About Fun Fleet Bus #3226

Some Specs

#3226

Vin: T8H-5305-288

Built December 1969 for San Francisco Muni

Third generation

102 inches wide/40 feet long, two door

8V71 Detroit/Allison VS-2-8 transmission- low gear ration

48 seats, National seats

Added to the Fun Fleet

This bus was purchased from SF Muni and this one was always special. I had to tow this bus to Perris because of a bad transmission. I rebuilt the clutches and planetaries and it ran for many years. Mostly routing maintenance. I did have to work on the transmission again for another problem but overall it did well.

Feature something

Fun Fleet Bus #3226 was sold to a bus fan I know, James Giraudo, James wanted it painted back to the original livery scheme and that's what we're doing. Check its progress here. James also owns a pretty cool flag company, Pacific Coast Flags.

And Then a Little More

Why Buy This Bus?

I picked this bus because it was one of the best riding fishbowls from Muni. Most to the others were just beat to death and the rehabbed ones were a terrible mess. We drove 3226 all the time and even took it back San Francisco for fun. During the time I owned it, we loved it.

Trouble in Paradise

After inspecting the bus, I could see why it wasn't picked for rehab. It had been in a front accident and also had heavy damage to the side behind the rear doors. Now this is not unusual for Muni buses. They had the worst maintenance record of all transit agencies. All their buses were dented up and endured poor maintenance in general. Hard to believe because San Franciso spent more money on transportation than most transit operations and had strong unions...yet got the honor of being the worst,

#3226 has "bling"

SF fishbowls had, by far, the most interesting fishbowls in the country; take a look

Power steering
Vapor door control valves
front door interlock
side horns
center door outside entrance valves
jake brakes

and specialties in the interior that no other agency had.

Add to it they were the most powerful buses I have ever driven.

This bus required extensive rebuilding,,.

Lotsa Damage

After Some Paint

Getting There

...;It needed the front end straightened out and the entire front dash area rebuilt. It is still in my yard, and we are in the process of the rehab. You'll see it when finished. This bus will be one of very few that will be original.

Getting There

After Some Paint

Getting There

The repairs were extensive but here's a little of what was done. More detailed pics and story to follow.

After Some Paint

A long way from the first photo, #3226 looks great with some fresh paint.