The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts 1952 short bus

I am in negotiations to purchase a Wayne short bus. The truck has been out to pasture for at least 20 years, and has a really bad RV conversion to dispose of. The truck does not appear to have any rust. Its mostly complete, minus a few lenses for clearance lites and the right side mirror. The plan is to build a resto-rod. I have a 1993 Chevy van donor for the 5.7liter. The outside will go back to the original paint scheme. I have a ton of questions- should I keep the original running gear? Can I convert to single rear wheels? Where can I find parts for old bus bodies? Disc brakes? Suspension mods? Is it legal to drive a yellow bus? I've heard its not in some states.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/13278824@N03/

If anyone can point me in the right direction...

That's "NEAT" !

Cool bus!!

Not sure what the laws are regarding color. I'm sure they vary from state to state. Best to check with the local authorities. I'm sure you'll probably have to get rid of those red flashing lights on the roof, as well as any "School Bus" markings.

Keep us posted if you get the bus or not.

Thats very cool. It reminds me of the one Popular hotrodding did years back. I think i have a picture of it somewhere...

Good looking bus.

My recommendation would be to keep the original engine and running gear.

I don't believe you would be able to switch to single rear wheels and still be legal. The bus was designed and engineered to have them to carry the weight up to the GVW.

Keep us posted!

There is one of those running around here..By the looks of it he's put the body on a 1 ton dually frame and dropped it loooowww. It has 'SKool Bus' painted up front, but with an X through the S in Skool.

What is the van in the back??
Maxx

Rusty. I thought it was an ice cream truck, but the guy said it was a Postal vehicle. I think its GM. I've never seen anything so rusted out. From the floor on up. I think the roof would blow off if someone tried to trailer it home.


My idea for single rear wheel would be those massive Alcoas they put on concrete trucks etc.

Any of you have experience with a bus of this era? Should I be concerned about hidden rust damage or other scariness?

neat bus, it would make a sweet hotrod, or maybe even more so, if brought back to orginal condition

Hey Barxracer, I was just wondering... do the wheels on that bus go round and round, round and round, round and round, do the wheels on the bus go round and round, all through the town?

I'm on the other side of Lincoln from you (Milford), and have a little knowledge (very little, less than my knowledge of kid's songs probably...) on school busses... or, I guess I should say I know a few guys with them. Drop me an e-mail at dsingsaas @ hotmail . com and I can put you in contact with 'em. They're mostly old Dodge Power Wagon busses, but there were only about three or four companies that made the actual bodys for busses back-in-the-day, so I'm sure parts for the bodies are probably pretty scarce.

Unfortunately the last Waynes were built about 18-20 years ago, long gone so you won't find any sheetmetal unless you take it from another old Wayne. That unit isn't much bigger than an old Divco milk wagon (another Wayne product)and must be the shortest W/B GM offered. Is it a 12 passenger?

Cool old bus! I have a 1954 Chevy short bus that I am having hauled back from Montana to Florida as we speak. Tried to drive it back twice for the fun and the glory (huge mistake both times). The brakes kept locking up on me, and I had to abort the mission. I think that the power brake unit (hydrovac?) is the culprit. I have amassed a small fortune in my bus just trying to get it back home.

I have similar questions about upgrading the brakes, etc. Having thoughts about finding a late model 4WD donor vehicle to go under it to make it more dependable, and so that I can drive it cross county (to scout the countryside for more old buses, of course!

Yet another nostalgic side of me wants to keep it original, and just hop up the 261 motor. Good luck with yours. PS: If it's ok with you, I would like to use your pictures on my website for educational purposes.

Mine can be seen at http://www.oldbus.us/PhotoGallery/Chevrolet/tabid/61/Default.aspx

I'm currently in negotiations for a 48 chevy Medium bus. Pics Here The seller has actually been cool enough to contact several transporters to get me quotes to get it back to my place. So we'll see how it works out. The bus body is in really good shape, but could use some work from the cowl forward. I've got some good big truck sheet metal tucked away. The biggest problem so far is it's missing the back door and has a screen door with a box built around it. It's also a camper conversion so that's all gotta go.
I talked to my father in law about it, (Would be going back to his farm) His reply? "Cool, you don't have one of those yet!" He really understands me!!
There was a cool later 50's one at the truck show, belongs to a bolter, I don't know his name. That's what got me really thinking about doing one.
All Trucks Bus And another ... It was sitting on I believe a later model bus chassis with airbags and a 454. They drove all the way down from Minnesota and were a real hit all weekend.
MONGO

Great pictures. Sure, it's got some rust, but you can fix that. My 54 bus has the holes in the same place as yours, right behind the front fenders. Yeah, that rear door is something else.

A friend of mine rented a pressure washer once that injected sand into the water. I never saw paint and rust fly off anything so fast. I wonder if that would make your job easier.

Tires are a pain. Most likely 20 inch split rims on there. If possible, I would wait to try and find 22.5 inch rims, versus putting the old bias tires back on the split rims, at least I want to upgrade. I put new bias tires on mine just to get it home.

The guys at the tire shop in Montana dreaded replacing the old tires. I had widow makers in the front. They would not touch them. I had to take one of my rear tires and use it up front.