It's safe to say that when we came across a school bus in our Flickr pool we were a bit shocked. It's not everyday that we see a yellow short bus on our daily slog, so the idea that somebody would use it as regular transportation left us somewhat dumbfounded. However, when we looked into it further, it began to make perfect sense.
The '87 GMC Thompson is actually being campaigned in a pseudo-rally that covers 4,000 miles between London and Banjul, Gambia in the 2007 Plymouth to Banjul Challenge. A group of sadistic do-gooders, calling themselves the Penitent Yanks, are making the trek south as part of a charity run, with the school bus being auctioned off when the tribe reaches their destination. The run began on January 25th and you can follow their progress at their blog, here.
As for mods, well, there ain't much. The radiator failed in NY before the bus was shipped across the pond, so they replaced it, some fluids, hoses and removed the wheel chair lift to make room for beds and storage. They added a sound system, built a roof rack and outfitted the love bus with a disco ball.
There's a few more pics after the jump, including Flickr member DcHammer's rundown of his screamin' yellow tank, as well as directions on how to submit your own ride to our Flickr pool.
Check out this sweet ride. A 1987 GMC Thompson Short Bus...she is about to embark on a 4,000 trip from London, England to Banjul, Gambia, where she will be donated to charity. We are going to find out whether a school bus will make it through the Sahara desert....or out of England for that matter. She was bought in Buffalo, NY in November and driven to Washington, DC, but not before the radiator blew up. We know one thing...it has a brand new radiator.
The bus has 138,000 miles on it. Original school bus yellow, excepting zebra stripes and leopard spot rims. The wheel chair lift was removed and replaced by two awesome plywood benches which will serve as beds and storage. A sound system has been added for blasting bedouin nomads in the desert, and a crappy roof rack has been built on top. We've been warned that it will fall off once we hit the bad roads in Mauritania. We'll worry about that in Mauritania. Jerry cans of fuel and three spares will live on the roof. And don't forget about the disco ball! We've added a bit of landscaping material to the grill to keep sand out and padlocks all around as she doesn't lock up.
As far as mechanical mods, none to speak of - new hoses, new fluids - she's not leaking, so we are good to go.
To find out more, check out penitentyanks.blogspot.com/. The bus awaits us England right now - we'll be picking her up and heading south on 1/25...
How to submit to RR of the Day:
Create a Flickr account if you don't already have one. Search for and join the group called 'Autoblog RR of the Day'. Upload up to three photos of your ride to your own account at a size no larger than 450 pixels wide if possible and include as much information about it and yourself as you can. Click on each photo and just above the picture it will say "Send to group". Click that and select the Autoblog group. You're done, that's it! We love seeing what YOU drive, so please keep those submissions coming!
The '87 GMC Thompson is actually being campaigned in a pseudo-rally that covers 4,000 miles between London and Banjul, Gambia in the 2007 Plymouth to Banjul Challenge. A group of sadistic do-gooders, calling themselves the Penitent Yanks, are making the trek south as part of a charity run, with the school bus being auctioned off when the tribe reaches their destination. The run began on January 25th and you can follow their progress at their blog, here.
As for mods, well, there ain't much. The radiator failed in NY before the bus was shipped across the pond, so they replaced it, some fluids, hoses and removed the wheel chair lift to make room for beds and storage. They added a sound system, built a roof rack and outfitted the love bus with a disco ball.
There's a few more pics after the jump, including Flickr member DcHammer's rundown of his screamin' yellow tank, as well as directions on how to submit your own ride to our Flickr pool.
Check out this sweet ride. A 1987 GMC Thompson Short Bus...she is about to embark on a 4,000 trip from London, England to Banjul, Gambia, where she will be donated to charity. We are going to find out whether a school bus will make it through the Sahara desert....or out of England for that matter. She was bought in Buffalo, NY in November and driven to Washington, DC, but not before the radiator blew up. We know one thing...it has a brand new radiator.
The bus has 138,000 miles on it. Original school bus yellow, excepting zebra stripes and leopard spot rims. The wheel chair lift was removed and replaced by two awesome plywood benches which will serve as beds and storage. A sound system has been added for blasting bedouin nomads in the desert, and a crappy roof rack has been built on top. We've been warned that it will fall off once we hit the bad roads in Mauritania. We'll worry about that in Mauritania. Jerry cans of fuel and three spares will live on the roof. And don't forget about the disco ball! We've added a bit of landscaping material to the grill to keep sand out and padlocks all around as she doesn't lock up.
As far as mechanical mods, none to speak of - new hoses, new fluids - she's not leaking, so we are good to go.
To find out more, check out penitentyanks.blogspot.com/. The bus awaits us England right now - we'll be picking her up and heading south on 1/25...
How to submit to RR of the Day:
Create a Flickr account if you don't already have one. Search for and join the group called 'Autoblog RR of the Day'. Upload up to three photos of your ride to your own account at a size no larger than 450 pixels wide if possible and include as much information about it and yourself as you can. Click on each photo and just above the picture it will say "Send to group". Click that and select the Autoblog group. You're done, that's it! We love seeing what YOU drive, so please keep those submissions coming!
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