It seems like the hottest trend in the Gambler 500 community this year is buying old school buses to make into toy haulers and campers. I believe this is in part because it’s nice to have a guaranteed ride home and in part because tent camping on these rallies really sucks.
A teammate scored this 1982 Ford for just $500.
It was parked for four years and the previous owner thought it needed a starter. Weirdly, it really just needed batteries! It runs and drives better than it looks. This bus is based on a Ford F-700 and comes equipped with a hilariously gutless 8.2L Detroit Diesel “Fuel Pincher” engine. How gutless? Looks like this thing likes doing 65 on flat ground and that’s unloaded..
The steering is remarkably tight and not even for something so old, it’s just really good. Odometer reads 49,000 but since it’s a 99,999 mile odometer it’s safe to assume actual mileage is well in the 6 digits. The frame and underbody look absolutely mint.
The bus is currently a very faded white, almost primer gray. Looks like someone painted blue over the original yellow, red on top of the blue, then what I assume was white on top of that.. It hasn’t weathered well.
In the bus’ previous life, it hauled a Civil War cannon in the inside (the rear is one big door) while towing a replica Civil War era cabin. The previous owner is apparently really big into Civil War reenactments... and the Confederacy.
The interior features a 5000 pound winch and two guardrails for yanking the cannon into the bus.
The teammate’s plan with it is to haul a Geo Tracker in the back to the Gambler 500 OG in Oregon in a few weeks. From there, he’s just going to use it as a ratty toy hauler and camper until something major breaks, then he’ll scrap it for more than he paid for it. It’ll be at my nightmare house for a week or two while he gets it ready for its cross country voyage.
My neighbourhood is definitely the reason HOAs exist. Bus aside, the house has been abandoned since my brother moved out with only periodic checks from myself and my parents. No HOA means the long grass has gone without citation, even as the town mows the grass beyond the property line that isn’t owned by anyone.
The lawn should be mowed soon so it won’t look like a house out of a zombie movie.
For further example of what you’ll find in a non-HOA neighbourhood in the Midwest: Across the street, a neighbour has a destroyed shed and various wrecks in his yard, I assume parts vehicles for his sweet vintage Jeep and GMC. Around the corner, a guy has two dump trucks in his drive. Property values are all over the place ranging from $100k to a million dollars for my next door neighbour and even a half million for the guy across the street with the vintage GMC.
COVID-19 has indefinitely stalled the mortgage lender from foreclosing on the house. Good news about that is that it’s now possible that the lender may be more willing to take the deed in lieu of foreclosure because we’re basically “untouchable” right now. I have some expert help on this thankfully. :)