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Wow, if only I had a pole barn! Would be a great way to get a new bus. Not worth the work to me now that I have so much done on mine! ;D
Aw Geesh Teke!!!!
You just had to post this up here, a 45 footer within an hour drive of me??? There's another pony in the corral, she get's hauled in tomorrow.
The seller went through three eBay "winners" who never showed up, he finally sold it to someone off eBay for near his asking price, but when the guy showed up to pick it up it had been towed away as abandoned, to a salvage lot. So that guy backed out. Then here I came shuffling up :-)
Let's just say it was a deal I couldn't pass up, the seller now had a $700 tow bill and was getting charged $50 a day storage, and already had 4 buyers drop out on him.
It's no pagent winner, yet, but there's a lot of good stuff still on it. I need this like a hole in the head, but have another idea for it. As my shop has no office space, bathroom or kitchen/break area....see where I'm going? I'm contemplating making this a static display (at least temporarily), basically an office/meeting space/kitchenette/design center/warmup-cooldown chamber.
Well, we'll see, there's plenty of work in line ahead of it!!!
Todd
Aweome Todd,
My wife told me I could have it as long as I moved her out into the boonies. She wants to move out into the country and used the bus as bait. :-)
When do you get it home? Are you going to rebuild it or scap it out?
Hey Brian,
Read my post above to see my at least possible intentions for it. It definitely has good scrap value, all the doors but one are perfect, lots of perfect panels, two very nice ac units, etc... Plus the frame is stainless, but I'll likely fix up the exterior and replace glass, put some BS tires on it with simulators and park it out front as an office and advertising. But time will tell.
She's due in tomorrow afternoon.
Todd
Quick update...beware of good deals
Well, after three days of non-stop dealings on this bus, it's finally home. But missing several items the seller had promised, I still have to deal with him.
But I want to bring this up to everyone, so you can learn from my mistakes (something I seldom learn from it seems).
When/if buying a downed bus, make sure you're prepared for the towing, this has several facets:
- Are the tires on it worthy of towing on the roads it will be traveling
- Can the suspension be aired up, if not, can you blockup the frame/axle
- If it cannot be aired up, it will need to go on a Landoll or drop deck
- If you have to use a Landoll, make sure your towing company is prepared for the job, meaning permits, routes and (especially) a willingness to do the job
Just to share some experience here, this bus ended up at a scrapyard with a 4 day clock before it would be cut up, I couldn't let that happen. So since it was towed in, I figured it could be towed out, wrong. The previous owner made a lot of promises before he disappeared, including that he would put 4 good tires on it, which were all junk and would not hold air. So the first tow company could not get the bus and trying to find a tire company to put used tires on a burnt bus sitting in a scrapyard, well it just doesn't happen, at least not when it's 2 degrees and we were having 50mph winds.
After 50+ phone calls and several deadend leads, I called in the reserves, Aber's towing in NE Ohio, they are located about 3 hours out of the way but still showed up with a Landoll about 10 hours lafter I called. The driver managed to load the bus by himself, climbed on the roof, removed all the ac units and satellite unit by himself, lowered them down with straps and saved them all. This again was in weather about 30 degrees below freezing level and in high winds at 7am this morning. He obviously earned my respect and a bonus.
But the lesson here is (probably talking to myself mostly), make sure it's towable and if not, be prepared to shell out some serious coin.
This "great buy" cost me a lot more money than expected, 3 solid days of hassle and several brushes with the possibility of cutting it up for scrap.
Lessons learned, well, probably not.
Todd
that sucks.
Question: Since you obviously are gaining experience in Recovering Burnt buses, what are your thoughts on it being worth it? or perhaps I should ask how much do you figure you save off buying a non damaged one with same year and mileage? Knowing of course yours are likely to be in better shape when all is said and done.
Please keep in mind or figure in labor costs on this as well.
Hey Todd,
Who's going to be the lucky customer to get that bus? I saw the work you are doing on the MCI in your shop and it looks fantastic! You need to post it on your website, there are alot of people who could use your skills. I wish I would have found you before I gave up on my first Eagle. Keep up the good work.
Phil
Good question, but I'm afraid I'll give a lame answer...It Depends!
I've been involved with three so far.
The first was a 1998 Prevost H3-45VIP what was severly burned, all but one side of the body was totalled. Given Prevost's stupidly expensive prices on parts and an extra premium that they put on the VIP parts, that project has gotten out of control budget-wise. When all is said and done, the owner will probably not save any money over buying a good used shell. But, he will have all new body parts, a rebuilt and tested drivetrain and paint job of his choosing, not the previous owners. So close to a rebuilt vehicle for the price of a used one in unknown condition.
The second was a 1999 MCI E-4500 with a moderate fire and damage. The rear suspension is completely gone, all rear harnesses, control boxes and relay controls were all ruined. Luckily I've found someone with donor parts for most of the damage and I suspect we'll have a very good deal at the end of the day, probably have about half of what it's worth in it. Tis a good thing, since it's my personal coach :-) Even without finding the donor, MCI parts are much more reasonably priced and would still have been a decent deal. For example, all of the parts to rebuild the suspension of this bus, including new tanks AND to replace all brake components will be less than half of the price of a Prevost Front Cap!
This third one, the 1997 XL-45 obviously remains to be seen. But for my expected purpose, a non-driving office space, well it's probably not a fair comparison. But for comparison sake, if I were to get it road ready again, I think it would probably be worthwhile, but not a steal. It will need 6-8 body panels, all rear airbags and some hoses. It will also need a rear wire harness and a complete drivetrain. If a Series 60/B500 pops up for a good deal someplace, I might change my plans :-)
Long story short, most people would probably be better off buying a running, driveable bus. I do this because I'm a glutten for punishment, AND I'm trying to develop a network of craftsmen to successfully rehabilitate late model buses AND install slides for Conversion Shells. Either to sell or to convert.
The risk of these types of projects, when complete costing more than a running shell is too high.
I hope this helps, again, It Depends...
Todd
Thanks Phil,
I do need to get a real website, I think mine is a bit of a joke.
Todd
Now that the dust has settled a little, here's a picture of the beast at my yard...
Todd