Bedford aluminium bus

Cheers Paul, I'll ask the owner if he can send me a pic of engine.

Yeah, with a 2 stroke diesel and a GVM @9297 makes it hard to identify. Frame seems ok as far as I know, where would be the best place to look without pulling panels off? It is interstate and he wants 10k for it. I'm thinking bargain as it runs, everything inside just needs a tidy up, although I'm throwing coin away if its rusted and I cant see it, I'm in construction not body repair.

Hi,

under the windows, front and side, is the first place to start looking for rust. The channel running along the length of the Bus just above the wheel arches is strip for hiding a join in the panels around floor level, it is missing the rubber insert, but under there is another good spot to find where the water pools to start the cancer.

Under the bullet lights on the roof the rubber perishes and water gets in there and follows the frame down. The rack on the rear of the roof is another place for the water to have been getting in for years. The hinges on the top of the side bin doors probably leak and you may find the frame in the doors are rusted. The LHS bin door in the blue stripe that doesn't look like it is shut properly could be because the rust has swollen the door frame and it needs a good kick to close it.

I have a Motorhome/Bus here, also for sale if someone wants it, that has stainless steel sides(not 100% just bottom edge and a wide strip through the middle) but under the skin I am sure there is a rusty frame just waiting to be revealed, the bottom of the bins doors are swollen and the first step is pretty much gone. The aluminium rivets I used 30 years ago are now failing when I take it for a a roll up and down the drive. I also recognise the mould and mildew growing on that bus that hasn't been cleaned off properly, it hasn't always looked that pretty, and it has been out in the weather exposed for a long time.

And i wouldn't be too concerned about losing any historical significance, they were pretty common on school runs  in their day and it had its cherry popped when it first became a motorhome.

Terry

PS. I was trawling FB last night for a picture I was told about of a bus cut back to have a turntable fitted on the back. Anyone seen it and has a link?

Thanks for all the information, I'll know where to look for the cancer now, and can have good look. As everything inside works, only needs cleaning up, engine starts and if the cancer isn't too bad, I suppose it's worth the 10k my old mate is asking for it. Thanks again Gryphon and everyone who has contributed.

Hi,

have you looked into the requirements for getting the bus registered as a Motorhome in your state? 

It is not as easy as it used to be when bus conversions were really popular and although I wasn't using mine I kept it registered for a lot more years than I probably should have because I didn't want to have to go through process of getting a roadworthy if i wanted to start using it again. Things like seat mounts and restraints are a lot tougher and will probably require engineer certification and for other reasons I came across a approved engineer and he specialised in motorhome conversions for Vicroads so there must be a decent amount of work in the field now..

So do your homework on what you are getting and what will be required to get it on the road otherwise you may find you are buying a $10k garden ornament.

Terry

 

Thats some good advice Terry

A fella I worked with a few years back did a conversion on what would of been a fairly late model 3 axle coach, getting registered wasn't a drama
But getting it registered as a motor home was a challeng, in the end he gave up on the idea and cut his losses

A motor is a lot cheaper than a coach to register in Western Australia apparently

Paul

A lot of people say Bedford buses have an aluminium skin.   I'm not so sure. Take a magnet to check.

The rust under the rub rail previously mentioned and on the bottom window sills.

I can't get over how expensive old buses are.  I was lucky. Mine was a 9 meter Comair diesel with original seats. Cost $5k.  Haven't seen one as good and as cheap since I got it in 2008.

Flat screen is good.  Be prepared to spend a motza.  If you're not able to do any sort of mechanical work, walk away.   One test/question/investigation is to understand how to change the clutch.

In mine, the engine and gearbox has to come out. If someone was to do it, I reckon it's a $10-$20k job.  These days, it take me a week to get the motor/gearbox out. I'm slow but know the sequence.  So a fast workshop would still waste a lot of time hence the expense.

Looking at the gaps between the wheel and guard, the springs look ok.   But check to see if the wheels are vertical or have a bit of a lean.  Very good indicator of worn shackles and the like.  When I took mine for a roardworthy, I got a list 2 pages long.  Their comment was, it's a good bus but just worn out.

If it doesn't have power sterring, you'll be working hard. The fun can soon fade.    Plus the brakes, they fade too.  be prepared to do a full overhaul of the brake system. Esp stainless sleeving on everything.

Good thing is, Bedford bus parts (not body parts) are still available.  England, Cypress, India, here.   

If it has gas or electricity, you'll probably  have to have them recertified.

I took me 5+ years to get the bus registered. I worked on it every spare moment. And then another 2-3 years on the fit out.  It's a big job. Not trying to be pessimistic. So many bus motorhome projects fail. Which is a bit sad. Be prepared to invest a lot of time and money

But, on the flip side. There is someing special when you're parked beside a brand new $400k isuzu monster motor home and everyone who walks past admires the old girl and ignores the big white box next door.

Good luck.  Make sure your glasses are clean and not rose tinted.

One thing I have found is it is ALWAYS cheaper to buy someone else's work than restore something from scratch. I have deluded myself for 50 years on dozens of vehicles and normally buy a bargain vintage car for $5,000, spend 500 hours on it and $15,000 in parts/paint etc and end up with a beautiful $18,000 vehicle.

If you look at this website you will see numerous buses, many to very high standard, vastly better than the Bedford but still old enough to be on historic rego. Several are under actual expenditure price you could finish the Bedford for and save yourself a thousand hours of unpaid labour. What's more you could be away on the road next week not next decade with no engineering certification or registration dramas.

If you do not have the money for an outright purchase it is well worth looking at finance. After all if you are doing the work you will be paying for it at about the same monthly rate but not having the use of it. No doubt you will probably move it on before the end of the payment period and hopefully recoup your money to pay out the loan. You will have had the use of it for say, half the actual outlay whereas if you built it you have paid 100% before even getting to drive it.

www.caravancampingsales.com.au/items/mot...s-coach-subcategory/

As an example here is a Leyland of equal historic value to the Bedford but already converted to a registered motorhome.

 

And another example.

 

if a 1976 Bedford it’s a VAM or BLP
8 stud wheels original 466 engine 5 speed turner gbox
VAM have hydraulic brakes
BLP have full air wedge brakes
This is a superior body (Brisbane built) 

Gyphon
Bulls in Adelaide built one passengers in front section trailer was freight & post
went Adelaide to Alice on the old SouthRd