Merrcedes O-302 conversion for sale

[Iceni John]

How's this for a beautiful old classic:  http://www.ebay.com/itm/Classic-Mercedes-Bus-Conversion/201992867961?_trksid=p2141725.c100338.m3726&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20150313114020%26meid%3Da3e9c4afda2c4983b81699afeae0be9b%26pid%3D100338%26rk%3D9%26rkt%3D30%26mehot%3Dpp%26sd%3D282589323882   It needs some work, but it has an American drivetrain for ease of service here.   Imagine showing up to a rally in that  -  definitely not too many others here!   Those ugly DOT-conversion headlights have to go;  they spoil the handsome look of the front.   These old Mercedes are still some of my favorite buses:  I've traveled many a mile in them going across Asia in the 1970s through Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan, and compared to the old Bedfords in Pakistan and the ancient Tatas in India and Nepal they were beyond luxurious.   They're still a good bus even by modern standards  -  in the 1960s and 1970s Mercedes simply was making the best vehicles in the world, whether they were cars, buses or trucks.

John

[DoubleEagle]

It definitely is unique in the US. It looks very similar to the 04 Eagle of the same time period that only had a very few ever imported to the United States. Both of them will have a hard time with certain parts (the windshields on the 04 Eagle don't exist). I have my doubts that Mercedes can cough-up all parts for this old of a bus, and the ones that they do have could be extremely expensive, plus freight from Germany. 

[Iceni John]

Yes, parts for older Mercedes are not cheap, but they are available.   When I had my 1970 280SEL I could still get all its normal service parts through my local M-B dealer here, with lots of items kept in stock, and they said that parts for all cars back to 1959 were readily available, including body panels from Germany!   M-B has a complete Classic Center at Stuttgart devoted to all its older vehicles, not just cars, and they say they can remanufacture anything if they still have the engineering drawings for it  -  with them being German I don't doubt it!

Someone I know almost bought one of those Eagle 04s, but he shied away from it because he wouldn't have been able to flip it for a reasonable profit.   They were also handsome buses  -  weren't they Belgian or Dutch?   Probably underpowered by modern standards, but a repower with a newer drivetrain takes care of that.

John

[TomC]

Good luck finding parts for the bus.

[CrabbyMilton]

Those are nice looking buses. Like Tom said, try to get parts for buses built long ago and far away. Perhaps an American powertrain would offset some of this at least in the engine/transmission area but the rest of the bus...

[Jeremy]

Reminds me a lot of my all-time favourite bus, the Duple Viceroy. Just so much more stylish than anything built today - or indeed anything built in the last 25 years



Jeremy

[Oonrahnjay]

Reminds me a lot of my all-time favourite bus, the Duple Viceroy. Just so much more stylish than anything built today - or indeed anything built in the last 25 years.  ...
Jeremy 

      I lived in Britain for 20 out of the last 45 years and I should be over being amazed at the difference between American and British ideas of "style".  But it still hits me in the face like a wet dishrag (or maybe tea towel). TEHO ...

[DoubleEagle]

Someone I know almost bought one of those Eagle 04s, but he shied away from it because he wouldn't have been able to flip it for a reasonable profit.   They were also handsome buses  -  weren't they Belgian or Dutch?   Probably underpowered by modern standards, but a repower with a newer drivetrain takes care of that.
John

The 04 Eagles had 6V53's with manual transmissions, but at least they could rev higher! There might not be enough room to put in something bigger without modifications. I looked at one that had a bad transmission and cracked windshields, both of which there are no parts for unless you find a donor bus. If I recall correctly, only 300 something were ever made, and most of them were in Europe and Africa. The Duple Viceroy looks like the 04 as well, but it has a single windshield instead of a two-piece. All three of these buses were stylish in a sophisticated way. I wonder if the same designer did all three, or whether one of them came first and then "inspired" the others.

[Jeremy]

All three of these buses were stylish in a sophisticated way. I wonder if the same designer did all three, or whether one of them came first and then "inspired" the others.

I've just Googled it and see that Duple used Giovanni Michelotti of Turin for some of their design work, which certainly explains the Italianesque elegance and delicacy of the Viceroy. I'm sure the vast of British buses of the time were designed in-house, and most (just as with American buses I think) turned out rather heavy-handed and clumsily styled as a result

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Michelotti

Jeremy

[Iceni John]

I wonder if the same designer did all three, or whether one of them came first and then "inspired" the others.

The O302 fist came out in 1965, and the Eagle 04 one year later.   As with so much automotive design, I suspect M-Benz was the originator of that style and others simply followed in their footsteps.   I think the O302 still looks clean and modern even today  -  like all good designs it's essentially ageless.  The Michelotti-styled Duple is definitely a product of its time, just like the Triumph TR6.   Notwithstanding the availability of the O302's parts, I just like the idea of having a unique conversion;  similarly, when I finish my bus it will be the only full-converted Crown Supercoach Series II in existence.   One difference however is that my bus has all plain flat glass, no curved anywhere, so that's one potential headache avoided.

John