1978 MCI 5C - 35' 6V92TA w/Allison automatic

[Cary and Don]

Dave,  Did George buy something or did he give up.  He hasn't been on the board in awhile.

The interior updating could be done as you go and for about $2K, new window treatments, re upholstery, carpet, etc.  Those things are a lot cheaper than all the other stuff.

Don and Cary

[Dave5Cs]

Don,
No they are still looking and still quite excited about it. I found a few for them and they keep finding some also. Just not road ready on some of them.

Dave5Cs

[SkellBell]

I spoke to the owner today for over 2 hours - an absolutely lovely gentleman. Pics of the storage and engine bays show clean and he clearly has taken good care.  Interior is dated but I am waiting on clearer inside pics with shades pulled up. He was friends with the original owner Obie.  The bus was bought in the late '80's.It was originally used for base service members at a missle base. It had a broken down engine when Obie bought it - govt sold/stored in a hangar.  Conversion began 1992-93 (20 years) but not driven till 1995.  Parked in Obie's shop (down South) for many years.  He lost interest when his wife passed away so his friend bought it and continued the conversion and upgrades. Now his spouse can't travel.   It's now in Illinois not covered.

Additional info from conversation
Tires 4 years old
There are now two radiators; shutters removed?
Electricals run thru walls not floor; breakers at source and then to Breaker panel.
No solar panels but inverter setup
Scrubber batteries (four - 6 volt)
Engine has an extra 200 Amp Leese Neville Alternator but its disconnected?

Waiting on Geom's call but this bus, and Cary and Don's, and Gerry's are all solid owner-loved and cared for buses.

Thank you all for all your help.
Does anyone have an "apple to apple" chart (in Excel or Word) to keep track and compare?

[SkellBell]

Spoke to Geom.  He walked me through and confirmed mechanicals.  Engine and storage bays so clean one could eat out of them.  He and his wife cook a lot and the back bedroom is set up more like a guest bedroom with the sofa bed so it didn't work for him but with minimal upgrades like sofas, carpeting and dining booths removed and easy to clean flooring installed this is a contender.

[chessie4905]

Still not worth 40 grand. Closely check for rust issues underneath. Spending a lot of time sitting doesn't help either. I'd say 25 to 30 tops, if chassis and body is solid. Too many out there at great prices with more to offer.

[lostagain]

The MC5 always had 2 radiators, one on each side. Ask if it has the stock size squirrel cage rad fans with stock size pulley, or was it upgraded to  larger fans and smaller pulley off a MC9 for more air flow for more cooling. Also does it have the larger MC9 rads? Those upgrades are common with a 6V92TA swap. I see in the picture the turbo is on top of the engine, which means that the bedroom floor was raised to make room for it.

JC

[Ed Hackenbruch]

If i had to replace my 5A i think that i would be taking a close look at this C.   

[luvrbus]

You can tell by the info the radiators are stock he says small injectors, the 33,000 original  miles I would question the 6v71 is not a great engine but they last longer than 33,000 miles,I would diffidently run the serial number on the engine to be sure it is a sliver engine it has the old style water pump 

[bevans6]

FWIW, so far (2K miles) my 5C radiators are cooling my 350 hp 8V71T just fine.  Not California heat and mountains, mind you, but still doing a good job.

Brian

[Midwilshire]

Bought our unconverted 1978 5C w/33,000 original miles for $7,780.  Love it.  It, like this one, was a GSA military lease in it's first life. 

Personally, I'd rather park mine in the driveway and do the conversion myself than spend an extra $33K+ for a 30-year-old conversion.  That said, I do like that bus.

[Dave5Cs]

Midwilshire was yours an 8 or a 6?

Dave5Cs from Galaxy S III

[Midwilshire]

8v71.  Had out of frame rebuild and new (refurbed) Allison installed about 10k miles before I bought it. 

[Dave5Cs]

Nice.

[Barn Owl]

We all missed the "deal". Hi yo silver just sold his near perfect Custom Coach MC9 for less than that. I saw it, and am still hurting over seeing that one go. By far the best buy I have seen in a very long time.

[Rellick]

Looks to be a nice rig, I dont think the price is too high for what it is. If it was up in Canada here it wouldnt be for sale long, most bus conversions around have lots of miles on them and it shows. You would be lucky to find a decent cookie cutter here for that, if one were to add a slide or two and update the interior I could see it fetching double or triple here. Just my 2 cents