Save these 70's buses coaches from the scrapman

[Lankytim]

Question,

 

When you own an old coach/bus what do you actually do with it? Go on holiday in it? Drive it on Sundays? What type of insurance would you need?

[CreepingJesus]

^If the turnout at the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum is anything to go by, 'drive it on Sundays' is a popular option. Mind you, most of the people there seemed to be defining 'busmans holiday' very successfully. There are rallies for these things, but outside of bus and coach preservation circles, they aren't too well publicised.

The insurance is a very good question.

 

EDIT: I'll leave some pics from there last year, just in case anyone's interested.

[warren t claim]

I thought a few of them might of been fitted with the wonderful Allison autobox.

[Justin Case]

 

How hard is it to get a showmans licence?

 

Difficult The vehicle has to be built or adapted to only carry showmans' equipment, eg a ride, so it would be a bit of a problem with a bus

 

Just checked the VED rates and a 29 seater bus would be £220 qnd a showman's vehicle £165, so not much difference and both less than my mazda 6 Also a privately owned bus needs a less rigourous MOT than a service bus. Better still, the tax disc on this says NIL :

 

XNX 136H 1970 Leyland Leopard PSU3A/Alexander Stratford Blue Motors by wheelsnwings2007/Mike, on Flickr

[warren t claim]

Even as someone who drives the odd super long rigid HGV I can imagine these being a twat to drive.

[Inspector Morose]

For that wonderful experience that is Allison, can one interest you in a Metrorider from the bus shite stable that is Optare? There's a red one on 't bay at the moment.

Driving wise under 8 seats and not for hire or reward or over 30 years old=car license.

Anything else= PCV licence. At least if you've got a bus licence you're never without work. Places always need bus/coach drivers.

[Inspector Morose]

There is a wonderful grey area that is the mobile project vehicle. These are usually converted from buses but specifically do not carry goods or passengers. These can be driven on a car licence.

Driving is very much like a long rigid HGV but with the front wheels way behind you and of rear engined, a mahoosive long rear overhang to swipe parked cars with when turning.

[warren t claim]

Which bus is fitted with the Dodge Ram engine?

[Inspector Morose]

I take it you mean the ram diesel? If so metro rider or Dennis Dart or converted Quest80 or bluebird schoolbus or, well, you get the picture, a few things!

[dollywobbler]

I must say, I'd be nervous as anything driving a bus on actual roads. I've driven a couple of 38 footers on private ground. Not really the same thing!

[warren t claim]

To any shiters thinking of investing in one of these I can heartily advise that you at least sit a couple of hours of specialist training before venturing on the highway. Ask an LGV/PCV instructor to take you for a spin first because you'll be surprised how much you need to learn.

 

Safety briefing over.

[Inspector Morose]

Nothing to it really, especially modern stuff. Auto, power steering, good steering lock. All there really is to get used to is the size and that the wheels are (usually) behind you changing how you take bends( with a bus it's more go up to the bend then turn instead of turn into the bend)

Edit: reading the above, I would wholeheartedly agree if just to get used to the size of the bloody thing!

[catsinthewelder]

When you say that you can drive it on a car licence is that just an old one (with minibus's, trailers and 7.5T) or the newer post 97 crap ones?

 

I had to take the D1(minibus) test for work and I'm kicking myself for not pushing to take the test in a full size bus. The one I used was 7M long.

[dollywobbler]

Good point Cats. No idea! I've got D1, which is handy for the volunteer minibus driving (even a lwb Crafter is a new cornering experience!). Given how much it costs for D1, I can't see any company willing to put you through PSV unless they really had to.

[warren t claim]

I can imagine it being piss easy to get one of these stuck in a side road causing much hilarity to your neighbours. How confident are you at reversing one? Reversing an articulated HGV in some cases would actually be easier unless it's a blindside reverse.

 

Steering a coach where your cab actually passes over kerbs and pedestrian refuges will be a whole new learning curve.

[Lankytim]

The fairly low seating position, small mirrors and acres of easily damaged ally cladding would keep me thinking. I'm sure you'd get the hang of it though.

 

Just don't take it where you think you may get stuck- simple!

[Cavcraft]

Pah, it's like a bloody health and safety convention on this thread now. Where's your sense of adventure? Just buy one one (or more) of them, drive them back home and if you manage to take out 3/4 of a Focus at a junction then just chalk it down to experience.

 

Out of stupidty/boredom I'm going to price up storage costs. Sort of hoping it's insanely expensive/not do-able as borrowing money to buy a hopelessly useless toy like this would defo send my missus over the edge.

[Inspector Morose]

If you need it driving somewhere, Billy, give us a shout. PCV class one FTW!

[Lankytim]

If they can be driven on a car licence without an O licence, does that mean you can park them on the road outside your house?

[warren t claim]

Pah, it's like a bloody health and safety convention on this thread now. Where's your sense of adventure? Just buy one one (or more) of them, drive them back home and if you manage to take out 3/4 of a Focus at a junction then just chalk it down to experience.

 

I used to drive 32 tonne bin wagons every Sunday which I suppose is as close to driving a bus as I'll ever get and even with the low seating height and reversing cameras it can get tricky at times. I had to take a 26 tonne Scania rigid around the back streets of a northern mill town last month and with the rear axle raised it had a bitch of a rear overhang that made tight turns somewhat scary!

 

I'm not telling anyone not to buy a coach but I am asking that they put some thought into it. Even pro coach drivers make mistakes as recent events show.

[warren t claim]

If I bought two of these coaches could I A frame one behind the other??????

[Cavcraft]

Cheers Metrobi. It's extremely unlikely to happen unfortunately but it's got to be worth looking into 'just in case'. Bloody sure I read once it's a slice of urine to just state 'no fare paying passengers' and claim some sort of grandfather rights if you once caught the C31 between Chester and Warrington, or some such shite.

 

Tim: I bet there's some sort of 'planning application' bollocks to clear first.

 

Wazzlord: I know mate, but imagine the hoot going to Chumley in it? One entrant instead of the usual 15 or so and everyone lying under the seats so we got in for nowt. On the way back stop off at the village shop over the road, ask the old bat for some tins of fruit off the top shelf then everyone has some five fingered discount and we all go home with 2,617 10p mixes and several packets of fags each.

[warren t claim]

Could we pretend to be daygo's and swap drivers while it's still moving?

[Cavcraft]

If I bought two of these coaches could I A frame one behind the other??????

 

Just get some tarpaulin, throw it between the two, pretend it's a bendy bus and shove a picture of Boris Johnson in the front window.

[warren t claim]

I would be a right giggle to have a coach with AUTOSHITE on the destination board, we could even pull up outside the Shearings depot and load it up with luggage and fuck off sharpish before any of the OAPs get a chance to board.

[Albert Ross]

A destination board saying "The Past" and an 8 Track playing only old music. Smoking not only permitted, but compulsory, and getting beaten up on the back row by the driver, after flicking the V's at a following Police car... (I was about 13, got the driver a bollocking, so he offered to pass it on.... The coppers looked up at me, grinning, as they walked back to the car!)

[Cavcraft]

For that wonderful experience that is Allison, can one interest you in a Metrorider from the bus shite stable that is Optare? There's a red one on 't bay at the moment.

Driving wise under 8 seats and not for hire or reward or over 30 years old=car license.

Anything else= PCV licence. At least if you've got a bus licence you're never without work. Places always need bus/coach drivers.

 

Cheers. Somene (on the excellent TruckNet forum) suggested

 

'...Also, not for the carriage of more than 8 passengers. It doesn't say having the capacity for more than 8 or number of seats, it specifically states the number of passengers, so if it was manufactured over 30 yrs ago and you carry 8 maximum people at any time, you already have entitlement'

 

Which is quite interesting I reckon.

[cms206]

What sort of gearbox are these things fitted with?

 

I'd guess the majority of these ones will be 5/6-speed manuals. The later Leylands may be the SCG 2-pedal setup with the dinky gated lever, or the Voith (or ZF?) pushbutton trans. Personally, I'd get a manual, 'cos I'm heart sick of being handed ZF ArseTronics at work.

 

Having had a look at the chassis numbers, both the Leopards should be 5-speed semi auto, probably with Westinghouse air control changes.

 

Leopards are actually pretty economical beasts due to the fact they're pretty bloody simple mechanically; IIRC we used to get about 10-12mpg from our similarly specced 12 metre Plaxton at work. The Bedfords will all be manual, the Tiger if it's manual will be 6-speed ZF with an air operated clutch which can be entertaining at best.

 

Question,

 

When you own an old coach/bus what do you actually do with it? Go on holiday in it? Drive it on Sundays? What type of insurance would you need?

 

My two Nationals are mainly used for going to rallies, running days and the like, though every couple of Sundays we used to go down the coast for a cone in one of them. Can't put my hands on the insurance certificates just now but mine are insured for unlimited mileage and to carry full loads (48 and 53 respectively) on free bus services and to/from anywhere with Equity Redstar through Towergate Risk Solutions in Kettering for about £250 each including breakdown cover, liability cover and any driver over 25 and under 70 with the permission of the policy holder.

 

If they can be driven on a car licence without an O licence, does that mean you can park them on the road outside your house?

 

Not sure about the first bit, but my mate used one of ours (SHH 389X) to go to work for a week and a half when his car was off the road and it sat outside his flat. Same rules as a car, if it's taxed, insured, MOT'd and not causing an obstruction you can park it where you like. The coaches will have the advantage here as they'll lock.

 

Mine are both taxed as PLG so effectively are 11143cc, 53-seat cars - £215 a year each.

[dieselnutjob]

Presumably they can be registered with the DVLA as an "MPV" with nine seats making them exempt from London Low Emission Zone.

 

probably cheaper to run one of these than to rent a garage in London

[wuvvum]

Presumably most of these would be old enough to be speed limiter exempt? Not going to be much of an issue with Bedfords admittedly, but something with a Leyland TL11 engine and a high-ratio diff should be able to bomb along at 70+, leaving the flashy new National Express Scanias choking in its exhaust smoke.