Given that a few snowflakes are falling as I write this, you might forgive me for MMing about rolling off to a sunnier clime just now. And since I’m MMing, I might as well let my imagination run a bit wild, like being behind the wheel of this little bus converted to an RV. Looks like just about the right size; aerodynamic too. What shall we power it with? A turbo-diesel from an early Sprinter? Eighteen mpg? Maybe twenty, taking it easy? Now I just need to figure out a color scheme for that three-tone paint job.
BTW, I know nothing more about this vehicle except for the title: Sprott’s Coach. Does it say “Mexico” below the windows? Might it be Mexico City?
Update: Thanks to the CC Sleuths we know it’s a Sprotts Mexico Tours bus in LA, and the second picture (after the jump) shows it even has a restroom in the back. Makes it even more suitable for an RV. Thanks!
Your powers of observation are slipping, Paul. That’s Old Glory mounted on the roof above the windshield.
Instead of MEXICO, maybe it’s METRO painted below the windows.
That also looks like a street sign mounted on the pole behind the bus. The cross street looks like “Adams.”
Maybe there are clues in their sartorial choices. Why is the guy in the front wearing riding boots? Was that perhaps the livery for the drivers? A carryover from horse-drawn omnibus days?
But also a Mexican flag mounted on the back.
Here’s the church: 621 W. Adams Blvd. … in Los Angeles:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:St._Vincent_de_Paul_Catholic_Church_(Los_Angeles).jpg
Very cool I love the 1/4 light windows any Japanese TDI light truck powertrain would do it would make a unique RV
Here’s another view:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/austin7nut/5140874276/in/photostream/
It does say Mexico Tours. But they’re obviously in downtown Los Angeles.
Found the photo and two more here:
http://photos.lapl.org/carlweb/jsp/FullRecord?databaseID=968&record=1&controlNumber=71719
“Three men examine a Sprott’s Mexico tour bus parked in front of the Automobile Club of Southern California on Figueroa Street and Adams Boulevard. A man is wearing leather boots and a uniform and appears to be the tour guide. The bus has an American flag mounted. St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church is behind them. ”
Still can’t tell what it is or who built it.
Thanks Mike. Now would you please tell me how to do that (find the original source).
He probably did the same thing I did… google image search.
You go to image search, and then drag and drop the image into the search box. It’s a handy way to find other instances of a given image, and sometimes youcan find a page that has others from the same set.
Actually I didn’t know about that Google trick, cool! But I just tried it and it didn’t help.
Once c5karl placed it in California, I Googled: “Sprott’s” california bus. This site turned up on the first page of hits:
http://murdercycles.tumblr.com/post/15329876518/sprotts-mexico-tour-bus-parked-in-front-of-the
I discovered the photo there is just a link to the LA Public Library site, so I found it there, with its companions.
I’ve spent plenty of time Google searching for business and (mostly) for pleasure, so I have gotten pretty good at it. It’s mostly just trying various search terms, and using the quotes to make Google take it literally. But I still haven’t been good enough to track down what exactly this unique creation is.
Looks like a Ford V8 grill on the front. I’d say from a model B.
http://books.google.com/books?id=uEAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA62&lpg=PA62&dq=sprott's+mexico+tours&source=bl&ots=KEG7qMK1_E&sig=LD-xe
See page 62 – $325 for a 30 day tour of Mexico. There were sleeping buses accompanied by a cafeteria bus.
That’s a great find. And you’ve placed it in 1935.
Trying different search terms in Google I’ve not been able to find out anymore about it.
I looked for “Sprott” in http://www.coachbuilt.com/ but did not come up with anything.
In the first photo, perhaps the driver is explaining about the front fender skirts and the resulting wide turning circle.
You know, there was really a can-do spirit in those days. Who nowadays would even think of setting up his own enterprise to do tours to Mexico, let alone design and have built specialized vehicles for the job?
The guy is dressed like a wanna-be state cop or mountie.
Never understood the pants and boots when there isn’t a horse involved.
Lots of roads weren’t paved back then, especially in Mexico.
Lots of roads still aren’t paved, especially in Mexico. 🙂
I loved looking for Adams Blvd. in LA. Do you think that we could also guess the Curbside, not only the classic?
What I like the most is comparing the streets in the original photos with what appears in Google Maps. Also, I think in this case people would be invited to post the image or the link.
What do you think?
What a gorgeous find! That bus is just absolutely beautiful…
So cool when some of the B&B can chip in further info, too. I knew the background was familiar, having lived in LA from ’86 to ’91. 🙂