sold bus

[windtrader]

Just noticed the bus in the classified is sold. When that last dramatic price reduction happened, it got me ready to write a check. Glad someone will get it back on the road. Anyone with details?


Gary, feel free to delete/close this thread if it is off limits.


https://www.busconversionmagazine.com/1970-eagle-a-dream-cut-short/

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

Marilyn sold her bus two weeks ago.  Practically gave it away.  She had it for sale for about 3 years but nobody would touch it because it has a standard transmission.  She is a lovely lady and I loved working with her and felt so bad she had to sell it so cheap after all of the work her husband put into it to get it ready for them to travel in but which never happened as he passed away before they got a chance to travel in it.

Gary

[luvrbus]

I hated to see Marilyn sell so cheap about a 1/5th of what was invested. She is a sweetheart and did the right thing the bus had some items that needed to finished,the new batteries she installed were going bad,the tires were going bad each year the bus was losing value from sitting.Spending money was not going to add to value of the bus so she let it go a wise choice on her part and someone got a buy 

[windtrader]

This is a real world example of how much less marketable a bus is with a manual tranny. It seemed like a nice coach and surely would have sold for more much sooner if it had an automatic.


Any general labor and other parts estimates (in addition to an auto tranny) needed upgrade a manual to an auto? Many busnuts want in for less cost, maybe this is a reasonable option for some. Just not read any chatter here from taking this path.

[richard5933]

The manual transmission didn't scare us off from our current bus. I had considered this Eagle as an option after our first one was totaled last year. The only thing that kept me away was it not being GM. It seems that the GM we ended up buying had been on the market for a while, but even a manual transmission bus will be bought, sometimes for good money, once the right buyer is found. Or at least a buyer crazy enough to learn double-clutching at 55. On the up side, after the improvements we did to the electrical bay and upholstery, our appraisal came in for nearly $10K over purchase price, even after accounting for the manual transmission.

[chessie4905]

Appraisal's mean nothing on a bus conversion, especially with an manual transmission. Very few have an interest in them anymore.  How many under 40 can even drive a manual? At least a GM is pretty easy to convert over compared to other ones.

[luvrbus]

It is the market IMO it is flooded buses are for sale everywhere converted or shells.Back in the 80's when I first got into buses you couldn't buy a rusted Eagle seated bus for under 30k.I paid over 50k for my first shell with a 4 speed,no power steering with 8v71 and I got a bargain on a 16 year old bus ,then I added power steering, 740 and a 8v92 before starting the conversion no way would I do that now with todays prices

[lostagain]

Automatic transmissions are a North American thing. Much of the rest of the world still happily shifts gears. We just had cousins visit here from France. They used a couple of our vehicles to get around and I had to show them how to use the auto transmission. They say that auto transmissions are still rare in Europe, people like manuals. It is in the culture.

JC

[luvrbus]

Automatic transmissions are a North American thing. Much of the rest of the world still happily shifts gears. We just had cousins visit here from France. They used a couple of our vehicles to get around and I had to show them how to use the auto transmission. They say that auto transmissions are still rare in Europe, people like manuals. It is in the culture.

JC

LOL JC why didn't you say it is a lazy @$# American thing  I would love to see a truck driver nowadays trying to drive a 2 stick 5 and 4 in a truck

[lostagain]

I notice here how the help wanted adds for truck drivers are more and more advertising auto transmissions to attract the younger drivers.

JC

[luvrbus]

Appraisal's mean nothing on a bus conversion, especially with an manual transmission. Very few have an interest in them anymore.  How many under 40 can even drive a manual? At least a GM is pretty easy to convert over compared to other ones.

Changing to a V730 from a manual transmission is not a plug and play I think the T drives going to a 740 are a lot easier than a GM, can you still find the heavy @$# flywheel and spacer needed to convert to a V730 ?

[windtrader]

As you point out Clifford, there is such a glut of all sorts of used buses, it makes no sense to convert manual to auto with so many automatics to pick from, all at cheap prices too.


It just seems so odd that all this hoopla over "tiny house" for stupid prices and these wonderful older converted coaches offer so much more for so much fewer dollars. Guess it's like every other consumable product in today's consumer world - no bling - no interest. not new - blah. So much older stuff that is far better quality than the crap being made today. Oh well, good for us.

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

Automatic transmissions are a North American thing. Much of the rest of the world still happily shifts gears. We just had cousins visit here from France. They used a couple of our vehicles to get around and I had to show them how to use the auto transmission. They say that auto transmissions are still rare in Europe, people like manuals. It is in the culture.

JC

How long does it take to teach someone to shift an AT JC?  Is this an all day course?   

[lostagain]

Ha ha Gary! My cousin had the car for a day with the shifter on the console between the seats. The next day he wanted to try the pick up. He's in it for a few moments, then he comes out and says where is the shifter? I had to show it to him behind the steering wheel. ATs are strange thing to them...

JC

[chessie4905]

Clifford, you don't use a spacer...those were used with vs transmissions. Mine doesn't use one.