When we acquired our 1996 New Flyer D40LF bus (#9753), we quickly found out that different generations of that bus might look identical but in fact they are quite different in many ways. Parts are not necessarily interchangeable. Those buses came with many variations of powerpacks and wildly different electronics.
Over the years, we have always taken up the opportunity to get bus parts if they are offered, especially if we could access buses that are designated for scrap. Over the years we have referred to these occasions as “Parts Raids” which sounds nefarious but is always done with the permission of the owners.
Our New Flyer D40LF is now 29 years old, parts are difficult to find and in fact we can’t even buy many of the parts we need from the original bus manufacturer. We were very lucky and grateful to Coast Mountain Bus Company last summer when they gave permission for Parts Raids on the final generation of the D40LF’s. We were able to get seats, body panels and glass but engine parts, electronics and accessories were not compatible with our bus.
We were particularly interested in heater fans. There are 8 fans in the roof unit that feed air for the bus heaters and defrosters. During the Christmas Lights Tours we discovered that only 2 fans were working on #9753. None of the later generations had compatible fans.
Enter Sue Walker. From our network of bus spotters, she found a New Flyer D40LF (former CMBC #7432) at the Vancouver Fire Department Training Centre. A compatible bus! However, it was in really sad shape as the Training Centre used it for rescue and victim extraction exercises. After some research, Sue found a contact at the Fire Department and after many follow-up emails and phone calls she got permission for a Parts Raid. We are very grateful to the Vancouver Fire Department for the opportunity. And it wouldn’t have happened without Sue’s unique way with people.
Sue turned the project over to Jason Sharpe who arranged assess to the bus. He talked to the Training Centre about “ground rules” for going on VFD property and what parts we were allowed take off the bus.
We were given February 3rd for access, and we were greeted by the first winter snowstorm of the season. Every window on the bus had been smashed and most of the interior was thrashed. It was minus 3c that day as Jason and I arrived at 9am. We worked on the bus for 6 hours and patiently removed electronics, front and side destination signs, two sets of seat frames half of the rear door and the most important haul: all 8 heater fans off the roof. As the wind blew snow flurries throughout the bus and our feet and hands nearly froze off, I think we got what we needed. To give you a good idea of the condition of the bus, when the VFD Training officer first showed us the bus he said “As you can see, we like to wreck stuff”.
We are very grateful to the VFD for their assistance. This Parts Raid will help keep our 29-year-old bus on the road for many more years.
