| Author |
Message |
Dean Hamilton (Wvanative)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, May 27, 2006 - 5:59 pm: | |
Guy's I'm looking at a 1974 bluebird city bus with a total of 91000 coach miles. It had two doors on the passenger side. Good news is it has a new 318 D/D engine and a new 4 speed automatic Allison trans w/ only 1500 miles. My question is how hard might it be to get parts for this bus to do repairs that might need to be done in the future do to it's age?
Any help would be appreciated to help make a decision on this bus.
Wvanative |
JR
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, May 27, 2006 - 10:13 pm: | |
The engine and transmission will be a piece of cake to find parts for. Most Bluebirds have parts around too. Bluebird buses are sort of timeless.
I wouldn't think that parts supply would be an issue at all. But,there are issues...it's getting some age on the chassis, you'll want to look at the wiring, look for any crapped up old body repairs, and check for rust. Rust is the worse problem of all.
Richard B is up in West VA and may be close by. He has a lot of bus'n knowlege.
Unless you can verify the "newness" of your 318 (also known as an 8V71), via logs of repairs, gotta watch for problems with such "new" engines.
May be just exactly what they state...however, this unit would be a boat anchor if it had a bad engine or transmission.
Bluebirds offer very little in basement storage, aand they don't have the cushy ride of the OTR air ride (it may have air ride?) coaches. They have limited headroom also. Sort of an upscale "Skoolie" if you will. They are typically durable.
Good Luck, JR |
Mark R. Obtinario (Cowlitzcoach)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 31, 2006 - 12:03 pm: | |
Are you sure you have the spe'c's correct as well as the vehicle miles?
I am thinking 91000 coach miles is way too low. Most city buses will travel the better part of that mileage in one year, let alone 30-some years.
Also, I have seen a lot of Blue Birds over the years and I have never seen a BB spe'c'ed with a DD 8V-71. Of that vintage I have seen DD 8.2L, I have seen GM Toroflow, I have seen Cat 3208, I have seen Cummins 555, Ford 534 V-8, GMC 401/478 V-6, and I have seen DD 6V-53. If someone is saying it has a DD 318 I am thinking it is more than likely a 6V-53.
Both Gillig and BB designated some of their models by the size of the engine cubic inch. A 534 model had the Ford 534 V-8. A 318 model had the DD 6V-53.
If it is really and truly a 8V-71 it is a real rare BB.
BB supports their products very well. There is a BB dealer/distributor near you, wherever you are in the US and Canada. Just make sure you have the VIN# and Model# handy when you talk to one of their parts persons.
If the bus does not have any body rust and the price is right, you may have found a good bus to convert.
Good luck.
Mark O. |
Dean Hamilton (Wvanative)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 31, 2006 - 5:13 pm: | |
Thanks guys for the reply’s I appreciate all the info I can get. The spec’s are true.
It was re-powered with a 1986 8v71 or 318 engine and trans so that is why the spec’s are not what you thought they should be. That is what I like about this board you guy’s are very smart and not much gets by you. A mid-west city police department was going to convert it to a command center but found a bigger bus and set this one aside after they re-powered it “lucky me”. The outside is in perfect shape and no dents or rust that I could see. I will have it completely checked out before I buy it.
Again thanks guy’s
Wvanative |
Mark R. Obtinario (Cowlitzcoach)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 31, 2006 - 5:55 pm: | |
Any idea what the original engine was in that bus?
The only reason why I ask is if the original engine was a 6V-53 or any of the other medium duty diesel engines (Cat 3208 or Cummins 555 or DD 8.2L) or any of the heavy duty gas engines (GMC 401/478 V-6 or Ford 534 V-8) you may have some problems with highway speed. All of those other engines tached out at 2500-2800 RPM's.
The DD -71 series engines tach out at 2100-2300 RPM's.
If they didn't swap out the rear end of that bus when they swapped out the engine, that bus is going to have a real bad case of the slows. As in the top speed will be about 47-52 MPH.
By the way, do you know if the chassis of that bus is a Blue Bird chassis? Through the '70's Blue Bird, Thomas, Superior, Carpenter, et al used a lot of vendor supplied chassis. IHC, GMC, National, and Oshkosh were just a few of the chassis I have seen underneath a Blue Bird with GMC being the most common.
If the chassis is a vendor supplied chassis the parts and pieces for the running gear could be a little hard to find now. Axles and drivelines tended to be whatever trucking companines didn't want. Those components were used in buses in order to use up excess inventories of unwanted or obsolete parts and pieces. This was mostly because a lot of the people who were buying buses had little or no clue as to what they were buying.
I guess what I am saying is the bus you are looking at could be a really great bus. Or it could be a pieced together nightmare.
Good luck.
Mark O. |
Dean Hamilton (Wvanative)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 31, 2006 - 9:36 pm: | |
Mark Thanks for your reply I don't know for sure what chassis is under it, but I'll find out right away. You hit right on the reason why I posted being that I don't want to buy something that is going to be impossible to get parts for.
As far as highway speed is concerned she will get up and run right out from under you. I had her up to 67mph with no problem. It’s always been a diesel but not sure what engine was in it before.
She looks like she was well cared for through out her life and not used to extremes. I have a feeling it was keep in a bus garage most of its life up until 5yrs ago just because of its condition and lack of rust.
Again thanks
Wvanative |
Dean Hamilton (Wvanative)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, June 03, 2006 - 2:53 pm: | |
Mark I found out the bluebird is on a GMC chassis. What do you think about that chassis as how hard it might be to get parts for?
Wvanative |
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