jay from calif who was looking for
transportation for ?tourists in and around ?
santa clara (i can’t remember exactly)
should look into the buses used at glacier
national park in montana. they are
nostalgic and hold plenty of people and are
open roofed and are used to going up and
down mountain roads. they have been used at
glacier park for maybe 80 years i believe.
david quinn, albany, ny
While an old tour bus may give you a brief moment of nostalgia for the first hour, I think in the long run, the noise, maintenance hassles, and lack of eco-friendliness will wane on you and your customers (not to mention your concern for safety, handicap accessible, etc.). Now, I like the idea of an electric vehicle which seems to harmonize quite well for your tours. Therefore, take a look at E-Bus at http://www.ebus.com/ebus.htm . I see that they have an electric Trolley which may fit your needs. Who knows, they might even be able to tweak it a bit make it look “older”.
I can add to my humor:
#1 Insure the tour guide is named “Larry”. Then as we take the tour tour, Larry tells us jokes. The components of the tour would be Hills-Larry-us.
#2 It will be important for Larry to know the terrain well. He should be a knoll-it-all.
Ed
Wired magazine featured a electric powered vintage VW bus complete with surfboard solar panels in the febuary 2007 issue:
" . . .Volkswagen of America?s Electronics Research Lab in Palo Alto wanted an unassuming vehicle to house some of its undercover tech, it settled on a roomy, 21-window Deluxe Microbus from 1964."
They’re rare, and the one in this link is long sold, but you might try to track down one of the stretched International Harvester Travelalls. They weren’t convertibles, but if you cut out the center of the roof and put in some sort of retractable soft top you could still have them be open air, plus each row of seats has windows that can roll down. (Each row of seats has its own doors)
Is there anything cooler than an International Harvester truck? (As cool, maybe, but cooler?)
Oh yeah, and if you do the Air-cooled VW or wasserboxer upgrade, the current swap of choice is a Subaru WRX or STI engine.
HERE’S your magic bus, (if you add another 2 or 3 rows of seats):
A stretched 1977 Checker cab. Looks like it needs a lot of work, but hell yes!
'79 HJ and its already in CA. buy this you’ll be happy.
Go for something like a Miss Marple bus that we saw in the 1980’s on PBS when it starred Joan Hickson. If you can’t get one of those get one like this that we saw at the Smithsonian recently. Apparently in India, Pakistan, and Afganistan they take customising to a fine art as demonstrated in this picture.
Now to be really green, run it on Waste Vegetable Oil and crow about it. There is a huge opportunity for you by doing so. As you take these aging yuppies about (I am one of them) they will be overwhelmed by the oder of french fries and no matter how we try to forget, buy our way out of, or hide our roots by the time we’ve been to our third winery we’ll need a grease fix. Of course, you’ll have this arranged with the owners of local establishments where you’ll not only get free fuel but a cut of the revenue.
Happy Tours to You,
Pete Faber
Williamsburg, VA
Car Talk Listener since Susan Stamburg days
OK, It’s not exactly what you have been describing, but can be modified to suit! TON’S of CHARM!!! email me @ srqradtkes@msn if interested.
a rickshaw type vehicle would be good, with all participants being able to pedal. This would aleviate the loginess that comes from too much wine and cheese.
Let the OP judge that. If it were me, this would be the Magic Bus.
Jay, this is a ‘monster’ version of exactly what I was talking about re: Hawaiian Sampan Bus.
The look is almost exactly right, and with a modern drivetrain it could do the job just fine, with plenty of pizazz.
If you’re going to stretch something, how about starting with a 60’s Impala Convertible. It starts with long lines from front to back – stretch it and it will be PHENOMENAL! I’d even sign up for a tour just to see it!
Larry
What Jay needs is a Power Wagon School Bus. A specialty shop could cut a rag top into it, similar to that in an old VW van. See attached picture.
Another example of what can be done:
Credit to Steven Miller at
Since they are no longer being used on the streets of London… A Vintage Double Decker Bus would be supreme.
I was listening to the show today and when you were talking about the perfect car/bus I couldn’t help but think of an old Checker cab. These cars came in a sedan and a wagon but the really cool thing about them was that even though they looked like a 55/56 Chevy they were stretched in all the right places to give them lots of room and they are a truck from the frame down so they can handle the weight and give you a safe vehicle even after you stretched it. With all of the Checkers that have been put in service over the years I would think they could be purchased cheap and used body panels could be found to to stretch one out.
I hope this helps and good luck.
Steve
I have a bus that would be great for the winery tour, it is
basically a convertible bus that seats 11 passengers in the
back. It was made by Chance MFG in Wichita Kansas in 1977,
with a Jeep chassis. It is available for sale.
Picture of the above convertible bus