Literally fell asleep with this playing. Took me back to elementary school, riding home with the hot afternoon sun beating down on us. And many late night trips home from football games. Theres just something so satisfying about that transmission spooling up. There was a four lane 55mph road my bus had to turn onto from a stop and it had a slight grade uphill. My driver Peggy, this woman was a chain-smoking, church bingo playing, gear jamming school bus driver for about 20 years before she was my driver in the 90's. She'd get on that thing and gave it no mercy as it screamed through the gears til we hit 55. I'm sure she enjoyed getting on that it every afternoon as much as some of us kids did listening to it. She always got us full size snickers and crunch bars whenever she hit big at bingo. Great woman. Miss those days.
This definitely brings on the memories! In my first grade year (86/87), I rode bus 503.4448, a 1981 B-Bird with an International Harvester gas engine and the same Allison transmission. That sound is unmistakable
Please make more videos of this buses transmission. It really brings me back to my childhood when I heard those gears whine from 1st-2nd gear. I loooooooooooooove it.
I wish I had this bus.. I loved the sound of the engine... The bus I remember most was one with a lift... The backs of the chairs had to face the windows.. I wish I could ride one like this one more time.... I can feel the tears...
I always wanted one of these when i was riding on them and I still do even though I have no idea what i'd do with it. Like, I'm an old car collector and i have the space, i just don't jive withe the camper thing that too many people do. Idk, when the right one comes along, i'll know.
When I was in school from the mid 70's on up, our school district just North of Philadelphia (Abington) had gas powered I H Loadstars, Ford F600 and Bluebird All American fe busses, all were early 70's models that were gas powered most were automatics but a few IH and Ford's. My all time favorite's were the gas powered All American FE units that had dual exhaust, each pipe was about 4-5 od and loud, I always say in the back to hear that loud deep Tone 😁
I remember that sound so well being a student that rode the bus to school.....I was always the first picked up and the last dropped off because my childhood home was not far from the bus yard.....I remember asking my parents could we move for that reason!! LOL!!
Cool! I used to drive a couple of those 1981 IHC Blue Birds. 503.4309, 4311, 4625, 4643. They had nice quiet engines and you could really hear those Allisons. Thanks for watching!
lol yeah for a lot of us, this was the sound of our childhood. It's also a sound that's going away. There aren't many gasoline buses left, if any. And they sure don't make'em like this anymore. Thanks for watching!
I first rode on those buses when I moved to Texas when I was 9 years old back in March 2003. I never knew anyone or anywhere. They picked me up right in front of my apartment.
You're welcome. I found some of the old recordings that still sound good. I just need to get them together in a slide show thing. I wish I could've found that old recording of that 1978 International with the screaming 345 and allison AT 500... but I couldn't find it.
I wish they still Made the Blue Bird Busses with the GMC fronts! Right now our districts in the process of converting our remaining GmC fleet to International IC CE 300's... Luckly we have over 120 buses and only about 30 of them are the new diesel ones. Since Im low on the seniority list im bound to get another old bluebird this comming fall. Can't wait to hear that Allison tranny wind up
@htfkid2000 I JUST LOVE THE SOUND OF THOSE GM ENGINES TOO. GLAD THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO LOVE V8 TRUCK AND BUS GASOLINE ENGINES BECAUSE MOST PEOPLE TRASH THEM IN FAVOR OF THE DIESEL ONES. I REMEMBER WHEN I WAS A KID OUR 345 V8 INTERNATIONAL LOADSTAR BLOW THE LID OFF THE CATERPILLAR 3208 V8 DIESEL ONES.....
Yes, that's correct. They would have been numbered 503.4309 +/- through 503.4846 +/- But yes, they were labeled on the lower part of the Emergency Door.
@kyle51895 And mine too. I didn't ride a diesel bus until I was in High School. Mostly cuz our school district didn't have a lot of money. Our buses dated from 1967 to 1984's in the early 80's through 90's.
@kaiyoshi2243 Ours were quite old when I rode them, I was in kindergarten in 2000-2001 lol. But I know they were gassers. I moved away from there and rode brand new AmTran RE's after that.
I enjoy your videos. As a child, I remember listening intently to the sounds of the old gas buses while riding on them--it's good to know there are others that appreciate them. BTW do you know of any old 6-cyl gas buses on youtube? Those were before my time, but I'd like to see one if there are any of them left.
I think the whining sound may be the engine fan. Uhaul has GMC trucks from the late 90s with this sound and they have a different transmission then this bus has. I think the reason you hardly hear the whining sound with the manual transmission is because with the AT545 you accelerate continuously until you are up to speed as a manual you have to let off the accelerator when shifting gears. As well as clutch for each shift.
Also manual transmissions are built completely different than the Allison automatics. The transmission fluid going through the gears at high vacuums is what makes the whine.
If the whining is the transmission I wonder why I didn't hear it on International DT360s or T444Es? If a transmission whines that normally does Matter what engine it's coupled to. Like the Voith D864.3 whines regardless of whether or not it's a Cummins isc ISL or ISM and the same with the Detroit Series 50. Or maybe the AT545 whines only on gasoline engines.
Devin2277 wow was it regeared? what engine transmission is in it. i heard they top out at 50 without gearing change. looking to convert a bus to an rv.
Literally fell asleep with this playing. Took me back to elementary school, riding home with the hot afternoon sun beating down on us. And many late night trips home from football games. Theres just something so satisfying about that transmission spooling up. There was a four lane 55mph road my bus had to turn onto from a stop and it had a slight grade uphill. My driver Peggy, this woman was a chain-smoking, church bingo playing, gear jamming school bus driver for about 20 years before she was my driver in the 90's. She'd get on that thing and gave it no mercy as it screamed through the gears til we hit 55. I'm sure she enjoyed getting on that it every afternoon as much as some of us kids did listening to it.
She always got us full size snickers and crunch bars whenever she hit big at bingo. Great woman. Miss those days.
That engine whine is the sound of my childhood going to school.
This definitely brings on the memories! In my first grade year (86/87), I rode bus 503.4448, a 1981 B-Bird with an International Harvester gas engine and the same Allison transmission. That sound is unmistakable
Please make more videos of this buses transmission. It really brings me back to my childhood when I heard those gears whine from 1st-2nd gear. I loooooooooooooove it.
I wish I had this bus.. I loved the sound of the engine... The bus I remember most was one with a lift... The backs of the chairs had to face the windows.. I wish I could ride one like this one more time.... I can feel the tears...
I always wanted one of these when i was riding on them and I still do even though I have no idea what i'd do with it. Like, I'm an old car collector and i have the space, i just don't jive withe the camper thing that too many people do. Idk, when the right one comes along, i'll know.
Loved that v8 sound back when I was a kid riding in one to and from school, dose were the days
When I was in school from the mid 70's on up, our school district just North of Philadelphia (Abington) had gas powered I H Loadstars, Ford F600 and Bluebird All American fe busses, all were early 70's models that were gas powered most were automatics but a few IH and Ford's.
My all time favorite's were the gas powered All American FE units that had dual exhaust, each pipe was about 4-5 od and loud, I always say in the back to hear that loud deep Tone 😁
That bus sounds so sentimental! Missing my childhood days!
I remember that sound so well being a student that rode the bus to school.....I was always the first picked up and the last dropped off because my childhood home was not far from the bus yard.....I remember asking my parents could we move for that reason!! LOL!!
Cool! I used to drive a couple of those 1981 IHC Blue Birds. 503.4309, 4311, 4625, 4643. They had nice quiet engines and you could really hear those Allisons. Thanks for watching!
Oh I definitely remember this bus! When I was younger I never understood that wining noise.
I love the whining!
lol yeah for a lot of us, this was the sound of our childhood. It's also a sound that's going away. There aren't many gasoline buses left, if any. And they sure don't make'em like this anymore.
Thanks for watching!
I first rode on those buses when I moved to Texas when I was 9 years old back in March 2003. I never knew anyone or anywhere. They picked me up right in front of my apartment.
Yep. Middle School. Early 80s. International Harvester Bus 11. Remember that sound well.
im converting my chevy c 30 rollback from a sm465 to a allison 540.love that whine.reminds me when i was a kid
i love the sound of those GM Bus engines!
Didn't know seats were like that. I wish my bus had rotated seats where we face eachother with tables in between
Nah, I turned that seat around.
@@kaiyoshi2243 oh lol
second gear is like music to my ears!
You're welcome.
I found some of the old recordings that still sound good. I just need to get them together in a slide show thing. I wish I could've found that old recording of that 1978 International with the screaming 345 and allison AT 500... but I couldn't find it.
thanks for the bus videos Kaiyoshi! if you get time, upload some more of the audio tapes you have!
eh, don't worry about them. i'll bet it sounded pretty cool though. looking forward to hearing some more of your recordings!
0:11-0:30 is the soundtrack of my childhood! Although we had 90's Chevy BB's.
I wish they still Made the Blue Bird Busses with the GMC fronts! Right now our districts in the process of converting our remaining GmC fleet to International IC CE 300's... Luckly we have over 120 buses and only about 30 of them are the new diesel ones.
Since Im low on the seniority list im bound to get another old bluebird this comming fall. Can't wait to hear that Allison tranny wind up
@htfkid2000 I JUST LOVE THE SOUND OF THOSE GM ENGINES TOO. GLAD THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO LOVE V8 TRUCK AND BUS GASOLINE ENGINES BECAUSE MOST PEOPLE TRASH THEM IN FAVOR OF THE DIESEL ONES. I REMEMBER WHEN I WAS A KID OUR 345 V8 INTERNATIONAL LOADSTAR BLOW THE LID OFF THE CATERPILLAR 3208 V8 DIESEL ONES.....
No, I wish I did, though.
I do have videos of Audio only from different Fords, GMC's, and Internationals from the Mid to early 80's
For us to play on our phones
Yes, that's correct. They would have been numbered 503.4309 +/- through 503.4846 +/-
But yes, they were labeled on the lower part of the Emergency Door.
@kyle51895 And mine too. I didn't ride a diesel bus until I was in High School. Mostly cuz our school district didn't have a lot of money. Our buses dated from 1967 to 1984's in the early 80's through 90's.
Golden years
One Blue Bird with Fords, Dodges, International and Dina.
Listen to "me driving the ole lady". I think it has the same transmission, but it's an 80s Ford.
I used a Canon camera on a tripod. I hope that answered your question.
only gmc buses i rode on as a kid was a thomas and a ward back in the day
Alarma de carro para bus escolar blue Bird
@kaiyoshi2243 Ours were quite old when I rode them, I was in kindergarten in 2000-2001 lol. But I know they were gassers. I moved away from there and rode brand new AmTran RE's after that.
Check out my other videos. Several of them so a walk around the bus. Thanks for watching.
I enjoy your videos. As a child, I remember listening intently to the sounds of the old gas buses while riding on them--it's good to know there are others that appreciate them. BTW do you know of any old 6-cyl gas buses on youtube? Those were before my time, but I'd like to see one if there are any of them left.
thanks that answered it for me
i know its a stupid question, but how did you record all those bus drives??
I already did.
....and youtube won't let me put the link here. You'll have to search for it.
I think the whining sound may be the engine fan. Uhaul has GMC trucks from the late 90s with this sound and they have a different transmission then this bus has. I think the reason you hardly hear the whining sound with the manual transmission is because with the AT545 you accelerate continuously until you are up to speed as a manual you have to let off the accelerator when shifting gears. As well as clutch for each shift.
MrWill1985 the transmission is what’s making the whine. Not the engine fan.
Also manual transmissions are built completely different than the Allison automatics. The transmission fluid going through the gears at high vacuums is what makes the whine.
It's the Allison AT545 transmission that does the whine.
If the whining is the transmission I wonder why I didn't hear it on International DT360s or T444Es? If a transmission whines that normally does Matter what engine it's coupled to. Like the Voith D864.3 whines regardless of whether or not it's a Cummins isc ISL or ISM and the same with the Detroit Series 50. Or maybe the AT545 whines only on gasoline engines.
545 allison baby!!!!!!
whats the serial number on that bus?
Hi whats the top speed on the bus,
Daniel Lazo On an open road, 70.
Devin2277 wow was it regeared? what engine transmission is in it. i heard they top out at 50 without gearing change. looking to convert a bus to an rv.
Nope, not regeared. As far as I know, all gas buses in Texas were geared for 70.
+Noah Joseph (The Kid) there's a table that goes there. The two seats face each other with the table in the middle.