One spring while talking with some folks at a Bus Nuts rally near Cache Creek, BC with the ‘57 MCI Courier 96, I mentioned that I always liked MC5’s. They are like the 35-foot Courier, just the right size. They are really handy in tight spots like around the city and getting into campgrounds, yet big enough for our needs. I remember the MC5’s quite well from my driving days at Brewster’s in the Canadian Rockies in the ‘70s. We then had MC5’s, 5B’s, and 5C’s. They all had Detroit 8V71’s, a 4-speed manual transmission, and the power-to-weight ratio made them move along quite quickly, at least compared to the same power trains in the heavier MC7s. The exception was the 5Cs that had the 6V71 and Allison automatic, and they were dogs, slow and weak. Too bad really, because they were such a nice tight car, otherwise. I think some MC5Cs had the 8V71, but not ours.
Well of course someone said “I know of a nice MC-5 for sale in Vernon, really nice one, new 6V92, you should check it out. Here is the guy’s number.” So, of course, at that moment I was thinking “Tempting, but we don’t need another bus.” We like the Courier 96 a lot. We have put a lot of work into it. But it would be nice to have something faster and more comfortable for when we start going South in the winter. No harm in calling right? My wife Valerie wasn’t with me at that rally. I called about the 5, which sounded nice. Vernon was sort of on the way home. So I went to look at it, and yes it was super nice. It had low mileage, no rust at all anywhere, professionally converted with all the bells and whistles, beautiful oak interior, 6V92 with an Allison HT740, well maintained with all records. The previous older owner was recently having health issues and wasn’t going to use it anymore. So I told him “beautiful bus, I like it, I need to go home to talk to my wife.”
I wanted it, but I would have to talk Valerie into it... I showed her the pictures. I explained how much more comfortable than the Courier it would be for longer trips, how it would go up the hills easier and faster and keep up to traffic, how she would probably enjoy driving it with the automatic, how it was better insulated and would stay cooler in the summer, etc. After a few days, she said “OK, let’s go look at it” I thought yeah, we are probably going to buy it now, great! We can sell the Courier later.
When we went over to see it, she liked it a lot. The interior is very well done in classic, timeless oak. It also had a recent renovation with hardwood floors, ceramic tile in the bathroom, a flat screen TV, a new fridge, and a few other things. We took it out for a drive. Valerie sat in the bedroom for a while as I drove, and emerged saying that it was quiet back there and didn’t smell of diesel fuel...So we made a deal, and a week later, I rode the Greyhound over to pick it up.
That was about five years ago. It took a couple of years to sell the Courier 96, but it finally went to a family in Vancouver that really loves it, so it is a good fit. Our two boys were still at home with us, and they are dirt bikers, so we went to a lot of motocross races and hare scrambles/cross-country races in the summer. We would tow a trailer with the bikes behind the bus. It was a great family activity, combining racing and camping. Valerie raises and shows Paint horses, so I often go with the bus and cater at the shows, having food and drinks available. It is nice to have the bus there, more spacious than the living quarter’s horse trailer. Our friend and helper can have it to herself. Once or twice a year, we go somewhere special for a holiday.
One late August, we drove down to ride our bikes at the Oregon dunes just South of Florence. We did the Pacific coast on the way down, great holiday. Last Spring break, we drove down to Moab, Utah with the dirt bikes and stayed a week. They have the best dirt biking anywhere. Fantastic trails, some Jeep trails, some single-track trails, and some so tough the kids would have to ride my bike over the difficult parts for me. Nice, friendly town. We parked the bus on the curb on a side street and slept there every night. The people there make you feel welcome. Great restaurants and bars.
We use the bus a lot in the summer. Shopping trips to Calgary, AB, or Spokane, WA, where we have learned where to park overnight for safe, quiet stays. We went to a wedding with it last summer in Kelowna, BC. We went to Coeur d’Alene, ID a couple years ago. We towed the boat there and stayed at a very nice full service campground on the lake and enjoyed the hot summer weather and great hospitality of the town and region. We drove it to Butte, MT a couple times last summer and fall where our oldest son is now a student at Montana Tech University. We have it often at our farm near Blackie, AB to stay in, because the house is rented to our friend and horse trainer and her family. I am staying in it as I am writing this, (March), while I am renovating a cabin on the property for us to use soon, rather than the bus, which is not so good in the cold Alberta winters. So as you see, we use the bus a lot and enjoy it. Both of our boys are away at college now, so we look forward to traveling south in the winter for several weeks, starting next winter, as long as Valerie can move all her horses to the farm in Alberta for our friend to look after. I have suggested a few times selling them all, but apparently, it is not an option.
In the winter, the bus is in my shop at home in Invermere, BC. I enjoy maintaining it. There is always a list of things to fix or modify on it, along with regular maintenance, like a tune-up, brakes inspection, chassis lubricating, etc.
The first winter, my father-in-law made a table and benches down South for me to install as a dinette. The previous owner had a loose dining room table and four chairs sliding around on the hardwood floor. I didn’t want them to hit us in the back of the head in a panic stop. I bolted down the dinette in the spring, and feel a lot safer with that arrangement. Plus we made the benches with a hinged seat that allows a lot of storage space. It had a 4:11 to 1 ratio differential, which at 65 mph had the engine revving against the governor at 2200 rpm. I wasn’t crazy about that, and I remembered that some of the MC5s I drove for Brewster’s would go up to 80 mph before hitting the governor. It took a few weeks to locate a faster rear end, and I finally found one not too far from home. It is a 3:36 to 1.
Swapping them is a big, heavy job. I borrowed a big transmission jack from a friend, and it took three or four days, but the results are well worth it. The bus now only revs at 1700 rpm at 65 mph, and will go to 80. Yes I have tried.
Another benefit is that now 2nd gear goes to 40 mph, perfect for in-town. And 3rd goes to 55 mph, great for climbing hills. That more than makes up for the little loss of power at the rear wheels. Starting from a stop is not a problem with the torque converter in the Allison automatic.
Another great improvement I did was to install new, more efficient fuel injectors. I swapped the 9A90s that it had with 9G90s. And changed the turbo to a TV7512.1 and now have, at least on paper, 350 HP and 1020 ft/lb of torque, and with less black smoke out the exhaust. It does feel like more power. It hardly slows down up the little hills on the highway. We go up the big hills in the mountains quite well, passing most transport trucks, at least the loaded ones.
At the time of the conversion in 1989, front and rear MC9 caps were installed, along with a roof raise to match. Also, the windows were replaced with Peninsula sliders. It is very well insulated, which is nice in cold or hot temperatures.
It has the larger MC9 radiators and squirrel cage fans for better engine cooling. Jake brakes, cruise control, a pneumatic leveling system, a 7.5 KW Honda generator that runs on propane, a 3000-watt inverter, forced air furnace. All the usual necessities you would expect in most RVs. It serves us well.
It still has the Stahr paint job that was applied in ‘89. The pink and blue colors are very 1980s. It is still in good enough condition that we don’t see the need to do it over again, yet. The owner’s last name at that time was Challenger, and that is also the name of the bus model (MC5 Challenger), so he had the mural done on the rear cap depicting the launch of the space shuttle Challenger. A conversation piece. We will probably keep it for many years and keep maintaining it. We don’t see the need for anything bigger or fancier.
JC can be reached at jcalacoque@yahoo.com
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