Test drive of the 1966 Dodge school bus

This is the first time the bus has left the driveway all year. Some things I found out while driving: the speedometer, gas gauge, and horn don't work, the power steering hardly works, the steering wheel has a scary amount of play, it leaks brake fluid, the throttle sticks, 3rd gear grinds, there is no seat belt, and its top speed is about 50 mph. The bus is a 5-speed with 1st gear being an extra low and not used for normal driving. The video has been edited for length.

Unfortunately, the bus was sold in July 2008 so there won't be any new videos of it.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• test
• drive
• school
• bus
• shifting
• gears
• dodge
• chrysler
• 361

[xqwxqw1]

y dont u double clutch??

[mtheis85]

@xqwxqw1 The transmission is synchronized.

[SteveCarras]

@mtheis85

Surprised that it can handle synchro-mesh.:-)

[mtheis85]

@SteveCarras Last time I drove it (in this video), the synchros were almost nonexistent.

[midsouthexpress]

Sounds kind of like a Clark 285 5 speed transmission.

[marybuggy1]

looks like fun to drive

[USATrainsGScaleGroup]

I worked for a bus company and they had Dodge mini buses on van chassis. One had a 360 4 barrel with a Thermoquad and it quit running. You could remove the air cleaner lid and it would run. As soon as you put the lid back on it would quit, even without the filter. They gave it to me to fix because I am a Mopar guy. The problem ended up being a clogged EGR passage in the intake manifold. It was so bad I had to cut the belly pan rivets and chissel out the carbon.

[USATrainsGScaleGroup]

The 361 sounds great. It's a shame that Dodge didn't get deeper into the bus market. You just didn't see many Dodge School buses. Dodge got out of the medium duty chassis and truck market in 1974. But they made RV chassis for Winnie Bago up to 1978 and then Dodge made the dumb decision to drop the 440 and 400.

[herbienbrian2]

I'd willingly go to school if I got to ride in that!

[Nza420]

time for a 440 xD