@bubba2301 This bus will not be driven on the road anymore. It doesn't have the protective cage around the fuel tank. It is driven on private property only and I use a marine fuel tank inside the bus to fuel it like they do in demolition derbies.
@ShokaLion The throttle knob works just like stepping on the accelerator pedal. It is used so you can increase the engine idle speed, for example, for getting the air pressure in the brake sustem to build up faster before driving.
I think it is great you are redoing these older buses! Kinda takes me back to some school days! Had older buses that seemed to break down a lot, had a older Chevy Superior bus that did not have power steering, which was a spare bus, always could remember the bus drivers griping about driving it when they had to, guess it was just me, it didn't appear that hard to drive,but I have never driven a bus either, would love to sometime!
replying at 1700iDiGuy, the bus i rode on was a petrol engine and it has a 454 4 barrel carb, and it gets around between 9 to14 MPG, for a medium build buses like the handicapped bus, they don't use the 454, they can go smaller engine size, but a bigger bus, they need bigger engines or diesel engines
Yes, it's a points and condenser system. I don't know that they ever developed an electronic ignition for the 390 and by this time in the light trucks they were using the 300-6cyl and 302-351-400-460 V8's with the Duraspark system but continued to use the 390 in the medium duty trucks/buses. It's got a 2 barrel Holley carb.
The transmission is a 5 speed with 2 speed rear end.
you would be suprised gasoline engines can work good in a bus. you forget that this is not small block so it put out some torque. the designers werent completely stupid.
maybe, but they weren't to clever on the gasoline engine, i cannot recall any of our buses being gasoline engined, all diesel, hell us europeans seem to be phasing out gasoline vehicles, there all diesels now.
@talldude123 WRONG!!! WRONG!!! You are so WRONG on this one!!! That's a Ford 390 GAS engine with a Holley carburetor, Diesel engines do NOT have carburetors!!! Gas engines can have RPM gauges aka tachometers also, And that was NOT a WAIT TO START light either, That was a LOW AIR PRESSURE light!! Get your facts right moron!!!
Great job!!! That one there is gonna be a good runner. Have you gotten the new international Wayne home yet? I can't wait to see more videos!!! But great job on the ol' Ford!!!
cool, that bus has a choke, lol, my moped has a choke on it. i never seen a bus wit a stick shift before . what made you want to repair old school busses?
I remember riding in a Superior bus (with manual transmission) once back in middle school (1995). About five or six rows ahead of me, I witnessed a full-blown fistfight, and our driver (a coach) slammed on the brakes really hard.
i love the sound the ford air brakes make wen u go off the pedal lol wen r u gonna try to start the 79 international i wanna here that one run i always like those
This has the exact same kind of starter solenoid and it is mounted in the exact same location as all of my other Ford vehicles. This is a very mature engine design, I think the 391 first started being made in 1958. This one still has points and condenser ignition.
However my 1974 GMC bus starts just as easily! I think any of the big 3 makers used the most bulletproof, time-tested engines in their school bus lines.
Oh yeah! I had a good feeling that she'd start up. That old 1977 Ford I used to drive had the two large vacuum pressure gauges where your tach and air pressure gauges are.
She sounds good and strong. Can't wait to see the International when you get her home.
I remember seeing a single large vacuum gauge where the air gauge is on mine when I rode in a 1970's F-600 Ford truck with the junk man at the junkyard when I was getting some bus parts. I guess the truck only had a single-chamber hydraulic brake system but the Ford buses would have had a dual chamber master cylinder, dual hydrovacs and vacuum tanks for the front and rear (like on my GMC).
wow thats so cool. that even though the bus had some kids break alot of stuff inculding busting up the dash its awesome that all the gauges still work!! keep it up!! cant wait to see more videos!
Hey thanks! I'm going to try and get some new glass made for the gauges and repair the needles on the air pressure gauge. This looks like it had all the optional gauges including tach and voltmeter...on a lot of Ford bus dashboards especially those with hydraulic brakes I have seen pictures of there are blank plates where the air gauge and tach would be although one time I saw a large vacuum gauge in place of the air gauge.
You won't ever run out of things to do there at the "Retro Ranch" Chad :-) That Ford airbrake sound is very familiar..one of my favorite bus sounds besides Allison transmissions.
Yeah I know! I think I likely have a lifetime of projects here to do. But I am NEVER bored.
I had never actually heard a Ford bus running or the air brakes. The brakes really seem good but when I went back to the bus all the air pressure was gone after about an hour. Someone had put a male quick connect fitting on the air comp. like to hook up an air hose to inflate tires. I think I need to put a valve on there to shut it off as it may have leaked from the hose I put on as a test.
The engine sounds really good, and the bus overall looks to be in good condition. What are you going to do about the smoking and burning oil? Could it be just valve guides leaking from sitting to long? I hope we are going to have more interesting videos showing the repair progress on the buses.
Thanks! I will have to keep an eye on it. They may have over-filled it slightly with oil as the level was a little above "full" on the dipstick and I saw bottles of oil inside the bus. The Grand Marquis will do this after sitting for a while too but then the smoking goes away. This bus was likely not started for 10 or 11 years so hopefully once I rebuild the carb and let it run a while the exhaust will clean up.
Awesome! She seems to run pretty good! That church or whatever place owned it seemed to take good care of it. At least until they let Vandals get to it.
The Throttle knob is so you can increase the idle speed such as to get the air pressure built up faster without having to keep you foot on the gas pedal. It is just like pressing down the gas pedal when you pull it out. However I think they may have converted to a different type of Holley carburetor which doesn't have the parts needed to make the hand throttle work as I saw the cable was disconnected and pulling the knob didn't do anything.
Yeah, the International buses have one too! That reminds me of the school bus driver in "Forrest Gump" who was smoking a cigarette. When I was in school teachers could still smoke in the teachers lounge but I'm sure bus drivers were allowed to.
This one actually has spaces for air conditioning units but there are no compressors so the A/C system evidently wasn't installed.
The air warning light is for the air brake system. If the air pressure gets below about 40 PSI or so, the parking brake will engage as a safeguard against driving the bus with no braking ability. The normal pressure should be around 90-100 PSI and the LOW AIR light goes on below 60 PSI.
Thanks! I had a feeling it had been well maintained until it for some reason quit being used and then got some vandalism. I'm not sure exactly what that engine is but likely 361/391 I would think. It is points and condenser ignition.
Why would a bus need air pressure?
BiZigga 6 days ago
Retro chad do you know the story of that crash in 1988!
Exact same bus!!
bubba2301 4 months ago
Retrochad I'm sure you know the story of that terrible accident in 1988. Doesn't it feel kind of eerie being inside the exact same kind of bus??
Does it have any other emergency exits other than the rear door??
bubba2301 4 months ago
I hope that bus has a cage around the gas tank. That's the exact same kind if bus that 27 ppl died on in ky in 1988.
bubba2301 4 months ago
@bubba2301 This bus will not be driven on the road anymore. It doesn't have the protective cage around the fuel tank. It is driven on private property only and I use a marine fuel tank inside the bus to fuel it like they do in demolition derbies.
retrochad 4 months ago
sounds like a 305 v8 starting
knightrider1545 6 months ago
2 speed rear end?
do u switch gear at the rear between every other gear shift?
tpvalley 7 months ago
What does that 'throttle' knob actually do?
ShokaLion 8 months ago
@ShokaLion The throttle knob works just like stepping on the accelerator pedal. It is used so you can increase the engine idle speed, for example, for getting the air pressure in the brake sustem to build up faster before driving.
retrochad 4 months ago
I have a 1979 Superior/International that is now in storage and someone stole my radiator. I'm dying to get it running again, but money is an issue.
JeremyFenech108 9 months ago
what is the engine governed to? or has some naughty bus driver "popped" the gov?
2boredfortv 10 months ago
4:28...i forgot school buses use to have ash trays
jbyrd0861 1 year ago
I can hear that thing telling me it needs a 653 detriot
xxbal1inxx 1 year ago
Comment removed
garrett6699 1 year ago
is that an ashtray on the left of the insturment cluster?
andrshaw 1 year ago
is that an ashtray in that bus....lol
andrshaw 1 year ago
beautiful bus man
NytrixOctane 1 year ago
do u have ur foot on the clutch
fanboychumchum1000 1 year ago
wow that wireing looks sketchy as hell.
rcjg24 1 year ago
I think it is great you are redoing these older buses! Kinda takes me back to some school days! Had older buses that seemed to break down a lot, had a older Chevy Superior bus that did not have power steering, which was a spare bus, always could remember the bus drivers griping about driving it when they had to, guess it was just me, it didn't appear that hard to drive,but I have never driven a bus either, would love to sometime!
brp1801 2 years ago
can you make a video of what each of those things on the dashboard does?
pancakes3003 2 years ago
You gotta love the ashtray on the school bus LOL
foshowty18 2 years ago 18
Yeah thats awsome. Today if a bus driver lit just one cig on the job, they would make national news.
gcrebel2008 1 year ago
@foshowty18 LMAO I was just thinking the same thing. You know it's old school when it has an ashtray.
PonyPower71 1 year ago
How many gears is that tranny? I see a splitter. Two speed rear end?
studpuppy69 2 years ago
how old is this bus
humvee600 2 years ago
it's in the title there. year difference would make this bus 33 years old.
HiddenSofa 2 years ago
@humvee600 are you that fucking stupid that you cant read the title of the video?
Musicman55ism 1 year ago
@Musicman55ism, y dont u suck my dick, u shithead
humvee600 1 year ago
@humvee600 now now temper will get you nowhere
Musicman55ism 1 year ago
@humvee600 youd love that wouldnt you fag
Musicman55ism 1 year ago
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QiwexTisysyr 2 years ago
How do you read the air gauge on this one?
bamaslamma1003 2 years ago
I hope a video is made where the bus is on a road trip (even if it's around the block)!
Brings back memories of High School! Thanks for the show & tell!
eskiewolf76 2 years ago
replying at 1700iDiGuy, the bus i rode on was a petrol engine and it has a 454 4 barrel carb, and it gets around between 9 to14 MPG, for a medium build buses like the handicapped bus, they don't use the 454, they can go smaller engine size, but a bigger bus, they need bigger engines or diesel engines
SpiritsoftheWolf 2 years ago
Do you run a bus company? Or do you fix buses for other people?
arcofadiver1 2 years ago 4
No, these are just collector's items I own for fun, they're not for commercial or passenger use anymore.
retrochad 2 years ago
2bl carb? I'm no expert on Fords, but it still looks like a points & condenser type ignition. 5 speed tranny?
bamaslamma1003 2 years ago
Yes, it's a points and condenser system. I don't know that they ever developed an electronic ignition for the 390 and by this time in the light trucks they were using the 300-6cyl and 302-351-400-460 V8's with the Duraspark system but continued to use the 390 in the medium duty trucks/buses. It's got a 2 barrel Holley carb.
The transmission is a 5 speed with 2 speed rear end.
retrochad 2 years ago
is this built by superior the hearse builder. that needs a diesel.
ihfan29 2 years ago
Yes it is the same company, in Lima, Ohio...Superior Coach discontinued building buses in the early 80's.
retrochad 2 years ago
@ihfan29 I agree!!! 7.3 Powerstroke
ford9572 1 year ago
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i dont get it....WTF is a petrol engine doing in a bus? gonna go like a snail and give you like 1 mile per gallon! ever heard of diesel power?
1700iDiGuy 2 years ago
you would be suprised gasoline engines can work good in a bus. you forget that this is not small block so it put out some torque. the designers werent completely stupid.
Uknowmetom 2 years ago 8
maybe, but they weren't to clever on the gasoline engine, i cannot recall any of our buses being gasoline engined, all diesel, hell us europeans seem to be phasing out gasoline vehicles, there all diesels now.
1700iDiGuy 2 years ago
well in euro they are theres some gas ones in us i forgot to say that they have low gearing to make up for the power that the engine needs to put out
Uknowmetom 2 years ago
yeah that makes sense otherwise you'd be stalling the engine trying to take off with a busload of people
1700iDiGuy 2 years ago
@Uknowmetom that is true it is stupid like putting a deisel motor on a ferrari or a ford mustang
dannyking98 1 year ago
@Uknowmetom gas buses accelerate soo much faster than diesel...
ashho56 1 year ago
@Uknowmetom It's a diesel engine, look at the RPM guage and the wait to start light!
talldude123 1 year ago
@talldude123 WRONG!!! WRONG!!! You are so WRONG on this one!!! That's a Ford 390 GAS engine with a Holley carburetor, Diesel engines do NOT have carburetors!!! Gas engines can have RPM gauges aka tachometers also, And that was NOT a WAIT TO START light either, That was a LOW AIR PRESSURE light!! Get your facts right moron!!!
ford9572 1 year ago
This is before diesel engines became popular. Lot of old 18 wheelers (well a small portion) had big inline 6 gas engines
Righty736 2 years ago
what size engine?
jp198780 2 years ago
It is a 390 CID Ford gas engine.
retrochad 2 years ago
LOVE the ashtray XD
brianchris4 2 years ago
Great job!!! That one there is gonna be a good runner. Have you gotten the new international Wayne home yet? I can't wait to see more videos!!! But great job on the ol' Ford!!!
89BluebirdGMC 2 years ago
@ 3:30 Look at that redneck gas tank. COOL!!!!
RockinGuy1994 2 years ago
cool, that bus has a choke, lol, my moped has a choke on it. i never seen a bus wit a stick shift before . what made you want to repair old school busses?
windoes98se 2 years ago
Playing with the choke can be fun:D
TheChokebuster 2 years ago
I remember riding in a Superior bus (with manual transmission) once back in middle school (1995). About five or six rows ahead of me, I witnessed a full-blown fistfight, and our driver (a coach) slammed on the brakes really hard.
MavsFan1982 2 years ago
and that why theres camras on the bus now days
windoes98se 2 years ago
where i drive the old gas jobs didnt like running in the rain lol
BusDriverStevo 2 years ago
i just sold a 89 chevy blubird 366gas fi stick very nice running bus very smooth and quiet we have another 89 chevy with a 8.2 deisel turbo
BusDriverStevo 2 years ago
ya i would like to c that one running i always like the s series i use to drive a 79 s1700 with a 404 bigblock lots of power
BusDriverStevo 2 years ago
i love the sound the ford air brakes make wen u go off the pedal lol wen r u gonna try to start the 79 international i wanna here that one run i always like those
BusDriverStevo 2 years ago
Thanks! I found out the S-series Wayne is actually a 1980 model. We are going to probably get it out here this Friday.
retrochad 2 years ago
are you ever going to get the wayne bus with a gas engine and start it up
schindlerman96 2 years ago
I was starting to work on it on Saturday but it started to rain...I will get the other carburetor on it and get it started.
retrochad 2 years ago
your are making a video of the wayne when you finish working on it
schindlerman96 2 years ago
Of course it starts easy! Its a ford! To bad the lincoln division didn't make a bus!
rulebritannia1991 2 years ago
This has the exact same kind of starter solenoid and it is mounted in the exact same location as all of my other Ford vehicles. This is a very mature engine design, I think the 391 first started being made in 1958. This one still has points and condenser ignition.
However my 1974 GMC bus starts just as easily! I think any of the big 3 makers used the most bulletproof, time-tested engines in their school bus lines.
retrochad 2 years ago
i have never seen such an old bus with air brakes
schindlerman96 2 years ago
Oh yeah! I had a good feeling that she'd start up. That old 1977 Ford I used to drive had the two large vacuum pressure gauges where your tach and air pressure gauges are.
She sounds good and strong. Can't wait to see the International when you get her home.
Thanks for the video.
kaiyoshi2243 2 years ago
I remember seeing a single large vacuum gauge where the air gauge is on mine when I rode in a 1970's F-600 Ford truck with the junk man at the junkyard when I was getting some bus parts. I guess the truck only had a single-chamber hydraulic brake system but the Ford buses would have had a dual chamber master cylinder, dual hydrovacs and vacuum tanks for the front and rear (like on my GMC).
retrochad 2 years ago
Looking good! Sounding good, too!
maineboy1979 2 years ago
Fantastic Good to Mr Ford going gain
Richard UK
spannerworks1 2 years ago
Awesome! Now you should come pick all us youtubers up and we can all go on a road trip in that thing lol
wilkes85 2 years ago
Thanks! The tires are all in really good shape so it may eventually be able to go back on the road.
retrochad 2 years ago
wow thats so cool. that even though the bus had some kids break alot of stuff inculding busting up the dash its awesome that all the gauges still work!! keep it up!! cant wait to see more videos!
MMMMMDIESEL 2 years ago
Hey thanks! I'm going to try and get some new glass made for the gauges and repair the needles on the air pressure gauge. This looks like it had all the optional gauges including tach and voltmeter...on a lot of Ford bus dashboards especially those with hydraulic brakes I have seen pictures of there are blank plates where the air gauge and tach would be although one time I saw a large vacuum gauge in place of the air gauge.
retrochad 2 years ago
i know i've been to the bus dealer a lot here in IL and my buddy has a 1983 b-600 with the standard ford das
MMMMMDIESEL 2 years ago
You won't ever run out of things to do there at the "Retro Ranch" Chad :-) That Ford airbrake sound is very familiar..one of my favorite bus sounds besides Allison transmissions.
kjm1983 2 years ago
Yeah I know! I think I likely have a lifetime of projects here to do. But I am NEVER bored.
I had never actually heard a Ford bus running or the air brakes. The brakes really seem good but when I went back to the bus all the air pressure was gone after about an hour. Someone had put a male quick connect fitting on the air comp. like to hook up an air hose to inflate tires. I think I need to put a valve on there to shut it off as it may have leaked from the hose I put on as a test.
retrochad 2 years ago
Sure does sound good !
jefferyb304 2 years ago
looks great !
67tr876 2 years ago
Awesome! glad it runs!
coolbluelights 2 years ago
Lol amazing, glad you got it running. GREAT!!
AllAmericanFiveRadio 2 years ago
pump it chad ;)
gpesanti 2 years ago
good to see that you got it towed home ok. are you going to make a video driving it in the fields? that would be interesting to see
firefighter1811 2 years ago
I'll definitely make a video of driving it...just need to replace the float bowl and accelerator pump gaskets on the carburetor.
retrochad 2 years ago
The engine sounds really good, and the bus overall looks to be in good condition. What are you going to do about the smoking and burning oil? Could it be just valve guides leaking from sitting to long? I hope we are going to have more interesting videos showing the repair progress on the buses.
maynardcat 2 years ago
Thanks! I will have to keep an eye on it. They may have over-filled it slightly with oil as the level was a little above "full" on the dipstick and I saw bottles of oil inside the bus. The Grand Marquis will do this after sitting for a while too but then the smoking goes away. This bus was likely not started for 10 or 11 years so hopefully once I rebuild the carb and let it run a while the exhaust will clean up.
retrochad 2 years ago
Awesome! She seems to run pretty good! That church or whatever place owned it seemed to take good care of it. At least until they let Vandals get to it.
What's that "Throttle" knob at 2:20 for?
Great video, can't wait to see more of this bus and the IH bus!
themaritimeman 2 years ago
The Throttle knob is so you can increase the idle speed such as to get the air pressure built up faster without having to keep you foot on the gas pedal. It is just like pressing down the gas pedal when you pull it out. However I think they may have converted to a different type of Holley carburetor which doesn't have the parts needed to make the hand throttle work as I saw the cable was disconnected and pulling the knob didn't do anything.
retrochad 2 years ago
gotta love the ashtray!
gajda1984 2 years ago
Yeah, the International buses have one too! That reminds me of the school bus driver in "Forrest Gump" who was smoking a cigarette. When I was in school teachers could still smoke in the teachers lounge but I'm sure bus drivers were allowed to.
retrochad 2 years ago
Oh whoops should have said bus drivers were NOT allowed to smoke.
retrochad 2 years ago
I like that you show your finds abd interests in antique and repairing of them.. KEEP IT UP MAN!
kevykev38 2 years ago
which bus is this? the one with the AC or busted out windows?
and whats NO AIR light for?
CWM480 2 years ago
This one actually has spaces for air conditioning units but there are no compressors so the A/C system evidently wasn't installed.
The air warning light is for the air brake system. If the air pressure gets below about 40 PSI or so, the parking brake will engage as a safeguard against driving the bus with no braking ability. The normal pressure should be around 90-100 PSI and the LOW AIR light goes on below 60 PSI.
retrochad 2 years ago
the bus has air brakes not hydraulic brakes like on a car
coolbluelights 2 years ago
seems to run great considering the hell she's been through! did you find out what engine it has? looks like a 361.
gajda1984 2 years ago
Thanks! I had a feeling it had been well maintained until it for some reason quit being used and then got some vandalism. I'm not sure exactly what that engine is but likely 361/391 I would think. It is points and condenser ignition.
retrochad 2 years ago
Nice score with these busses! Keep us posted.
bigdave706 2 years ago
Thanks! I will need to get a Holley rebuild kit for the carb. I am going to try and bring home the other bus in the next week or so.
retrochad 2 years ago
nice man
richthecardude94 2 years ago
Cool!
TheGeek1028 2 years ago