busnews.com.au May 2019 ABC^47conditions. They tested the
buses relentlessly under extreme
conditions – nothing like the
Australian outback conditions
to test the limits, the ultimate
research and testing ‘machine’.
This GM Denning DenAir Mono,
build number 955, is powered by
a GM Detroit Diesel V8 two-stroke
engine – 568ci model 8V71 –
that’s rear-mounted in-line, with
a five-speed Fuller constant-mesh
transmission.
Driver explains that when you
purchased one of these engines
you’d be disappointed if you
didn’t get a million miles out of it
- so it’s been pretty amazing.
Standing outside and listening
to the GM Detroit engine run
there is arguably no other that
has the sound like this one has.
HERITAGE FLEET
Driver Bus Lines in Mount Waverley, Victoria, is
one of the few surviving foundation family run
companies in our industry. The business was
founded by the Driver brothers Eric and Reg in
March 1931. Today they have a huge 145-strong
fleet and the enviable Driver Classics historic
fleet.
The impact that family owned bus operators,
such as Driver Bus Lines, have had on our
industry is immense. The pioneering days’ hard
work and determination combined with family
values set our industry as we know it into one
where our history is certainly celebrated and
definitely respected.
Gary Driver, director of Driver Bus
Lines, was the driving force behind the
Classic Fleet.
“Never in my wildest dreams would I think
[we] would have an old bus of any sort. I have
always had an interest in all buses and I guess
the interest in the older ones started when
we would sell buses in my younger days,
just because they come to their time,”
Driver explained.
“I went to a bus bash in the US in 1982 and I
saw a Clipper and a round ‘bullet back’ GM bus,
and I remembered the Clippers that Pioneer
had. I remembered there was a Sapphire Coast
service that came up from Melbourne; they
had a Clipper on it. I saw this immaculate blue
restored Clipper and I thought, ‘We could do
that, we have them in this country’.
“So, I came back and tried to find one. It
took me six months following leads all over the
country and I eventually found one. We bought
it as an old wreck and spent two years restoring
it. We had it ready for the 25th anniversary of
the first non-stop service that Pioneer did to
Sydney. The Clipper was our first one, and we
were only always intending to have one bus.
Then, all of a sudden, another opportunity
came – can we have two? Is it possible to have
two? I guess so ... then we bought another one
and so it went on,” he laughed.OUR STOCK
So, how did the classic fleet start exactly?
“Primarily, we always wanted to get some
of our own vehicles from the past, that’s why
we’ve got the Bedfords, the wrap-around
SB3 and the Federal. And I wouldn’t mind a
CommAir – that would be a good one to get.
“When we bought the day-tour business offPioneer, having worked with Pioneer in the ’70s
and ’80s, it seemed because of my fondness for
those vehicles it was a logical step to try and
get a Pioneer bus. The idea was to get Driver
buses and the Pioneer buses and then over
time that broadened to any vehicle that we
thought was worth it,” Driver explained.
“We have restored probably most of them,
but some of them like that Masterton Bedford
that John Masterton did the restoration [on] is
such an immaculate job.
“So, if you can get a bus and you learn this
as you go along, that is partially restored or
got everything on it, it’s so much easier than
getting a wreck.
“The job we did on that Clipper was a
monumental job, but when we got the MC7
[1972 MCI MC7, below] it was all there, so we
didn’t have to do anything. We did things, but
not like the ground up restoration.
“Getting the outside right can be very
difficult. And the 4106 [1961 GM PD 4106,
above] is a good example. The guy that we
bought that off had spent 10 or 12 years
restoring it to become a motorhome. It had no
interior and it had been totally gutted, but on
the outside he had done an excellent job. He
had done some of the mechanicals, but we had
a lot to do. The outside was perfect, it couldn’t
get better.
“He found the stuff in the US and had it sent
out, so again it’s half-way there. We had to find
donor buses with interiors – and it took us a
couple of years to put that interior in – and do
the mechanicals, but it has come out looking
like a brand new bus.”