somebody save this bus

[happycamperbrat]

I found it searching around on craigslist, dont know the people but WOW  http://spokane.craigslist.org/rvs/1915909051.html

[Rick59-4104]

 That is a neat find..I wonder how much of a greenhouse effect the roof windows would have? I have always thought the Crown Buses were a good looking bus, if closer I would be interested.. This bus would make a great mobile studio..I do jewelry and engraving with the overhead windows the natural lighting would be great.
Rick

[longjohn]

That is a neat find..I wonder how much of a greenhouse effect the roof windows would have? I have always likes the lines on the Crown Buses, if closer I would be interested..
Rick

With heavy tint it might be ok, thats a cool lookin bus

[crown]

 i got a 57 crown but that skyview is way cool  john

[happycamperbrat]

here is the perfect toad for it

http://www.mpasvw.com/images/tim1.jpg

[Kevin]

Indeed the perfect toad!

I had my heart set on a Crown Super Coach but couldn't find a 35 footer. The local school transportation agency auctioned off some 40 footers some years back for a "song".

I wanted to stay a maximum of 35' in order to legally (California) tow a 26' foot sailboat. Haven't had that boat on the bus near as much as I'd originally dreamed, but enough for sure. Anyway, no regrets with the GM '04. I like the air ride and the ample storage.

Still, the Crown is a beaut!

[happycamperbrat]

Yaeh, I will bet the school kids baked in this! I guess that's why so few were made. But for an RV the windows could be tinted and some could be covered with a sliding thing like a sunroof in a car has.

[Iceni John]

Very interesting.   I wonder what the cognoscenti at Crown Coach Junkies will make of this one.   I vaguely remember someone there mentioning some rubbernecker Crown tour buses that had been converted to school use  -  maybe this is one of them.   Crown would sometimes rebuild older buses to newer specs, so it can be tricky to determine the original build of older Crowns.   What intrigues me is the engine  -  "235 slant 6 Cummins diesel motor".   I guess he means 235 HP, either a pancake 743 Cummins NHH, or maybe the big-cam 855  -  I think it's not a true slant, otherwise it wouldn't fit under the frame rails.

I used to ride in old Bristol MW buses in England that had similar roof windows, and in even an English summer they could turn into an oven inside;  in winter the old perished rubber window seals would let in so much water that one elderly lady would simply open her umbrella inside, much to the chagrin of the other passengers.

John

[Jeremy]

Here's a pic of a Bristol MW that was mentioned, for comparison. Bigger windows and not as curvy at the back, but basically quite similar to the Crown. The Bristol isn't as long as the Crown (probably 30 feet rather than 35), but it is an inner-city bus (what you would call a Transit) rather than a long-distance coach that I assume the Crown was

As it happens the Bristol in this photo was built in in the same year as the Crown in the original post, so they really are distant cousins:





When looking for this picture I came across a website of a guy who is restoring one - for those interested see: http://classicbristolbuses.thornet.co.uk/mybus.html


Jeremy

[CrabbyMilton]

Nice looking bus in that photo there. Overseas built buses are a whole different game as far as builders, specs. and history. The British were/are not known for outstanding quality as you stated with window leaks but they sure built some interesting buses over there that's for sure. That website looks interesting.

[crown]

 a few more crown pics there so cool the roof glass has sliding panels for the sun  crown/ john

[FloridaCliff]

That is a neat find..I wonder how much of a greenhouse effect the roof windows would have?  the overhead windows the natural lighting would be great.
Rick

Rick,

My 4905 has two of the three astrolights still in it, one was covered over when I bought it.

I really like them for the natural light, even when you have the blinds drawn for privacy.

The only downside is the heat as you said, I tinted them to reflect the UV rays and they are 100% better.

The amount of skylights on the crown would require tons of a/c to stay cool, even when stopped in the direct sun.

Cliff

[Iceni John]

Not surprisingly, some of the CCJ folk know all about this bus.   It was delivered November 1959 to San Fransisco Gray Line, then Brock Bus Lines of Glendale CA converted it to use for school service.   It ran as a school bus for a couple years, and it ran Dodger charters in the 1970s, before the CHP red tagged it.   Brock (one of the more "interesting" bus operators in Southern California at that time) painted over the silversides with NSBY and added the red flasher lights, but didn't change the door or remove the skyliner windows, thus the reason the CHP didn't like it.   Brock got away with it at first because it was assumed it came that way from the factory!

Jeremy, that Royal Blue MW is just like what Eastern Counties ran on their rural bus routes after they had been retired from coach service.   I can still remember the gruff sound of the venerable 5-cylinder Gardner 5LW and the whine of the gears.   Slow, but they would always get through even when the roads were icy or covered in thick snow.   Wonderful old buses.

John

[crown]

 over on the crown group found out this was a san fransico gray lines bus when sold it was used as a school bus thats why
it has the upper lights john

[Don4107]

This bus in not far from me if anyone seriously whats more pix or information.  I know nothing about Crowns, but could look.  It has been advertised for a long time.

Don 4107