Fly High, Mini Bird.

"Jacques L' Autre" (jacklauterdale) 04/29/2014 at 22:22 • Filed to: buslopnik

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For about as long as I can remember my family has been involved with school buses. My Great-Grandfather drove a school bus, so did my Grandmother, and my Dad has worked in the school transportation business for almost 30 years. We even owned our own busing company for a few years. Needless to say, I've been around my fair share of International School Bus Chrome (That's right, not yellow) vehicles of all shapes and sizes. Out of all those buses I've always had a bit of a soft spot for the Blue Bird Mini Bird.

Let's address the elephant in the room here. It's ugly, like really ugly, but it's a functional type of ugly. It was purposely built to be wide, 8 feet wide, and that width turned out to be quite efficient at transporting special needs students back and forth to school. With a production run spanning almost 30 years you may have seen one of these ugly ducklings on the road before, and if you're in a state that doesn't have any limit to how long a bus can be in service you could see these for years to come.

Now with all that being said, I don't like all ugly buses.

Never again.

Bad Idea Hat > Jacques L' Autre 04/29/2014 at 22:36

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I've noticed that school buses are getting more ugly as the years go on.

thebigbossyboss > Jacques L' Autre 04/29/2014 at 22:38

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Here in Ontario the government changed the school bus tendering process to really hit the little companies hard. It sucks.

http://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall…

The Compromiser > Jacques L' Autre 04/29/2014 at 22:38

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as a 3rd gen I have to agree. The quirky ones are the most interesting ones. I remember watching them paint all the company names and numbers on by hand (I am that old) and having far out characters painted at the top of the inside of the roof and onto the wall panels. The things my father did in the 70s were.... interesting to say the least.

Jacques L' Autre > Bad Idea Hat 04/29/2014 at 22:38

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They really are the ultimate example of function over form. The Thomas C2 Saf-T-Liner looks pretty good though.

PushToStart > Jacques L' Autre 04/29/2014 at 22:41

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You should write little reviews/articles about school busses over the years, I'd actually find that quite interesting. Plus it seems like you probably know a bit about them, and no one here ever talks about busses, lol.

Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura > Jacques L' Autre 04/29/2014 at 22:46

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Except you had Chevrolet's POS Diesel engine powering it. CP

Jacques L' Autre > thebigbossyboss 04/29/2014 at 22:46

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That's a shame. I don't think a lot of people are aware how competitive of an industry it can be. Even large companies can struggle. Case in point, Laidlaw was bought out by busing giant, First Student, a few years ago.

Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura > Jacques L' Autre 04/29/2014 at 22:48

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I'unno, the C-2 was effectively the bastard child of what Thomas made for quite some time now - with the front of what used to be a Freightliner glued to the coach.

Jacques L' Autre > Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura 04/29/2014 at 22:57

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I used to think those first gen Freightliners were the coolest buses ever, haha. They still look better than the C2s, but the C2s really aren't that bad looking.

Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura > Jacques L' Autre 04/29/2014 at 23:17

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To be honest, I'd expected a whole new change within the line-up, but all I got back was the same exact Saf-T-Liner you'd get from a traditional EF.

Your boy, BJR > Jacques L' Autre 04/29/2014 at 23:24

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I love that 2nd one. so fucking awkward.

sdwarf36 > Jacques L' Autre 04/29/2014 at 23:26

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Go over to www.skoolie.net LOTS of great info in the forums. (And yes-I have my own short bus.)

Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight > Jacques L' Autre 04/30/2014 at 00:16

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I've been trying to buy a bus for the last 4 months. I really liked this 68 Gillig, but just couldn't find a calm day during the winter to drive the 4 hours to see it.

Looks like I'll have to settle for an ugly , hump nose, Chevy.

I'm all over the skoolie.net site - my plan is to turn the front half into an RV sleeping up to 4 and the rear will be my garage.

I'll know tomorrow.

Jacques L' Autre > Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight 04/30/2014 at 10:45

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Even though it's an ugly, hump-nose Chevy that garage in the back is awesome!

Jacques L' Autre > Your boy, BJR 04/30/2014 at 10:46

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That would be a Thomas Vista.

Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight > Jacques L' Autre 05/07/2014 at 22:31

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Well the bus is mine. Got it home and started gutting it. What a mess. It gonna take all year to get this thing how I want it.

After looking at this heap closely, I'm surprised it made it the 180 miles home, but the garage works.... kinda.

ly2v8-Brian > Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight 05/07/2014 at 23:17

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Bad Idea Hat > Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight 05/07/2014 at 23:20

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BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight 05/07/2014 at 23:27

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That's... Actually, that's pretty amazing.

TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut > Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight 05/07/2014 at 23:31

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How will you get out of your car once you park it inside, is there enough space? I can't see directly from the photograph, but it does look a little tight.

Big Bubba Ray > Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight 05/07/2014 at 23:39

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WOAH you bought a bus?? We need pictures!

TillTheWheelsFallOff: Brocoma > Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight 05/07/2014 at 23:40

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Love it!

In order to work on your car, how will you be accessing your tools? The space looks really tight between car and storage. Or are you just planning on winching it out, then working on it?

Your boy, BJR > Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight 05/07/2014 at 23:43

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DUDE FUCKIN WHAT?!?!? THAT'S AWESOME AS FUCKINING KATE UPTON WHILE DOING THE FREEBIRD GUITAR SOLO, CHUGGING MOONSHINE, AND RAMPING A TRANS AM OVER 6 GODDAMN HELICOPTERS.

SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) > Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight 05/07/2014 at 23:55

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Too cool. My dad converted an old school bus into an RV a few years ago. It was a great project and turned out really well, but nowhere near as awesome as what you have planned. I'll have to send this to him. He'll be massively jealous.

Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight > TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut 05/08/2014 at 05:15

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Yes it a little tight, but luckily my car is a convertible. Parked inside dangerously close to the passenger side mirror, I have a little over a foot to get in and out on my side.

Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight > Big Bubba Ray 05/08/2014 at 05:16

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I'll have lots later.

Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight > TillTheWheelsFallOff: Brocoma 05/08/2014 at 05:22

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This is primarily winter storage for my summer car. I will be using it to take the car racing in Texas a few times a year and possibly hauling the car with race-only rubber to the local tracks for PDX/ HPDE. I have access to several mechanics and their shops so this won't be used as a workspace. The wench is in case I break the car to the point that I can't drive it up the ramp.

Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight > TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut 05/08/2014 at 05:51

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Riding along and then the removal.

TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut > Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight 05/08/2014 at 06:21

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Ahhhh I see now!

TillTheWheelsFallOff: Brocoma > Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight 05/08/2014 at 11:14

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Oh, I see, sounds like you've got all your ducks in a row.

Are you worried at all about carbon monoxide permeating into the living area?

Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight > TillTheWheelsFallOff: Brocoma 05/08/2014 at 23:22

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Not at all. Elwood will only be running in the garage when loading and unloading. I plan to build a 3' wall with a wood door between the two sections of the bus primarily as a thermal barrier between the two sections. The living area will be well insulated for personal comfort, whereas, the garage area will have minimal R value just to keep things from extremes. It helps to have lots of windows and a 7'x7.5' back door. ;)

TillTheWheelsFallOff: Brocoma > Gizmo - The Only Good Gremlin, but don't feed me after Midnight 05/09/2014 at 20:26

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I figured you had a plan, haha. I'm intrigued by your plans, please keep posting pictures of your progress!

Leon711 > Jacques L' Autre 10/21/2014 at 11:27

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Never been to the USA (changing that next week) but even I have seen them in the flesh in Britain.

Amoore100 > Jacques L' Autre 02/02/2015 at 00:19

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Do tell about the Thomas Vista...the school district that is next to ours has a few and they always look so awkward...I can't imagine them being particularly nice, what with the engine inside with you...