If you grew up in the 1950s near Wadena, Minnesota, you may have ridden on this bus. It started life hauling kids in the North Star State and now resides in Ellensburg, Washington. You can bet the kids back then had no idea this 1949 Chevrolet bus would end up as a performance machine with a full custom chassis and a ton of upgrades. It can be found here on Craigslist with an asking price of $30,000. At first glance, that might look like a pretty hefty asking price, but wait until you see all the work that has been done! Let’s take a closer look and thanks to Pat L. for the tip on this one.
As you can see the interior is a blank slate and could be finished however you like. The most obvious modification is the floor over the rear axle. You can see the wheel wells have been tubbed and the floor has been raised to accommodate the lowered suspension. The front is a Mustang II unit with disc brakes. The rear is a 1/2 ton axle sprung with leafs, quad shocks, and drum brakes. There are also heavy-duty cross members and sway bars to keep the ride stiff and responsive. I bet this thing is a blast to drive!
The engine is a brand new 383 cubic inch small block Chevy built by Jimmy Z Customs. It is mated to a Turbo 400 automatic transmission and the seller says it will cruise at 80 miles per hour all day! All the systems are new including the cooling system, lines, electrical, and gauges. The seller also says it never overheats and there are no fluid leaks.
This is a really cool ride and would probably get a ton of attention wherever it goes. I’m not sure if I’m a fan of the fender skirts, what do you think? Also, it would be nice to find a matching yellow hood but overall, it is an awesome bus that has had a ton of the hard work done. The new owner can finish the interior however they like and enjoy it for years to come.
That’s a no from me on the skirts, and the hood will match when you paint the bus. This is a pretty cool ride.
Why? Just…why.
Why? is a good question. Also, very telling. The builder-seller is selling. His explanation is “age”. More like “reality check”.
Typically, people who do these school bus restomod, hot road, street rod conversion thingys soon lose interest. If they actually finish, they want to sell.
Builder-seller is asking $30,000. Wishful thinking. In this economy seller will be lucky to get $10,000 for this as is.
Also, Montana Danford neglected to identify this school bus. This is a 1949 Carpenter school bus, built in Mitchell, IN. This Carpenter-built bus has a Chevrolet chassis.
So let me get this straight, the builder put a Mustang II front end (originally designed for the 2500 pound Pinto) under a bus that must weigh 5-6000 pounds. OK…..
May be an f-250 with power asset and power steering from same truck. I would also add AC but that’s just me
Heavy-duty versions of the Mustang II-type suspension are available, but this rig surely presses the limits
We called these “Cooper busses” cuz the kids wore hockey helmets how rode in them.
Have worked with a few of the ”short bus” riders.
Window lickers lol.
Imagine seeing this sucker in your side view mirror coming to pass you at 80 mph.
🤣
Not sure what you would do with this other than attend some shows. A better use would have turned it into a camper like this one:
https://www.roverpass.com/blog/10-rv-conversion-and-restoration-ideas/
Would make a great wheelchair van for me as I now have two
family members who now need motorized wheelchairs to get
around these days. Just widen the rear emergency door a bit
allow the chairs to slide in. The rear bumper rides low enough
to get the chairs in and out with the aid of a Tommy lift or some
type of cargo transfer device. Just add some seats and a roof
mounted A/C and call it done. And by all man’s paint the hood
when you find the time.
Cool bus big price bad choices on suspension.
Just looks stupid.
Lose the skirts; all they would do is drag sparks when going over bumps anyway. This thing could get high-centered on a pencil!
“Ridin’ The Short Bus”.
Cool vehicle but
I have to agree with Fred about the front end components. I’m concerned about the weight on parts designed for a Mustang II. It definitely needs AC, maybe a rooftop unit and a generator?
Lose the skirts and paint it – school bus yellow of course. Finish it as a camper.
I really dislike the lowered look. Someone did a lot of work to destroy this one. But I am sure there are those that disagree with me.
Make a 4×4 camper!
https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FHB_EfTXkWuA%2Fmaxresdefault.jpg&f=1&nofb=1
When I was a kid my next door neighbors converted a school bus into a camper they even made the back door Open the full size of the back of the bus and would drive a Jeep into the back and haul it to Wisconsin when they went camping.. They were a wonderful hard working family and I wish I knew where they were today
If it were bagged and slammed that would be a different story, and poor choices on power train and suspension. Someone will pay $10 large for it.
Junk!
I kinda like it lol. I too question the Mustng II steering components, that would have to change.
Ken Carney mentioned widening the rear door. I would have to do that too, to get my Harley in there. I would also be inclined to reinstall the factory bus seating for some reason, although I am not sure why. Makes no sense to do that if I wanna haul my bike around in it lol.
All in all, I like it (even with the skirts) and I have no idea why I like it lol.
80 if you dare could not be a more true statement. The comment about losing interest in this project definitely shows judging by the spaghetti that is oozing out of the firewall on to the top of the “383”. Really surprised it doesn’t need “breaks”and potential buyers shouldn’t “waist “ his time with lowball offers. Jeez,a picture is really worth a thousand (1000) words.😁
I have a 1955 Carpenter school bus that I built for our family….9 children. I finished it in 2012.”..and we still enjoy it to this day…..Look up Breuer Bunch Bus…(google)…That’s us……By the way cool bus….And no to the skirts…from a body flow perspective…