Hello all.
I am a 1st time bus owner and am looking forward to a long drawn out quest of madness in creating a coach conversion on a 1980 Prevost LeMirage out here in the Great White North. From what I have see, you all seem to be quite knowledgable and helpfull. Hopefully I wont drive everybody crazy with to many questions.
Welcome. There is a lot of information here and it's fairly easy to find using the "Search" button in the dark blue line right below your name near the top of the page. Many basic things are well-discussed already. But if you need help, just ask, you'll either get good info or be directed to someplace that will be useful.
Thanks, any help is much appreciated.
Welcome, and don't worry I'm already crazy I'm on my third bus conversion two MCIs and now a Eagle, see I told you I was crazy.LOL Happy busing
Howdy. Did you pick up a local coach? Pics?
BTW, let me be one of the first to request your name rank and serial number (otherwise known as name and location in your sig).
Morning Krank.
I am freshly minted to this whole forum thing and as of yet I have not discovered how to post pics. But I will when I do.
The bus in question came from a guy near Elma who wrecks MCI's for a living. He had decided to build a conversion for himself and did not want an MCI after spending years pulling them apart.So he bought this Prevost out of Kindersly SK. Unfortunately he has run into some severe health issues and could not do anything with it. It was bought new by Undas Bus Lines in Massachusetts in 1980.
First pic of new to me bus.
Did the cat come with the coach?? Every bus owner needs a companion to sit beside the road with him while waiting on the hook!!!lol
No the cat is a local refugee adopted by the kids. Its playing dead so the boxer leaves it alone Those two are non stop wrestlers. But on a vote of confidence, if I leave the door to the bus open, both cats and all three dogs are in like dirty shirts. They are ready for a road trip.
Could you pass along the name/number of the guy near Elma? I am looking for a front bumper. Thanks and good luck with the project.
Quote from: MB LeMirage on October 20, 2015, 08:31:51 AM
The bus in question came from a guy near Elma who wrecks MCI's for a living.
Ryan -Welcome aboard this madness! As you may soon discover, busnut fever is incurable, but it can be controlled!
Check your private messages, I sent you a note concerning this fellow in Elma.
Again, welcome aboard!
;)
Hey Ryan, if you could also pass along the contact info to me as well for the guy in Elma. I too would be looking for parts for my MCI. Thanks in advance
Greg Welcome btw and good luck with that Prevost.
Well guys I will be going out to Elma Saturday morning and I will get his full contact info to post here. Also I will get a list of what he has there, both by year and model.
Does anybody know of any Prevost lying about?
There is a guy out in Oregon or Washington that deals in a lot of wrecked and decommissioned Prevost's .Go to the RVT web site .He usually has a couple of things on there along with contact info.He has a wrecked Mercedes bus on there now .Glad the animals like the bus.dog is that way .Got loose from us on the OBX one time.Not to worry tho !! He found the first motor home with an open door ,barged right in an made him self comfortable,
Not to rain on the parade up to the year 83 or 84 Prevosts can rust bad.I would pull the floor up it can be bad at the rear not saying yours is but I would differently check before I got into it real deep.There is a reason not many Prevost of that vintage are not around any longer wishing you good luck
Thanks Luvrbus. I appeciate the heads up and I did find some rust in the right rear where the window in the bathroom leaked between the fiberglass bathroom and the steel drop box it sits in. But it isnt anything a welder and some steel cannot fix.
Also in the first luggage bay at the bottom of the wheel well. again fixable.
Somebody has to keep the oldies going, we cannot let them all die.
Ryan.
Prevost made a huge improvement on the rust problem with the introduction of the XL in 83 or 84 fwiw
Was that when they introduced the full stainless chassis/Frame?
Hey all.
So I went out to Elma, their names are Andy and Diane and Their phone number is 204-348-3966. If you need an email address for him please PM me.
He has quite a lot of units that are all MCI's. It ranges from a pair of older 8v92 powered units right up to fairly new units. Lots of 60 series Detroits. I will post some pics during the week. Most of the units are fairly complete and the ones that are not are mainly missing drivetrains. Almost all of them are ex Greyhound and most have the trailer setup as well. He is going to get me a list of models and years, which I will post once I recieve it.
Happy hunting.
There's an early 80's Mirage fairly complete in a farmyard east of Carrot River, SK. PM me if you want contact info.
Hi Bob, I see from your post that you used to have a Prevost with the 10spd. How was the 10spd out on the road? I have a 10spd laying around and was considering this or a eaton 13.
Thanks, Ryan.
If you like stirring gears its hard to go wrong with a 10 spd. Mine was an RTU so it had the goofy shift pattern that is perfect for skip shifting. With an 8-92 there's no way you need 10 gears all the time. Its nice to be able to find the right one but going through all 10 gets old pretty quick. The problem with a 10 spd is that you are always shifting though the split in town. That gets old too. If I was going to the bother of changing transmissions it would be to put in an auto. No way I'd go through all that work and stir gears when I was done.
Morning Bob.
There sure are days that an auto would be nice, but I have been driving rigs for 18 years now so shifting is just a normal part of life. The reason I was considering the swap is that the 6spd in the bus is one of the silly horseshoe shifts if you know what I mean R 2 4 5. That and I do not have an auto laying around, the 10spd swap is very straightforward, a few hours and its done.
1 3 6
Thanks, Ryan.
Bob from Indiana= running 10 spd Eaton autoshift with 307 axle. Hard headed ken running 10 spd ultrashift He is from Tennessee. Before you get to excited the 60 series and autoshift can be a real challenge in prevost before 94/95..Ask questions as some here have been there. Previous 89 xl owner now 98 XLE. Bob
I meet the new owners of the Mirage this weekend that Kent installed a M11 in with a World Transmission not many of those around.The tag axle was the problem but Kent got her done
Sorry guys, I was talking about a 10spd manual not auto. I would love a 10 spd auto but do not have one laying around. I do however have a 10spd manual in the shed.
Ryan.