a bus with very similar setup. 62mph at 2600 rpm.
If not using it in the Rockies a higher ratio would be much better for mpg's and cruising rpm but cruising at 55-60 in it wouldn't be awful as is.

 

[turf]

colorado hasn't used salt since i have live here.....25ish years.

private contractors may use sand/salt, but it just isnt very common here.

the state uses a liquid magnesium choride for deicing the roads. it leaves a dirt haze on your car but doesn't rust. i does give the road a nice black ice look too, which tends to slow peeps down.

any state sander is spreading pure sand.

salt/sand would only be on private property

 

[cofrari]

Had them post some under-body pictures. Looks fairly rust free, especially for it's age. Never imagined 20 years ago that these would be the kinds of decisions I would be stressing about someday!

 

[turf]

lol

ahh, check for a cracked windsheild. thats a colorado mark.

 

[EastCoastCB]

Had them post some under-body pictures. Looks fairly rust free, especially for it's age. Never imagined 20 years ago that these would be the kinds of decisions I would be stressing about someday!

heck I'd be way more stressed out buying an 08 IC than anything built in 1986.

 

[cofrari]

So far so good with my 2008 -- just a bad AMP gauge. I plan to finish up my 2004 Skoolie this spring at which point I hope to sell off the 2008, even if just at cost. I learned a lot converting my first bus and know what I would like to do different in my 2004, starting with my Tiny Wood Stove!

 

[Corbi]

I photos on the site indicate its a flat floor. You’re going to lose headroom.

 

[cofrari]

I did have the highest bid at the end of the Auction at $4001, but it still didn't meet the reserve. With the 10% fee, $4000 was as high as I wanted to go. Not sure what happens now -- if they relist or scrap it or what...

 

[cadillackid]

I did have the highest bid at the end of the Auction at $4001, but it still didn't meet the reserve. With the 10% fee, $4000 was as high as I wanted to go. Not sure what happens now -- if they relist or scrap it or what...

They have the option of offering it to you at your bid, a spot between the reserve and your bid, or they can remove it in r relist it. So you may hear from them but in my opinion even 4K is too high so I’d walk

 

[EastCoastCB]

I did have the highest bid at the end of the Auction at $4001, but it still didn't meet the reserve. With the 10% fee, $4000 was as high as I wanted to go. Not sure what happens now -- if they relist or scrap it or what...

I'd let em keep it or find some sucker with 9k to blow on an old bus then. wow. well good on ya for trying!

 

[EastCoastCB]

They have the option of offering it to you at your bid, a spot between the reserve and your bid, or they can remove it in r relist it. So you may hear from them but in my opinion even 4K is too high so I’d walk

Yeah thats a $3500 bus, at least for me.