Something that doesn’t get a lot of thought but should: all of those semi-tractors and buses that ply the roads for years, delivering faithful service…ever give a second thought to what happens if the mechanical side develops a big problem? For those who don’t drive one of these machines for a living, the usual result of a major mechanical meltdown involves waiting for a new bus to be driven out or for the roaming mechanic to pull in front of the dead semi-truck on the side of the Interstate. But what do you do when you own a classic bit of commercial vehicle, one that isn’t seen on the road with any kind of regularity? What then? Well, you had better know someone that can help.

This is the full story of the repair of an old bus. It’s a 1947 GM 3751, a “silversides” bus like you would have seen Greyhound running back in the day. Said bus had a major mechanical problem occur when the radiator got injured and the Detroit Diesel mill went deep into the wrong end of the temperature zone. The bus was towed to a storage lot in Arizona and a call was put out to what might be the only traveling vintage bus mechanic out there…who makes good YouTube videos, by the way. Digging into the GM’s engine revealed that cylinder liners got hot enough to crack, so this is a full-deal rebuild, pistons out and the whole nine yards, in a storage lot in Benson, Arizona, just up the road from Tombstone. Here’s what it took to get the old bus from dead to driving all the way back to Michigan!