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After a year of window shopping & several cancelled trips, I finally picked up my bus. It's a 1999 Bluebird 24-passenger Q-bus. The trip from Wisconsin to Pennsylvania was painful, & took one week due to several breakdowns.
This particular bus fit my needs since it has a retractable wheelchair lift in the staircase.
It has a 5.9l Cummins coupled to an Allison AT545 automatic transmission. This is a new transmission, having just been installed by a Detroit Diesel/Allison dealership near Milwaukee. It now has a new transmission, starter, lift pump, injector pump, & alternator. Air ride with air brakes. Needs new air conditioner compressors.
Since arriving home, I have removed the stainless steel luggage rack, and the front bench seats.
Tomorrow, I'm going to Danville to pick up four pair of MCI coach seats from a local operator. If all goes well, I'll use these temporarily as front seating until I find captain's chairs at a reasonable price.
I am working out a floor plan for a galley, head, and bunks in the rear. Two rooftop air conditioners, a generator, and plumbing....
Interestingly, since the bus was designed as a Budget Rental shuttle bus, it was intended to run at less than 50 miles MPH. It can easily run at higher speeds on the highway, but overheats due to poor air flow. Installation of several louvers over the air intake should improve that.
More to follow.... |
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