I am curious,,How many members here have converted school buses?,,
I never seem to read anything about them or anyone working on them, in perticuler,,are there any other forums more intune with school buses?
Welcome!
A few of us here (Opus, me, maybe a few more) are doing just that. Have a look at http://www.skoolie.net/forum (http://www.skoolie.net/forum)
My bus is not the typical mid-engine Crown, but one of the few rear-engine Series 2 buses that Crown made before they were closed down by General Electric ("We Bring Good Things To Life") in 1991. So far I've put in 220 gallons of fresh water tanks, 115 gal gray and 65 gal black tanks, an emergency generator, a spare tire mount, slide-out trays for starting and house batteries and for propane cylinders, and lots of other odds and sods under the floor, leaving my entire under-floor luggage bays free for Other Stuff. So far, so good.
John
Not your typical schoolie. I started on mine, (VIN 37317) a 1974 40 foot, 10 wheeler, 3 axle with tandem drive, Cummins engine, 10 speed Roadranger and huge air brakes. Several on this board have conducted fantastic Bus Conversions using the Crown Supercoach. A kinda difficult coach to convert. I got old and sold the girl. :(
We also had long ago a Ford 1968 F600 6 window shorty. Had a 312 V8, 5 speed and vacuum brakes. Actually ran off road very well. A fun bus. Bad moods were not accepted! Easy to fix and fun to drive. Got about 6-8 mpg. Could sleep 4 if memory serves. Had a minimal interior conversion. Worked great! HB of CJ (old coot) :)
Quote from: HB of CJ on December 03, 2012, 10:33:19 AM
Several on this board have conducted fantastic Bus Conversions using the Crown Supercoach. A kinda difficult coach to convert.
Any links?
Jerry Campbell takes his Crown to Mexico each winter: http://crowncoach.clanteam.com/ (http://crowncoach.clanteam.com/) He has 1580 watts of PV panels, enough to run everything: http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php?topic=22402.msg246068#msg246068 (http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php?topic=22402.msg246068#msg246068)
Brown Crown in Bakersfield, one of the Skoolie forum's stalwarts, has a nice looking conversion: http://www.skoolie.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3065 (http://www.skoolie.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3065)
If you join the Crown Coach Junkies forum on Yahoo http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/crowncoachjunkies/ (http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/crowncoachjunkies/) you can see photos of Wasabus and Old Skool, two attractively converted tandems.
Last, but not least, Mr.Sharkey has an ambitious housetruck built on a 1963 tandem: http://www.mrsharkey.com/busbarn/crown.htm (http://www.mrsharkey.com/busbarn/crown.htm)
Except for Jerry, I don't think the other folk are BCM members, but there's still lots of good info out there for those of us crazy enough to convert Crowns. RTS owners share some of the same difficulties as Crown owners, such as sloping-in walls and no ready-made underfloor storage for tanks etc, but the end result should be worth the extra challenges along our way! There's also the appeal of knowing you'll have a truly unique conversion - I know of only one other Series 2 Crown being converted now, and it's 1500 miles away in WA. HB of CJ is correct: putting things under the floor is tricky when there's an engine and transmission already there, but it's not impossible. (That's the main reason I chose a pusher Crown instead.)
John
[waves]
http://www.skoolie.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=6359&p=60612#p60612 (http://www.skoolie.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=6359&p=60612#p60612)
Here's mine, 1991 Blue Bird AARE ;D
http://www.skoolie.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=9827 (http://www.skoolie.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=9827)
My first conversion I started in 1981 (when most of the world thought it was a foolish idea), but I bought a 1953 LA school bus (35' Crown) mid engine Hall Scott 504 (fix it anywhere) with a 4 speed plus granny transmission. Gearing made it good on the highways, and for fuel, especially during the fuel rationing in the 80s (I was allowed to buy more often than cars and trucks because I was a bus - I installed a pump to provide fuel to my workers)
My water tanks were under the rear, where they put the engine in later models. Propane was further forward.
Recreated the interior of the private railroad car from the show 'Wild,Wild,West', with the little windows, the hardwood floors, the wood stove, and more - it was perfect.
I drove it everywhere, and it was a solid base to start doing conversions - have not quit since some guy, one day, pulled out his checkbook and bought it out from underneath me.
Had no choice but to do another - did I?
Her's mine...not as fancy as some,but oh so fun ;D
http://www.skoolie.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=12570 (http://www.skoolie.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=12570)
One nice thing about most skoolies is they use a full truck chassis. Many now are made on a Freightliner chassis-whether it be a front or rear engine-mostly Cummins ISB or ISC with Allison automatics (manuals aren't even offered anymore). The only mid engined buses were Crown and Gillig. They used either a Hall-Scott gasoline fuel monster (gasoline engine built liked a Diesel engine), Cummins NH220 or NT262, Detroit 6-71 non and turbo'ed.
I think it'd be fun to find a front engine class A (flat front) shoolie that is about 25ft for quick weekend get away. Good Luck, TomC
Quote from: TomC on December 04, 2012, 09:01:03 AM
I think it'd be fun to find a front engine class A (flat front) shoolie that is about 25ft for quick weekend get away. Good Luck, TomC
If you have ear protection they are great. :)
Quote from: TomC on December 04, 2012, 09:01:03 AM
I think it'd be fun to find a front engine class A (flat front) shoolie that is about 25ft for quick weekend get away. Good Luck, TomC
Like this? http://www.skoolie.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=951 (http://www.skoolie.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=951)
Good ground clearance and short length means he can go places off the beaten track that road buses should fear to tread. His website is very informative.
Regarding engines in the mid-engined Crowns and Gilligs, don't forget the Big-Cam Cummins that were also sometimes used. My friend's Gillig tandem with such an engine is a monster - he says it will do 60 MPH up whatever you point it at! He drove it up to Wrightwood one day, and we were having to slow for the curves while climbing Highway 2. Fun!
John
My Hall Scott 504 (mid-ship mounted) went anywhere I asked it to. There was as much torque as any diesel I have ever driven, and it never gave me a lick of trouble.
Sometimes, I wish I had never let that one go !!!
No computers, just points, plugs, wires, updraft carb, and that pesky distributor !!
IT'S a BUS. I did a Thomas 40 ft 655 cummins several years ago. 10 plus mpg. Life and taste changes. Great memories as are the new ones I'm having now. Several of my friends park their school bus conversions next to mine and I don't embarass them. They let me stay. Bob
Iceni John is right . . . We're out here (out THERE?). I have the Gillig he referenced, as well as an '83 Crown tandem with a Detroit and a RoadRanger. While I enjoy and admire all buses, there is something cool about the relative simplicity of school buses, and a lot of us even like their appearance! The Gillig is partially converted, and the Crown, well, it runs like a champ and its acquisition was simply the result of my jonesin' for a 10-speed.
Paul in Phelan
My first bus was a 1967 Superior on a GM truck chassis. It was really solid and a lot simpler than the 5a is. It had a GM Toroflow engine, which had a pretty bad reputation, but this one just kept going anyway. Top speed was 62 mph with the right conditions, but it could climb a wall if the tires would stick to it.
Hey, I have a 1964 Superior Coach Supercruiser. It was a Stockton, Ca High School 76 pax bus in it's early days. I bought it from the guy who converted it decades ago and have been loving it off and on for the last 8 years ::) It came with the original International 549 GAS engine with a Spicer 5 speed manual. When that had issues a few years back, I had a friend help me install a reman'd CAT 1160, mated to the Spicer with a new clutch. WAY nicer. LOVE the full chassis! Drives great, rides okay, solid at the campground. The only thing I am going to do in the future is either change gearing iot get a littler better freeway speed or, install a 2-spd rear end. Love it!!!
OBTW, the one BIG issue I have had is finding the windshields....Crowns a def easier to find////anyone know of a good source for these windows???
Hawk, I think it was a super cruiser. That's the one with the flat front, higher ceiling and 2 foot high storage bays?
Hey Lin, That's the one! pusher, flat front, 2 foot high bays that go all the way across....gota love it!
And there are two of us with the Paramount Studios converted Gillig three axle, mid-engine coaches. Enough under floor storage and a perfect interior for a conversion. Now, if I could just get the time!!!! (Although - these were never in school bus service.)