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Old 09-23-2003, 03:45 AM   #1
Matt
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Default Vintage Newell

I have been hunting for a coach for over a year now...reading, looking and asking questions...and now I have another I was hoping someone could help with. I am looking at a late 70s vintage Newell, which has been very well maintained and has had its engine replaced as well as solid upgrades on the mechanicals that are important. I was thinking that I would end up in a converted MCI...but this one looks good. What is "market value" on such a coach that is in good shape? Granted they all vary, but is 20's, 30's, 50's, 70's all "fair" if the rig is in good order? Also, I know the older bus conversion (if done right) can take a beating...how well are the late 70s Newells holding up over the years? Can I anticipate another 20 years from this rig? Thanks in advance,
Matt
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Old 10-02-2003, 07:15 PM   #2
Jon Kabbe
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I have a 1977 coach with 190,000 miles. The interior and drive train were updated prior to my purchase more than a year ago. According to the previous owner he had been everywhere from Alaska to Guatamala in it with few problems. I've had two problems, the fuel injection system and corrosion on the lower body side panels. The injection problems were due to aging of the hoses causing hose particles to screw up injectors and the pump. The hoses didn't look bad but were slightly stiff. I wasn't having problems with the generator so the problems had to be on the drive motor.

After driving this March over salted roads, I have had some of the body panels at the wheel wells get holes corroded completely through. I took the following actions. I put a heavy blue shrink wrap film used for boat storage between the aluminum side panels and the steel wheel wells. Then I ordered some of the matching anodized aluminum from the Newell factory and cut nice looking patches to cover the "holey" areas and glued them on using high strength double sided trim tape from 3M. While not perfect it looks pretty good. I had to do some unriveting and reriveting to really do the job right, but even then I only had about 8 hours total in the job plus a little money.

Other than those things "Da Bus" runs, drives and performs amazingly well and I have few doubts it will run a very long time. Everything is solid with no rattles. Like any vehicle plus a house there are things that happen with aging (damn, even my body is giving me similar signals), but nothing catastrophic that I can see. All you can do is check to see the previous maintenance pattern and then make a judgement about what you will spend to get it up to your standards and keep it there.

I hope this helps.
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Old 11-08-2003, 05:31 PM   #3
Jon Kabbe
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Perhaps I can give a better response than my original one. I was suffering from a sinus infection and I was about as smart and communicative as a dead pig, and that's giving the pig the benefit of the doubt. There really are only three kinds of problems due to age; parts availability, degradation of organic materials such as elastomer (rubbery stuff), and corrosion of metals. Degradation of organic materials is the least obvious in my opinion and the most variable. Start with tires, aging will cause internal dry rot even when the outside looks good, most people say change them every 5-7 years, out of ignorance I ran mine 12 years, but don't repeat this at home as it wasn't smart to be ignorant. Then you have other parts directly exposed to sun such as window seals, shades and interior fabrics, not to mention the awnings. All of these "weather" and it depends on how the vehicle was exposed how long they will last. I haven't addressed wear and collisions because those are usually obvious and are unlikely to have hidden costs in a coach built like a Newell. The really tough stuff are the seals in the mechanical systems. How long will an engine crankshaft seal remain viable? It all depends on a huge variety of factors, though time inevitably is a major one. All you can do is look for leaks, but don't panic because the old 2-stroke diesels weren't called "Detroit Drippers" for no cause. An EXPERIENCED 2-stroke mechanic is vital here. Other than that, if it's a Newell and runs and drives good, it is good. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
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