About Fun Fleet Bus #3250

This bus was actually a second version of the 5307s. In 1974 they went to air throttles and changed the steel rivets on the floor to the back of the bus. An OSHA complaint had been filed against GM stating that the busking of steel rivets in the back of the bus, under the floor, was not acceptable because the noise level was too hight for employees doing the work.

The whole production line was stopped over the issue. To comply with OSHA standards, GM made the decision to go to Huck rivets in place of the hard steel rivets. Huck rivets were a blind type of rivet and could be done from the inside of the bus and were just as strong as the solid steel type.

  Well, this worked when the rivets were new but created countless problems later on. As time went by, water would seep into the floor and rust out the ring on the blind rivets; this caused buses after 1974 to come apart in the rear areas. Countless buses in the fourth generation had to have the rivets replaced with bolts to solve the problem. this was a big job, and, in Los Angeles, all 200 buses had to have a frame job.

Other cities were experiencing the same problems. GM was slow to respond, knowing they were planning to leave the bus production business in late 1976. 

 These buses also came with solid glass windows, which was a big mistake. This was one for climate control. It didn't work well because the air conditioning systems were very prone to leaks. Most companies just kept filling them with Freon to make the air conditioning work, as these buses were miserable to ride in the hot weather without air conditioning. Chicago actually went back to opening windows because they could not keep up with the AC problems.

When it came to 5307s, George Powell (superintendent of maintenance for LA) again raided hell with GM over these buses. He was not popular at the plant. First, he insisted on using Flexible type marker lights. He also insisted that the buses be equipped with both DD3 parking brakes and the standard hand brake. These were the only buses ever built like that. They also had to have red lights on the dash to be sure the DD3 brakes would release. (Remember that #1088 had caught fire).

To make matters worse, GM screwed up and delivered the buses in the wrong paint scheme. George was not happy as he really wanted Flexibles. The buses were painted into the correct paint scheme after they were delivered.

Call Loren to learn more about storing your bus in one of our yards.

951-943-2354