BCM Community

im looking for a coach(shell or seated not converted)to convert/live in/camp/travel. im a sound reenforcement tech and i travel alot and have spent lots of time on coaches going from gig to gig and thought id get one for myself.id like a mc9 (NJT perhaps)but would consider a gmc 4509 or nearly anything if the price was right.im not afraid of alot of hard work and i have lots of time between tours to rassle one into shape(i would prefer more sweat for a lower price,cuz im just cheap)i have  solid mechanical abilities .id like to convert one into an entertainment coach i could live in also so i could use it for the bands i work for (currently a country band in penna)i live in ohio (near y-town)and can drive to check out prospects. email me at fatbuckel1@yahoo.com or call me  Jim 330.270.3596 thanx

Hi Jim,

Welcome!

You can first try our classifides section at   www.gobussing.com

Then, if no luck there, you can try ABC Bus, or MCI, etc...

Good Luck
Nick-

Welcome aboard! You came to the right place. Nice bunch here, ask lots of questions and post lots of pics.  ;D
Pretty simple

MAK- who runs this board also sells buses.  He had in the Bus Conversions magazine a 1991 MCI 102C3SS that is 102" wide w/6'10" headroom and big side windows (you can see from my conversion I like big windows).  Plus it has the very fuel stingy Series 50 with Allison automatic.  If I were starting on a new conversion, this would be the EXACT bus I would use.  At $26,000, it is priced right, and parts are still being made for it. Call Mike at 714-799-0062.  Good Luck, TomC

. You may be cheap, but if you look in the dictionary under cheap, you will see my picture. If someone told me how much I would spend on my conversion, I never would have started it. You cannot do a conversion for less money than you can buy one for. It does not matter if you are doing a camping on a bus or a rolling palace. It cannot be done cheaper than you can buy!!!!!!!!
A decent conversion will take minimum 4000 hours. I probably have closer to 6000 in mine. Do you have that kind of time? While repairs are infrequent they are expensive $$$$ One bus tire will be $300 to $500 dollars.
If you are doing it because you have limited funds, you are better off with a class C motorhome.
You can buy a converted bus, have the option of using it and change things to the way you like as time and $$$ permit.
However if you just have to do it "your way" you are in the right place. Welcome to the asylum.

Thanks Jim! ???  Where were you before I started this crazy hobby? :o

If I had it all to do over...I'd do it all over you! ;)

Just teasing friend...but you DO offer sound advice.  Like most of the brethren I've had everything but shingles over this Gol Danged bus...but wouldn't change a thing
except for better planning (minor aggravation).

And when it's all over and I'm finished...what will I do?  Like most of us I'll probably redo something I did in haste or found a better way.

Busin!  It's a great way to lose your sanity!

NCbob

 I have to tell people. I do not mean to discourage anyone. But I went into this eyes wide closed!!!  I was in wayyyyy over my head and did not know it. If someone had told me how much time and effort and money I would expend, I would not have done it.
I only had one experience with a converter be for I bought my bus. I asked him how long he owned his bus. He said 8 years. I asked him how long he worked on it, he said 8 years and giggled. I totally missed the insanity in that giggle!!!
It was only through my old friends and the new friends I made that I was able to build a decent motorcoach. These people have bailed me out time after time. Two big things I have gotten from building this coach is a strong sense of gratitude and humility.
If I were restarting this I would buy a converted coach that was close to what I needed or wanted and then redo it as time and money permitted.
It is not the destination that is important it is the journey.(with a bus you may never get there anyway ;D :o ::)
                                              HTH Jim

I agree Jim ... I've got 6000 hrs into mine and around 90K. Buses conversions weren't selling as cheap as they are now. You can pick up a decent conversion between 40 to 60K or cheaper if you want to remodel a bit. If I had to do it over I'd buy one.
Ron

This topic comes up once and a while and I am sure a search will find more but here are some examples:

http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php?topic=702.msg5505#msg5505

http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php?topic=1099.msg8918#msg8918