Driving the 1974 GMC Ward school bus (April 2009)

[Stickymajorwow]

my uncle owns a 1979 gmc ward take a look at my vid and tell me what i can do to inprove the video cause you do great on your videos thanks

[uwtitanfan]

Do you know what year this bus was taken out of service? When I rode the bus growing up, about half the buses in the district's fleet were 74 loadstar 1800's with the 9 liter diesel. A few were still in service when I graduated in 1998

[EM6285]

I share the same passion for older school buses or classic school buses. Thanks for the video, it has brought back many memories of when I rode school buses in my teen years. I just love the sound of those old V8 GASOLINE ENGINES. I am enthusiastic about them, but here in PUERTO RICO where I am from, GAS POWERED TRUCKS AND BUSES are gettin SCRAPPED.

[corvettefunstudios]

thumbs up if you saw the D.A.R.E sticker

[bamaslamma1003]

I always loved the sound of gasoline buses with Allison auto trannies, but the manual tranny makes a neat noise too in low gear.

[codyication]

"If you cant find it, Grind it" That's what i say

[asulca593]

i can't imagine the clutch lasting very long given the stop-n-go life of a school bus

[bheffley2002]

@asulca593 Small wonder today's buses all have automatic transmissions.

[lawnboy531]

looks like u have a great looking peice of property yes air brakes are better

i like the 392 better than the 345

[cookie56952]

tht's the 1974 ward school bus i like the blue bird and the thomas built buses

[cookie56952]

tht's the 1974 ward school bus

[dixiewife47]

So cool. Brings back memories of middle school and riding the bus. thanks for sharing this

[johnblessing]

Thats old school bus driving for you

[bisbutt]

greats vids brings be back to when i was a kid

[MissJasmineKnight]

My first two years of jr high school, I rode on on a late 70's GMC Ward bus, I loved that bus. When it went up on the auction block, I tried to get it but I was out bid. I've always wanted to drive a school bus too.

[AVIBobcat08]

it cracks me up when he grinds the gears and then he cant shift it into reverse it makes me laugh my butt off lol

[AVIBobcat08]

This video cracks me up when he grinds the gears and it wont shift into reverse

[p154831]

i rode one of these in arizona once

[00000872]

How many buses do u have

[RealmLords]

Great video, fun to watch a classic bus still in operation.

[MultiMonkey09]

Lindas Maquinazas. esas. Hermosas. que bueno ver a Alguien que se dedique a Vivir su Hobby al Maximo.

Claro que ese si que es : "EL CHACAL DE LAS ACJAS DE CAMBIO"

Jajajajajajajajaja

[MultiMonkey09]

Exelentes Imagenes. !!!

[mastersmartjason]

i love the sound of the bus when it goes in reverse.. reminds me of my old bus driver's 1977 international ward school bus

[ihfan29]

is that an allischalmers in the background is what i ment

[ihfan29]

what kind of tractor is that

[coolbluelights]

it's a school bus

[nutforcub]

I enjoyed your video. I used to ride a 60's era GMC for Pajaro Valley Unified School District when i was in Kindergarten in 1969. There were 5 of them, and the back of the bus had huge lights, and it was rounded. I remember my bus driver having a piece of wood attatched with some type of brackets so she could reach it. Then, It was a 40's era Gillig for the ride home, one that had a huge fan on the back of the bus, and then All gilligs, and crowns after that. Bus 63 and 64 were GMC Ward.

[kevykev38]

Have any history on this bus? Like where it was used and what school? church?

Thanks.

[2010texmex]

Great to see an old school bus, the kind I used to ride to school in back up and running!! Bus drivers nowadays couldn't drive one of these because most of them are fairly young and young people, as a rule do not know how to drive a stick shift!!

I'm sorry, but I got a one hell of a laugh on that sweet gear grunch!! Ha Ha Ha!!!

[89BluebirdGMC]

what kind of bus was that old white one. It looked like a 60s model ford. I'm not taking about the red and white loadstar. You need to do a video on that old one.

[kaiyoshi2243]

y'know, I've seen this video several times and I only just now saw that old 60's Ford at the beginning. I agree, I'd love to see a video of that bus too.

[retrochad]

This is actually a '58 Ford B-600/Wayne I believe. It will need a lot of work! It has a 292 V-8 and I filled the cylinders with Marvel mystery oil and it turned over O.K. but it has been about 6 years since I did that. I'll make sure to make a video of it sometime.

[greywolf45]

I would love to see that '58 Ford running. I love these old classics preserved in running condition.

[gajda1984]

looking at this again, i love the sound of reverse! it almost sounds like a major

3rd interval! it's gotta be a clark tranny!

[dburrigh]

Gotta love those old non synchro gearboxes, time to master your double-clutching technique! Lucky that air cleaner lid didn't get into the fan.

Before really driving it, I'd probably the radiator and engine flushed out (you'll be amazed at the rust and crap that accumulates in the engine).

Great vid man! Love seeing an old vehicle put back into service.

[wilkes85]

Awesome bus driving footage!

These things really are fun to drive.

And I'm sorry but I had to laugh at that nice grind at 1:52 hehe

[Brandtalones]

Hello... Do you have any grand plans? Say, a la Merry Pranksters... ?

Road trip!

[retrochad]

I actually am looking into buying a bus which has been converted into a camper...I will keep this one just as is as a historical item. Just need to repair the brake system.

[gajda1984]

what kind of bus is it?  looking forward to seeing it if you buy it!

[retrochad]

This is the 1971 Dodge Carpenter which you can see on another video I made here. The owner is trying to see if he can arrange with a trucking company to have it shipped here as it has not been driven for a while and I would prefer not to have to make a long highway drive with it.

[gajda1984]

sweet, that is rare! it has an automatic mated to an allison tranny! something i have never heard in my lifetime.

[xmvirus202]

Have you taken it over any sweet jumps? jk- great video, I spent LOTS of time on one of these...

[retrochad]

No, dont think I'll try anything that daring hehe...

[audubon5425]

I rode a 74 GMC (Thomas body) all through elementary & middle school, it was a V6 & 3-speed with a granny. The granny was never synchronized, since most starts were made in 1st (left & down). The sound of your transmission brought back some memories!

[retrochad]

Yes this is the same way, it is the granny 1st gear. If I were driving it on the road and would be accelerating more I could start out in 2nd (which is to the left and down.)

I really find the GMC V-6 interesting...saw one in a bus in a junkyard one time but never have seen one in use.

[vwestlife]

When I was growing up, almost all the school buses were gas stick-shifts, although they were mostly Internationals with a 4-speed -- is yours a 3-speed? They had the same loud gear whine in first gear and reverse. By the end of high school, the last ones were being phased out, as I think school buses can only be used for 10 or 11 years in NJ. The newer ones have since all been diesel automatics (though they did have a few diesel stick-shifts and gas automatics).

[retrochad]

When I first started school in 1982 most of the buses were International gas with automatics...in 1983 they went over to getting IHC diesel manual transmission models but finally went back to buying diesel automatics in the early 90's. This is a 4-speed with "granny" very low 1st gear.

Around here there is no absolute policy to replace buses based on age...there are still some mid 80's International diesels in use in school districts.

[muchosa1]

you need a suicide knob to steer that thing.

[IDIDieselJohn]

Nice to see that old beast run good now.

[maynardcat]

Thanks for the bus ride, haven't been on a school bus in years.

[JoeSchlubb]

Is it a 4 speed?

[retrochad]

Yes it is.

[rulebritannia1991]

woah! Those bus drivers really used to get a work out! Does it have power steering?? I guess bus drivers now are spoiled with better breaks and automatic gear boxes. Your lucky you have so much room out there in texas to really have fun with your vehicles!

[retrochad]

It actually does have power steering but you can tell by the effort I have to put into turning the wheel that it is not fully functional on this bus!

It does have power hydraulic brakes too but I need to repair the booster system.

I really am glad to have a good place to have all of the vehicles.

[coolbluelights]

Man I want a bus! that looks like so much fun to drive and play with :D

[retrochad]

It is lots of fun!

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Great to see is running. Neat!

[retrochad]

Thank you! it is running lots better with new oil and filter.

[CindyBradyTooh]

You come up with the most *AMAZIN* and unusual videos! :D

~Cindy! :)

..

[gajda1984]

seems to run really well now. lookin forward to some vids of you IHs!

[retrochad]

I will try and tackle the IHC's next! The GMC was always the best running bus so it was the easiest to get going first.

[gajda1984]

gotta love your "chhhhevroleeet"!

[123demaio]

the vacuum line on the booster is probably very hard and brittle. Does the pedal fade at all ?

[retrochad]

I actually have the vacuum line to the booster system disconnected as I think there is a leak in the system somewhere and one time I was having a hard time getting the bus started. It is a hydrovac system which has two boosters under the bus...I will try reconnecting the vacuum line and see how the system works.

[ForgetfulCollector]

Cool! It seems to drive great!

You ought to show a video of all the vehicles on your farm. (Tractors, Buses, Trucks, cars, etc.)

[retrochad]

Thanks! I will try and do a video of all of the vehicles sometime.

[cubcadetpuller]

awesome. i love it!!!

[retrochad]

Thanks! I will drive it a lot more now (in the fields) that it has fresh oil in it. I just need to get the vacuum assist brake system working.

[TheGeek1028]

Awesome! [first ^-^]

[retrochad]

Thank you!