Free Lunch & Beer !!! (Dallas / Forth Worth)

[raulaleman84]

Hello fellow skoolies,

I'll be flying into Texas next week to visit family. During my stay, I plan to go see a 4 window van-bus in Dallas/Forth Worth area.

If anyone wants to come inspect it with me and offer your 2 cents, lunch and beer on me!

Here is a picture of my son and I. We are hoping to have a bus for the gathering at Eastcoast's in Florida.

[emoji1]



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[cadillackid]

ha! I just left DFW.. going to go back to st pete next week
-Christopher

 

[raulaleman84]

ha! I just left DFW.. going to go back to st pete next week
-Christopher

U turn ?

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[cadillackid]

U turn ?

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I flew back to Columbus and tore my Red Bus into Pieces.. once I get it back together I'll be driving it to st pete
-Christopher

 

[raulaleman84]

I flew back to Columbus and tore my Red Bus into Pieces.. once I get it back together I'll be driving it to st pete
-Christopher

All good,
I'll do my best and go from there ;-)

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[raulaleman84]

Bus Info.
2003 Ford E350
Body Girardin 4 window
Engine 7.3L
120k miles
Being sold by "Student Transport"
No idea of service history

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[bansil]

Good luck bump!

 

[jazty]

Hey, that sounds like the same bus a friend of mine bought recently! It's currently sitting I'm my storage area (more commonly referred to as my junk yard) awaiting a brake job. Nice little bus. Emphasis on little. It's not significantly bigger than a full size Ford econoline.

Do you know the ceiling height of the bus you'll be checking out? The one here is probably 5'10" or so. We'll attempt a roof raise eventually, but it'll be tricky with the curvature of the walls.

The 7.3l is a fine engine. Be sure it's ticking along smoothly. While the engine itself is easy enough to work on, the access to it is terrible! You can barely access the belts under the hood and only the turbo from the dog house. Anything on top of the engine is either completely hidden, or at least incredibly difficult to reach.

Real nice mini bus, otherwise.
Good luck with the viewing!

 

[raulaleman84]

Hey, that sounds like the same bus a friend of mine bought recently! It's currently sitting I'm my storage area (more commonly referred to as my junk yard) awaiting a brake job. Nice little bus. Emphasis on little. It's not significantly bigger than a full size Ford econoline.

Do you know the ceiling height of the bus you'll be checking out? The one here is probably 5'10" or so. We'll attempt a roof raise eventually, but it'll be tricky with the curvature of the walls.

The 7.3l is a fine engine. Be sure it's ticking along smoothly. While the engine itself is easy enough to work on, the access to it is terrible! You can barely access the belts under the hood and only the turbo from the dog house. Anything on top of the engine is either completely hidden, or at least incredibly difficult to reach.

Real nice mini bus, otherwise.
Good luck with the viewing!

Hello jazty,

The small size is exactly the reason I'm interested. Bought a 6 window before but it was too big for my taste.

Not much of a car guy, so I'm hopping on getting feed back from someone else.

[emoji1]

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[1olfart]

Sorry, I don't think I can meet you on Friday. Check out the tranny as best you can. The 7.3 can last a lot longer than that tranny can. Drive it in town and out on the highway. Look at the fluid on the dipstick. (for color), feel (for any grit), and SMELL it too. It should not smell burnt. Check to see if there is a cooler for it, as well.
Good luck.....Hope you, your wife and son have a good visit and a safe trip home.

 

[EastCoastCB]

I woke up late this morning and couldn't get another bid in on that ford van, man!
I gotta see what it went for.
That 4 window sounds like just what you've been wanting!
One thing about em- about anyone that can service an econoline can service that mini bus. its basically an Econoline with a lil more headroom and a bit more body width.
And like you probably figured out with that last bus- Ford automatic transmissions are usually weaker than the engines.
Good thing is junkyards are full of them.
I gotta see what that 2009 gmc 6.6 shorty's up to. You can't use a credit card to bid higher than 5k or I'd have kept bidding.
Best of luck to you, and looking forward to meeting you with OR without bus!

 

[Carytowncat]

Good luck!

 

[raulaleman84]

I woke up late this morning and couldn't get another bid in on that ford van, man!
I gotta see what it went for.
That 4 window sounds like just what you've been wanting!
One thing about em- about anyone that can service an econoline can service that mini bus. its basically an Econoline with a lil more headroom and a bit more body width.
And like you probably figured out with that last bus- Ford automatic transmissions are usually weaker than the engines.
Good thing is junkyards are full of them.
I gotta see what that 2009 gmc 6.6 shorty's up to. You can't use a credit card to bid higher than 5k or I'd have kept bidding.
Best of luck to you, and looking forward to meeting you with OR without bus!

Hey east,
the van sold for 3k. I didnt wanna take a gamble on it,
The 2009 bus sold for 9k +18.25%. For me, it was too much for a toy.
I look forward to February.

Sorry, I don't think I can meet you on Friday. Check out the tranny as best you can. The 7.3 can last a lot longer than that tranny can. Drive it in town and out on the highway. Look at the fluid on the dipstick. (for color), feel (for any grit), and SMELL it too. It should not smell burnt. Check to see if there is a cooler for it, as well.
Good luck.....Hope you, your wife and son have a good visit and a safe trip home.

Hey 1olfart,
Not sure how long of a test drive they allow, but I will do my best.
It is being auctioned through a 3rd party. I'm trying to make an appointment with the head mechanic of the company ( not the 3rd party selling it).

-----------------------------------------------------

Here is my to do:
1. Bring LED light, get under it and check for leaks.
2. Check for burn/caramel smell ?
3. Remove oil cap while running, and check if it blows off.
4. Check fluid coolant for oil in it.
Anything else, feel free to add, I'm basically just going off google and youtube.

Thank you all

 

[EastCoastCB]

Dang,,,, I wanted to put in a $3400 bid on it!!!! UGH!!!

WHAT A STEAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yall- this was a 95 Ford E350 Super with the 7.5 FI 460. An airforce communications van. In MN with ZERO rust in darn near new condition.
Had a deck on the roof made of safety walk... that thing was so badass.
Hard to find a Ford van that new with a 460, even harder to find one with less than 10k miles for cheap.

 

[raulaleman84]

Dang,,,, I wanted to put in a $3400 bid on it!!!! UGH!!!

WHAT A STEAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yall- this was a 95 Ford E350 Super with the 7.5 FI 460. An airforce communications van. In MN with ZERO rust in darn near new condition.
Had a deck on the roof made of safety walk... that thing was so badass.
Hard to find a Ford van that new with a 460, even harder to find one with less than 10k miles for cheap.

It did look good on the pics, but 1995 with so low miles.
I just pictured myself leaking every possible fluid, smoking, and stranded in the middle of nowhere.

Hoping things work out with this little bus next week.

 

[cadillackid]

that 2009 was destined to sell high.. a bus with that age is something easily still used as a school bus for another 3 years before it ages out and for 9k thats good ROI and use for a school.. around my area the daycare centers and private schools buy those that age and run them.

the only thing that worries me about the comms van is how much was it idled.. around here the AT&T guys let their gasoline vans idle all day sometimes.. they park the van put up a tent around it and splice 900 pair cables or work in the SLIC boxes with their vans turned on the whole time.. so even though they have no miles they have tons of idlling hours..

good luck on that van oricha!! I look forward to the skoolie meeting in feb!! I just spent the last 2 days rebuilding the compressed-air system in RedByrd and just drove it to the coffee shop this AM and seems to work well so I'll probably drive it to florida monday back toi my apartment in st pete.

-Christopher

 

[EastCoastCB]

The Ford van was basically brand new. Just 22 years old. I'd been in contact with the seller. It had been babied.
I just shoulda bid higher to begin with. Oh well. Doubt I'll find that deal again, though!

 

[raulaleman84]

Getting ready for that inspection.

Transmission 101
http://www.samarins.com/check/transmission.html

Somehow this is more difficult than starting an IV. . .

 

[raulaleman84]

Update, feel free to give your opinion.

Spoke with head mechanic. He seem genuine person, he told me they used the bus up to now without problems. They were getting rid of it because of age.
I asked about the service records, he said he sends them to corporate when then buses go for sell. It helps corporate evaluate value on the bus. He said they do service the buses, he mention the tranny was service yearly.
Bus needed to be jump started, had been sitting for some time. Batteries were good, one seem brand new.
All 4 tires looked good, no duals on the back.
Inside seem pretty clean, driver seat didn't look beat down.
AC didn't cool. But everything else inside worked.
Engine sounded good, oil cap didn't blow off.
All fluids looked good.

Things I noticed.
Lots of dust every where. Air filters were dusty.
There seemed like a dark oil leak on half way through the exhaust pipe. Forgot to take a picture.


https://youtu.be/zGV-7ZFo6Oc

https://youtu.be/2CGAb1Rk2bI

https://youtu.be/rCX9DukaZF8


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[milkmania]

Is single tire rear end typical?
Seems like it'd be light weight