WOWSER! --- I have long had a lust..er...love for the all stainless MCI9's. Came close to snagging one a number of years ago but at the last minute a couple of people realized what it was and the bidding went absolutely into the stratosphere. Still one of the finest rigs ever built to my simple mind. I can't imagine parting with one. They are fairly rare ducks these days and still one of the most desirable platforms out there. And the old DD's will run forever if you know how to keep them up but I'm guessing parts are getting trickier to find as time goes by.
What a beauty!
1935 Chevy school bus
Moderator: TMAX
Re: 1935 Chevy school bus
HOLY CRAP!!! I come back here to check up on you and here you've bought another bus??????
Let's see you get this one in the garage.
Let's see you get this one in the garage.
Re: 1935 Chevy school bus
Hey Roach, good to hear from you. I'd always wanted something big and diesel so when this old prison bus became available I bought it. I've learned all sorts of new stuff and I've come away with a sense of awe as to just what a fine example of quality and craftsmanship went into the old MCI buses. I did a light (bedroom, bath, and kitchen) motor home conversion on the bus as a summer project and now will look to pass the it on to someone else. Much as I'd like to keep the big bus, Honeysuckle Rose better meets my needs. Were I to go full time I'd go with the big bus but that is not to be so------. Jack
Re: 1935 Chevy school bus
Hey Jack --- if you can get that sweetheart in front of a knowledgeable buyer, it ought to go for absolute top dollar. There is nothing else ever built that compares and no other all stainless that I have ever heard of. Wish I were younger and looking...again.
Course, I'd also settle for just "younger looking".
Course, I'd also settle for just "younger looking".
Re: 1935 Chevy school bus
Hello All. I am happy to report an even happier ending to a tough few weeks. Seems a few of us docile types ( cops, drill sergeants and the like) are prone to vocal cord ailments related to our work. Unfortunately, unlike our pop singer friends, our voice problems often mask a localized but unpleasant form of cancer. My voice had all but given up on me by the time my doctor recommended surgery and a biopsy.
This morning was as a stressful time as I can remember as I called in to hear the results of the biopsy. The adrenaline had me shaking like a leaf--took me half the day to settle down.
Good news, no malignancy found. The precancerous growth was successfully removed and though it will be a few weeks before I can talk normally, I am indeed thankful.
Now I can cheerfully return to planning my next couple of outings in Honeysuckle Rose! Jack
This morning was as a stressful time as I can remember as I called in to hear the results of the biopsy. The adrenaline had me shaking like a leaf--took me half the day to settle down.
Good news, no malignancy found. The precancerous growth was successfully removed and though it will be a few weeks before I can talk normally, I am indeed thankful.
Now I can cheerfully return to planning my next couple of outings in Honeysuckle Rose! Jack
-
somewhereinusa
- Posts: 323
- Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2011 2:44 pm
- Location: Andrews, Indiana
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Re: 1935 Chevy school bus
Glad to hear all is well. Now you can get back to enjoying retirement.
Dick
Dick
Re: 1935 Chevy school bus
Outstanding Jack! --- Sorry to hear what you had to go through but all's well that doesn't fall into the well. I am now six years "clean" myself after a round of stage four cancer. Say what you want about the VA Hospital system, but the one here in Houston is great.
You will no doubt be back in action in no time at all. Just don't go screaming at any uncooperative tools and you should be just fine.
You will no doubt be back in action in no time at all. Just don't go screaming at any uncooperative tools and you should be just fine.
Re: 1935 Chevy school bus
Jack, I'm late to the table, but extremely glad to hear the good news. I never stop being surprised at how seemingly insignificant things turn into something so serious. I'm really glad for you. I can only imagine how grateful you are to hear the report. Best of luck to you and hope you get back to Honey Suckle Rose very soon.
Darryl
Smyrna GA
2000 Gillig Phantom
Smyrna GA
2000 Gillig Phantom
Re: 1935 Chevy school bus
Hello All. We're just back from a weekend get away a hundred or so miles up the coast. Absolutely clear skies and perfect weather tucked away just above El Capatain State Beach along the coast of sunny Kalifornia.. We accompanied some friends who have a real motor home and are accustomed to paying a hundred bucks a night for a camp ground. It sort of reminded me of sneaking into the drive in movie when I was a kid--hoping no one would notice my piece of junk car . I don't think I've seen so many high dollar rigs in one place other than at an RV show. I guess I shouldn't have worried as Honeysuckle Rose was well received with squeals of "that's the cutest motor home I've ever seen".
I know I'm supposed to head down to the ocean and oooh and ahhh over the tide pools, but what caught my eye was a railroad tressle spanning a dry river. Now I've always been a rail road fan--my usual belt buckle is a Sante Fe emblem so it would seem natural for me to talk my camping buddy into parking his "broken down Jeep" under the over pass while we waited for a train to pass overhead--good ploy, the State parkies were satisfied with the rouse and left us alone after a brief discussion. And then, well---
I spotted the ladder.
[b/].
And what are ladders for?
[b/]
What a cool place to enjoy the sounds and feel of a huge locomotive passing by up there on the cat walk just inches under the tracks.
[b/]
Finally the train came--too much fun! Definetly worth the $100 a day!
[b/]
Jack
. I don't think I've seen so many high dollar rigs in one place other than at an RV show. I guess I shouldn't have worried as Honeysuckle Rose was well received with squeals of "that's the cutest motor home I've ever seen".I know I'm supposed to head down to the ocean and oooh and ahhh over the tide pools, but what caught my eye was a railroad tressle spanning a dry river. Now I've always been a rail road fan--my usual belt buckle is a Sante Fe emblem so it would seem natural for me to talk my camping buddy into parking his "broken down Jeep" under the over pass while we waited for a train to pass overhead--good ploy, the State parkies were satisfied with the rouse and left us alone after a brief discussion. And then, well---
I spotted the ladder.
[b/].And what are ladders for?
[b/]What a cool place to enjoy the sounds and feel of a huge locomotive passing by up there on the cat walk just inches under the tracks.
[b/]Finally the train came--too much fun! Definetly worth the $100 a day!
[b/]Jack
Re: 1935 Chevy school bus
Been following Tango's build, but I decided it's 'bout time I caught up to date with your travels, too.
Re: train trestles:
We had the State build a two-lane bypass to keep the highway out of the center of the local hamlet, and it went under a freight line less than a mile from my house, so they excavated under the track and as a result we had a trestle (more of a bridge) to "play" with as kids. No ladders, but you could climb up the grass to the concrete supports, and then get out on the beams underneath. Skinny kids could climb up between the steel side and the concrete for the track bed and stick their faces out to look at the track.
I've been under the trestle when a train went by, but didn't have the nerve to stick my face up along side of it.
In the winter, we would jump off the concrete about 20 feet into chest-deep snow made by the combination of the state plow banks and the wind drifting snow against the bridge.
Good times.
Though as I think about it, there was a true trestle over the river further down the track, and a few people would cross between another neighborhood and the woods behind our street. I did it once or twice myself. There were nothing but wooden ties with a view of the river in between. You couldn't run, and if I recall correctly there were two fatals years apart when someone couldn't cross to the opposite track in time when a train came.
Re: train trestles:
We had the State build a two-lane bypass to keep the highway out of the center of the local hamlet, and it went under a freight line less than a mile from my house, so they excavated under the track and as a result we had a trestle (more of a bridge) to "play" with as kids. No ladders, but you could climb up the grass to the concrete supports, and then get out on the beams underneath. Skinny kids could climb up between the steel side and the concrete for the track bed and stick their faces out to look at the track.
I've been under the trestle when a train went by, but didn't have the nerve to stick my face up along side of it.
In the winter, we would jump off the concrete about 20 feet into chest-deep snow made by the combination of the state plow banks and the wind drifting snow against the bridge.
Good times.
Though as I think about it, there was a true trestle over the river further down the track, and a few people would cross between another neighborhood and the woods behind our street. I did it once or twice myself. There were nothing but wooden ties with a view of the river in between. You couldn't run, and if I recall correctly there were two fatals years apart when someone couldn't cross to the opposite track in time when a train came.
Re: 1935 Chevy school bus
One more thing we have in common Jack --- I always had a weakness for trains. Learned how to hop them from "Bo's" and rode them them to and from school in the first thru 3rd grade. There were still a few "Steamers" then. Moved a few miles out years later and wound up hopping the same line in the opposite direction to go to high-school. Cheaper than riding the bus. Fast forward and my current place here near downtown Houston is about a block from the junction of the two lines I rode way back when.
Even now...every once in a while...I get this urge to see where some freight might be goin'.
Even now...every once in a while...I get this urge to see where some freight might be goin'.
Re: 1935 Chevy school bus
Hello All. First off let me miss quote a little poetry: There once was a girl with a curl on her head. When she was good she was good she was very very good and when she was bad she was horrid. That sentiment about sums up our last outing in Honeysuckle Rose.
We went to the third annual non rally at Lake Mead this last weekend. We left at what a friend refers to as "the butt crack of dawn" in an effort to avoid the Friday morning traffic we had to negotiate in order to leave home in ventura Ca. We were pretty successful at that and shared a celebratory breakfast at "Mack 'an Don's about a hundred miles out. The rest of the trip was pretty relaxed once we got to Interstate 40. I 40 covers the same ground as the old route 66 as it heads east. I have fond recollections of the "old road" which paralleled the original plank road. At some time in the early 1950's on an August run to visit family In Wisconsin I was allowed a brief stop so I could run over and touch the actual wood of the defunct plank road. Sixty years later it is still fresh in my memory.
A second reason for the early start was that we wanted to reach Lake Mead before dark. Last year, despite following the voice of our GPS aid, we were dropped off in old town Boulder City on a street with no street lamps and in a bus with very bright headlamps that for some reason projected light about 2" in front of the lense. We made our way to the camp ground by stopping at road signs and reading them with a flash light. I did add driving lights after that scary experience and while they solved the problem, I just wanted to be extra sure.
I believe 12 coaches attended, either Eagles or MCI's. The weather cooperated Friday,Saturday and Sunday until Sunday evening when the wind came up and it began to rain. Thankfully, the shindig was scheduled for Saturday evening with what I believe to have been the best camping potluck I have ever seen. Dinner consisted of salads, fresh grilled flank steak and chicken, sweet sour spam with rice, fresh baked biscuits with honey, chips and dip, brownies and fresh baked apple pie (from the oven in Honeysuckle Rose). Too much fun!
We stayed over an extra night on Sunday and enjoyed both the wind and rain safe in our little tin tent. We left for home at 8:45 Am Monday morning in blustery wind and light rain. Route 95 south to I 40 was a pleasant drive. Beyond that, the drive was horrid. By the time we reached I 40, the wind had picked up to 40 mph with gusts to 70 mph (of which there were many). I made the transition from 95 to I 40 at a reasonable 55 mph only to be passed by a large Ford E350 sticks and staples (brand new) . At first I thought the rig was a diesel based on the racket it made passing me. It wasn't, it was a gasser beating its squirrels like an angry barn cat was after them. Now there is nothing nice about me and when the grade increased and the squirrels tired, My little Isuzu powered bus and I swept by him at 70 mph besting him to the top of the grade. Of course the fool blue by me on the down grade. As he passed, I noticed that the rear corner of his awning seemed to be loose and within in about 500 yards, the awning gave up to the 70 mph winds and exploded off the side of his sticks and staples--quite a sight! A couple of miles down the road I encountered another parked camper with an awning ripped from it's side. Suddenly, I heard a noise like what you might expect if a tire blew out and I made a quick stop on the shoulder. Much to my chagrin, my awning had been attacked by the wind. With the wind whipping, I lost my watch cap and a favorite entry mat even before I made it completely out of the bus. Luckily I was able to unroll and re roll the awning before I lost it. I wasn't so sure my wife was wasn't going to be blown away as she bravely helped me secure the awning. We drove the next 100 miles at a cautious 45 mph and survived the wind. All the lost time piut us in the peak of Friday night traffic in the LA basin and we arrived home after a 12 hour drive exhausted. My wife, Lorna, an accomplished watercolorist (AKA "the little engineer") and I both agreed that had she not committed to teach an art class the day after our return, we would have holed up in a motel until the wind died down.
Would I do it again? When do we leave?
I'm now gearing up for an early Thanksgiving camp out with Clarence (the toad) and his motorcycle trailer next week. More to come. Jack
Much of the reason I like the I 40 route is because of all the trains I get to see. Here are a few pics of a very long freight train we got to parallel for a while.
.
[b/]
[b/]
Dinner preparation about to get under way.
[b/]
A few hens.
[b/]
The spread.
[b/]
We went to the third annual non rally at Lake Mead this last weekend. We left at what a friend refers to as "the butt crack of dawn" in an effort to avoid the Friday morning traffic we had to negotiate in order to leave home in ventura Ca. We were pretty successful at that and shared a celebratory breakfast at "Mack 'an Don's about a hundred miles out. The rest of the trip was pretty relaxed once we got to Interstate 40. I 40 covers the same ground as the old route 66 as it heads east. I have fond recollections of the "old road" which paralleled the original plank road. At some time in the early 1950's on an August run to visit family In Wisconsin I was allowed a brief stop so I could run over and touch the actual wood of the defunct plank road. Sixty years later it is still fresh in my memory.
A second reason for the early start was that we wanted to reach Lake Mead before dark. Last year, despite following the voice of our GPS aid, we were dropped off in old town Boulder City on a street with no street lamps and in a bus with very bright headlamps that for some reason projected light about 2" in front of the lense. We made our way to the camp ground by stopping at road signs and reading them with a flash light. I did add driving lights after that scary experience and while they solved the problem, I just wanted to be extra sure.
I believe 12 coaches attended, either Eagles or MCI's. The weather cooperated Friday,Saturday and Sunday until Sunday evening when the wind came up and it began to rain. Thankfully, the shindig was scheduled for Saturday evening with what I believe to have been the best camping potluck I have ever seen. Dinner consisted of salads, fresh grilled flank steak and chicken, sweet sour spam with rice, fresh baked biscuits with honey, chips and dip, brownies and fresh baked apple pie (from the oven in Honeysuckle Rose). Too much fun!
We stayed over an extra night on Sunday and enjoyed both the wind and rain safe in our little tin tent. We left for home at 8:45 Am Monday morning in blustery wind and light rain. Route 95 south to I 40 was a pleasant drive. Beyond that, the drive was horrid. By the time we reached I 40, the wind had picked up to 40 mph with gusts to 70 mph (of which there were many). I made the transition from 95 to I 40 at a reasonable 55 mph only to be passed by a large Ford E350 sticks and staples (brand new) . At first I thought the rig was a diesel based on the racket it made passing me. It wasn't, it was a gasser beating its squirrels like an angry barn cat was after them. Now there is nothing nice about me and when the grade increased and the squirrels tired, My little Isuzu powered bus and I swept by him at 70 mph besting him to the top of the grade. Of course the fool blue by me on the down grade. As he passed, I noticed that the rear corner of his awning seemed to be loose and within in about 500 yards, the awning gave up to the 70 mph winds and exploded off the side of his sticks and staples--quite a sight! A couple of miles down the road I encountered another parked camper with an awning ripped from it's side. Suddenly, I heard a noise like what you might expect if a tire blew out and I made a quick stop on the shoulder. Much to my chagrin, my awning had been attacked by the wind. With the wind whipping, I lost my watch cap and a favorite entry mat even before I made it completely out of the bus. Luckily I was able to unroll and re roll the awning before I lost it. I wasn't so sure my wife was wasn't going to be blown away as she bravely helped me secure the awning. We drove the next 100 miles at a cautious 45 mph and survived the wind. All the lost time piut us in the peak of Friday night traffic in the LA basin and we arrived home after a 12 hour drive exhausted. My wife, Lorna, an accomplished watercolorist (AKA "the little engineer") and I both agreed that had she not committed to teach an art class the day after our return, we would have holed up in a motel until the wind died down.
Would I do it again? When do we leave?
I'm now gearing up for an early Thanksgiving camp out with Clarence (the toad) and his motorcycle trailer next week. More to come. Jack
Much of the reason I like the I 40 route is because of all the trains I get to see. Here are a few pics of a very long freight train we got to parallel for a while.
.
[b/]
[b/]Dinner preparation about to get under way.
[b/]A few hens.
[b/]The spread.
[b/]
Last edited by ol trunt on Thu Dec 03, 2015 1:51 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Re: 1935 Chevy school bus
Ouch Jack! --- sorry to hear the west winds made the trip a tad nerve wracking but it appears you beat it. Good on you. Sounds like you Pacific Coast folks may be in for more of the same so you might consider just welding the awning closed onto the side of Honeysuckle...(just to be safe).
Re: 1935 Chevy school bus
Hello All. Just getting set for a Thanksgiving camp out with Honeysuckle Rose's Toad, Clarence and his tent trailer.
{b]
.
Since the last pic,I've added 30 amp electric service, a genny and a frig--along with A/C not that it matters this time of year. I've also added domestic water supplied by a pump and some clothes hanging racks which should help with the livability of the tent trailer.
Happy Thanksgiving to all! Jack
{b]
.Since the last pic,I've added 30 amp electric service, a genny and a frig--along with A/C not that it matters this time of year. I've also added domestic water supplied by a pump and some clothes hanging racks which should help with the livability of the tent trailer.
Happy Thanksgiving to all! Jack
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