Here's a thought...

[chessie4905]

What is there to "keep up" other than things that are worn out and needing replacement. Once done, shouldn't need fixed again for a long time. Now electronics in your unit...good luck when stuff starts to act up. Since it is pretty new, you may never have any issues, but...

[richard5933]

I've seen some pretty ingenious solutions to problems on old/vintage vehicles. Even it OEM parts are not available, keeping the general look/style is usually possible while maintaining (or even upgrading) the drive train. Nothing magical about the drive train under a bus, with the exception of a few odd-ball parts. There have been lots of work-around solutions discussed on this site over the years for those. To me that's part of the fun.

[luvrbus]

I've seen some pretty ingenious solutions to problems on old/vintage vehicles. Even it OEM parts are not available, keeping the general look/style is usually possible while maintaining (or even upgrading) the drive train. Nothing magical about the drive train under a bus, with the exception of a few odd-ball parts. There have been lots of work-around solutions discussed on this site over the years for those. To me tha 8)t's part of the fun.

You ever looked at GM bus real close  ,you cannot even buy brakes drums for a 4905 and I am sure there other models of GM no brake drums are available  for. It's tough finding parts for GM buses even Luke's well is drying up.

 

[richard5933]

You ever looked at GM bus real close  ,you cannot even buy brakes drums for a 4905 and I am sure there other models of GM no brake drums are available  for. It's tough finding parts for GM buses even Luke's well is drying up.

Not sure where you want people to go with that line of thinking though, other than for people to be aware. If people abandoned every collector vehicle when parts got tough to find there would be nearly zero vintage vehicles out there on the road. Parts problems are why we have places like Moss Motors, and a bunch of guys working to re-create unobtainium parts for GM 3751 buses right now.

I guess the bottom line on what I'm trying to say is that I think it's worth the effort to drive an old vintage bus. Not everyone agrees, I got it. Some want the convenience of call the manufacturer and just ordering parts. Some want the old buses.

When brake drums become impossible to find, and someone has a bus they want to continue driving, then some other solution will have to be found. Maybe that will be the time when someone decides it's time to figure out how to put air disc brakes on a vintage bus. I don't know what the answer will be, but I do know that this type of problem is not unique to buses.

[luvrbus]

Guys making parts for the SliversidIe,I know of 2 that bought body parts molds from Boomer,I wouldn't call that drive train parts,Richard most people here do there own work they don't take a bus to shop like you do and spend 5 grand on a AC unit.A lot of owners do not have 30g to drop on a engine or 10g for a Allison transmission either.Now shops like WW Williams will not work on anything over 20 years old.I know you like your bus and that is fine by me but people struggle to keep a bus going I see it everyday     

[chessie4905]

I stopped at the Bus sales in Basset, Va. 10 years ago. At that time the owner stated he had a couple of van trailers full of GM parts.
Drums hard to find...how about Eagle drop boxes. Probably could get one of the brake drum manufacturers to remfg them if a large enough order was made. Didn't RTS have 10 x15 drums? Maybe a machine shop could cnc a pair from solid blocks of cast iron.

[richard5933]

Guys making parts for the SliversidIe,I know of 2 that bought body parts molds from Boomer,I wouldn't call that drive train parts,Richard most people here do there own work they don't take a bus to shop like you do and spend 5 grand on a AC unit.A lot of owners do not have 30g to drop on a engine or 10g for a Allison transmission either.Now shops like WW Williams will not work on anything over 20 years old.I know you like your bus and that is fine by me but people struggle to keep a bus going I see it everyday   

I doubt you're recommending that people simply abandon their old buses with 2-strokes because parts are going to get hard to find. What's the alternative?

I agree that not everyone can afford to pay someone to work on their bus, but that's not the point. Whether I'm paying someone to do the work or doing it myself, the question is whether or not it can get done. Just like many can't afford to pay a shop to work on their old 2-stroke buses, they also can't afford to abandon them and upgrade to something newer.

And then there will be those that would still want the old bus regardless. Not as many as there once was, but they're out there. There are currently a number of threads with people actively looking for 'new-to-them' vintage buses. Whatever your thoughts about Scott over at BGM, he has sparked lots of interest in older buses and has brought lots of young blood to the hobby. In the end that will be good for all of us.

Did anyone at GM in the 40s ever think that in 2020 a GM 3751 would still be running and being used on a regular basis? Or even a GM 4104? They're still running because they were well built and because people love running them.

[luvrbus]

Richard I tell people do the math is a $5,000 converted GM,Eagle,MCI or other bus worth spending 30G's on for repairs when 30g or 40g would buy a better bus.I have no problem with people driving a classic if they have the funds to maintain it sadly they don't and they walk away in debt   

[luvrbus]

I stopped at the Bus sales in Basset, Va. 10 years ago. At that time the owner stated he had a couple of van trailers full of GM parts.
Drums hard to find...how about Eagle drop boxes. Probably could get one of the brake drum manufacturers to remfg them if a large enough order was made. Didn't RTS have 10 x15 drums? Maysbe a machine shop could cnc a pair from solid blocks of cast iron.

call me chessie if you need a drop box heck I can even fix you up with a V730 for the left turner

[chessie4905]

Thanks, I have a spare V730. What's  a drop box? Can't  find it on my coach.lol
Btw, notice how easy that engine and transmission comes out and goes back into a GMC?😊

[luvrbus]

Thanks, I have a spare V730. What's  a drop box? Can't  find it on my coach.lol
Btw, notice how easy that engine and transmission comes out and goes back into a GMC?😊

They don't come out any easier than a MCI,Prevost or a Eagle in fact the GM goes back harder with a V730 attached

[chessie4905]

That's just because you're used to MCI and Eagles. The next one will go easier.

[edvanland]

Not only made in hell bring lots of money. And I'm 80 so in another 20 years I will not care either or maybe I will

[Jim Blackwood]

Hey all I'm saying is that in the $5-10K range for a shell or a good starting point it's hard to do any better than a mid 90's MCI. There are some disadvantages of course, and it'll be a few more years before they are ever considered vintage. And they are big which is both good and bad. Good engine but not too much electronics. Good transmission and no clutch. Beyond that it's really mostly all good. I considered vintage, just about long enough to think about how much fun I'd have backing out of a downhill dead end around a corner. Or keeping up with 80mph traffic and such. (Although it isn't necessary I sort of prefer to get away from city traffic rather than wallow in it.) Then too if all else was equal, and it never is, then an extra 2mpg is always welcome. For me it was mostly a matter of stretching the war chest though. The most I could have possibly come up with for an initial outlay was $15k and for that money you're basically stuck with a well used S&S. Uh-uh. No thanks BTDT. But for a bit over 1/3 of that I was able to have a '96 MCI delivered to my door. Took some time to find it, but it wasn't a fluke. I think anyone would agree that's a helluva starting point. Could have done way worse very easily so it does represent the clean end of the stick but what I did was take nearly a year to research and find the deal I was looking for. With a bigger budget it would be easier/quicker but not necessarily better.

I do think the vintage busses look cool. But at 6'2" the headroom impresses me far more.

Jim

[benherman1]

Richard I tell people do the math is a $5,000 converted GM,Eagle,MCI or other bus worth spending 30G's on for repairs when 30g or 40g would buy a better bus.I have no problem with people driving a classic if they have the funds to maintain it sadly they don't and they walk away in debt   

I think for most of the people with older buses a newer bus would never be a "better" bus. I bought a 1964 bus for the same reason I bought my 1966 Chrysler. It was my first car and needs work here and there but in the last 7 years I've put just under 80,000 miles on it (240k total) and I could hop in today and drive to Alaska. My 90s car on the other hand has a proprietary computer in it. Any vehicle with that is tied to the whims of the manufacturer.

Finding parts for an old vehicle may be a pain sometimes but if you keep an eye on things and replace them by sourcing parts before they leave you on the side of the road you can have a great vehicle and turn heads everywhere you go.