Lets say I could buy a E450 bus in running condition for under $1000.
Why don't I want to buy one. I would assume a transit authority owned bus would have had all the necessary updates to keep them together. They all have right at 300K miles on them. Maintenance should have been regularly scheduled as well.
Why is this a bad idea?
Under 1k for the whole thing? I see no bad idea here.
Is scrap value more than 1K? If so, party on!
Any reason a 6.0TD wouldn't power SanFord? That would be a pretty cheap option. Or would it just blow the heads through the hood?
What year are they? The post 2006 engines were better from the factory but as you said if they are earlier they may have been updated. Most the of the horror stories, but not all, were on engines that were "tuned" by their owners. I know of a number of 6.0's that have had no issues other then normal diesel stuff. For the money I can't see where you could go wrong.
Toyman01 wrote: Why don't I want to buy one. I would assume a transit authority owned bus would have had all the necessary updates to keep them together.
That's an amusing assumption. Do you also assume ladies of the evening have had all their shots?
Can you inspect it or see maintenance records to see whether it's got a fairly fresh replacement drivetrain or on the brink of desintegration? They should keep religious records if nothing else.
Sounds like a good donor for the drivetrain and suspension.
Toyman01 wrote: Lets say I could buy a E450 bus in running condition for under $1000. Why don't I want to buy one. I would assume a transit authority owned bus would have had all the necessary updates to keep them together. They all have right at 300K miles on them. Maintenance should have been regularly scheduled as well. Why is this a bad idea?
You assume that the maintenance guys don't know that there's something major coming up and now is the part of the vehicle's life where they are better off dumping it than repairing it.
Local towing company had it down to a science. About four-five months after they sold a tow truck to a smaller/cheaper place, they'd get angry calls about how the POS just did something very, very expensive. They only got 150k out of the 6.0 Fords, but Ford had huge incentives while Dodge did not, so they would just rotate out their Fords every year.
The ford 6.0 paid my rent for many years.
On saying this the best thing I can suggest is make sure the dog house is accessible and the body mounts are not rusted to or on the frame because any thing beyond going under the valve cover you will not have the clearance to take Anything out and in turn will have to lift the entire body up at least 6-10in.
With how I've seen the vans usually treated worse in general because of stuff like this I would only get one in an F2/350 body and even then only because I still have the knowledge and tools, your experience may vary.
The engine would not be staying in the E450 chassis, so access would not be a problem.
They are selling 9, 2007 F450s and a couple of blown up 2010 Gas Chevys. I'm assuming they have either aged out at 10 years, or mileaged out since they are all right at 300K. They do have a reserve at $1500.
This is what they are selling.
If you're going to be pulling the engine anyway, do you plan to go through it before installing it into SanFord? I think if you plan a rebuild/"bulletproofing" while it's out it should be hard to go wrong.
In reply to ¯_(ツ)_/¯:
Yes, it would probably get a external oil cooler and filter, and a EGR delete.
Edit: From what I've read, that solves the majority of the problems with the 6.0.
I'd bulletproof it while it's out and then go for it. All of the weak points are fixable and once that's done, it makes a good bit more power than a 7.3 and burns less fuel (and makes a bit less noise too). And probably still cheaper than a good Cummins (and not as shaky / noisy either).
Oil cooler and EGR delete (or IIRC, there's an updated EGR cooler that doesn't fail). Change the coolant every few years. And I think the full bulletproofing job involves head studs as well.
In reply to Toyman01:
Have done a few kits and yeah it helps quite a bit, BTW not necessarily part of the bulletproof kit but ARP head bolts are a must if you going to have it out anyway.
Would an E450 have the Ford version of the engine (Powerstroke), or would it be the International version (VT365)?
It may also be derated compared to the pickups. The derating would have helped the longevity in the bus, but may lead to disappointing performance if you are expecting the same HP/TQ level of the engine in the pickup.
Purely speculation, but it may be worth a little more research prior to purchasing anything.
Hurry up and buy that! You can't even but the drivetrain anywhere near that cheap. You'll be getting everything you need and more!
I had a stock 06 f250 that never had catastrophic issues. It had about 215k miles when it was stolen and still ran super well and strong. 06 and 07 6.0's that are stock were fairly reliable compared to all the horror stories. At that millage I'd say it'll need some freshing up but it was never tuned. I think an upgraded oil cooler and egr delete will be all the bullet proofing you'll need. ARP studs aren't necessary unless you'll be tuning it. But, since you'll be having the engine out do as much to it as you can.
Most of the stories you hear are from owners with issues or mechanics who were fixing them. Satisfied folks are usually quiet, there were A LOT of 6.0 vehicles sold Im willing to bet majority are still on the road.
Good, bad, or indifferent I just bought another bus.
My hero!
Awesome! Just think, once it is in SanFord, you will have more power and better gas mileage. Win, Win! 
More good news for me, not necessarily for you gents. It's only 13 miles from home. So no long trip thread on this one.
If you drive that to the airport, how many people will get in? And how long can you drive them around, singing karaoke over the PA, before they mutiny?
I posted this in the SanFord thread, I thought I should post it here as well.
They have 8 more with auctions ending today and tomorrow. I'm willing to pick them up and store them for a couple of weeks for anyone that is interested in buying one.
A link for the interested. Charleston RTA auctions.
So what has a better chance of making it home in one piece, Sanford from 1000 miles away or a 6.0 from 13 away?
When you're done you should put the old FE engine back into the Transit bus.
In reply to gearheadmb:
That's a good question. The 6.0 has been sitting since November. SanFord only sat for 12 years. 
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