07-05-2013, 10:24 AM
Hello all! I'm from... well that question isn't as easy to answer as it could be. I have a house in NM, my family is curently living in SoCal, and I'm in MD working, where I hope everybody will be soon. And I'm originally from OR. So, I'm from somewhere.
I do not have a Newell, but am considering one... or three? So here is the clue that I'm hoping you fine people with lots of experience can chime in on. I'm a mechanical engineer, so have just enough knowledge to be sure that I don't know anything...
There are three late 70's early 80's Newells available. I'm sure that many of you have seen the postings. I have an interest in at least one, but if a deal that makes sense could be made, thought all three could be interesting...
But that is all still a bit on the fantasy side until I figure out what I could be getting in to.
I have seen them in person, and all need tires and batteries. Not sure the tires would even make it on to a tow bed. There is a report that states one of them wasn't running, possibly due to batteries, but I've not heard any of the systems operate. What I was able to see is all over the map.
I could only get inside 2 of the coaches as there was a key issue with one of them. Outside, the units are all relatively complete, with some trim, paint, and odds and ends missing or broken. The odds and ends could be pretty expensive, or not, but that goes back to my knowledge gap. Several of the rail window seals are coming out, and many of the doors are hard to operate, or line up to get latched. I don't think I'm too worried about that though. Of the 2 I was able see inside, both had evidence of some level of past fire. One had a roof A/C unit that had clearly replaced one that had smoked. One has a pump mounted in the basement that had flamed... Those are a bit more disconcerting as the level of damage and replacement required to ensure safety could range from minor, to... well not minor.
Water damage and water damage repairs are evident in the overheads of the two units I could see. And the third has some loose or damaged components on the roof, so wouldn't expect much better.
The interiors are pretty much intact, but worn, and of course dated to the age of each coach. Overall the floors were solid, but did find a couple of spots that may indicate damage. The basements were also intact, but the structural elements appeared to have some delam and separation in areas. So back to likely water damage.
One of the coaches has significant cracking of paneling and cabinetry. Almost all the way around mid-ship, but spread out over about the middle 15 feet of teh coach. Cracks are several feet over 2 feet long in many cases and open in several places. Not knowing anything about buses, but looking at this from a purely structural perspective, I would think this could indicate possible strutural damage. But I suppose it could also be representative of a run that really flexed and twisted the coach. But again, I've no experience in which to base a reliable opinion.
The mechanicals all appear intact, no big holes in the blocks, big fluids failures, etc. But a simple visual inspection is far from sufficient to determine how much life is in any of the components. No compression checks, operating pressures, temperatures, ect. No idea the condition of the injectors or pumps, turbo bearings, etc. The amount of time they have not been operated is considerable, but unknown. Have no idea of the care of operation, cold (shock) starts/stops or other operator behavior that could crack pistons and wipe bearings. Not entirely sure that the air systems are all together. The brakes may be intact and what I see are disconnected service air components? But, would take time to sort for sure.
All of the coaches' suspensions have leaked down, but unsure if this is a realtively natural operating condition or if it indicates leakage of some type.
The price for all three is $35k, but I think that is too high?
So with much unknown, what do you all think? Is this too much? Or too much for a newbie? At what point is a coach not worth restoring?
OK, so what are your opinions?
I do not have a Newell, but am considering one... or three? So here is the clue that I'm hoping you fine people with lots of experience can chime in on. I'm a mechanical engineer, so have just enough knowledge to be sure that I don't know anything...
There are three late 70's early 80's Newells available. I'm sure that many of you have seen the postings. I have an interest in at least one, but if a deal that makes sense could be made, thought all three could be interesting...
But that is all still a bit on the fantasy side until I figure out what I could be getting in to.
I have seen them in person, and all need tires and batteries. Not sure the tires would even make it on to a tow bed. There is a report that states one of them wasn't running, possibly due to batteries, but I've not heard any of the systems operate. What I was able to see is all over the map.
I could only get inside 2 of the coaches as there was a key issue with one of them. Outside, the units are all relatively complete, with some trim, paint, and odds and ends missing or broken. The odds and ends could be pretty expensive, or not, but that goes back to my knowledge gap. Several of the rail window seals are coming out, and many of the doors are hard to operate, or line up to get latched. I don't think I'm too worried about that though. Of the 2 I was able see inside, both had evidence of some level of past fire. One had a roof A/C unit that had clearly replaced one that had smoked. One has a pump mounted in the basement that had flamed... Those are a bit more disconcerting as the level of damage and replacement required to ensure safety could range from minor, to... well not minor.
Water damage and water damage repairs are evident in the overheads of the two units I could see. And the third has some loose or damaged components on the roof, so wouldn't expect much better.
The interiors are pretty much intact, but worn, and of course dated to the age of each coach. Overall the floors were solid, but did find a couple of spots that may indicate damage. The basements were also intact, but the structural elements appeared to have some delam and separation in areas. So back to likely water damage.
One of the coaches has significant cracking of paneling and cabinetry. Almost all the way around mid-ship, but spread out over about the middle 15 feet of teh coach. Cracks are several feet over 2 feet long in many cases and open in several places. Not knowing anything about buses, but looking at this from a purely structural perspective, I would think this could indicate possible strutural damage. But I suppose it could also be representative of a run that really flexed and twisted the coach. But again, I've no experience in which to base a reliable opinion.
The mechanicals all appear intact, no big holes in the blocks, big fluids failures, etc. But a simple visual inspection is far from sufficient to determine how much life is in any of the components. No compression checks, operating pressures, temperatures, ect. No idea the condition of the injectors or pumps, turbo bearings, etc. The amount of time they have not been operated is considerable, but unknown. Have no idea of the care of operation, cold (shock) starts/stops or other operator behavior that could crack pistons and wipe bearings. Not entirely sure that the air systems are all together. The brakes may be intact and what I see are disconnected service air components? But, would take time to sort for sure.
All of the coaches' suspensions have leaked down, but unsure if this is a realtively natural operating condition or if it indicates leakage of some type.
The price for all three is $35k, but I think that is too high?
So with much unknown, what do you all think? Is this too much? Or too much for a newbie? At what point is a coach not worth restoring?
OK, so what are your opinions?