Great memoroes riding these in elementary and jr high. The sounds and the shifting from my bus driviers...was an art to watch them. Led me to my love of buses 23 yrs cdl. Such great times and field trips all over California 😊🙌🏾😎

Nice to see the old classics still running and sounding so sweet!

@frasertones8519

9 ай бұрын

And the bus is great too!

Sounds Amazing! Grew up riding these Crowns and Gilligs too in the 70’s and 80’s!!

Hey Big Al you should do a video to teach people how to double clutch in a Crown.

There were a handful of Crown "Twinkie's" still in regular service when I was in elementary school, but most were used as substitutes, with all the remaining ones in regular service being put on sub duty by the time I was in second or third grade. Most of them were sticks, but there were two or three that had an automatic transmission in them.

That baby screams! I used to drive a late 80's BB AA with a V8 Detroit turbo. Loved the turbo sound.

My childhood was awesome! that I got to enjoy this bus and engine. Thank you!

That engine sounds fantastic, it’s like I’m really there. It brings back sweet memories. I remember the day our elementary school sent us on a week long field trip camping in the Angeles National Forest. The morning we took off was bright and sunny, perfect. And there were five of these gorgeous buses parked in front of the school waiting to take us on our adventure. They looked SO good all clean, yellow and shiny. Then we took off and the view outside the huge windows was fantastic as we chugged along Angeles Crest Highway. The engine sounded just like this. 🥲

@aljenningscrownandgillig

2 жыл бұрын

They’re so much fun to drive

@ubuntulinuxrules

Жыл бұрын

Camp Hi Hill was so fantastic, i'll never forget the drive up Angeles Crest and getting out of the Crown bus to the frigid October air at the red box picnic area.

@aljenningscrownandgillig

Жыл бұрын

My discovery of Crowns is similar to you’re. The bus was the event. The destination was secondary

I'll never forget that sound. I started riding these in the fifth grade all the way through 8th grade. Stopped riding when I started using the public transit bus instead. I used to love sitting in the front row as a kid to watch the bus driver double clutch shifting gears. I remember it was a 5-speed transmission. LAUSD bus # 29-U in the 5th and 6th grade. Driver's name, Mr. Wallace. Fast forward 10 years later and I became a diesel mechanic and found out why the engines have a distinct sound that only a two stroke Detroit Diesel produce. Till this day anytime I hear the roar of a two-stroke Detroit, I always turn my head to where that sound is coming from.

@unconventionalideas5683

4 ай бұрын

Supposedly Foden of Britain (truck manufacturer) made some two stroke diesels with a similar sound, albeit quieter, at least from what I have heard.

@unixsuperuser

3 ай бұрын

Same here.

I learned to drive on a Crown, we used to say if you can drive a crown you can drive anything. Now 39 years later, I'm driving Prevost and MCI Motorcoaches. I miss my crown...

@Perich29

10 ай бұрын

I miss driving my 2012 International Prostar with 10 speed manual, I'm driving the 2020 Freightliner Cascadia with autoshifter.

Some good old school memories 2rd grade in 1997 I rode a crown school bus loved sitting in the front seat watching my bus driver shifting and the bus sounding like a race car they sure dont make school buses like they used to anymore!!

@aljenningscrownandgillig

Жыл бұрын

I have similar memories from the late 1950’s. Like riding in a giant race car

Oh!, this bus is manual. Manual transmission. Very good!

I rode these buses late 60's and 70's. Some had Cummins NH220 (great sound too), Hall-Scott gasoline (great sound), and the Detroit 6-71. I always felt sorry for the drivers shifting all day. I now drive a Navistar school bus with 6.7 Cummins and Allison automatic. It is truly a hot rod compared to the old Crowns and Gilligs.

Great sound.

Magic. I love it. My whole youth I heard this sound coming from the main road across the lake. Lots of trucks. Makes me wanna cry.

@aljenningscrownandgillig

Жыл бұрын

That’s why I do this. I just love the old machinery

Love these Crown’s; thank you for sharing the experience!

The crown busses we experienced as kids had a clock/tach mounted on the dash. Normal analog clock and a sweep tach above it with a red light at the end of the sweep to let the driver know it was time to shift (as if the sonic reminder wasn’t enough haha).

That’s a nice sounding Crown! 😁

that does really smooth ;;

Sure brings back great memories going to high school band field shows back in the 80s.

I GRINNED LIKE AN IDIOT the entire time throughout this video

@aljenningscrownandgillig

9 ай бұрын

I totally get that. I can’t think of a modern bus that makes me so happy

love the videos man. my favorite part is how excited you get about driving these old beauties. well that and the Detroit sounds...

@aljenningscrownandgillig

2 жыл бұрын

I am not acting. It really is the most fun I can imagine

Oh my god that is the sound of my childhood, I'd recognize it anywhere. Growing in in Fresno Unified we had a ton of these with detroit diesels and manual transmissions, and I remember I could always hear the bus coming before anyone else because of that very distinct sound. I always would sit up at the front like this too so I could watch out the huge windscreen and talk to the driver

@aljenningscrownandgillig

Жыл бұрын

I lived in Fresno for 40 years and the Detroit Diesels roaring were part of the background noise on every school. My house backed up against Marks Av and I’d sit and listen as the buses cruised by my bedroom as they started their routes. I have Fresno #20. Here’s a pic.

@aljenningscrownandgillig

Жыл бұрын

It won’t let me post the pic. Sorry

@entropynme

Жыл бұрын

@@aljenningscrownandgillig No way! I used to live on the corner of Escalon and Cheryl growing up, just off Marks, and went to Edison High class of 2012. I'm pretty sure I used to walk by your property on my way home every day because I used to see your old school bus backed up against the wall and I always wondered how somebody ended up with one of those. Hell of a small world, eh?! I'd honestly give anything to ride on one of those old Crown's again

That down shifting 🤩🤩🤩🤩 clutch then throttle then shift....that sound tho! INCREDIBLE

Nice sounding 6-71 crown bus love the Detroit diesel 6-71 two stroke marine engine

Damn, I don't know what I would do with it, but I'd like to have one just so I can 1) standard shift a bus, and 2) listen to that sound! :D

Cause you're doing a Damn Good Job!!

@aljenningscrownandgillig

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks man!! I’m not a professional driver. Means a lot!

🎸🎶 Hello World, Here the song that we're singing, Come on get Happy😊 a whole lot of love is what will be bringing come on get Happy 😊, 7:48

Sounds real good Al

This is SO cool!

Back when Buses were cool. It's got a BLOWER!!!

@aljenningscrownandgillig

2 жыл бұрын

Has a blower AND a turbocharger

These 2-stroke 6-71s sound like 4-stroke V12

Can you imagine if bus drivers had this bus today? All those noisy kids would be drowned out.

@aljenningscrownandgillig

Жыл бұрын

Retired Old time Crown school bus drivers get pretty excited to drive one again. There is no similar experience except driving a vintage Porsche 911 or 930

Go Al! I love Detroits

@aljenningscrownandgillig

10 ай бұрын

Me too!! King of the roads for decades

THE GREATEST TEN MINUTES OF CROWN DETROIT AUDIO AND 📹 VIDEO I'VE HEARD IN A VERY LONG TIME!

Is that bus for sale & if so, where can I view the listing?

Man this is cool. New busses and trucks all feel so boring today.

@aljenningscrownandgillig

Жыл бұрын

I agree totally

But in these moments there isn't buses with Detroit engine, or yes?

I don't think this pisses anyone else off as much as it does me but… DONT MOVE WHILE THE BUS IS MOVING!!!

@aljenningscrownandgillig

Жыл бұрын

When did I move?

@edwardcole4623

Жыл бұрын

@@aljenningscrownandgillig oh? did you just move the camera?

I think Harley Davidson tried to copyright the sound of their engines. They don’t hold a candle to the sweet sound of a Detroit 2-stroke diesel!!

I know that road! You’re in Loma Linda!

I would bring the idle down and always pull off In 1st. It seems to bog the engine down when he pulls off

Are you familiar with 1990 #9 in El Monte. I’m interested in it but don’t know a lot about these buses. It would be an RV conversion.

@aljenningscrownandgillig

Жыл бұрын

I am trying to get enough information from the seller to make a decision. For example: What are the total miles on the vehicle? has the engine ever been overhauled or in-famed? What is the total miles on the engine? Does it have any oil leaks? Has the rock been run in the last few years? Do we have maintenance records? what brand and viscosity of oil has been used in this engine? What is the condition of the battery and charging system? Do we know if the engine has ever been overhauled? How many miles are on the engine? How long has he owned the vehicle, and what work has he done doing? Condition of fluids in the transmission? Conditioner brakes? Do the air powered windshield wipers work properly? Are the gauges all working? Condition and age of tires? Cracked or broken glass? Window rattle problems? Does it steer and track well? Shock absorbers full of oil? Front tire tread wearing evenly? It’s worth somewhere between $4000 and $23000 depending on how much work has been done on it. You can spend $20,000 on an old Crown and you can spend nothing. It needs to be gone through by an expert. Buying a 40 year old Crown with no idea what you’re getting can be financial suicide. I’ve been burned several times and I’m supposed to be the expert

Crown needs to come back in business

@aljenningscrownandgillig

2 жыл бұрын

I agree. They could knock the industry upside down if they do it right

@Phan-Xu

2 жыл бұрын

@@aljenningscrownandgillig Amen brother

@TIJoe-te9qu

Жыл бұрын

One of those old American companies where quality was first priority.

@drh3b

10 ай бұрын

Now that's it's too late and most are crushed, I'd bet they'd be awesome to be electrified. I don't remember being in a Crown, my school district didn't use them, but I grew up in Orange County in the Seventies, and they were all over. Crown Fire Coaches, too, pretty sure all the nearby fire departments used them.

@drh3b

10 ай бұрын

It's weird what sticks with you... OVSD. Bus 3 was an International Carpenter. Bus 7 was a GMC Bluebird, it was the quietest. Bus 14 was the only flat nose, it was a Bluebird All American. Bus 22 was the new one, it was a Ford Superior with foam on the backs of the seats so you wouldn't lose your teeth in an accident!

Any Crown tandems that had this engine or was only for the singles?

@aljenningscrownandgillig

Жыл бұрын

There were Tandems with Detroit 2 strokes. I am restoring one.

The next time you shoot a video of this bus, someone needs to follow behind to record the exhaust.

Which 5-speed manual transmission equips

@aljenningscrownandgillig

Жыл бұрын

Our 84 Tandem is our only 5 speed at the moment

@aljenningscrownandgillig

Жыл бұрын

We have a 36 foot Detroit 2 stroke 5 speed coming in January

@david-gcars

Жыл бұрын

@@aljenningscrownandgillig Ok, ok, I was just asking the name of the manual transmission

@david-gcars

Жыл бұрын

But from what I see it is adapted in a Detroit Diesel 6-71

@aljenningscrownandgillig

Жыл бұрын

@@david-gcars they made automatics, 5 speed and 10 speed manuals

They were good engines for their time. Mind you, they sucked the fuel alot compared to the engines of today. He needs to stop talking and consentrate on his driving.

@aljenningscrownandgillig

6 ай бұрын

I enjoy talking about Crowns as I record driving. Teaching new admirers. Don’t talk as much in a loaded bus

Nothing that size would stop quicker than a car- utter rubbish

@clarkinthedark1

6 ай бұрын

The brakes on these were pretty extraordinary. I wouldn’t discount them.

@cidertom5140

6 ай бұрын

@@clarkinthedark1 having been round vintage British coaches most of my life - Bristol leyland AEC Daimler I know how good or bad brakes can be.