Vehicle Description
The GM 'old-look' transit bus is a transit bus that was introduced in 1940 by Yellow Coach beginning with the production of the model TG-3201 bus. Yellow Coach was an early bus builder that was partially owned by General Motors (GM) before being purchased outright in 1943 and folded into the GM Truck Division to form the GM Truck and Coach Division. The Yellow Coach badge gave way to the GM nameplate in 1944. Production of most 'old-look' models was stopped upon the release of the GM New-Look bus in 1959. This specific 'old-look' GMC bus is a 1948 model TDH-3207 which stood for Transit Diesel Hydraulic Automatic Transmission and spent most of its life in Madison Wisconsin. There were only 737 of this specific model built in 1948 through the GM Truck and Coach Division. The 1948 TDH bus is powered by a Detroit Diesel 471 inline 6 cylinder diesel engine and connected to a Spicer 91 angle drive 2 speed transmission. The TDH-3207 has been fully restored inside and out using the correct tri tone color combination of a white roof, dark green middle and pale green bottom color. The exterior also features front and rear double folding doors, Slanted front windshield glass, Southern California Rapid Transit District badging and side placards. This specific TDH is a 28 passenger seated bus with polished hand rails and recovered vinyl seats in the correct pale green color. The interior also has a period correct fare box, period correct epoxy plastic white steering wheel with GMC center badge, complete dash board with speedometer, oil pressure gauge, air pressure gauge as well as all the switches for exterior lights, dome lights, headlights high and low, step light, buzzer, sign control and door controls. The mileage was last recorded on 1/1/84 at 730,862 miles. The bus rides on a full air suspension with air brakes as well as 20-inch 6 lug steel wheels wrapped in Power King tube style tires all the way around. Don't miss the opportunity of catching this rare and hard to find bus which would make a perfect and eye catching addition to any collection or museum of transportation history.
