Awesome Project! 1940 International Superior Coach School Bus
Classic buses are an interesting segment of the collector car hobby. They require a ton of work and dedication to complete but make head-turning projects when they are done. This one is an International from 1940 and can be found here on craigslist with an asking price of $24,000. Located in Christmas Valley, Oregon, the ad says the bus spent its whole life in Cut Bank, Montana and it has a clean Montana title. The interior is a blank slate and is only limited by your imagination. Take a look at this awesome bus and thanks to Ikey H. for the tip on this one.
The driver’s seat obviously needs to be addressed. It appears that all the mechanical pieces are in place including the passenger door controls. The gauges are a really clean design that is almost Art Deco style and the odometer reads 93,022 original miles. The seller says all of the glass needs to be replaced but both doors open, close, and latch.
There isn’t a full photo of the rear portion of the interior, but you can tell it looks pretty solid. There should have been five or six rows of seats, which probably means about 70 to 90 square feet of usable space. A bit of woodworking and upholstery and you could do just about anything you wanted in the interior.
The ad says the engine appears to be the original inline 6. The starter is missing but the oil looks clean and the engine turns over by hand, which is a great sign. The clutch works and the transmission shifts into all the gears.
While this isn’t a really “short” short bus, it is still pretty cool. It’s small enough to be sporty and drivable, but it is big enough to be converted into a camper, party bus, or tailgating machine. How would you use it if it was yours?
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Comments
Got to love “our” writers( being a member, I think I can say “our”) Yep, fix the seat, good to go,,,1st, the vehicle proper, is a D series IH, D3, maybe? Looks like a 213 OHV, and was the last year for the D series. 2nd, before I say anything else, except, you have GOT to be kidding, let’s see what BF nation has to say,,,
Oh, another thing, and I’ve said this before, when a vehicle sits for 50 years, the dirt in the oil settles to the bottom of the pan, and the oil will appear clean.
Wanna bet there’s a ton of sludge in the bottom of the pan? I’d drop it and muck it out if I had any intentions of starting the engine.
That looks like a Blue Diamond engine in there. This would be a rare unit as the Blue Diamond wasn’t really official until 1941, although there were some in ’40 models. 250, 260 and 270 CID were the norm before it morphed into the Black Diamond 282/308. You can always recognize them by the extra long distributor shaft and the distributor itself sitting above the valve cover. Actually Binder made an earlier version of this back into the late 20s from 227 CID up to around 280. It was similar and the Blue/Black Diamond evolved from it. Of course if you want to get really confused there was another version of the Black Diamond that cam out in the later 50s in 220 thru 264 CID…
Actually I’m thinking D-35 or even a 45. D-30 only had the flathead six, probably an HD of 233 CID. The HD begat the Green Diamond of 1941 which held the same displacement(s). The engines look similar except for the Green Diamond having very sharp corners on the cylinder head. And of course they were a deep green color, kind of a cross between John Deere and Oliver…
Very cool bus, but a very optimistic price…….
Optimistic wasn’t the word I thought of, but very classy of you to say.
The original engine would have been the Green Diamond flat head 6.
Ihc were using OHV engines in 1940,also diesels in the big stuff!
Nope. The Blue Diamond OHV didn’t appear until 1941, and their own diesels didn’t appear (in trucks) until the early ’60’s. All the big trucks had the huge displacement Hall -Scott, and later their own 648″ FEB and Red Diamonds. I suppose it’s possible that the bus is a ’41 sold in ’40.
What would you use this for? I know some young guys years ago who used an old school bus as a bar hoping machine after softball games they played in. The merry band of mischief makers was called The Rumpled Foreskins! The side of the bus said that very thing!
I’m thinking one too many zeros in that price.
I just looked at the listing and it’s now $12.5K. getting closer
Try 1250!! This thing is a total teardown and everything needs to be done including a newer drive train that has more power and is mor equal efficient.
I agree I’m interested at $2400
At least the seller is actually making an effort to try to get his price (never going to happen) with the extra long description and a large amount of decent pictures. He’s even willing (for free!) to transport it to the port of Oakland for international shipping. So all you people outside the US complaining about not being able to buy beat up commercial vehicles in the US, then here’s your chance.
Agree with the others, $2400 makes sense. Also, for his asking, he should at least try to get it running and fix the brakes.
Lovely looking old bus. I can imagine this being restored into a retro school bus. All it would need is a modern turbo diesel engine. I think $10,000 would be a good asking price. That would give you enough money leftover to do with it whatever you want to do with it.
$12,500 in the listing??
24k, is a LOT of money! What is it, solid gold or sumpin? That’s a terrific down payment on a NEW Motor Home with all the creature comforts cave man & woman could ask for! Even Phlathead Phylis knows dat un!!! While we are sitting poolside enjoying cool drinks with tiny umbrellas at the private resort, some guy will be laying on a creeper getting gunk in his eyes. Poor Phella. Don’t be phooled by the incredible COSTS of this kind of BOTTOMLESS money hole!!!
Nice project to have if you’ve got the room to work on it and store it afterward. Cutbank, MT would’ve given it a bit of a charmed life as a lot of winters are bare and mild. Montana never used much salt on the roads, maybe a bit on bridge decks. Not many rust-outs in Big Sky Country…
A little Elbow Grease a parts,Windshield Windows and Paint, and one has a great little Motorhome