The Blue Bird Mini Bird was a Type B school bus built by Blue Bird Corporation, introduced in 1977. It was dropped in the early 2000s as market tastes shifted away from Type B school buses.
In 1977, Blue Bird introduced the Mini Bird as a Type B school bus. It was designed with a maximum capacity of 38 students,[1] higher than the Type A cutaway vans of the time. In the manner of larger Type C and Type D buses, the Mini Bird was designed with a 96" (243 cm) wide body and 77" (195 cm) headroom. The Mini Bird's large interior dimensions proved popular with operators that carried special-needs students, which was the primary market for the Mini Bird.
Over its production life, the Mini Bird changed very little from its introduction. Aside from powertrain changes, the most significant changes amounted to a change of the instrument panel in the early 1990s, when the GM-van sourced instruments were replaced with a larger instrument cluster sourced from GM medium-duty trucks (similar to changes also made in the TC/2000). In 1995, the round headlights were replaced with square versions.
Mechanical Detailsedit
1995-2000 Blue Bird Mini Bird activity bus
The Mini Bird was based on Chevrolet's P30 step-van chassis and was initially available only with a gasoline engine. In the 1980s, diesel engines (the Chevrolet 6.2L) became an option. In the 1990s, the 6.2L diesel V8 was replaced with a more powerful 6.5L diesel.
Manufacturingedit
Unlike other models in the Blue Bird lineup, the Mini Bird was not assembled in Fort Valley, Georgia. Assembly of the Mini Bird took place in Buena Vista, Virginia (Blue Bird East; which closed in 1992) and in Mount Pleasant, Iowa (Blue Bird Midwest, which closed in 2002).
^ This is an archived version of Blue Bird's webpage for this bus.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Blue Bird Mini Bird.
April 14, 2024
blue, bird, mini, bird, type, school, built, blue, bird, corporation, introduced, 1977, dropped, early, 2000s, market, tastes, shifted, away, from, type, school, buses, overviewmanufacturerblue, bird, corporationproduction1977, 2005designerblue, birdbody, chas. The Blue Bird Mini Bird was a Type B school bus built by Blue Bird Corporation introduced in 1977 It was dropped in the early 2000s as market tastes shifted away from Type B school buses Blue Bird Mini BirdOverviewManufacturerBlue Bird CorporationProduction1977 2005DesignerBlue BirdBody and chassisClassType BBody styleSchool bus Commercial busLayoutintegrated 4x2PlatformChevrolet P30PowertrainEngineGasoline Diesel Contents 1 Overview 2 Mechanical Details 3 Manufacturing 4 See also 5 ReferencesOverview editIn 1977 Blue Bird introduced the Mini Bird as a Type B school bus It was designed with a maximum capacity of 38 students 1 higher than the Type A cutaway vans of the time In the manner of larger Type C and Type D buses the Mini Bird was designed with a 96 243 cm wide body and 77 195 cm headroom The Mini Bird s large interior dimensions proved popular with operators that carried special needs students which was the primary market for the Mini Bird Over its production life the Mini Bird changed very little from its introduction Aside from powertrain changes the most significant changes amounted to a change of the instrument panel in the early 1990s when the GM van sourced instruments were replaced with a larger instrument cluster sourced from GM medium duty trucks similar to changes also made in the TC 2000 In 1995 the round headlights were replaced with square versions Mechanical Details edit nbsp 1995 2000 Blue Bird Mini Bird activity busThe Mini Bird was based on Chevrolet s P30 step van chassis and was initially available only with a gasoline engine In the 1980s diesel engines the Chevrolet 6 2L became an option In the 1990s the 6 2L diesel V8 was replaced with a more powerful 6 5L diesel Manufacturing editUnlike other models in the Blue Bird lineup the Mini Bird was not assembled in Fort Valley Georgia Assembly of the Mini Bird took place in Buena Vista Virginia Blue Bird East which closed in 1992 and in Mount Pleasant Iowa Blue Bird Midwest which closed in 2002 See also edit nbsp Buses portalList of busesReferences edit https web archive org web 19990423054404 http www blue bird com mini html This is an archived version of Blue Bird s webpage for this bus nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Blue Bird Mini Bird Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Blue Bird Mini Bird amp oldid 1174416680, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
