Now this is the kind of weird that we can get behind. You are looking at a 1938 Gar Wood aluminum bodied coach bus. This is one of 100 ever built and according to the ad this is the only one that is known to exist in the world. While the thing is freaky looking, it embodied many of the things used in modern mass transit vehicles today. The rear engine mounting location, the multiple-points of entry/exit, the aluminum construction, etc. The nose of the bus is heinous looking but we’re not actually holding it against this as a purchase. Right now on eBay the rig had about $10,000 in bids.
An amazing thing is the fact that this bus only weighs about 6,400 lbs. There’s no real worry in transporting it as you can see photos of it on an open trailer being hauled by a pickup truck. According to the seller the bus primarily lived in the Dakotas. The truck needs a full restoration so the reality is that the “buy” price is a drop into the bucket of what this thing will need as an investment to be complete and crystal clear headed down the road again.
We think that a full-on resto is the only way to go here. Changing it and modernizing it would be a big waste. Getting the thing 100% back to stock would rule for sure. There is the issue of actually operating it though. It must be slower than molasses in winter with its lack of horsepower and distinct lack of forward gears. It may not accelerate quickly but it least it has like no top end either.
Hey outside of all the other stuff, the bus is powered by a Flathead V8 engine so it’ll sound awesome when you thow some pipes on it. A classic period paint job and a rectified interior would really bring some rare history back to life here. Do it!
eBay link: 1938 Gar Wood bodied Ford Bus – a freaky aluminum wonder
Who ever is bidding on that must know something, cause it’s gonna be a shit-ton of money and work to get that up to plain old ugly. A real labour of love so, if and when it gets done, hats off to the hero behind it all
I wanna see it close up. When the wood gets wet and swells the fasteners in the wood make contact with the aluminum and you get dissimilar metal oxidation = “aluminum rust holes”. If that’s widespread you may as well throw the whole thing away.
Gar Wood?
Is that the same Gar Wood who built stupendous power boats and broke water speed records? If it is this baby should be built as a pro touring bus complete with Coyote motor, independent suspension and ride on fat alloys and air bags in homage to such a king of speed.
Is there a bus class in land speed racing? Cause we found aero-gold.