Barn Finder Michael has managed to locate another vehicle that is close to my heart, and I thank him for that. This 1975 Crown Bus is located in Lancaster, California. You will find it listed for sale here on Craigslist. This Crown is offered for sale with a clean title and an asking price of $8,500.
I spent a short time driving buses for a living and found the experience to be quite good fun. If you are a driving enthusiast and have never driven a vehicle this big then give it a try. Threading these through narrow suburban back streets is really satisfying. This particular bus is no shrinking violet due to its 37-foot length. You park this baby somewhere and you aren’t likely to lose it! It does appear to be in really great condition. Rust in the bodies of these is never an issue, and the beauty of these verses most vehicles is that they are pretty easy to check underneath for rot in the frame. On this one the body looks straight, the paintwork looks really good, as does all of the trim and chrome. I think that those polished wheels look really fantastic on this one and add a slightly classy air to what is, in reality, a mass-transit vehicle.
Our vehicle is powered by an 855 Cummins turbo engine pumping out 290hp. This is fed through a 5-speed manual transmission. Considering the weight of this Crown that power output may not seem much, and I will admit that it won’t stick you on pole at Indianapolis. However, coupled with that 5-speed transmission this old bus would perform quite well and should cruise effortlessly on the open road without too many dramas. One of the most important aspects to consider with vehicles like this is how well they’ve been maintained, as poor maintenance can cause all manner of problems from the quite innocuous to the down-right dangerous. The seller states that this Crown has been professionally maintained throughout its life which will doubtless provide peace of mind. This bus has also bee n fitted with air con which is a nice creature comfort as air flow in these on hot days can be an issue.
The driving compartment of these buses are by no means sophisticated, but they are functional and surprisingly comfortable. It’s a bit hard to be sure, but it appears that this bus has been fitted with a weight-variable driver’s seat. Some of these are a manual operation while some are fully automatic, but once they are set they automatically provide seat springing and support tailored to the weight of the driver. In my work, we were allowed to drive for no more than four continuous hours, and with these seats, it was possible to do this with a few issues with fatigue.
This is the business end of the deal and it provides the scope that is only limited by your imagination. Here in Australia, we have a term called “Grey Nomads”. These are people who have reached retirement age, sold there family home and are off seeing the world in an RV. A surprising number of our nomads forsake the idea of a vehicle like a Winnebago, as a bus like this can be converted to a camper for a lot less money which leaves them more disposable income for their travels. I’ve seen plenty of these converted and they do make a terrific RV.
This is not a vehicle that you will see every day. What I will say is that it is in really nice condition, and the fact that it has been professionally maintained throughout its life is a real plus. I have seen these clock up in excess of 1,000,000 miles simply because they have an extremely rugged construction. I’ve seen plenty that has been converted to RVs ranging from very basic to incredibly luxurious. If you are good with tools then such a conversion would not be difficult. Okay, time to retire and hit the road!
Wow that could be a helluva urban assault vehicle
I will buy it
Get the owner to call me he has my number
Gas Monkey
go make a bid!!!
This is really cool. Vintage buses are a hit with the motorhome crowd. The hard part, making it drivable, is done, just strip it out, plenty of wrecked motorhomes and trailers, you could make it right for cheap, have a neat retro looking MH for $10g’s. 290 Cumapart, probably THE most popular Cummins motor, although, I’ve never run them through a 5 speed. They don’t have the rpm range for that ( 1600-1900, if it’s a castrated Formula 290, 2100 if, not) and it should at least have a 2 speed axle ( I don’t see it on the stick) Love the look of these and I’m not alone, and it won’t be around long.
I worked for Hertz Truck Rental as a mechanic when these 290 things came out. Damned near every time one went out the driver would come back complaining it wasn’t getting full throttle because it was only going to 1900 rpm. I’d check it just to satisfy them, then explain it was a “Formula” engine, and how and why it was different. They’d get ticked and complain they couldn’t go as fast, etc. That was the days of the oil crisis and other things. BUT, that engine still pulled around 70,000+ lbs just fine. In this bus, light by comparison, I bet it would do very well, and they’re generally good for 250K miles easily without an overhaul. I saw one leased truck that went 500K without opening it up for major repairs. Granted it was tired. The 5 speed? No. Only Mack engines can get away with that. This bus should have a 2 speed. But the Greyhound busses I’ve been on only had a 5 speed, too. So it’s a puzzle.
Google the “Brown Crown” conversions they did. Looks great.
A bona fide bargain on Barn Finds! Wont last…
Looks just like the school bus (with better seats and not that ugly yellow) that I went on field trips in South Gate, CA 1968 to 1974. It would make a great RV. I wonder would you need a CDL to drive it?
Being the only bus driver here. I could use her, their is one other Crown here in NYC in the Bronx. Motor-home be damned. answering JRATT. CDL is need for this bus.
DM – That is what I was thinking. That cuts me out, since birth I have 20/200 vision in my right eye, not correctable. Maybe if I hit the powerball, I would be able to hire a driver , lol.
I don’t know a lot about busses but we have run a Cummins 290 for hauling bees from MN to TX and CA and I have never heard of a 290 with only a 5 speed we are running a Road Ranger 14 speed it been a very good reliable tractor we did a valve job on it at 700 thousand and did an in frame overhaul at 995 thousand, it back to top form once again and will maintain a darn solid 62 mph loaded on the flats and 40 mph in the hills!
These crown buses were built in Chino California also made fire trucks the company shut its doors in the mid 90’s couldn’t compeat with the cheaper made buses [blue birds, Thomas built] I rode them in the early 60’s up until mid/late 70’s tandem axle 5spd held 100 kids best place to ride bench seat at rear watch for speed bump get to bouncing on seat you could almost hit the roof. Watching that front swing around a corner from the back made it seem like you where doing a 100 mph.
Kenneth, Every time I went on a school field trip, I tried to ride on the rear bench seat or the very front seat. Southern California freeway travel was a blast. Looking at the picture with the bus painted white with black stripe, reminded me of the Crown buses that Los Angeles Sheriff used for prisoner transport.