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wagonmaster
Top Member
USA
2298 Posts |
 Posted - 12/10/2001 : 2:15:54 PM
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Many states have laws pertaining to school buses and color. In Florida you must paint it if it is not being used as a school bus! Some folks just paint the sides white, and the hoods black, but the choice is yours. Good luck with your project.
Joe
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Buskid
Top Member
USA
3368 Posts |
Posted - 12/10/2001 : 6:33:55 PM
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quote:
One important question: I heard if a school bus is converted it has to have the yellow/black paint scheme painted over because it's not a schoolbus anymore. Anybody ever heard of that?
Hey again, Newbus
You'll at least need to remove the district lettering from the sides of the bus, remove the school bus lettering, remove the "STOP WHEN RED LIGHTS FLASH" and somehow cover up the red cross over lights. On my Crown, I completely removed the district and "STOP WHEN RED LIGHTS FLASH" lettering, made it say "COOL BUS" instead of "SCHOOL BUS" and put some home-made covers over the red cross over lights. I'll eventually be getting it painted different colors, but with all the projects I have going on right now, saving up for new paint is almost impossible. 
Hope this helps you some. Sounds like you've found yourself a nice Thomas. 
The Buskid - CrownBus32@aol.com - http://www.crownbus.com |
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Newbus
Senior Member
119 Posts |
Posted - 12/10/2001 : 9:42:23 PM
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Hey hey Buskid. Thanks for clearing that up. I got that erroneous tip from A-Z bus sales but I now realize that they were talking about some church group buying a bus and ......well that's probably more than you need to know! Hehe. By the way, I've been to your website several times. Very cool. I've mentioned before that my first choice (for a school bus conversion) is definitely a Crown. I love'em. I'm pretty sure I'll go conventional to get my feet wet. I was also looking at a two toned green and white Bluebird transit style but only around 29'. Too cool! And that 55 Crown up in Vista just knocked me out. I wonder what you think as an ideal year for a Crown? You know how older vehicles have a lot of drawbacks and new vehicles are engineering overkill. I guess I'm talking that balance between function and simplicity. Hey, by the way, I thought you were out of town! And Joe, thanks for the tip. This is CA and I now realize I won't have to change colors. I won't be set up for spraying it for a while so the idea that I'd have a new bus that I couldn't drive because it was yellow set me back. I'm sure in the meantime, until I'm set up again to shoot it, I'll come up with an interesting color scheme for it. That Bluebird has a Cat 3208 in it. Any insights on that engine? I've also been meandering about airbag suspension. Is there a big difference in the way a bus rides on air bags? I should think so. I don't think that Thomas conventional has airbags. Looked like a solid axle up front and leafs out back? Seems like that would be like a buckboard unloaded but I suppose the overall wieght of the bus smooths all that out.
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Buskid
Top Member
USA
3368 Posts |
Posted - 12/14/2001 : 11:45:42 PM
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Hey again, Newbus!
Well, I paid D&D Bus Sales a quick visit this morning. Those poor ex-Garden Grove Crowns need some serious help!
# 58 (the 1957) has good tires and is in pretty good shape inside and out, but the engine needs a lot of TLC. The idle on it is messed up. It would only idle between 100-200 RPM. You have to keep the throttle on so it won't die. The person who I talked to there said it idled better after the engine warmed up, but I didn't wait that long to see if it really did. ...Did you notice that it has an air clutch? That's different.
# 62 (the 1955) didn't have as good tires, and its body was in horrible condition for a Crown. The engine was a little better than the other, at least it idled normally. I still wasn't very impressed by it, though. For $2k each, I'd expect a little more. I certainly won't be purchasing one of those two buses any time soon.
Actually, it was pretty sad seeing those two buses there in that condition. The last time I saw them in service, they ran fine and looked pretty good. Seeing them not wanting to start and chug a bunch of smoke really disappointed me. 
Which Thomas there are you thinking about buying? I saw # 25 and then another one there - I didn't catch the number on it. Both of them looked pretty good.
Okay, that's enough out of me. That was my adventure for the day. Take care.
The Buskid - CrownBus32@aol.com - http://www.crownbus.com |
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Buskid
Top Member
USA
3368 Posts |
Posted - 12/15/2001 : 08:18:32 AM
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quote:
I wonder what you think as an ideal year for a Crown?
For a conversion, I would buy anything after a late-1960s model. Anything older, and you start to run into the problems I found with the ex-Garden Grove buses I mentioned in my previous post. (There are some exceptions to that, but in general, I would stay away from the older ones with no power steering and 4-spd. w/ granny gear transmissions to use for a conversion.)
If having dual air brakes is an issue, any Crown manufactured before 1976 wouldn't be for you. Dual air brakes became standard in 1977. Automatic transmissions and diesel engines in older Crowns really aren't an issue, though. Diesels were available in them from the mid-1950s and on, and automatic transmissions came as an option since the mid-1960s.
I love my 1969 Crown. I loved the first 1969 Crown that I owned also. I also had a 1952 Crown at one point, but I never even thought about converting that one. I guess it just comes down to an issue of personal preference.
The Buskid - CrownBus32@aol.com - http://www.crownbus.com |
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Newbus
Senior Member
119 Posts |
Posted - 12/15/2001 : 6:17:52 PM
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Hey Buskid....you really get around! I know what you mean about those two Crowns. They were in pretty sorry condition. I was surprised to see corrosion on an aluminum body bus which, incidentally, is just one of the reasons I like Crown so much. To me, the corrosion resistance of aluminum body vehicles cannot be overstated. I was fixing a rusthole on a 69 Cutlass fender today. They weren't that bad though. I was just wondering if there was a period where they were building buses that was sort of an ideal balance between reliability, performance and simplicity. I figured it might be around late 60's to early 70's. I know cars but not buses so I have no idea. One thing I don't like is when a vehicle gets too high tech and complicated. For me the more stuff it's got on it means the more stuff that can go wrong. I used to drive trucks some for a company I worked for and had my class A so I don't mind standard trans. Do you have to double clutch a Crown? I suspect not. Do they shift smoothly? I drove an old Peterbilt with an 5 speed and it was pretty sloppy. I didn't know they made automatics. That's interesting. I should think those two you checked out might be money pits. The Thomas I liked was an 86, 11 row, 466 turbo, allison auto. Clean bus and, for a conventional, a very good one. He wanted 8,000 for it though which is a little steep. I don't recall the number on it. I'm not even sure if it's still there. I've got a feeling you saw the one I'm talking about though. I bet you're not getting any time in working on your conversion these days are you? Thanks a lot for letting me know about your trip to that bus lot. I value your opinion. As I mentioned above. I saw a pretty neat looking Bluebird on the A-Z website under activity buses. It's only about a 30 footer but I thought it was pretty cool although I wonder if Cat 3208 is a good solid performing diesel. I wonder what it would cost to have a trans or motor rebuilt on a Crown? Any idea? Well that's probably enough questions out of me tonight. Thanks again for taking the time to write. That's nice!
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Buskid
Top Member
USA
3368 Posts |
Posted - 12/15/2001 : 7:34:51 PM
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Hey Newbus
Yeah, you have to double clutch Crowns. Well, you can shift them without using the clutch, but you're taught in training to double clutch.
Smooth shifting really depends on the bus. It seems as though no two are alike. My 1969 Crown is the smoothest shifting 5-speed I've ever driven, while on the other hand, I can't stand driving some of our newer (1990) 5-speeds at work.
A complete engine rebuild on a Crown could cost upwards of $8k. I think that it depends on who you have doing the work for you. I'm not sure how much transmission work costs. Personally, though, I'm thinking about dropping a 10-speed into mine. I can get both the transmission itself and work done for $700.00 - very tempting!
Anyway, I'm pretty sure the people at D&D are a little flexible with their prices. Any dealer is going to ask more for a bus than a private party, but if they want to sell it bad enough, I'm sure they'll work with you a little bit. Another dealer you may want to check out is A&A Enterprises in Glendale, California. I know Glendale isn't the closest city to you, but that is where I purchased my 1969 Crown from & I was very satisfied with their service. 
Oh, and you're right, I haven't had much free time to work on mine lately. (Does having the brake valve replaced count for anything?) I've been busy with other things... Like work! I'm hoping to get a couple things done to it within the next couple weeks, though. I need to take it in to get looked over sometime. Among other things, I know I have some air hoses that need replacing.
'nuff for now. Hope I helped a little and answered some of your questions.
The Buskid - CrownBus32@aol.com - http://www.crownbus.com |
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