1986 GMC Blue Bird school bus

[ns9987]

Hey man! I think your bus is a 77 passenger! 12 windows equals a 77 passenger. 72 is 11 window. 65 is a 10 window like mine.

[kaiyoshi2243]

@ns9987 I think it depends on how the seats are arranged in the bus. Not all buses are the same. I took out 24 seats that sat 3 people per seat. That's 72. But yes, I have seen the 78 or 77 passenger buses, but the seats are mounted closer together to squeeze that extra row in to make 77. My bus was originally designed with more leg room.

[ns9987]

@kaiyoshi2243 Ohh ok. Gotcha. Still a very sweet Bus! lol

[kaiyoshi2243]

@aldrickwithrow It was retired a year before I bought it in 2001.  So 2000 or so.

[bluer68]

throwback of my childhood..........the engine sound of school buses from summer camp and elementary school XD

[DanR1245]

Great sound. I could listen to that transmission all day long.

[qwandiddy]

@DanR1245 I know, plus with that begin screaming sound when it reached 1st gear.

[qwandiddy]

YAH!!! Blue Birds for LIFE!!!!! Best Making school buses ever. Plus I love that old school engine noise.

[dana44s]

Wow, That transmission whines alot. Is it supposed to do that?

[kaiyoshi2243]

The older buses with gasoline engines made this kind of sound. Perfectly normal for a 1986 model.

[dana44s]

Ah, I like the sound. Lol

[Tubeboy732]

Do You Know Why That Made That Noise? That I Could Never Figure Out...

[kaiyoshi2243]

It's the sound of the high pressure Hydrolic fluids and gears running together inside the transmission that make that sound. New transmissions are more precise and therefore are more quiet.

[Tubeboy732]

I had a feeling that it had something to do with Hydraulics but, nevertheless I love that sound.

[kaiyoshi2243]

Thank you for teaching me how to spell Hydraulics. I'm such a goober. lol

[stcbenz83]

Yes, it's the Allison transmition's in the GMC bluebirds buses. They all make that noise

[qwandiddy]

@dana44s Yeah. All buses, even Thomas, Carpenters from 1980 models in my city area did had this particular sound that whines like that, thats what I loved best about them.

[n2slugs]

Uh oh - that transmission is on its way out. My 545s do that when the seals inside are shot and it can't build up enough pressure to shift up or down correctly. Eventually she will only shift down to 2nd when you stop and won't be able to upshift from there. You can get a few thousand miles out of it by putting some Lucas in it and drivin git frequently enough to help soften those seals...

[kaiyoshi2243]

hmm.. I think it's just an overly excitable vacuum modulator causing the sightest movement of the gas pedal to cause the down shifts. Cuz it doesn't do it at full throttle or at partical throttle. only when the pedal is held at about the kickdown point. About halfway. So you could say it was driver error. My bad... ^.^;

[schs19947]

Wow!! Sounds good for a bus that age.

[kaiyoshi2243]

Thanks! She's 23 years old and still kickin.

[wickedblackcamaro]

what engine and how much power would a bus like this have stock from the factory?

[kaiyoshi2243]

Hmmm.... I seem to remember from a long time ago... that a bus like this one usually has about 180 horse power which isn't much. But with a big bus like this you don't what horse power, you want tork.(sp?) The tork rating is in the 500 pound range for something like this.

heh... I'm sure someone will correct me on this, and they are welcome to do so. But I'm close enough to be in the ball park on my figures.

[jack253]

Is the Alison At 540 making the whining sound

[kaiyoshi2243]

Yup. I was able to place the microphone right next to the transmission so you can hear all the different sounds it makes.

[JBW929]

I would just drive around in that bus all day to hear it's drivetrain!!!!

[kaiyoshi2243]

I love driving this bus around!

[dwi189]

Our school district's newest GMC's back in the early 1970's had the 351 V-6 with Aliison Auto...then they switched to International around 1980 with the 345 V-8 and Allison Auto...they often hunted between gears back then too.

[kaiyoshi2243]

Y'know, I don't think I've ever heard of a 351 V-6... But then there are a lot of things I still do not know.

[dwi189]

Yes....GMC used a 305V6 in their 1960's era pickups and medium duty truck platforms and later offered the larger 351 V-6....Both were phased out by the early to mid 1970's.

An internet search for either of these engines should yield some results.

The 351's were real screamers...the bus drivers would really have to rev them up before shifting up on the sticks....as when the bus was fully loaded with passengers on any sort of a hill, the bus would bog down if shifted too early.

[bamaslamma1003]

I just love the sound of a Chevy big block with an Allison automatic behind it.

[jgp2756]

This sounds like a ford bus with that distinct chirp in the shift.

[kaiyoshi2243]

It does, doesn't it. Guess that's why I like this ol'GMC so much. Ford buses are my favorite though. I think they are more comfortable to drive.

[gajda1984]

ford trucks and buses are nice! They have always had carlike dashes until about ten years ago. and if they were automatics they had a very carlike column mounted shifter. feels a little more homey to drive!

[bamaslamma1003]

Does this bus have a carburetor or is it fuel injected? This one could make for a great skoolie.

[kaiyoshi2243]

It has a huge 4 barrel Holley carburetor, with governor and manual choke.

[rjiskool0]

love the sound of that tranny!

[kaiyoshi2243]

Heh, yeah she's a very verbal tranny... with the occasional hiccups.

[kaiyoshi2243]

Heh, as much as I love my bus... yes she is for sale. But her price would be high... Six virgin tires plus a spare all at 98% tread.

... though I wonder how I'll get those birds, who made a nest in the grill, to move...

[playstationowner]

by shooting them

[thomasfreightliner]

Nice work. I hope that bus is for sale lol.

[blackmetalhoward]

sounds like a big block

[kaiyoshi2243]

427ci V8

Heh.. it barely fits in the engine compartment.

[6V92TA]

Ive always loved the way these ole Blue Bird buses shifted from 1st to 2nd. I really love how the Blue Bird FE flatnoses sound when going into second gear. sounds dam near like a ZF tranny. i mus fav and 5 stars! keep'em come'in!

[kaiyoshi2243]

Thanks! I'm only just realizing how many people out there love to listen to these old trannies as much as I do.

[6V92TA]

there's others out there yo. You aint alone. I grew up riding ole gas powered school buses down in Alabama. I have fond memories of gas powered small block International Loadstars, GMCs and Fords with Blue Bird bodies. Those ole skool Allison AT540s and AT545s sounded loving shifting gears. There was this one GMC i rode that had a nice sounding 4L80E tranny

[kaiyoshi2243]

hmm... never heard of a 4L80E tranny. Is that what they use on the mini buses? (van conversions?)

[6V92TA]

yes sir! The 4L80 series trannies were very popular in vutaway buses, mini buses, bread trucks, tow trucks, heavy duty pick ups, conversion vans and corvettes. the 4L80 is a step up from the 700R4. Even school buses to around 35 feet long had 4L80 transmissions.

[gajda1984]

it is a GM tranny used on RWD trucks and cars. we had a 91 and 94 Chevy caprice that had a 4L60. 4L60s were popular with vehicles with small blocks with the 4L80 was (or is) more popular with vehicles with big blocks.

[bluebirdvision]

Its an Alison AT-545 automatic transmission.

[kaiyoshi2243]

Umm nope. It actually says AT-540 on the ID plate on the right side of the transmission. But I think the only difference between the 540, 542 and 545 is the gear ratio.

[gajda1984]

it does sound more like a 545 there is probably minor differences. An at500 sounds similar too but I can actually tell the difference. It shifts more sporadic.