PD 3751 ready for trip to new home.

[Easy Street]

I have spent parts of the last three weekends getting my families (and now mine) PD3751 ready to come to it's new home in the near future. If you recall my posts from a year or so back, this coach has been in my family since 1973, when I was still in high school. Mom and dad are now gone, but I have decided to keep "Easy Street" as it too is part of the family and represents a lot of good memories. Besides, how often do you see one of these coaches on the road?
The coach was in drive able condition when parked inside in 1995 after her last trip to the folks house in Idaho from Arizona where mom and dad wintered. Dad would start her every 6 months or so for many years, but eventually she sat for some 10 years until I started her 1 1/2 years ago. Having rebuilt and maintained Detroits in the past (including rebuilding this coaches engine) I knew there was a good possibility that the rack / some injectors could be stuck from the period of sitting. My hunch and checking paid off as two injector fuel controls were stuck thus holding the rack in full throttle. I managed to free them up with penetrant and coaxing. I pumped out the remaining fuel in both of the tanks, filled the small rear tank with fresh fuel, changed the fuel filters and primed the system, changed engine oil and filters and pre primed the lube system. She fired off on the second rotation and sounded fair (there is an exhaust valve "wheezing" even though all had clearance), oil pressure was good. What a great sound to hear after all those years! I have a spare head, so I will change that in the future to correct the bad valve.

Over the recent weekends I changed out all the 10:00 X 20 tires and wheels for 11 X 22.5 units, greasing and inspecting as I went. Also changed out the coolant (what came out was nice and green and clean, but only God knows when it was changed last - could be when I rebuilt the engine in the mid 80's). I do have some repairs to make in the future (leaking trans seal and some brakes to reline) but nothing that is unsafe for the 60 mile trip to my home.
 
My wife is slowly warming to the thought of sharing me with the bus. I have agreed that we need to strip the interior and start over again to our taste. All of the support systems (fresh water, holding tank, and electrical) need to be stripped and redone too, as much of these systems dates to the 1960's. I have begun to hunt body parts that were dinged and damaged during its life, most noticeably of which is the left tail light housing. I am fortunate in that the center engine compartment panel retains all of the original components, including the center glass "STOP" lamp, which is intact, functional, and undamaged. I have acquired all new seals for the glass, window frames, and entrance and emergency exit doors. There is a picture in the Gallery from when I first pulled her out of the garage after initially getting her started.
Can't wait for the trip home. Thanks

[Boomer]

Nice looking car!  You probably already know this, but yours was delivered new to Northwest Greyhound Lines, as their unit number Y578. So it's still in Washington.  Cool.  I used to own a 1948 Kenworth highway coach delivered new to NWGL, Y1001.  It was the last highway bus that Kenworth ever made.

My Silverside was a Pacific Greyhound Lines car, their number K554.  Bus serial no. 3751-438. 

Good luck on undamaged tail lamp modules.  I  have yet to see one.  I wanted ones that would accomodate standard 4" LED's so had a metal craftsman hand make mine out of stainless. 

Silversides Forever!

Mark

[Easy Street]

Nice tail light housings Boomer. I have thought about building up some new ones if I don't have any luck on originals. Thought I would use Betts sealed LED's and their housings like the petroleum tankers use. Also thanks for the information on the original assignment of the coach. Some one else had told me the info when I first posted the serial number, but I didn't write it down at the time. This time I will. Our family is the third owner of the coach since Greyhound. It went straight to private use from them and was never owned by a secondary line or charter service. We actually had a chance meeting with the original purchaser in the 70's. He lived about a mile from us when we lived SE of Seattle in the town of Hobart. We bought the coach from the second private owner who lived in south Seattle. I actually drove it home when we bought it, as my dad was recovering from surgery on his right arm. Thanks Again. Gil

[foohorse]

What a great story its really nice to hear a story about a bus that gets passed down from parents to kids and  that you actually have an interest preserving it for its sake and for the memories.

[Me Too!]

Gil, did the muffler specs I sent you, work out?                   
Don

[dinahmoedave]

Very nice and thats awesome keeping her going AND in the family. Just took ours around the block (or down the hill and up the road and back lol) last week. I turned around at the local school bus driveway and this woman comes flying out of the house so i paused in the driveway to talk to her. Got yelled at instead! (for turning around in her driveway)  

[Boomer]

Northwest Greyhound used to have a yard in Seattle where the surplus coaches were parked for sale.  My Kenworth was purchased there by the original private owner, around 1953.  He had complete maintenance records, fuel records, tire records, which all passed to me.  Your coach was probably parked on the same lot and sold to the first private owner from there, my guess would be around 1960, but not sure.  I think NWGL had become Western Greyhound by that time.

[Boomer]

Here's a cool picture of some cool iron.  There was a strike around 1950 and these Silversides were parked. They were only a couple years old.  I believe this is SF or LA.  The K on the unit numbers indicate Pacific Greyhound Lines.

[Boomer]

Gil, concerning the tail lamp housings; as you know they were stamped and have a flange to the inside.  The original lamps were mounted from the back side and had glass lenses.  The center one was oval and had a directional arrow lens similar to the front turn signal.  They were plated with, I believe, nickel.  The OEM lamp assemblies were slightly less diameter than our now standard 4".  So in order to surface mount my new lights the entire housing had to be widened by about 1/2", and yet still fit into the engine door.  No small feat!  I doubt you will ever find undamaged units.  The cheapest way would be to repair, do body work and paint them.  I hammered mine out enough to use for a pattern to hand make the new ones.  They were very expensive but I wanted an original look.  Pictures of the side by side old and new.

By the way, I have reproduced a lot of parts for the Silverside if you ever need them; target sign, marker light lenses, front Greyhound emblem, all window rubber, entrance door rubber, emergency door rubber, etc.   Mine was what you can call a ground up resto including the drive train.  Currently looking for new drive axle brake drums if you find any.  HTH

[Easy Street]

Boomer - Thanks for all the info. Our coach was purchased in Seattle from NWGL around 1960. We actually got to know the original purchaser for a number of years before my folks moved to Idaho in retirement.
I have already sourced new seals for the windows and doors from Martyn in the Netherlands. I am still looking for the bulk seal for the baggage doors if you know of a source there. I haven't looked a lot yet, but it seems like it would be a more common shape.
We actually had two spare parts coaches before the folks moved. Acquired one from Metro Transit Seattle when they sold off a bunch in the mid 70's. The other was dead / blown engine at Emmerson Detroit Diesel in Seattle in the 70's from a low budget rock band. Bought it for 500 as I recall. Dad scrapped them when they moved - wish I had one body now for parts as I could use some better siding. I still have the title for one of them.
All of my glass marker lenses are good. We used to have the plastic lighted dog for the front and I am still hoping to find it. It was removed to accommodate the FMCA goose egg. I would also like to find some of the 7" amber fog lamps. Guess I can use glass dye coating on reg headlamps if nothing else.
Well have to run to WORK.
Thanks
Gil