1950 sKOOL BUS
 

To start off with my wife is a Bus driver for the local school district. I have been trying to get her into cars for years with a luke warm response. I had bought her a rare 72 Skylark Suncoupe a few years ago, but I couldn't really get her interested in it.
Afew weeks ago she told me how cool it would be to have a classic School bus all "pimped out". I took that as a challenge to find one. I figure if it takes a bus to get her into classics I'm all over it. So my 11yo Daughter wants the Skylark and off to find a bus.
There was an old bus parked next to a shed about a 1/4 mile off the highway. It has been there for as long as I can remember. Being that far from the highway the only thing I could tell for sure was that it was a pre-55 because the corners were more rounded than the new ones. I couldn't even tell what make it was.
I stopped the other day and talked to the owner and found out it was perfect timing because his wife was on him about getting rid of it and he was trying to figure out how. A deal was struck and the bus was ours for the tidy sum of 300 bucks.
The history of the bus is that it has spent it's whole life here in Rexburg. The P O Father braught it home back in 1969 and parked it next to the shed. They used it for some storage over the years.
It is in really good shape for not moving for the last 40 years. There is a few cracked windows and some dents and rust.
When I went to look at it I was pleasantly suprised to see that it is a 1950 Chevy Bus which is exactly what I wanted. It's longer than I'd like but Plans are that we will shorten it some and put it on a 1 ton frame and someday a cummins and a 4L80e trans. It's going to be our traveling rig, aswell as car shows, cruises, etc. Eventually a fridge, TV, DVD, captains chairs and whatever else we can think of.


Enough yaking time for some pics.


[IMG]http://inlinethumb30.webshots.com/17...600x600Q85.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://inlinethumb40.webshots.com/73...600x600Q85.jpg[/IMG]

Re: 1950 sKOOL BUS
 

[IMG]http://inlinethumb16.webshots.com/42...600x600Q85.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://inlinethumb46.webshots.com/44...600x600Q85.jpg[/IMG]

Re: 1950 sKOOL BUS
 

WOW!! You stole it!!

Re: 1950 sKOOL BUS
 

[IMG]http://inlinethumb15.webshots.com/45...600x600Q85.jpg[/IMG]


If anyone has some cool bus pics I'd like to see them to get some ideas.

Re: 1950 sKOOL BUS
 

Another cool project to keep an eye on!!!

Re: 1950 sKOOL BUS
 

yeah I have 2 of the 40`s short bus`s let me send some pics of some others[ATTACH]Attachment 471316[/ATTACH].

Re: 1950 sKOOL BUS
 

cool find. Shortening the body should be easy, if you look at the photo the room and body is riveted. The room has a long center section that looks like if you took it out and shortened the frame it would be about the right length. Rivet holes probably will even line up. There was a thread from a guy in Oregon that did one a year of so ago.

Re: 1950 sKOOL BUS
 

here is my latest bus find...it is fixing to go on a dually chassis...it is the shortest I have ever seen before from the factory that is.Attachment 471319

Re: 1950 sKOOL BUS
 

BBeep is his user name.

Re: 1950 sKOOL BUS
 

I can be lots of help!

Re: 1950 sKOOL BUS
 

the oid bus turned out nice bbeep

Re: 1950 sKOOL BUS
 

Great idea to get the wife involved. This will be a neat build to watch. Like yours BBEEP.

Re: 1950 sKOOL BUS
 

If I had a bus like that when I was in school I would never have missed a day! Very cool. Can't wait to see how it turns out!

Re: 1950 sKOOL BUS
 

hey lets see some interior pics!

Re: 1950 sKOOL BUS
 

Update,
Derric (KDRodworks316 on the forum) and I went over the other day and barrowed a tractor to wake the sleeping giant. Well it took about 3 hours and the help of 2 other friends and a pick up to get her out. She was very happy being where she was. I found out that it was bought in 1970 and put here and used for storage. In 1976 the Teton Dam broke and flooded most of the valley luckly the water only came up to the top of the fenders. I say luckly because of the devastation now adays it's hard to find much around here older than 76 although it is possible. Anyway back to the story,the motor is a newer full pressure 235, but it seems to be seized. The oil cap is gone so either it was locked up when parked, locked up from sitting or water from the flood got in. The guy I bought it from said that his dad (who bought it in 70) always said it didn't have an engine, when I poped the hood he was suprised to see the motor, so I'm leaning toward it was locked up when they got it.
As you can see from the pics after 40 years the bus sank into the dirt so that the axles and body were on the ground we finally managed to get it out and were suprised to see that two of the tires still had air in them, a front one (second pic) and a back one. We are going to head back on saturday and see if we can fill the tires, bleed the brakes and drag her home.
I will try to get more pics outside and interior on saturday. Jared
[IMG]http://inlinethumb26.webshots.com/42...600x600Q85.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://inlinethumb35.webshots.com/43...600x600Q85.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://inlinethumb07.webshots.com/44...600x600Q85.jpg[/IMG]

Re: 1950 sKOOL BUS
 

[IMG]http://inlinethumb59.webshots.com/44...600x600Q85.jpg[/IMG]


I love the fake rear fenders on this bus, they look just like the pickup rear fenders and yes they will be going back on.



[IMG]
http://inlinethumb25.webshots.com/95...600x600Q85.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://inlinethumb52.webshots.com/42...600x600Q85.jpg[/IMG]

Re: 1950 sKOOL BUS
 

Here's some pics of the flood, still a controversy in Eastern Idaho

Re: 1950 sKOOL BUS
 

All I can say is, Its a good thing I own a cummins!(you cant say the "D" word here) That freaking bus is HEAVY! With 5 flat tires, no brakes, and a crazed man behind the wheel holding in the clutch while in gear for stopping power, We took to the open hwy at a asphalt melting 8 mph as the bus bounced and shredded tires out of the pasture it called home for the last 40 years. The monsterous horsepower of the diesel drinking shop truck belched up a cloud of black soot as we jiggled down the road. 18 minutes later we pulled into the world headquarters of KDR where the big yellow mountain of steel will undergo its transformation with a one way ticket to Koolsville! After we beat it into its new parking spot with the help of the OL' John Deere, We turned Jared' lovely wife loose cleaning out 40 years of farm storage. I would hope Jared would post pics of his projects first journey in 4 decades, but then he is pretty busy posting pics in my threads. (just for joe231)

Re: 1950 sKOOL BUS
 

Well as Derric said we got it to the shop. It was fun draging that monster down the road fortunately we only had to take it a mile and a half. I was to busy keeping that wandering slug going strait to take some traveling pictures, but we did get some before and after pics. So here you go.


[IMG]http://inlinethumb27.webshots.com/43...600x600Q85.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://inlinethumb30.webshots.com/12...600x600Q85.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://inlinethumb25.webshots.com/23...600x600Q85.jpg[/IMG]

Re: 1950 sKOOL BUS
 

[IMG]http://inlinethumb05.webshots.com/43...600x600Q85.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://inlinethumb22.webshots.com/44...600x600Q85.jpg[/IMG]

Re: 1950 sKOOL BUS
 

We cleaned all the junk out of the bus and was able to really check things over. According to the vin # it is a 1950 and was built in June the exact same month as my pick up, what are the odds. The vin is 1TXF1454. It's alittle confusing that it has such a low number 1454. My pickup is in the 18000s, unless each model line started with 00001. So mabe this was the 1454th bus chassis built that year, it just seems weird that it would have such a low number being built in the last month of the 1950 model year. Hey BBeep does your bus have a low number too? The Chassis was built in Flint Mi and my pickup was built in Kansas City.

Here's some inside pics before and after the cleaning.

[IMG]http://inlinethumb45.webshots.com/43...600x600Q85.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://inlinethumb40.webshots.com/14...600x600Q85.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://inlinethumb46.webshots.com/29...600x600Q85.jpg[/IMG]

Re: 1950 sKOOL BUS
 

[IMG]http://inlinethumb05.webshots.com/13...600x600Q85.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://inlinethumb36.webshots.com/14...600x600Q85.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://inlinethumb26.webshots.com/45...600x600Q85.jpg[/IMG]

Re: 1950 sKOOL BUS
 

That thing is pretty darn cool!:metal: This site has made me want a old pannel and a burb, on top of that I wan a bus now too:lol: Thanks for furthering my addiction! If it were mine I think I would leave her long, sheet metal off some windows make it a pimped out RV. Great score buy the way hope you have fun with it! Looks like a very cool project. Subscribed!

Re: 1950 sKOOL BUS
 

What a fun looking project, congrats on the purchase!

Re: 1950 sKOOL BUS
 

BBEEP what exactly did you use when you lengthened you donor frame? If you have pics that would be great. I'm getting a 70 Chevy 1 ton for free. I haven't seen it yet but I was told it has an 11 foot flatbed on it. It sounds like it's somewhat long but I figure I'll have to stretch it some. Mine will probably be alittle longer than yours because there is a seem right behind the driverseat and another seem about half way down the body. If I join those two seems it will take 4 windows out of the side leaving me with 3 square windows on each side plus the driver's window and the far back one.