2022 Edition: 1979 GMC 6000 Blue Bird Bus

1979 GMC 6000 Blue Bird School Bus
Engine: GM 427 Big Block
Transmission: Clark

[@TechTimeTraveller]

Man that brings back some memories. When I was a kid they were mostly using newer 85-86 but every now and again we'd ride on one of these older buses and that whine they made.. wow. That brought me back almost 40 years. Thanks!!

[@markmccormick4461]

i will be 40 this year i was born in 1983 i remember being in High school we had some 1999 Chevy Mid Bus with same sounding Engine good times and they were gas Powered

[@johnw2026]

When I was a kid in the 90's, one school district still had an old 79 Ford bus. It was in the "boneyard," meaning it was a backup bus they used if other buses were broke down, and it was the last one they'd use. I rode it two or three times. It was old bus 1, and it had been the one my Grandfather had driven new when he was a school bus driver in the same district. He retired in either 80 or 81.

[@TechTimeTraveller]

​@johnw2026 Yes I think that was a similar situation for us. Even though they were only a few years older than the current buses they felt super old and loud by comparison. They were all manual. Our main bus driver was a very short, petite lady but she handled that 5 speed like a boss.

[@kridley73]

I have never seen or heard a Clark transmission on a GMC! Only on Ford busses in the states. Nice!

[@bikdav]

I noticed that. Interestingly, some of the later gas powered Internationals had this for a few years. Our town’s bus fleet had a few.

[@quartterioamos730]

The sound of this bus put me in the mind of the bus I rode to school my last 7 semesters my Last bus driver had a GMC ward bus with the same hood

[@TeriPowers-ng5wi]

The bus sounds like the bus I rode when I was younger in elementary school with the shift pattern.

[@otisjackson5173]

I rode on 4 of them when I was younger

[@Foxonian]

Awesome! I am here in the states, and we had Canadian Blue Bird school busses when I was a kid in the early 70's. Even though ours were Ford's, we had the same transmission in them. Those sounds bring back a lot of memories of my youth. Thanks for sharing your great bus!

[@BlindGordie]

Awesome sounding video and just before my birthday too.

[@jaredbailey8237]

The newer diesel buses have built in A/C for the drivers. You see that mounted fan near the door handle? 40 years ago that was the A/C.

[@mr.tomraypaz6085]

I rode on a GMC bus just like this one on a field trip when I was in first grade…in 1994! I still can’t believe that there was one of this vintage still in use at that time.

[@CTCUQ]

Tellement hot ton bus JS!!!!

[@davidalvearmartinez4258]

Gasoline engine? I like that sound. Greetings from Ecuador. 🚌⛽

[@JamesDalton-c7q]

Sounds like the school bus i rode in elementary school it was a 1985 Ford blue bird

[@mindyabiznessthatsalljustm8134]

Omg me too! I couldn't tell you what model year it was but I remember this sound from my elementary years in the early 90s. It brings back memories of field trips!

[@TheRenard10]

Do you also have an automatic transmission for a late 70's GMC school bus?

[@nicolemclucas7578]

I don't think they were common then

[@MisterMikeTexas]

@@nicolemclucas7578 In 79? Most Fort Worth ISD busses (International Loadstars) were Allison automatics by then.

[@nicolemclucas7578]

@@MisterMikeTexas where I lived they didn't start using automatic transmissions on the buses until late 80s

[@nicolemclucas7578]

@@MisterMikeTexas we had the same buses as this one, but without the poles

[@TheRenard10]

As a youngster, I remember riding in a wayne gmc automatic school bus model. True. Thomas, the bus company, had a GMC school bus model, and it was an automatic too. It was 1988.

[@ClassixSuperRetroPlayhouse]

what's that sound at 0:49?

[@laurenceamspoker782]

Clark manual transmission used in international harvester school buses? It almost sounds like the ih school buses from the 80s.

[@joekrim6557]

Everything was "laid-back" in the day. Even, riding the bus to school. The fishbowl city buses put you to sleep along the way. Today, ppl be all in your face. Sad

[@ericrichard858]

Excellent, geez you should make more videos these buses are really rare in this condition and especially recorded while driving. Love that Clark tranny and 366

[@pabloluimeme]

engine is a 427 ;)

[@BlindGordie]

I agree! There's another video that was made with this bus, a few months ago and I said the same thing that you did. As a result, we have this video. Hopefully there will be more including driving on the highway and even the sound of straight cut gears. To be honest, I have no idea what I just said there, but I know what it sounds like.

[@ericrichard858]

Nice, 427 heh the other option, well the price of gas makes driving it a more of a pain of course, when I was going to school back in grade 2 in 1988 there were many around but it was these gas buses that got me into cars at an early age and I was always amazed that they were gas engines almost like the old chevy gmc half tons basically hauling around that much more weight and yes they were an industrial version engine made for working all day heh, tall deck more torque focused lower revving. Nice v8 sound at the end.

[@ericrichard858]

I seen that vid too a few months ago, I'll keep checking for more vids there's a guy on KZbin Corvairwild type in "366 chuggin uphill and it's an old gmc dump truck that sounds like your bus heh

[@BlindGordie]

@@ericrichard858 I remember hearing the same sound out of trucks in the 80s and possibly the 90s, as I was growing up in Toronto. I went to a summer camp for the blind up in Muskoka and they had a white activity bus (also a Blue Bird) which also sounded like this and I only had a chance to ride in it twice. The second time was going horseback riding and on the way back, there was the sound of straight cut gears, which I had mentioned in my previous reply. Unfortunately, the fan was on and blocking out some of the noise of the engine and the whine. I've never thought to ask how they drive like that and that slowly, with a Standard to make that noise.

[@Thinker669]

Is that Quebec?

[@819transitvideos]

Yes!

[@DannyLockwood-be7su]

Is it gas or diesel