Bus Inspection Questions

[Jake191]

My friends and I always go to Talladega for the nascar races and we have seen some old school buses converted and we always said that we would do that if we ever could... Recently (yesterday) i came across a 74 ford (b700 i think) bus that has already been converted. Nothing nice or anything but that is exactly what we want. Now our problem is, will it be worth it to buy it. Its selling for 800 obo. The guy says it runs great but we have yet to crank it or drive it but the owner said we could when he was back in town. It has a refrigerator, stove, bunk beds, ac, and generator hookups. Most of that we dont really care about we just want something that will haul and sleep all of us. Our main problem is that we don't really know how reliable this old bus will be and I have found very little information about the bus and engine. The only thing i know is that it has a gasoline engine and thats great because some of my friends are mechanics. So my main questions are: How reliable is and old bus, What is a price range for minimum insurance and plates, and what should we look for when we can check under the hood and drive it. We have a very limited supply of money and just want to have a lil fun for a few trips camping and or tailgating. Any kind of advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks
-Jake

[Mark R. Obtinario]

Several problems occur to me about a 1974 Ford school bus.

First off, the Ford chassis used the old truck block engine. It isn't the same as the big block 460. Parts for the old truck block engines are starting to be few and far between (read that as $$$$). Most of the Ford buses I have seen had the 331 or 371 with just a few with the 391. The 331 had a top speed of 50-55 MPH and really crawled on the hills. The 371 had a marginally faster top speed and marginally faster on the hills. The 391 would cruise at 55 but would still crawl on the hills. Figure on 4-6 MPG with a stickshift and 2-5 MPG with an automatic.

Second, Ford chasis buses drove and rode like trucks. Everything felt clunky.

Third, almost none of the Ford chassis buses had tilt hoods. Doing anything under the hood is much easier with a tilt hood.

If what you are looking for is an inexpensive platform to turn into mobile sleeping quarters, check the different auctions for school buses that have just been taken out of service. you should be able to find some for not much more $$$ than what you are talking about. The real advantage of a bus just out of service is it will have relatively good (read that legal) tires that aren't all rotten. The cost of tires could triple the cost of the bus you are looking at currently.

A Crown with a DD 6-71T will cruise at 62 MPH all day long, it won't slow down very much for any hill, and it will turn in an honest 10-11 MPG. They have been selling for less than $3K at auction. I got mine for $750.00. I have driven it more than 20K miles and all I have had to do to it is put new steer tires and change the oil and filters.

Good luck and always remember, don't fall in love with a particular vehicle just because it is available.

Mark O.