| 1959 GMC 4104 |
| 1959 GMC 4104 PD4133 I am making some major changes in my life and my project bus is on the chopping block. I purchased this bus as a seated tour bus some years ago and have gutted out the interior accept the original drivers seat and dash of course. the rest of the interior is ready for conversion. All original windows but needs new drivers tip out window (all cracked) and the rear window was previously removed and a replacement panel was installed. Custom stainless dual exhaust and rebuilt in late 70's original engine. Clutch and trans have worked excellent and engine starts without much fuss and very little initial smoke during warmup. Runs strong. Complete front end rehab including the original power assist steering (works great), new bearings, brakes incl shoes, drums, lugs and nuts, cans, & hoses, new oil type hub caps, tie rod ends rebuilt/replaced as needed, front mounted gasoline tank removed, all areas up under the front were sandblasted, scraped, cleaned, and painted, newer shocks, four new air bags. Front suspension and brakes all renewed and working/looking good. Front alcoa rims were blasted and primed/painted hammer finish dark grey, still need to do front bumper to match. Recommend new tires before extended travel. Rear suspension and brakes were next on the list to do and again recommend new tires for the rear. I have new lugs and nuts for the rear. Tires good enough to move around and maybe get down the road a fair piece, but still recommend replacement. The rear engine hatch frame is bad and still not sure the best way to remedy, needs new lights as well. the originals I have, but someone changed the rear lights at some time and they need attention/ replacement. rear bumper was painted hammer finish dark grey. (was looking for old look, not glitz and chrome) Rear outer wheels are alcoa as well and not yet painted. Top corner marker lights were removed (still have) and was going to patch the holes. has the original front badge. (non greyhound) Was working on eliminating the old and unused wiring and electrical stuff not needed and rewiring as needed (imo), needs charging system checked out. had 4 new batteries and cables until someone "found" them. (need to have better way to lock these bays !!!) have spare starter and other misc bus stuff. have spare tire/wheel. I have ALL the manuals and much other materials and literature. I looked for years before buying this bus, it was the best of the near original maintained condition 4104's I found. Because of my knowledge regarding restoration of classic automobiles and vehicles I knew what was the best condition for me to start with, and this one fit the bill. It has a strong engine and drove out great, mechanically it had no serious issues, the body corrosion was minimal as 4104's went, the bay doors weren't all dented and messed up, the glass was all there (but now the driver pivot glass is bad), the bumpers weren't all dented up or tweaked out of shape, the steel air ride chambers were solid, So what I found in this one was that it was a very good used but maintained tour bus, not something that was worn out, sitting rotting somewhere, or something that someone else tried to own and run without knowing the proper maintenance for it. This was the best shell I could find at the time for the money. I couldn't justify the cost of trying to mechanically restore a 500 dollar bus, I needed the best I could find worthy of restoration and improvement over original. There were a few already restored buses out there for huge money, but I wanted to go through everything myself anyway to assure the best mechanical condition I could expect, a working knowledge of all systems and components, and I detest reworking something someone else already 'fixed', screwed up, or neglected. This bus had been maintained up until it was retired from commercial use..... and I got it. Sorry for the long winded version here, but this is not just some old bus shell, this is a 'good' one. Should this be the type of bus you want to start with, and of the mechanical condition you can further improve/maintain, let me know. Anyone interested please let me know any additional pictures you would like to see, ask any questions. Great bus to start with as a conversion project or what ever your plans for a bus might be. This one is a solid unit to begin with. Thanks again for the interest, take care, willy |