Another 'should i buy this vehicle?' thread (it's a bus this time)

[Matt Derrick]

so i'm looking at this bus here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/28196510580...1&exe=13926&ext=35632&sojTags=exe=exe,ext=ext

which is a 1987 chevy short bus '350 turbo 400 transmission'. the description is a little vague, but damn, a short bus for 1500 and is within driving distance of me (8 hours) seems pretty awesome.

just wondering if there's anything i should look out for, since this is an ebay thing, i'd basically be buying it blind. the seller has responded to my questions saying that the engine has 30,000 miles on it, but the chassis has 147k or so, so i guess it's the second engine.

his response to what is the standing height was '9ft', but i think he means the total vehicle height. im about to call him and get more info. anyways, does anyone have any advice? any input here @creature?

 

[Matt Derrick]

here's a pic:

 

[Mankini]

yeah, go for it!! chevy. bargain down to 1000, though.

 

[Matt Derrick]

so, i just got off the phone with the guy and he seems pretty cool/honest, way easier to talk to over the phone than online (i'm guessing he's not a computer guy).

it seems like the engine was smoking before the current owner bought it but the previous owner re-did the rings and a bunch of other stuff and it's no longer doing that. He just drove it to chicago and back, and says it ran great the whole way without any problems.

while writing this i just said 'fuck it' and pulled the trigger. i sent a $500 deposit on ebay and i'll arrive with the rest ($1000) in a certified check when i get there to pick it up. the guy is going to pick me up from the greyhound when i go out there next weekend.

now i gotta call in a few favors so i can get greyhound money to get there and gas money to get back. i'll definitely get the engine fully checked out when i get back though (and can afford it).

 

[Haystack]

Congrats on your new purchase Matt. I'm looking forward to a build thread on it

 

[Matt Derrick]

thanks man, i definitely plan on documenting the whole thing. i'm a little nervous about the risk, but what's life without a little risk, right?

 

[awkwardshelby]

Oh shoot I was like, "dude it's already sold" before I read the rest of the thread.

Congrats on it! She's a beauty.

 

[Matt Derrick]

Oh shoot I was like, "dude it's already sold" before I read the rest of the thread.

Congrats on it! She's a beauty.

thank you! i'm totally excited and nervous about it at the same time.

 

[awkwardshelby]

thank you! i'm totally excited and nervous about it at the same time.

Oh what the hell, nerves come with everything! I'm sure it'll turn out amazing.

 

[tobepxt]

fuck yeah! lemme know if ya need a hand with things

 

[Mankini]

now time to start raiding junkyards

 

[WanderLost Radical]

thanks man, i definitely plan on documenting the whole thing. i'm a little nervous about the risk, but what's life without a little risk, right?

I always say that if there>s no risk, there>s no fun!!
My boss never liked me saying that when doing roofing though :/ ahaha

 

[Tude]

Very cool! Went and looked on craigslist and saw sold And then I come back here and see you got it!

 

[dprogram]

Sweet! Document your entire build!

 

[Whereamiwhatdoido]

Nice purchase Matt, did you go to pick it up yet?

Sure we'd like to see some first-hand pictures of this

 

[Bryan Swift]

Very cool indeed, looking forward to future updates..

 

[scntfc]

Updates?

 

[RoadFlower33]

Anything ever come of this?