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I want it. My very own Futurliner

GM only made twelve because they realized that while busses were preferable to light rail, the real Futur [sic] of profitability was a car for every individual.
 
holy shit thats cool! i been looking for a small RV for gymnastics season. we need to drive all over northern IL, ind and iowa
 
I'm thinking it would be a pokey princess if one were to encounter any significant grades during your trip. The inside is truly artwork and looks comfy though..
 
BUTCH1 said:
Low on power, 145 HP for a vehicle that size, yikes!, hope you have all day to get anywhere..
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"The pre-1953 Futurliners were powered by 4-cylinder diesel engines and 4x4 mechanical transmissions.

The 1953 version, however, is powered by a 302 inline 6 cylinder OHV GMC engine. The engine is coupled to a Korean War vintage four speed Hydramatic automatic transmission that is bolted to the backside of another two speed gearbox. This gives the driver the option of selecting from 8 forward speeds. Complicating this a bit more is another 3-speed PTO gearbox. To shift this gearbox, the driver must leave the cockpit (presumably with the vehicle stopped) and travel to the rear quarter of the vehicle and manually select one of the three gears. With this combination, the driver now has 24 selections to choose from. The restoration crew reports that the rear-end has yet another gear reduction, but they haven’t figured out quite how that works yet. In spite of the gearing ratios, some of the original "Paraders," as they referred to themselves, recall attainable speeds of not much more than 40 mph!"
 
The Futurliner is a massive bus like vehicle, 33’ long, 8’ wide, 11’-7" tall vehicle with a whopping 248" wheelbase. An unusual feature of the Futurliner is its dual (side by side) front wheels. Each wheel has its own set of brakes, brake drums and bearings. Nearly all of the Futurliners had problems with their power steering pumps failing, presumably because of the tremendous force required to turn the wheels.

The original Futurliners, prior to their 1953 refurbishing, had bubble canopies over the cockpit (driver’s compartment), similar to a fighter plane of the era. This arrangement was brutally hot for the drivers and the vehicles were not air-conditioned! The cockpit is reached by climbing a stairway to the top of the 11’-7" vehicle. This positions the driver’s head at about the 11’ level and makes for a terrifying first time experience when going under an overpass!
The vehicle has an incredible 19 access and display doors on it. Two massive 16x5’ doors open to expose the display housed within the vehicle. A 16’ lighting panel is attached to the top of the overhead doors and a large light bar rises from the roof another 7’ up above the Futurliner for additional illumination. To provide electricity for all this lighting, a massive twin 6-71 200KW Detroit Diesel generator was used.
Because the brakes were so poor, one Futurliner rear-ended another and consequently they were instructed to stay 300 feet apart. They all had radio receivers but only the lead and tail vehicle had transmitters. The Futurliners were nicknamed the "Red Elephants."
 
LTC8K6 said:
"The pre-1953 Futurliners were powered by 4-cylinder diesel engines and 4x4 mechanical transmissions.

The 1953 version, however, is powered by a 302 inline 6 cylinder OHV GMC engine. The engine is coupled to a Korean War vintage four speed Hydramatic automatic transmission that is bolted to the backside of another two speed gearbox. This gives the driver the option of selecting from 8 forward speeds. Complicating this a bit more is another 3-speed PTO gearbox. To shift this gearbox, the driver must leave the cockpit (presumably with the vehicle stopped) and travel to the rear quarter of the vehicle and manually select one of the three gears. With this combination, the driver now has 24 selections to choose from. The restoration crew reports that the rear-end has yet another gear reduction, but they haven’t figured out quite how that works yet. In spite of the gearing ratios, some of the original "Paraders," as they referred to themselves, recall attainable speeds of not much more than 40 mph!"
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You must be a lot of fun at parties. 🙁

The vision of the future isn't about the tin foil and the man behind the curtain, it's a glimpse of what could be. An amazing possibility. It's not how well the bear dances but, that it dances at all.
 
MagnusTheBrewer said:
You guys remind me of the shop who put disc brakes on my '57 Chevy street rod. They wondered why I didn't just buy a new car. 😕

Sometimes history and style are worth more than the individual parts.
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I kind of get that, I'm just not sure this thing does it for me; seems slow and not safe or reliable or comfortable to drive.

Definitely a head-turner, though. Looks like a toy tin car.

Appreciate the thread anyway, as I'd not heard of these until now.
 
So cool!


Have considered getting a coach but man that drivers cockpit and stripper pole in the back is sweet for a shaggin waggin
 
For that price I'd just get a boat. You could get a nice brand new 40'+ cat for that price. But I guess the people buying these aren't really interested in using them.
 
MagnusTheBrewer said:
You guys remind me of the shop who put disc brakes on my '57 Chevy street rod. They wondered why I didn't just buy a new car. 😕

Sometimes history and style are worth more than the individual parts.
Click to expand...

Oh I can totally see putting disc brakes on a street rod. This thing on the other hand, I just don't get it. It is slow, it is ugly, it is hideous inside and you could get something much nicer and more modern for way less money.

Nostalgia just isn't enough of an incentive for me to ever consider buying this IMO. I do not want.
 
MagnusTheBrewer said:
You guys remind me of the shop who put disc brakes on my '57 Chevy street rod. They wondered why I didn't just buy a new car. 😕

Sometimes history and style are worth more than the individual parts.
Click to expand...

Your '57 is stylish, as is the futurliner, the big difference is your vehicle can get out of it's own way and is probably fun to drive, the futurliner, with that anemic power-plant is a moveable traffic jam. I agree with others though, at that price it's gonna be a hanger queen, too risky to take it out..
 
any reason why the asking price is $790,000? Almost couple of orders magnitude more than what I would expect it to sale for the nostalgia.
 
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