For sale: 1937 Ford 15 passenger bus

Serious enquiries only. No swaps, sorry. Price is negotiable. If ad is up, then it's still available.

This 1937 Ford 15 passenger bus was a 50 year passion project of my father’s, and has undergone a ground up restoration which got to close to the finishing stages when he passed away in 2023. The intention was to bring it back to its original format (but with some structural and safety improvements).

There are over $150,000 in receipts on file, and extensive documentation detailing the restoration work completed. This includes many photos along the way – please get in touch and I can send you a link to the full gallery.

The bus was purchased by my father from Snudden’s wrecking yard in Bathurst c. 1969 in derelict condition (see one of the images showing how it was found). It’s understood that the bus was originally used as a public bus in Bathurst NSW throughout the late 1930s through to the 1960s. During the dismantling process, it was established that the original bus had a black vinyl roof, dark green middle window section and was black below the windows/belt line.

The bus was completely disassembled for restoration in 2006. The chassis was replaced by a Ford Truck chassis of the same model that was in far better condition, which was then appropriately modified to support the new body and sandblasted and 2-pak painted. The front and rear ends were fully refurbished, including suspension, bushes, steering, diff, drive shafts and brakes. The original flat head V8 and gearbox were fully rebuilt and re-fitted.

In place of the timber framed body, a completely new RHS steel framed body was built to the same shape of the original bus. The body panels have been custom built around the new body, and the original front-end panels have been fitted. The hood still requires fitting and is just sitting in place. The body design and finishes have been made to reflect as closely as possible the original vehicle. This includes allowance for the vinyl roof: The roof timbers have been completed, but the vinyl trimming is still required.

Inside the bus, seats have been temporarily fitted. The passenger seats fitted are from a 1986 Denning Majestic, for which the frames have all been repainted and re-trimmed to suit the late 1930s era bus in a dark green vinyl. Unfortunately, the original seat frames were not salvageable.

The vast majority of the frame and mechanical work was completed by John Morphett Motor Trimming (Molong, NSW) between 2006 and 2014. Nugent Coachbuilders (Dubbo) also did some of the panel work, as did the Robinson Brothers of Gundaroo. The final body work and timber work (including most of the interior trim fit-out) was completed by Matthew Thane in Braidwood NSW.

The interior trim work, windows, ceiling etc are finished in Blackbutt and Mountain Ash hardwood timber. Everything has been meticulously built (with a lot of custom work) to replicate and better the original bus. New tyres and tubes were purchased in 2014, imported from the US at great expense. We keep the bus on jack stands to preserve those. The bus is wired up and would run (but has not been run since it was rebuilt).

We would prefer this bus went to an enthusiast, rather than someone who wants to turn it into a motor home. It would make a great vintage tour bus, or bus for a winery tours, weddings or similar events. The hard and very expensive work has been done, but there remains the external body work that needs to be completed (paint, fitting of accessories, vinyl roof, etc). 

If interested, an inspection on Saturday the 8th of August can be. Please note inspections prior to the 8th of August will not be possible.