I went to the grave yard to find a stronger frame for my F-600 and i seen this school bus witch has the perfect frame and axle and i said my self i must be the only one who tough about that LOL and then i just saw your video hahaha.
i am thinking you are going to see 8 to 9 mpg. most buss chassis have a high numerical number differential..i see a lot of 5.38 gears..i think 3.90 or 4.10 would be great for your application. your bus looks to have an allison md3060 overdrive transmission. if so, that will be helpful. one thing i noticed when you cut your frame for your pivot assembly....you cut the inside corner where the pin sets at a 90* angle i try not to make any sharp corners when cutting a frame. i radius the corners with a large drill bit or annular cutter. the sharp corners are prone to cracks when the load is applied. i think a flat top sleeper would look great behind that cab.
Thanks for the reply J.C.! If I remember right, the maintnence guy who worked on the busses told me it had 4.10’s in it. I haven’t checked though. It has an Allison MT643 trans with no overdrive unfortunately. I live out in the sticks though. Not much highway driving for this truck so that should help a bit. You make a great point on the pivot points. I might slide the bed up a bit and correct that. I didn’t even think about that sharp angle becoming problematic.
It’s for sale now. Got it driving but that’s all the further i made it. Now days I’m ion search fir a mid 50’s era 4 door car so I can drag the family around with me. I never really found a use for this truck and quite honestly, don’t know why I built it 🤣 I think of it doesn’t sell, I’ll get back on it this summer to make it a dove tail car hauler with a winch on a giant headache rack. Throw some shiny wheels on it and it’ll sell.
Cut Weld and Fab James dang that ain’t a half bad idea! The international gauge cluster is HUGE though. Aaaaaaaand I already cut the dash apart. If I hadn’t already cut it, I certainly would have entertained the idea.
Mark Wilson thanks for asking. The truck was set aside for now. Life had tossed me some lemons and I had to quickly learn how to make lemonade. Good news is it’s he’s been the best lemonade I’ve ever had. Additionally, my construction company has gotten inundated with projects and with daylight savings quickly approaching, I have a list of tasks that I need completed before the time change because once the clocks do their screwy magic, I’ll be home after dark every night. However, I have planned a large remodel project at my house kicking off on thanksgiving, and I could really use the truck to haul the demo debris......since that’s the purpose of the truck anyhow. So keep tuned I HOPE to get the bed built by that time. Somehow 😁
I loved watching these videos....I have an international bus and a '66 F600 I'm planning to do this with ! Got some great insight on the project !
Sad to see you didn't post any more videos showing it finished
That’s because it never really finished.
However, I think I’m going to tear back into it. Make some changes. Stick around, I’ve got more coming.
I like your idea of a bed crane 🏗 or and a tool box too !
It's gonna look great .. Maybe find a sleeper from a peterbilt to put behind cab ... Then always got a place to sleep
I went to the grave yard to find a stronger frame for my F-600 and i seen this school bus witch has the perfect frame and axle and i said my self i must be the only one who tough about that LOL and then i just saw your video hahaha.
Great minds think alike 😁
i am thinking you are going to see 8 to 9 mpg. most buss chassis have a high numerical number differential..i see a lot of 5.38 gears..i think 3.90 or 4.10 would be great for your application. your bus looks to have an allison md3060 overdrive transmission. if so, that will be helpful. one thing i noticed when you cut your frame for your pivot assembly....you cut the inside corner where the pin sets at a 90* angle i try not to make any sharp corners when cutting a frame. i radius the corners with a large drill bit or annular cutter. the sharp corners are prone to cracks when the load is applied. i think a flat top sleeper would look great behind that cab.
Thanks for the reply J.C.! If I remember right, the maintnence guy who worked on the busses told me it had 4.10’s in it. I haven’t checked though. It has an Allison MT643 trans with no overdrive unfortunately. I live out in the sticks though. Not much highway driving for this truck so that should help a bit. You make a great point on the pivot points. I might slide the bed up a bit and correct that. I didn’t even think about that sharp angle becoming problematic.
What did you end up doing with this one mate.is it finished or on hold...
It’s for sale now. Got it driving but that’s all the further i made it.
Now days I’m ion search fir a mid 50’s era 4 door car so I can drag the family around with me.
I never really found a use for this truck and quite honestly, don’t know why I built it 🤣
I think of it doesn’t sell, I’ll get back on it this summer to make it a dove tail car hauler with a winch on a giant headache rack. Throw some shiny wheels on it and it’ll sell.
Thinking about your dashboard. Do you have enough room to put the international guages behind the dash and use the old cut out as a window ?
Cut Weld and Fab James dang that ain’t a half bad idea!
The international gauge cluster is HUGE though. Aaaaaaaand I already cut the dash apart. If I hadn’t already cut it, I certainly would have entertained the idea.
How did you work out the title/registration part? I have a 69 F600 cab that I’m looking to swap like this.
Chance Hopkins I registered the 1955 ford and just left it as that.
Haven't seen any videos in quite awhile .. Hope all is good
Mark Wilson thanks for asking. The truck was set aside for now. Life had tossed me some lemons and I had to quickly learn how to make lemonade. Good news is it’s he’s been the best lemonade I’ve ever had. Additionally, my construction company has gotten inundated with projects and with daylight savings quickly approaching, I have a list of tasks that I need completed before the time change because once the clocks do their screwy magic, I’ll be home after dark every night.
However, I have planned a large remodel project at my house kicking off on thanksgiving, and I could really use the truck to haul the demo debris......since that’s the purpose of the truck anyhow.
So keep tuned I HOPE to get the bed built by that time. Somehow 😁
Skookum!
Awesome