Eric von Kleist
Senior Member
I found a bus today that was interesting. I see lots of interesting busses, but there is something different now: I also got a windfall today that means I can actually afford to buy it.
Oh, boy. What to do?
The bus is a 1985 model, offered for sale by a school system. It has an Allison AT545, which I'm not really thrilled about, but, as I don't plan to drive it too awful much, is something I can live with. Mechanically, the guy at the school system told me it is in good condition, and that they are not aware of anything wrong or about to go wrong with it. The body is sound, he says. It's a 60 passenger International Harvester. That's big enough, I reckon, considering my state driver's license will allow me to drive anything up to 26,000# gross, and many of the 72 passenger busses are over 26,000#. This school system does not spec anything bigger than 60 passenger busses, so I'm not going to find a bigger one with them, anyway.
What has me interested in this particular bus is the engine. It is an International 9.0 liter. I like that engine. Not only that, it only has 40,000 miles on it since a rebuild. I like THAT a whooooole lot, especially considering that this bus will be my full time residence (probably within about 2 minutes of when my soon-to-be-ex-wife sees it in her driveway.) I'm in school now, and I need a cheap place to live for the next 5 years.
They want $2,500. I have it (plus a little extra for conversion). What do y'all think?
Oh, boy. What to do?
The bus is a 1985 model, offered for sale by a school system. It has an Allison AT545, which I'm not really thrilled about, but, as I don't plan to drive it too awful much, is something I can live with. Mechanically, the guy at the school system told me it is in good condition, and that they are not aware of anything wrong or about to go wrong with it. The body is sound, he says. It's a 60 passenger International Harvester. That's big enough, I reckon, considering my state driver's license will allow me to drive anything up to 26,000# gross, and many of the 72 passenger busses are over 26,000#. This school system does not spec anything bigger than 60 passenger busses, so I'm not going to find a bigger one with them, anyway.
What has me interested in this particular bus is the engine. It is an International 9.0 liter. I like that engine. Not only that, it only has 40,000 miles on it since a rebuild. I like THAT a whooooole lot, especially considering that this bus will be my full time residence (probably within about 2 minutes of when my soon-to-be-ex-wife sees it in her driveway.) I'm in school now, and I need a cheap place to live for the next 5 years.
They want $2,500. I have it (plus a little extra for conversion). What do y'all think?
