1959 Dodge 700 School Bus Hemi

Hello all i have bought a 1959 dodge 700 school bus the engine says M354-1249 in the valley and we are trying to figure out what it is. we are all chevy ppl and have no idea haha We are going to s**** the bus and were not sure what to do with the motor and ******

 

It's a Power Giant hemi, 354 cubic inches and based on the Chrysler Firepower design. Worth some money, pull it out before you s**** the bus and sell it.

 

Hey, save the bus seats too. How about the gauges and steering wheel? Got an old school bus bench seat in the shop. Tube frame with plywood base and back. Probably made for grade schoolers - its kinda small but still a good seat.

 

it was turned into a motor home so the seats are gone but there are the gauges and wheel

 

how about instead SAVE THE BUS!!! not many left (i've never seen one) and defiantly gonna be a head turner! turn it into a tow rig!

 

haha not our style we would sell the whole thing or parts tho if anyone needs anything. we are not s****ing the motor tho haha i posted pics of it

 

YES.........pull the motor and s**** it......thats about $800-$900 sitting there...unless you want to live in it...lol

 

The "M" designation indicates it is a 1959 engine..... BUT it doesn't necessarily mean its a 354 hemi. It could just as easily be a 354 Poly. You can tell the difference just by looking at the engine. If the spark plug holes are in the middle of the valve covers its a hemi and if not its a poly.

 

you could recop part of your funds. Old busses make good cheap storage places try to sell it whole minus the parts you need..If not save the grill bumper hood and front fenders.. the stearing box is also a good peice because its hard to find a good one..the emergency brake lever can be adapted to any hot rod.. The transmission is a sellable item if you dont save the trans save the shift lever.. Good Luck Bobby..

 

The bus looks pretty rough from your pictures, but save the engine, probably will want to save the bellhousing, flywheel, starter, and related parts as well since it's a stick. I doubt anyone will want the transmission though. Gauge cluster looks cool, I'd grab that, and the mechanism that closes the door looks like it might be br***? Could probably find a use for that too.

I don't think anyone will be sad to see the rest of that one get s****ped though. If it was in better shape or a cooler design I might think differently, but that just looks like a haggered out old bus to me.

 

Where are these photos you speak of?

 

pictures are in the HAMB photo albums

 

Ah, thank you! Yep, keep the hemi, the wheel, and the gauge cluster. Let the rest become 32 Toyotas (as much as it pains me to say that)...

 

Yes, it's a hemi and if in good shape, a good save. If those exhaust manifolds are the truck 4-bolt ones, as they should be, and aren't cracked, those are worth some money too. Don't toss those either and be careful getting the pipes off them, maybe just cut the pipe 6"-7" down from them and leave a stub on. Valve covers too. Don't ding those all up with those chains and getting it out of there. Exhaust manifolds and valve covers are both worth a few hundred a pair by themselves if in good shape.

 

I thought 1958 was the last year of the early style HEMI.....

 

1959 in truck applications

 

A few have been reported in large '60 trucks.

 

Does anyone know what any of this stuff is worth? and thank you for all of your help

 

Before the recession the truck 354 probably 1200-1500, hard to say on the other stuff. As was said if it has the 4 bolt ex mans they could go for 3-400 alone.

 

Yikes, the bus is trashed, I am sure you know to take off any little pieces of coolness. The motor is friggin awesome, as Von says careful with the ol hunk, the parts are rare and worth a few buckaroos. Cool post Thanx ~sololobo~

 

yes they are 4 bolt mans. i am glad we didnt take the 200 bucks the first guy that looked at us offered us!

 

Id like to see a pic of front end grill and head light rings,would also like the emblems...........................thanks..........YG

 

i am posting more pictures in my album of the engine out and the other parts please make any offers because it is going to the s**** yard early next week thank you all

 

heres some more pics
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sre...5761&authkey=Gv1sRgCNr597u7-oO6pwE&feat=email

 

thanks for posting the pic's carolyn!

 

Yes thanks.......pm sent.......................YG

 

Countrygirl, you might want to pop out a few good windows also. You can get a few bucks for them as " poor boy surface plates ". A surface plate can be used to lap in a mating surface of a engine part. A real surface plate like I have in the shop is fairly expensive, and the shipping is even more. The old bus windows were fairly strong, very flat, and perfect for home shop use. You put a piece of emery paper on the gl***, and with light valve grinding compound you would work the part in a fiqure 8 motion until perfectly flat. They work excellent. TR

 

The roof corners are good for speedster tails.

 

How is the front sheet metal. Do the headlight rims look like these? It's a 59 and I think I need one.

 

whooooweee....a tach in the dash......