THF90553

1927 Blue Bird School Bus

THF90552

1927 Blue Bird School Bus

THF90546

1927 Blue Bird School Bus / hood ornament

THF90547

1927 Blue Bird School Bus / front detail

THF90548

1927 Blue Bird School Bus / door

THF90549

1927 Blue Bird School Bus / interior

THF90550

1927 Blue Bird School Bus / driver's seat

THF90551

1927 Blue Bird School Bus / roof detail

1927 Blue Bird School Bus (hood ornament) - Thumbnail

1927 Blue Bird School Bus (front detail) - Thumbnail

1927 Blue Bird School Bus (door) - Thumbnail

1927 Blue Bird School Bus (interior) - Thumbnail

1927 Blue Bird School Bus

Summary

This 1927 Blue Bird is the oldest surviving school bus in America. Albert Luce, Sr., built his first bus in 1925 by mounting a purchased wood body to a Ford truck frame. The body could not withstand the Georgia roads. Luce, convinced he could make a better bus, applied a steel framework under the wood body. His success led him to make school buses full time. …

This is the first in a long line of buses made by Blue Bird, one of the country's major school bus builders. It is the oldest surviving school bus in America. In 1925, Albert L. Luce, Sr. owned two Ford dealerships in Georgia when a customer came in and ordered a bus to transport his workers. Mr. Luce purchased a wooden bus body and mounted it on a Ford Model TT truck. But the body began rattling apart before the customer could even finish paying for the bus. Mr. Luce was convinced he could make a better bus body and, by 1927 he had built the school bus you see here. The key to success was a strong steel framework under the wood. Within a few years Mr. Luce sold his Ford dealerships and began making school buses full time. Chassis: 1927 Ford Model TT Truck Engine: 176 cu. in., 20 hp Body: Hand built using steel and wood

Detailed Description