commando1
Old Man with a Hat
Ohgawdtheyruinedit
Scenicruisin'..?
- Thread starter amazinblue82
- Start date
Summer 2022 for me? Gotta set a goal 
Seven years ago when #670 was for sale. about 10 minutes total among six vids.
Scenicruiser #670 For Sale
Scenicruiser #670 For Sale
my interest concluded when i bought #473. if seller hasnt readvertised it, perhaps it sold. i can ask seller IF he wants to provide you with his contact information and if i get an answer i will advise you here via PM
To be honest I'm in no position to buy the bus yet, so I'd rather not be bothering/frustrating the seller - It'll be a year at the very least.
But that bus is my absolute favourite, and meets my somewhat unique requirements better than much else. Its been my laptop's background since the eBay auction. I actually found this thread by doing a reverse image search in an effort to find more information about that bus.
They seem to be super rare so I was hoping to get an idea of what sort of condition it was in, beyond the sellers own description. On the assumption its already sold, is there any more information you could offer on its state. I got the impression you were perhaps holding back some details - maybe from an inspection etc. PM me if you feel more comfortable.
I'm just a bit stuck because there has only been two for sale in the last year and a half. Whilst i know what they were advertised as and priced as that's only part of the picture.
To be clear its the fact that it's a tandem axel, crown intercity / highway coach with the bigger luggage bays and raised but still shaped roof with the 8v71. Even the tandem skoolies are rare but not impossible, I need the bays and would rather a rear pusher than a pancake 6. This config seems to be a bit of unicorn - esp if you discount the boxy mobile libraries etc - It feels harder to get hold of than a ScenicCruiser - I'm wondering if that's because the ScenicCruiser have such a following its always worth saving, not some much a weird old crown thats not even a skoolie.
Hope that makes some kind of sense in terms of motivations for wanting the details...
But that bus is my absolute favourite, and meets my somewhat unique requirements better than much else. Its been my laptop's background since the eBay auction. I actually found this thread by doing a reverse image search in an effort to find more information about that bus.
They seem to be super rare so I was hoping to get an idea of what sort of condition it was in, beyond the sellers own description. On the assumption its already sold, is there any more information you could offer on its state. I got the impression you were perhaps holding back some details - maybe from an inspection etc. PM me if you feel more comfortable.
I'm just a bit stuck because there has only been two for sale in the last year and a half. Whilst i know what they were advertised as and priced as that's only part of the picture.
To be clear its the fact that it's a tandem axel, crown intercity / highway coach with the bigger luggage bays and raised but still shaped roof with the 8v71. Even the tandem skoolies are rare but not impossible, I need the bays and would rather a rear pusher than a pancake 6. This config seems to be a bit of unicorn - esp if you discount the boxy mobile libraries etc - It feels harder to get hold of than a ScenicCruiser - I'm wondering if that's because the ScenicCruiser have such a following its always worth saving, not some much a weird old crown thats not even a skoolie.
Hope that makes some kind of sense in terms of motivations for wanting the details...
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
I am constantly amazed at what you guys out there know about busses.
I've got to ask... because I too am prone to doing stupid stuff... are you wanting to put the bus on a boat, or come here to build/use it? The bus you describe may have fewer built than the Scenics remaining. They really remained a west coast thing and few Crowns made it east ever.
thanks for your reply. I understand your question.
I wanted that Crown. Yes, I had it inspected via an arrangement with a distinguished member here.
Yes, there were issues PARTICULAR to my acquisition situation (distance from me IF I could not make it roadworthy, fixable conditions that would confirm/refute my concerns but seller opted not to do address, price in relation to BOTH those things, storage in my northeast US facility snowed under, etc)).
It was nevertheless, a NICE, "rare" coach. Tandem axled and repowered with 8v92. Well-built (some argue OVER built) from the factory .. and as cantflip says they just didnt make it EAST in the USA where i've lived all my life so i never heard of 'em (except for the firetrucks Crown built).
I would be still happy to write you a PM with what I found IF you want me to. It is not my goal to diss the seller (he was nice and helpful and responsive), or the coach. AGain, deal parameters, for my situation, were not satisfactorily resolved before another member here brought Scenic #473 to my attention.
70bigblockdodge
Old Man with a Hat
Wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round, 'round and 'round.
He wouldn't understand
70bigblockdodge
Old Man with a Hat
But he is still amazed.
I've tried to keep my introduction and background information of my questions to minimum, I was conscious of springing up out of nowhere and hi-jacking thread with my first post. However its seem like I'm raising more questions than I'm answering with each post. So... story time...
I currently live in the UK, but I'm emigrating to Canada (Edmonton/Calgary) in a matter of months. I'd be living in Canada by the time I actually got the bus. I don't intent to move-into the bus immediately - or really ever permanently
My moving to Canada is driven by a desire for a more "winter-focused" life style. I already have a sled dog race team - 6 Alaskan malamutes. The long term aim of the bus is to act as a mobile cabin/kennel for winter "expeditions" - weekends away at first (park up trek out by dog sled, returning to the bus overnight) but gradually expanding the time away using the bus as a base. I appreciate this sounds a bit hippy, tiny-home, "hashtag: vanlife", that is all the rage lately but it really isn't. I've a realistic plan, I believe moderate expectations and a pretty detailed plan of attack.
Goal: I'm lucky enough that my job allows me to work 8 months of the year and assuming no rent/mortgage or huge bills not need to work the remaining 4 months. I intend to target them four months to be in the winter - the eventual plan would is to be able to "disappear dog-sledding" for a significant portion of that. That's the pie in the sky / long term aim, I think three to four years before I'm genuinely in that position.
Plan: In the first year I want to get a bus that is mechanically sound. Rather than winter living on-board, I intend to get a seasonal job as a kennel hand/manager for commercial/tourist dog sled tour operator, or race team (often the same thing). The wages they offer are exceptionally low, but the gig tends to come with accommodation and board. I've decent experience here; there are number of gigs out there - if you organise early. Given the nature of these businesses they tend to be sited in areas where parking isn't exactly at a premium. I'd make sure as part of the "package" I get to park the bus on site - maybe acting as a kennel for my own dogs. There is no real need for the bus to be human liveable during this period. I just want it be able to travel to and from the location safely, and be water tight enough to not be damaged by the snow. I'd hopefully be able to get a few jobs picked off over the course of the season but nothing major - kennel work is long, hard days and most spare time would be spend running my dogs. My budget for the first year is approx $30k usd including purchasing the bus, this money is already put to one side.
Over the course of the next summer whilst working/living in the city I'd look to use hobby time to get the exterior presentable, cabin insulated, heated (wood stove) and some form of interior. Depending on how far I get I'll make a decision about whether to take another season as a kennel hand with accommodation, or striking out on my own - staying in the bus. Maybe even kennel hand but using my bus as the on site accommodation. This probably very much depends on what the bus was like when I got. I'd be happy enough if the interior was more what you expect in a basic hunting cabin.
Its over the third summer I'd hope to be making the interior that I wanted. By by this stage Id be wanting it to be developing into something that is nice, and full of character. Still fairly rustic with a cabin feel to it but a more finished product - more akin to holiday lodge than a hunting cabin. Proper bathroom, water tanks, decoration etc. This should put me in the position outlined at the start, with the ability to be in the bus for extended periods. I don't want to feel like the dirty old guy that "lives in a bus down by the river".
I've been mulling over which is the bus for me for a while, key thoughts are
* For the dogs I need the luggage bays offered by intercity coaches as I'll be using these as kennel boxes. The bays will need to be modified slightly but size wise they're perfect. This discounts transits and skoolies, they either don't have luggage bays or the bays aren't tall enough for the dogs to stand and move about.
* Tandem axle, given my usage the bus is going to spend a lot of time in snowy conditions. To that end the Crowns offers a proper double driven axle, that could well be a crucial difference over a tag axle setup. Also the Crown's drive train and general design being truck derived rather a bus type units increases my chances of finding a mechanic that can actually help.
* Style-wise I prefer the the older buses Whilst I love the looks of a PD3751 both inside and out, they don't offer the space I need for the dogs or want for me
* I want 40ft, it seems like the right balance of size and can still sneak into most RV parks.
* I really like the look of the Crown skoolies and they did make tandem skoolie but again the "kennel space" just isn't there. Their ground clearance would have been an advantage too.
* I did considered the ScenicCrusier myself, I figured I could use the lower deck as kennel/paddock area. But you'd only need the team to arrived wet and mucky a few times before the whole bus smells like a dog bed. Also if you discount the lower deck the remaining space isn't that big. That coupled with their rarity and mechanical complexity, even with the new the engines, I kinda discounted them for me. Can't help but keep looking at the for sale ads, and the one bought on this thread is a fascinating project.
So the two main contenders in addition to the Crown - on the assumption that the crown was some kind of unicorn that never came up for sale - are S an MCI MC7 and a early Prevost H3-40/H3-41.
The MC7 offers the design elements I'm after, later MCIs got too boxy. Obviously I'd love a MC6 but these seem about as rare as a Crown intercity, far more desirable and have design flaws that the MC7 seems to have avoided. I think the Crown is far nicer from the rear, but the MCI looks better at the front - particularly in the greyhound red, white, blue & silver. They both run the same engine from factory, even if the particular Crown above has the been re-powered. The Crown still has the double axel - which is a big seller for me. The Crowns seem more likely to still have a manual transmission which i prefer - especially in the snow - the majority of MC7 seem to now have autos. The Crown - running truck transmission - appears to have a greater range of compatible transmission as future upgrade options, diffs/final drive the same. There seem to more MC7s about, been a number for sale this last year. Mostly they're up around $50k / $60k even for an older conversion - which i'm pretty sure I'd end up ripping out fairly quickly anyway - but there have been a few very usable one around $25k. There was recently a reasonably price "MC7 Combo" meaning both rear axles were twin wheels, which seemed perfect first but it turns out the rearmost axle isnt driven, its just a double wheeled tag axle which wont help me get up a snowy hill. Bizarrely - to me at least - when the Crowns do come up every few years they command far less, esp the intercitys. The skoolie still seem to have a following, but they stay up for sale for ages all the same.
The Prevost I consider the "modern" option, at least as modern as I'd like to go. I want an earlier 90s one where they still had the 8v92. They are 102inch wide which i bet actually makes a big difference over a 96inch. (MC6 is 102" as well) But i can't help feeling it would always look like a toned down / older version of the awful $1m gin-palaces marathon are churning out. I hate their gaudy "look at me" awfulness. I just cant really see a h3-40 pulling off the style of interior I want without it looking contrived. That said, prices for a seated coach are decent ($15-$25k) and I'm ripping it all out anyway for canadian levels of insulation. They also have lovely tall windows, especially at the front of the bus. There was recently a maroon and silver one for sale for $10k I thought it looked great, even if it lack the MC7 or Crown's charm.
So that's where I am and what my thoughts and motivations are...
I see about 5 MC7s for sale every year. I'm on a few of the groups and quite often get someone go along and give honest feedback on what sort of shape the bus is in and whether the prices is about right. You can usually get a feel for how likely it would be drive the sort of distance I need to get it home. I've never seen anything like for a Crown intercity, for this particular Crown it's clear that its no position to make that kinda trip immediately. But round figures I think you'd be looking something like $7k-$10k to transport it the 1800mls. That makes it $28k but you still have a $18k bus that needs tires and bunch of work, not great maths. But if you could maybe get the asking price down, spend $4k on tires and $4k work before you set off, and drive it back... you've got a bus with tires and hopefully a dent in the mechanical work needed and that might be workable.
@amazinblue82 as you've probably already guessed I would really appreciate that PM. I totally understand why you'd want to keep it to a PM, and I too have no interest in bashing the seller. nor the bus - I just need to have a really decent grasp of what is/was on offer. As much as I like it there is no way this particularly bus is going to work with my timescales. But I'd really like to be able to use it as a market marker against what I already know about the MC7s. For me your insight is almost perfect, you obviously seriously considered the bus but having now bought the 4501 don't "have a dog in the fight".
I currently live in the UK, but I'm emigrating to Canada (Edmonton/Calgary) in a matter of months. I'd be living in Canada by the time I actually got the bus. I don't intent to move-into the bus immediately - or really ever permanently
My moving to Canada is driven by a desire for a more "winter-focused" life style. I already have a sled dog race team - 6 Alaskan malamutes. The long term aim of the bus is to act as a mobile cabin/kennel for winter "expeditions" - weekends away at first (park up trek out by dog sled, returning to the bus overnight) but gradually expanding the time away using the bus as a base. I appreciate this sounds a bit hippy, tiny-home, "hashtag: vanlife", that is all the rage lately but it really isn't. I've a realistic plan, I believe moderate expectations and a pretty detailed plan of attack.
Goal: I'm lucky enough that my job allows me to work 8 months of the year and assuming no rent/mortgage or huge bills not need to work the remaining 4 months. I intend to target them four months to be in the winter - the eventual plan would is to be able to "disappear dog-sledding" for a significant portion of that. That's the pie in the sky / long term aim, I think three to four years before I'm genuinely in that position.
Plan: In the first year I want to get a bus that is mechanically sound. Rather than winter living on-board, I intend to get a seasonal job as a kennel hand/manager for commercial/tourist dog sled tour operator, or race team (often the same thing). The wages they offer are exceptionally low, but the gig tends to come with accommodation and board. I've decent experience here; there are number of gigs out there - if you organise early. Given the nature of these businesses they tend to be sited in areas where parking isn't exactly at a premium. I'd make sure as part of the "package" I get to park the bus on site - maybe acting as a kennel for my own dogs. There is no real need for the bus to be human liveable during this period. I just want it be able to travel to and from the location safely, and be water tight enough to not be damaged by the snow. I'd hopefully be able to get a few jobs picked off over the course of the season but nothing major - kennel work is long, hard days and most spare time would be spend running my dogs. My budget for the first year is approx $30k usd including purchasing the bus, this money is already put to one side.
Over the course of the next summer whilst working/living in the city I'd look to use hobby time to get the exterior presentable, cabin insulated, heated (wood stove) and some form of interior. Depending on how far I get I'll make a decision about whether to take another season as a kennel hand with accommodation, or striking out on my own - staying in the bus. Maybe even kennel hand but using my bus as the on site accommodation. This probably very much depends on what the bus was like when I got. I'd be happy enough if the interior was more what you expect in a basic hunting cabin.
Its over the third summer I'd hope to be making the interior that I wanted. By by this stage Id be wanting it to be developing into something that is nice, and full of character. Still fairly rustic with a cabin feel to it but a more finished product - more akin to holiday lodge than a hunting cabin. Proper bathroom, water tanks, decoration etc. This should put me in the position outlined at the start, with the ability to be in the bus for extended periods. I don't want to feel like the dirty old guy that "lives in a bus down by the river".
I've been mulling over which is the bus for me for a while, key thoughts are
* For the dogs I need the luggage bays offered by intercity coaches as I'll be using these as kennel boxes. The bays will need to be modified slightly but size wise they're perfect. This discounts transits and skoolies, they either don't have luggage bays or the bays aren't tall enough for the dogs to stand and move about.
* Tandem axle, given my usage the bus is going to spend a lot of time in snowy conditions. To that end the Crowns offers a proper double driven axle, that could well be a crucial difference over a tag axle setup. Also the Crown's drive train and general design being truck derived rather a bus type units increases my chances of finding a mechanic that can actually help.
* Style-wise I prefer the the older buses Whilst I love the looks of a PD3751 both inside and out, they don't offer the space I need for the dogs or want for me
* I want 40ft, it seems like the right balance of size and can still sneak into most RV parks.
* I really like the look of the Crown skoolies and they did make tandem skoolie but again the "kennel space" just isn't there. Their ground clearance would have been an advantage too.
* I did considered the ScenicCrusier myself, I figured I could use the lower deck as kennel/paddock area. But you'd only need the team to arrived wet and mucky a few times before the whole bus smells like a dog bed. Also if you discount the lower deck the remaining space isn't that big. That coupled with their rarity and mechanical complexity, even with the new the engines, I kinda discounted them for me. Can't help but keep looking at the for sale ads, and the one bought on this thread is a fascinating project.
So the two main contenders in addition to the Crown - on the assumption that the crown was some kind of unicorn that never came up for sale - are S an MCI MC7 and a early Prevost H3-40/H3-41.
The MC7 offers the design elements I'm after, later MCIs got too boxy. Obviously I'd love a MC6 but these seem about as rare as a Crown intercity, far more desirable and have design flaws that the MC7 seems to have avoided. I think the Crown is far nicer from the rear, but the MCI looks better at the front - particularly in the greyhound red, white, blue & silver. They both run the same engine from factory, even if the particular Crown above has the been re-powered. The Crown still has the double axel - which is a big seller for me. The Crowns seem more likely to still have a manual transmission which i prefer - especially in the snow - the majority of MC7 seem to now have autos. The Crown - running truck transmission - appears to have a greater range of compatible transmission as future upgrade options, diffs/final drive the same. There seem to more MC7s about, been a number for sale this last year. Mostly they're up around $50k / $60k even for an older conversion - which i'm pretty sure I'd end up ripping out fairly quickly anyway - but there have been a few very usable one around $25k. There was recently a reasonably price "MC7 Combo" meaning both rear axles were twin wheels, which seemed perfect first but it turns out the rearmost axle isnt driven, its just a double wheeled tag axle which wont help me get up a snowy hill. Bizarrely - to me at least - when the Crowns do come up every few years they command far less, esp the intercitys. The skoolie still seem to have a following, but they stay up for sale for ages all the same.
The Prevost I consider the "modern" option, at least as modern as I'd like to go. I want an earlier 90s one where they still had the 8v92. They are 102inch wide which i bet actually makes a big difference over a 96inch. (MC6 is 102" as well) But i can't help feeling it would always look like a toned down / older version of the awful $1m gin-palaces marathon are churning out. I hate their gaudy "look at me" awfulness. I just cant really see a h3-40 pulling off the style of interior I want without it looking contrived. That said, prices for a seated coach are decent ($15-$25k) and I'm ripping it all out anyway for canadian levels of insulation. They also have lovely tall windows, especially at the front of the bus. There was recently a maroon and silver one for sale for $10k I thought it looked great, even if it lack the MC7 or Crown's charm.
So that's where I am and what my thoughts and motivations are...
I see about 5 MC7s for sale every year. I'm on a few of the groups and quite often get someone go along and give honest feedback on what sort of shape the bus is in and whether the prices is about right. You can usually get a feel for how likely it would be drive the sort of distance I need to get it home. I've never seen anything like for a Crown intercity, for this particular Crown it's clear that its no position to make that kinda trip immediately. But round figures I think you'd be looking something like $7k-$10k to transport it the 1800mls. That makes it $28k but you still have a $18k bus that needs tires and bunch of work, not great maths. But if you could maybe get the asking price down, spend $4k on tires and $4k work before you set off, and drive it back... you've got a bus with tires and hopefully a dent in the mechanical work needed and that might be workable.
@amazinblue82 as you've probably already guessed I would really appreciate that PM. I totally understand why you'd want to keep it to a PM, and I too have no interest in bashing the seller. nor the bus - I just need to have a really decent grasp of what is/was on offer. As much as I like it there is no way this particularly bus is going to work with my timescales. But I'd really like to be able to use it as a market marker against what I already know about the MC7s. For me your insight is almost perfect, you obviously seriously considered the bus but having now bought the 4501 don't "have a dog in the fight".
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70bigblockdodge
Old Man with a Hat
Hi, welcome, you don't actually expect us to read all of that? Just let us take the time over the next few years to get to know you by short blurbs with just a wee bit more info each time. Thanks
LeBaron1973
Old Man with a Hat
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Interesting, seems to me there must be some suitable Canadian buses out there which meet your requirements rather than an American one from say, Arizona which will require a stripdown, Canadian insulation and new interior.
All the best with the move, I'd like to move there too if it's possible for a self funded retiree to do so.
All the best with the move, I'd like to move there too if it's possible for a self funded retiree to do so.
Remember, these busses were an expensive machine, and originally purchased to do a specific job (school bus, transit, highway...). The concerns of the original purchaser were about fitting the job and being long lasting and cheap enough to operate that a profit could be realized. Very few, if any, of a particular design were made as an RV from the factory, and if so they would have been high end luxury campers. I know of no Crowns or GMC Coach busses built that way, and only a couple of Flxibles... so the "Northern Build" idea is nice, but not how they were produced. Similar insulation and windows... non of it great for a sitting coach to stay warm or cool.
Thanks, I read it all... don't mind Dave, all the Dave's I know have a short attention span for stories
. You have a plan, nutty enough for me to say
, you 'll fit in around here well enough. We don't stay on topic very well anyhow.
azblackhemi
Old Man with a Hat
Ad is back on Craigslist. 1961 CROWN COACH BUS 40' Converter into Motor Home
chris. thanks. i will be in AZ late this month -- day trip and dependent on good meetings that run on time, but i hope to have some free time to run by an see this Crown (even though I am not a buyer any more).
yaya -- now that the bus is being marketed again, you should feel free to reach out directly to the seller. There may be changes in the actual physical condition of the vehicle that were NOT in place a month ago. Note however the ad still says "Runs Great!" -- I was UNable to determine that attribute.
I would be happy to compare notes with you privately should you decide to investigate further .. in order to be fair with the seller, and you, to come to you own mutual understanding without my interventions. Even if you rplans do not include an immediate purchase, this coach may still be arounnd when you are ready to buy.
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