General American Aerocoach Company took over Gar Wood Industries in 1939. They built this model of bus, the P-372, from 1949 until 1952 when they went out of business. Many of these buses had Continental gas engines. This bus has a 471 Detroit diesel engine, coupled to a 4-spd manual transmission. It has armstrong power steering, you better have two strong arms to steer it! This bus was likely a Trailways bus operated between Portland, Oregon and Salt Lake City, Utah. This bus went out of service in the '70's and was purchased by the prior owner who used it for a youth group and then put it into storage for the last 20+ years in the Boise, Idaho area. A friend of mine bought it at auction a while back, and has decided to sell it. His name is Brian, you can call him at 208-741-0548 and make him an offer based on his asking price of $10,000 OBO.
The Aerocoach had an aircraft-type monoque construction, it suprises you when looking under the bus to see a very small understructure and no big heavy framework.
The bus runs quite well, and will drive down the road at 55mph. The tires are old and weather cracked. The interior is old and has the somewhat musty old car smell, it is like a time capsule. There are a couple of broken windows, some dings and dents in the siding, etc. Mileage is unknown. Brian has checked engine oil, gear boxes, and adjusted the air brakes. This is one cool old bus, since it is quite original- it is like a trip back in time!
