hey everyone, me and my dad recently got a preject truck, if you can call it that. haha. its a 1946? ford BUS! we saw it and had to get it, actually we traded a 56 ford fairlane if y'all know what that is off the top of your head. i just wanted to know if anyone knew where to get parts for the 1 tons from the window foreward, so basically the hood, fenders, lights, and the vertical grille bars. other than that stuff i know that i'm gonna be on my own.
thanks!
josh

 

Hi Josh, welcome to the board. When you get the bus going they will certainly remember you after the parade. Looks like a fun project, with a lot of body and a lot of paint to buy. Sorry can't help with the the parts needed, but glad to have you aboard.
Mike

 

What name brand of bus is that? I know it is based off of a ford but am wondering if it is a Wayne or Thomas or something like that.

 

For the sheet metal, stuff from a 1/2 ton will work (hood, lights, grill, front nose) Fenders need to come from a 3/4 ton on up due to the wheel openings being bigger. Anything from 42 to 47 will work. As for locating the stuff, check Ebay, Mac's, Dennis Carpenter.

 

The grill bars are probably still available at Bob Drake. Do a google for Bob Drake Ford parts.

 

Hey and Welcome to a select few of us crazies that own a bus. Like others have said here the main difference in the bodywork are the fenders the 1.5 ton have 35 inch openings vs 30 from the 1/2 tons. The chassis parts are not being made from anyone that I can find. Mac's is your best bet. I do know of a few guys that have some 42 - 47 parts, also you might want to check out this site Old Bus > Vintage Transit VW Microbus School Buses For Sale Parts It's where all of us bus nuts hang out as well. What parts are you looking for? It looks like that it is in good shape.

Again Welcome

 

db- actually, i've been trying to find that out, the guy i got it from didnt know and i dont know where it would say, so if you know anyone that could tell me or how i could find out it would be much appreciated.
chaos- luckily i think my fenders are at least decent enough to try and salvage so thats lucky, the hood i want to replace and i found a guy with the f-1 hoods and he's supposedly measuring and gonna get back to me eventually so hopefully that works out because its got cracks in the sheetmetal.
46y- THANK YOU these have been the hardest for me to find and they do have the full set, little pricey but i can save up.

i've actually thought about buying a whole new f3 that works and just replacing the front and using the chassis that works, but the cab setup is different, i.e. the place where the door would be is basically cut down the middle if that makes sense.

i'm also a member of skoolie.net and for the chassis someone gave me the information on how to use the whole undercarrige and engine with that of a newer f350 or so, i'm gonna post a quote or what he said and can anyone tell me what they think and/or any additional info along the lines of how to and such?

from paul lossi at skoolie.net-
"depending on your skills and abilities you might want to consider puting that body on a newer chassiscomplete with modern driveline, suspension, brakes and steering. I'm thinking something like a ford f450 that has been rolled over, just swap the body and have a super cool bus with modern everything that is easy to get parts and service for."
and
"measure the wheelbase of the bus, front tires straight ahead, measure from the center of the rear wheels to the center of the front wheels on both sides, the average distance in inches is your wheelbase, measure the frame width, outside to outside, measure the front and rear frame overhang, from the center of the wheels to the end of the frame. draw a stick figure picture of the frame with the aboe dimensions, then visit your local truck dealers and have a sales person help you find a 1 1/2 or 2 ton chassis with matching dimensions for front overhang, width, wheelbase, rear overhang in that order. tire size and capaity can also help identify the weight class of the chassis requirements.

Tyically once you get into a chassis larger than 1 ton the frame rails are straight front to rear and all of the modern frames are the same width, front overhang or axle setback might create some challenges if they are to long to locate the bumper where it's visually correct, the wheelbase can be adjusted by moving the rear axle and suspension forward or back and haing the driveshaft modified, shorter is cheaper, the rear overhang can be cut off or added to with basic fab skills. once your sales person has helped you identify what you want/need it's time to get your insurance agent to point you in the direction of the vehicle salvage auctions and start looking for your desired chassis preferably a rollover that the body/cab is trashed and the frame/driveline are good. stay away from fire and water damaged units, some repairable frame damage would acceptable."

thanks all! and sorry for such a long post, just so much to say!