63 year old housebus back on the road!

[47 REO]

Hi everyone, thought I'd log on and share a bus success story.

Magdalene is a 1947 REO bus conversion and my childhood home. My parents bought it in the 80s and never drove it. The interior is all wood and cozy.
A couple of years ago I bought it and towed it out to a farm for my family to live in. When we got back into a house, I started working on the automotive side. The engine was in great shape but the break job was a nightmare. Finally, it all came together two weeks ago. I drove it out of town and back to a pretty spot in the country! 45 mph never felt so fast!
First on my to-do list is a paint job, I'm going to make sure this ol' beauty keeps getting better. Watch out for updates!

P.S. Insurance companies sure don't like bus conversions, do they? In fact, no one does! Is it ignorance, fear, or (most likely) jealousy?

[stuartcnz]

Heres the photo:

[Sharkey]

Welcome to the forum. I bet Roger (Truckingturtle) will know whose bus that was back in the day.

Apparently, the forum software doesn't like something about the address you posted, but luckily, Stuart managed to cop the photo and enable it through Tinypic.

Hydraulic brakes are always the pits to get working. That's why I decided to only roll with air brakes from now on.

You can find some insurance hints on my F.Q.A. page, down near the bottom.

Keep us posted on your progress.

[dburt]

As Sharkey says, someone must know who owned the bus back in the day, and perhaps there are also pictures somewhere of what it originally looked like. It would be nice to know the whole story- we will look forward to updates!!

[longjohn]

Nice , more pics

[47 REO]

I would love to find out more about her history, I found the owner my folks bought it from, but he only owned it a couple of years.

Here are a couple more pics, too bad Google Docs will only let me post the link, I'll make a Tinypic account this week end.

Interior and Exterior:
https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B38o0h ... mL0E&hl=en

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B38o0h ... qfcN&hl=en

[longjohn]

I would love to find out more about her history, I found the owner my folks bought it from, but he only owned it a couple of years.

Here are a couple more pics, too bad Google Docs will only let me post the link, I'll make a Tinypic account this week end.

Interior and Exterior:
https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B38o0h ... mL0E&hl=en

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B38o0h ... qfcN&hl=en

Maybe just me but the pics would not come up

[Dualfuel]

You sir, have a fine looking REO! I have a friend who collects REOs and I have seen some very fine examples in his collection, but yours looks like one of the best!
Here is the only REO in my collection...

DF

[47 REO]

As promised, here are some more pics of my beloved bus and a little more info. The bus is a 1947 Reo Safetybus, the engine has been upgraded to a 1952 Reo Gold Comet OA-292, straight six. The roof has been raised and of course, there's the lovely cab-over loft. I've been living in this thing off and on for the last twenty years and I'm only 26. Right now its set up for hook-ups only, no holding tanks or batteries; just an extension cord, a garden hose and a flush toilet plumbed into normal septic.

Exterior, showing my new parking spot and my desperate need for a paint job:


Interior, living room with much-loved Jotul woodstove:


Interior, kitchen (I have since re-installed the sink):

[Dennis The Bus Dweller]

I love the old school rigs. There a little like turning back time. It gives me hope

[rlaggren]

Hey, thanks for sharing your pics.

You planning on putting in tanks for travel? Some folks just use a little porta-potty and discretely carry it to the public toilet every day or so. I find on my boat that I use about a gallon a day of drinking/cooking/washing; no showers but a 3 gal pump-up bug sprayer will serve there if you have a place to wash. But you need to be able to drain "grey water" outside if you don't have a tank.

A 5-10 gal gravity (mount above sink) fresh water tank would go a week or so; but figure out a way to make it really fast/easy to refill cuz that's a recurring "lifetime" chore. I just use 2gal bleach bottles; that's about as heavy (when full) as is easy to lift and pour and they're one of the toughest plastic containers out there.

Cheers, Rufus

[Rudy]

I once had a Jotul wood stove. It was light green enamel painted. Very nice.

[GoodClue]

Hello 47 Reo ...
I have the same stove in my '46 Chevy, tho not a Jotul, exactly the same style and model ...



Found at a local hardware store sale for $20 missing the catch for the door handle ... a 5 cent screw solved the problem ... have had it over 30 years, used on and off for at total over 10 ... replaced my favorite stove because it burned longer logs ...
GoodClue

[longjohn]

nice, thanks for sharing. 2x what dennis said, takes you back love the stove

[Patrick46]

Great old-school bus!!!

For paint...I'd use a roller & house paint. It can be had for cheap, and is tough as nails!!!


BTW...we need more pics!!!!