Very nice old bus! First time I’ve seen a BB that age with a wrap around windshield and not completely flat with the black bar. Guess in the south they didn’t order many of those.
I love it. It reminds me of when I was a kid. Gotta admit, Utah isn't so much about waste as our state. Something that old would have been trashed long ago, sadly.
We had one in Middle/High School, same number and same driver, Bus #6 and that damn thing would always leave us stranded. Then around my Junior year we finally got one of those air conditioned buses.
I drove a 1987 Chevy BlueBird - identical to this...brown seats and interior...a good riding bus and handled good too but it would not turn sharp to save your life. I had my bus a couple of years over getting a new one. I didnt want the new one, give it to somebody else lol...finally I had no choice, I was the only gasoline engine left. She was replaced with a new 2005 IC.
I think that also about that time school buses went from what is called a compound transmission which is where you have a deep under in 1st to what many people in the trucking industry would call the "Progressive" box which is where you have a direct in 1st instead of overdrive. Also at that time, 1st and reverse on the 5-speeds traded places. Rather than having both 1st and 2nd located towards the windshield on a 5 speed, 1st is located towards the seat. Now for me, I would love to see you get buses that are even older like a 1962 builds because back then, not only did we have more bus bodies in the early 1960s but also that was when Carpenter had what was called the Vistaramic windshield.
@Tommy Retro i've only watched a few videos so far but i like your style keep up the good work. my favorite bus is a flat nose blue bird with the jackknife doors. i'm not big on the Thomas' but Wayne was awesome right up there with the crown coach co. we still have em in use in Los Angeles CA.
I would LOVE a vid of a mid to late 70s International Loadstar 345 V8 5 speed driving while shifting through the gears. THAT would bring me straight back to childhood memories. I always remembered that particular make of truck's engine sound. It had a very unique and distinct "whiny" sound to it. An even better request, would be to arrange for me to DRIVE such a vehicle, but I doubt that will ever be achievable in my lifetime. :(
I seen school buses like that until the 2000s I hope to see those buses even if they are gas powered engines I hope you keep those buses because they are hard to find and it's expensive if you find one in great shape
Tommy Retro, I have a late 1970's Chevrolet C/60 SUPERIOR sheller • globe corporation | storage bus with a 350 SBC (Small Block Chevy) in it. I do not know if it is able to run. It has been sitting for about 19 years now, and I plan on doing a full restoration. Then after pulling the bus out in the future, I will put the stuff in it in a storage shed that I'd build in its place. If you wanna check it out, go to 14705 15 Ave N County 85 MN :)
The company that runs charters for my school has a Chevy (Thomas?) B60. Same year range as this one with the 8.2 detroit diesel and an automatic transmission. Doesn't see that much service anymore but it runs like a top. Might be for sale soon
the school district i live in in washington state we had the first year bluebird tc2000 even a few other buses in bluebird, carpenter, ward, thomas. there werent many thomas or ward buses as i remember. the first blue bird buses were a 1986 blubird international. the tc2000 was the 1987 model year. we did also have the little minibird buses and some chevrolet carpenter mini buses. come to say the ward buses were international ones as well but cant remember the year. the thomas buses we had were from 1994 and they were the mvp. the only front engine big buses we had were the 1986 bluebird internationals and the ward internationals. in the early 2000's the internationals became spare buses for ones needing service or to punish a group of students since the internationals didnt seat as many as the tc2000 or thomas ones did so they at times had to throw 3 to a seat as punishment. a few years back maybe 2016 or 2017 or so i cant recall entirely i had happened to see one of the old 1987 tc2000 buses up for sale at a construction company yard strangely. i never knew what they wanted for the price but it was a good bus. all the full size transit style buses the district ever gets are rear engine only no front engine. for a crown a proper crown i think is the dual rear axel one being the tag axel and having a 6v92 engine. long live the 6v92.
One thing I find amazed is that blue bird to this day still uses that same windshield design and shape Like you could swap these windows out and put it in a 2019 blue bird vision And the rear emergency exit door and windows and the entire rear end has also always remained the same on the 2019 buses Only major difference is that the modern buses uses LED lights But yeah there's a lot that's never been changed in the school bus design throughout the years
I am not sure but here is my theory. Many of the parts on this bus (frame, Steering gear, Engine) were shared with medium duty Chevy trucks of the era, and back then diesel engines were a bit more rare in trucks of that size and much more limited in choice, also gas was cheaper back them and the motors are also less expensive to fix and maintain. For that model year GM offered three different engines a 366 cu in (6.0 L), a 427 cu in (7.0 L) and a diesel 500 cu in (8.2 L) out of all those I am betting the difference in MPG's on the gas and the diesel would not make up for the cost of operation over the long run, so I would guess the district just said give us a gas bus. Anyways I could be wrong this is just my .02
