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Hey Scott,
Unless you can get the bus for free, I would not touch that bus with a ten foot pole.
Several problems pop up immediately.
IHC made a lot of great engines, the 304/345/392 family of engines being some of the best. The downside is they haven't made any for more than twenty years so some of the parts and pieces are starting to get hard to find (read that $$$).
Obselesence aside, the real problem with the 345 is exacerbated by the Allison transmission--lack of HP. No matter what you do to the 345, it really doesn't have the HP to maintain much more than 55-60 MPH tops on the flat and strickly slow lane on any hill.
You will also be looking at 2.5-4.5 MPG. With gas prices hovering around $1.65 per gallon you are looking at a cost of close to fifty cents per mile for fuel.
The other real problem with the bus you are looking at is the fact the body is by Superior. Don't get me wrong, Superior made an excellent bus body. All things being equal, a bus body by Superior is not a bad thing except for the fact they haven't made any for quite a few years. Proprietary items can be most difficult to obtain. Wiring diagrams are practically non-exisitent unless you can find OEM manuals.
Windshields and the rubber to seat them shouldn't be a problem if the windshields have flat glass. Any reputable glass shop should be able to take care of you without any real problems. Curved glass is another question altogether.
The biggest concern I would have with that bus is the fact the windsheilds have been out for some time now. All conventional buses have problems with the wiring under the dashboard getting damp. With the weather allowed to drip and dribble down the dashboard, you are looking at some major problems electrically.
I am thinking that even for free this particular bus is going to be too expensive.
There are a lot of buses out on the market currently. Some of them not even fifteen years old that are diesel powered with automatic transmissions. Several I have seen have been selling for less than $2K.
Find another bus!
If not, all I can say is good luck.
Mark O. |
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