Here are some close ups of the trim and rubber. To remove the trim, you have to carefully slide a thin putty knife in to pop the cover off. It bends really easily! Anybody recognize this stuff? It had to be used somewhere else.
Also have a rotted left rear quarter window frame. I can fix it if I have to.
Chuck

 

Chuck, would the rubber that goes under the hood and between the cab and runningboards of the 53-56 trucks be wide enough? Could you get it in longer lengths from somewhere before it is cut to size for retail?

 

The rubber on the door is really thick and stiff. It's hard to tell from the picture, but the outer edge is a large raised bead. They are opposite on each door, so one bead fits inside the other when the doors are closed. They actually act as the door stops.
Chuck

 

Maybe I'm being Captain Obvious here, but have you ruled out bus parts suppliers? Would seem rubber parts might be some that could have been used across several eras. Stu

Wayne School Bus Parts

 

That was the first thing I tried. One of the places I called (which might be the one in your link) is now run by the son of the guy who actually helped Wayne re-design the side windows. He knew exactly what I was looking for, but had nothing, and doesn't know of any NOS parts anywhere.
Chuck

 

Yeah, I knew that was too easy! Stu

 

Do you what years Wayne used these parts? There is an old bus in a local junkyard here. It is a GMC but that wouldn't matter, would it?

 

Chuck,no luck on the parts,the trim,window channels are different.
The door rubber is non salvageable in the gmc and my dodge doors were replaced with a regular door.
I think my heater is complete so i can take more detailed pics to see if u need anything from it.

 

It's looking like Wayne made lots of changes as the years went by. I know for sure that anything pre 1952 is exactly like mine, no matter what make the chassis it's on. I have a Wayne brochure from 1952 that advertises the newly redesigned heater, which looks nothing like the earlier one. I don't know for sure when they changed the design of the trim strips, or the door rubbers. By the mid fifties, the entire body was slightly different. The rear end cap was a completely different stamping.
What year do you think the GMC is?
Chuck

 

This confirms my previous observations. By the mid fifties, Wayne completely redesigned the bodies. Nothing on this looks remotely similar to mine.
Thanks for looking.
Chuck

 

I think the GMC bus is like a 55-57. And I am not sure if it is a Wayne or a Blue Bird or a Thomas. The bus sits near the road. I will try to drive by in the next couple of days.

 

This may be a wild shot in the dark but here goes. Back in the early seventies I drove a mid 50's Wayne school bus after blowing my knee out again and loosing my football free ride. I was back there a few years ago and stopped by to see my old boss who was retiring that year and there was old No8 the bus I drove still in service! I talked to the guys in the garage and they said it was about the end of the line for it as parts were hard to get. They had a lot of some parts but a few critical parts were gone so next time one of those parts broke or wore out that was it. You may check with some country school districts (they seem to keep them around longer) to see if they still have old parts in a store room they are no longer in need of. I'll try to call the one I worked for and see if they have any. If they do I'll PM you.

 

OK so now I need to change the title to "Arizona Adventure"! Look what I just found. It has everything I need, except the heater. The problem is, the owner might not be willing to pull all the parts I need, and ship them. He want's to go look it over again, before he decides if he will help me. He won't get to it until the end of next week. So, I wonder if anybody here lives near Yuma, AZ?
Chuck