page_title: Red Jammers
section_title: 1999–2002 restoration
hierarchical_section_title: Red Jammers / History / 1999–2002 restoration
caption_attribution_description: Tour bus in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA. These red "jammers" are from the 1930s, refurbished several times and they run now on propane gas. original caption: Classy, hmm?
context_page_description: Red Jammers are the vintage White Motor Company/Bender Body Company Model 706 buses used at Glacier National Park in the United States to transport park visitors since 1936. While the buses are called reds for their distinctive livery, painted to match the color of ripe mountain ash berries, the bus drivers are called jammers because of the sound the gears made when the driver shifts on the steep roads of the park. The "jamming" sound came from the unsynchronised transmissions, where double-clutching was required to shift gears prior to a 1989 retrofit that added automatic transmissions.
context_section_description: In 1989, the Red Jammers were retrofitted with automatic transmissions, power steering, power brakes, new fuel-injected engines, and new axles. The replacement of the original standard transmissions eliminated the trademark "jamming" sound. However, the well-intentioned modifications in 1989 added stresses to the frame; during the summer 1999 season, one of the Red Jammers lost a front axle after the increased stresses had cracked the front frame members, and closer inspection revealed cracks in many buses, forcing the park's concessionaire to retire the fleet immediately. By that year, it was estimated that each bus had operated for at least 600,000 miles (970,000 km), assuming 100 miles (160 km) of operation each day for 60 years of 100-day seasons. The initial reaction was to make the retirement permanent, but a letter writing and phone campaign convinced the National Park Service to inspect the buses more thoroughly after the 1999 season.
  Bus no. 98 was driven 2,000 miles (3,200 km) to Michigan for inspection by Ford in February 2000; Ford, which made a donation of $6.5 million to renovate the fleet, used no. 98 as a renovation prototype, with the cost for the pilot renovation to be shared between Ford and the park's concessionaire. The updated no. 98 debuted at Lake McDonald Lodge on June 21, 2001; a second prototype, no. 105, was rebuilt using a smaller Ford E350 chassis. The cost of restoring no. 98 was US$202,000 (equivalent to $300,000 in 2019), of which Ford paid $177,000; subsequent restoration costs were reduced to US$140,000 (equivalent to $208,000 in 2019) per bus.
  Glacier's entire operating fleet were modified between 2000-2002 by Ford Motor Company in conjunction with TransGlobal in Livonia, Michigan, to run on propane or gas to lessen their environmental impact. Ford 5.4L V8s were fitted to the chassis. The bodies were removed from their original chassis and fitted to modern Ford E Series van chassis, which were stretched to match the original 176-inch (4,500 mm) wheelbase. The fenders were replaced with fiberglass replicas to accommodate the wider wheels, reduced in diameter from 21 to 16 inches (530 to 410 mm), and numerous detail improvements were made, including replacing the original plywood floors with aluminum, upgrading exterior lights, and fitting safety glass windows.
  In late 2018, another renovation was announced for the Red Jammer fleet. The engines installed in the earlier renovation will be replaced by hybrid-assisted 6.2L V8 engines, replacing the 5.4L V8s fitted in 2000–02, and cosmetic details, including new wheels 19.5 inches (500 mm) in diameter and gauges, will more closely resemble the original equipment as delivered in the late 1930s. The modifications will be carried out by Legacy Classic Trucks, based in Driggs, Idaho.
caption: Red Jammer no. 94 full of passengers (2005), showing exterior changes from 2000–02 renovation.
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