About Fun Fleet Bus #8438
Some Specs
#8438
Vin: T8H-5308A-091
Built November 1973 for New Jersey DOT
Fourth generation
96 inches wide/40 feet long, single door
V871 Detroit/Allison VS-2-8 transmission
49 seats, American reclining seats
Added to Fun Fleet
This bus was purchased from a private bus company in Virginia. Of course, this was another unusual bus. I spotted it in a bus yard in Verginia. It had been partially stripped and in poor conditgion. I purchased it and was lucky because a frind of mine in the gbus business needed t o tow an MCI to the east coast and offered to tow 8438 back to California as a back haul.
Reviving #8438
Once this bus was home, I had to do a lot of work to bring it up to my standards. I installed a complete powerplant, did body work, and replaced all the seats from another bus. Once I got it in good shape, it lasted many years.
When and Where Did it Go?
The Fun Fleet bus was sold to a Russian guy who took it to Reno.
Some 5308 history
Now these buses were not Suburban style. They were standard 5308 transit buses with a double floor to accommodate all forward-facing seats. Remember GM didn't want to build these in the early 1960s. golden Gate convinced them to do this with a large order. Later, GM offered this model which was substantially lower priced than the Suburban style buses with baggage bins. Many companies bought these for Suburban work with a single door. Only Los Angeles got these in 1961 with a double door.