CATERPILLAR 1160/3208 636D-SERIES GILLIGS
Introduced in 1970, the Gillig 636D-Series quickly became the most popular model of Gillig Transit Coach ever built, and by far the longest running in terms of production. Initially, the engine supplied with the 636D models was Caterpillar's 1160, in a three-way partnership with Ford Motor Company (as the Caterpillar 1160 was initially designed as an early PowerStroke line for Ford's F-series trucks). Before long, Caterpillar redesignated the 1160 as the 3208, which Gillig continued offering with many different transmission options. A 636-cid V-8 diesel, the lone drawback with the Caterpillar was its throwaway design. Unlike more common diesel engines with removable piston liners, the Caterpillar 3208 was more akin to a gasoline engine in which the entire block was toast if a piston bore were to fail.
In spite of those drawbacks, the 3208 has proven to be a reliable engine, and many districts would ultimately choose the 3208 as a repower option. The last Gillig produced with a 3208 was built in 1990.
COLUMBIA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT BUS NO. 28 - CALIFORNIA STATE - NEW
This bus is one of the finest examples of workmanship and is a fantastic one to drive. It is a 1977 Gillig 636D-13 and hails from Columbia Elementary School District out of Redding, California. After serving its time as a school bus, it lived a life of retirement as a marijuana growing operation, and had been retrofitted as a mobile drying room for that purpose. Additionally, from 1995-2016, it had been used as a storage shed.
Subsequently, it was purchased by Mark Demler out of Martinez, California, who plans to restore the bus to its former glory. These photos were taken at a Ride and Drive event in Fresno, California, hosted by fellow Gillig owner/enthusiast Al Jennings, as well as the the Pacific Bus Museum out of Fremont, California. Photos by Steve Rosenow/GilligCoachesNET
CORNING UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT BUS NO. 11 - CALIFORNIA STATE - NEW
This bus is one of the finest examples of workmanship and is a fantastic one to drive. It is a 1974 Gillig 636D-13. After serving its time as a school bus, it lived a life of retirement as a church bus for Gethsemane Ministries out of Long Beach for over 20 years. It is equipped with a Caterpillar 3208 and a Fuller RT-610 ten speed transmission. It is a true blast to drive!
Subsequently, it was purchased by Al Jennings out of Fresno, California, who is in the process of restoring this gem. These photos were taken at a Ride and Drive event in Fresno, California, hosted by fellow Gillig owner/enthusiast Al Jennings, as well as the the Pacific Bus Museum out of Fremont, California. Photos by Steve Rosenow/GilligCoachesNET
CHIMACUM SCHOOL DISTRICT BUS NO. 43 - WASHINGTON STATE
Not much is known about this bus, except it was retired from the Chimacum School District in Chimacum, Washington, and purchased by David Walker of Hansville, Washington. His plans were to convert it to an RV. Special thanks go to Mr. Walker for allowing this photo opportunity, who also uses the bus for occasional Boy Scout field trips. After these photos were taken, the bus was sold, and its current whereabouts are unknown.
CAMAS SCHOOL DISTRICT BUSES NO. 2 and 19 - WASHINGTON STATE
These buses, operated by the Camas School District, were 636D-13-series Gilligs. No information is known about bus number 2, but it is believed to be a pre-1976 Gillig in the fact that Washington State began requiring all school buses to be equipped with 8-way flashers that year, and bus #2 does not have the 8-way system.
Bus #19 is a 1979 Gillig with a Caterpillar 1160 diesel engine and a Spicer 5-speed manual transmission. This bus featured one thing hardly ever seen on a Gillig with this bodystyle - and that is a manual door opener.
Photos and information provided by Stephen E. Adams
SNOQUALMIE VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT BUS NO. 26 - WASHINGTON STATE
This bus was formerly operated by the Snoqualmie Valley School District in Washington State. It is equipped with a Caterpillar 3208 diesel engine and a four-speed automatic transmission. It is a 1979 Gillig with a 72 passenger capacity. After its career with Snoqualmie Valley ended, the bus would later be purchased by GilligCoaches.NET contributor and Gillig Coach Club co-founder Tim Olsen out of Bremerton, Washington. A partial restoration had been done on the bus, including new steel for the rear bench and a complete reworking of the factory sound system. After Tim sold it, its whereabouts became unknown.
SNOQUALMIE VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT BUS NO.'s 18 and 27 - WASHINGTON STATE
These two Gilligs, both 1979 models, were the identical twin counterparts to former Snoqualmie Valley School District bus number 26, and were part of the same order. Photos taken by Tim Olsen at Western Bus Sales in Clatskanie, OR. (photos added November 20, 2006)
BREMERTON SCHOOL DISTRICT BUS NO. 22 - WASHINGTON STATE
This Gillig, a 1976, was formerly operated by the Bremerton School District in Bremerton, Washington. It was retired in 1999 and purchased by a resident Olalla, Washington whose initial purpose was to convert it. It has since been sitting in his yard. Note the stovepipe hanging out the first window on the side of the bus. When this bus was photographed on June 10, 2006, I was told it ran by its owner, but could not get a firm confirmation. (Tim Olsen photos, added November 20, 2006)
BREMERTON SCHOOL DISTRICT BUS NO.'s 26 and 27 - WASHINGTON STATE
These two Gilligs, both manufactured in September of 1980, are sister buses manufactured one right after the other. No other information is known at this time about these two, but I am working on uncovering a little more information, and a new set of photos. They bear the serial number 636-D13-A, both have 78 passenger capacity ratings, and both are equipped with the Caterpillar 3208 Diesel. These pictures were taken on Tuesday, May 16, 2006.
In 2010, these two buses were replaced by Thomas Saf-T-Liner ER HDX models, ending a long, storied history of Bremerton's once vibrant Gillig fleet.
BREMERTON SCHOOL DISTRICT BUS NO. 4 - WASHINGTON STATE
These photos were taken on December 29, 2006 at a private residence in Port Orchard, Washington. This bus, originally owned and operated by the Bremerton School District in Bremerton, Washington, is a 1974 Gillig 636D-12 powered by a Caterpillar 3208 diesel and a Spicer 6252 five-speed transmission.
PUYALLUP SCHOOL DISTRICT BUS NO.'s 1, 2, 9, and 16 - WASHINGTON STATE
These Gilligs, all manufactured in 1978, are owned by the Puyallup School District in Puyallup, Washington. Each bus is a sister bus to each other and was part of a once-all-Gillig fleet. Each of these buses are a 636D-13-A with a 78 passenger capacity and are equipped with a Caterpillar 3208 diesel engine mated to an allison automatic transmission.
Bus #01 was manufactured in November of 1978, and its serial number is E-5007.
Bus #02 was manufactured in November of 1978, and its serial number is E-5010
Bus #09 was manufactured in October of 1978, and its serial number is E-5029
Bus #16 was manufactured in November of 1978, and its serial number is E-5031
Interestingly, each bus was built without a rear Gillig emblem, and somewhere along the line, someone mistakenly placed the model number placard on the front body wall on the bus in the wrong way. Instead of reading "636" like it should read, these buses say "963,", and Gillig never built a series 963 bus. Additionally, Bus #02 has been retired and is now undergoing conversion by the district into an Emergency Mobile Command Unit in case a major disaster strikes the school district. Bus #16 was undergoing brake repair work on the rear axle at the time I took these photos.
All of these buses have since been retired, and aside from the whereabouts of #1 (which was converted to a mobile farm vehicle in California), the rest are unknown.
EVERGREEN LUTHERAN HIGH SCHOOL BUS NO. 525 - WASHINGTON STATE
This Gillig is a 1976 Gillig manufactured on January 20, 1976. Its model number is 636D-13 and its serial number is
E-3217. It is not known as to what school district owned this Gillig, although it may be an ex-Bremerton School District bus. This bus was photographed at Evergreen Lutheran High School in Silverdale, Washington on May 8, 2006. Features of this bus include the original diamond-plated stainless steel seat backing and the vertical metal stanchions just aft of the entrance steps. It is equipped with a Caterpillar 3208 diesel and a 5-speed manual transmission.
Interestingly, when this bus was repainted, they decided to leave out the trademark twin wraparound pinstripes on the front of the bus.
Sadly, after these photos were taken, the bus experienced a major mechanical failure while on a trip to Seattle, and was scrapped.
EVERGREEN UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT BUS NO. 65 - CALIFORNIA STATE
This bus, a 1981 Gillig, is powered by a Caterpillar 3208. These images were sourced from an eBay listing in November, 2006.
BAINBRIDGE ISLAND PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT BUS NO.'s 08, 09, and 15 - WASHINGTON STATE
These buses were photographed on March 11, 2008, the day after I photographed Olympia School District bus #41 (featured in the 318D-series section). These buses were in pristine condition when I visited the school district's transportation office, but interestingly enough, the transportation director and shop foreman were nervous of my being there to photograph them, His reason was simply because the buses were really dirty when we were there (read, a lot of road dirt and grime). He'd wanted them to really shine in the photoset we'd taken, but I assured them that through the magic of Adobe Photoshop as well as my own camera's abilities, the dirt and grime wouldn't show up nearly as bad (especially on #15, which was the dirtiest of them by far). In my humble opinion - and through examination of the master photos, the dirt really didn't show up that bad at all, and the photos here were simply post processed and resized without the need for photoshopping the dirt out of the frames shot. I also had the opportunity to photograph what's considered a rarity in the school bus industry - a rear-engined Crown Supercoach.
These buses, with the exception of #09, are all native to the district and have been well maintained throughout their service lives. Bus #09, on the other hand, comes from Oregon and was purchased five years ago from the Eugene School District. At last report (and through a check of Washington's online school district bus inventory catalog), these buses are still in service for Bainbridge Island Public School District.
A generous thanks goes to the transportation director and shop foreman of Bainbridge Island School District for allowing this shoot to happen.
Bus 08 is a 78 passenger capacity 1979 Gillig 636D-13, serial number E-5042 and was built on October 10, 1978.
Bus #09 originally hailed from the Eugene School District in Eugene, Oregon (hence the single stanchion post visible in a few photos; Washington required two, one on the other side of the aisle behind the driver at the time this bus was built). It was bought by the Bainbridge Island Public School District about five years ago. It's an early 1978 model due to the fact that it still has a stanchion post (Gillig stopped placing these in their buses later that year as states opted out of the practice of having them installed). It's build date is March 17, 1978, serial number E-4122 and has a 72 passenger capacity.
Bus #15 is a 1981 model year unit, and is one of the last of the Gillig Transit Coach line of school buses produced. It's built date is September of 1980 (exact date unknown). It is a 636D-13 model with a 78 passenger capacity rating. Serial number is 05506. It's slightly unusual in the fact that Gilligs of this era tended to have a rough textured paint to the ceiling panels to aid in sound deadening, but this bus was painted with a high-gloss paint on the interior. Personally, I prefer this choice over the textured paint.
CASTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT BUS NO. 16 - WASHINGTON STATE
It's common here at GilligCoachesNET to photograph a unique bus, and this one is no exception. This Gillig originally was featured on the "Miscellaneous GIlligs" section of the Photo Gallery due to the principal fact that nothing else was known about it. Nonetheless, two days after I posted the photograph, Castle Rock resident and longtime GilligCoaches.NET contributor Mark Obtinario sent me an e-mail. The e-mail properly identified the bus as being equipped with a Caterpillar 3208 diesel engine, and stated that this bus was a shop queen due to some rather hard-to-solve electrical gremlins. What makes this bus so unique among the vast amount of Gilligs featured, is that this was the very last Gillig ordered by Castle Rock School District, which at the time was primarily an all-Gillig fleet. It was photographed through chain-link fence at the Castle Rock School District bus garage on February 29, 2008.
MEADOW GLADE SCHOOL BUS NO.'s 4 and 81-77 - WASHINGTON STATE
These two Gilligs were ex-Buckley School District units that were purchased by Meadow Glade School (a Seventh Day Adventist private elementary school) in Battle Ground, Washington. Bus #4 is a 1979 Gillig that was presumably built immediately prior to Gillig adopting the split-sash window design (similar to the Calvary Church - former Toppenish School District unit on the 555D-Series page) due to the fact that it has the textured green paint on the ceiling as opposed to the shiny gloss pale green Gillig had used for decades prior. The serial number on #4 is 05207 and was built on August 22, 1979, and is incidentally former Buckley School District bus number 25. Bus # 81-77 was built in October of 1980 and its serial number is 05496. These buses were well taken care of on the outside, as the paintjob on these two looked almost brand new (especially 81-77's), but the interiors of them looked far worse (I'll let the photos speak). These photos were taken on February 29, 2008 on a visit down to potentially buy these two buses for restoration, as they were fully intact (even the 8-ways worked). However, due to mechanical failures (which were engine-related) on both buses which were beyond our means to repair, we decided not to go forward with it. (After these photos were taken, both buses were disposed of to a local scrap yard)
EL DORADO UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT BUS NO.'s 25, 30, and 31 - CALIFORNIA STATE
These buses were featured on eBay sometime in late 2006, and were from El Dorado Union High School District in California. Each Gillig was powered by a Caterpillar 3208 diesel engine, and Fuller Roadranger RT610 10-speed manual transmissions.
The serial number of #25, a 1978 636D-12 is E5050 and at the time of the listing, did not have an engine.
The serial number of #30, a 1981 Gillig, is 05569 and was listed as needing an engine overhaul.
The serial number of #31, a 1975 Gillig, is E3055 and was in complete running and intact condition. It fetched nearly $3000 when the auction concluded, and was in remarkable condition for a Gillig that old.
PUYALLUP SCHOOL DISTRICT BUS NO. 44 - WASHINGTON STATE
This particular bus hailed from the Puyallup School District and was auctioned off in 2004. In late 2008, it showed up on the Seattle Craigslist for an asking price of $1500. After its whereabouts became unknown, it was thought to be lost as it had been apparently well maintained aside from dust and dirt.
As it would turn out, it ended up being bought by a husband-and-wife team who turned it into a lunchroom cafe on U.S. 2 just outside the town of Monroe, Washington. Sadly (and much to the ire of many Gillig bus fans), this bus was scrapped in a school bus demolition derby sometime in late 2018.
CRAIGSLIST FINDS - VARIOUS
This bus, located in Oregon was about as unidentified as it comes when it made its way to the site in 2009, and appears to have all of its seats removed. It also wears a rather unique front pinstriping pattern, and rather faded paint!
