Other GM Futurliners

Other GM Futurliners GM Futurliner Restoration Project National Automotive and Truck Museum of the United States
HOME '33 World's Fair 1936 Parade 1938 Previews 1941 Parade 1953 Parade 1954 Parade Aero-O-Dome Exhibits Demonstrations Appreciation Letters Futurliner In-Line Six Other Futurliners Kadletz Boyajian Boyajian 1 Boyajian 2 Boyjain 3 Valdez Peter Pan Pan 1 Pan 2 Pan 3 Learned Jonsson Paraders Oral Roberts Cathedral Cruiser	Of the 12 vehicles built in 1939-1940, 9 have been located. Two are beyond restoration and are being used to restore another Futurliners. Listed below are the Futurliners we know of.
	BOB VALDEZ
More Pictures	Bob Valdez converted this Futurliner into a customized motor home. It has been featured in a number of different publications. According to published literature, Bob did most of the restoration work himself. It took a lot of patience, perseverance and dedication. Hats off to Bob. This was the Futurliner Don Mayton spotted while in California on a business trip that gave him the "resto-bug" to do one himself. We believe this was up for sale in 2007 on e-Bay.
	PETER PAN BUS COMPANY of Springfield, Massachusetts
More Pictures	The Peter Pan Bus Co. of Springfield, Massachusetts has two Futurliners. One was parted out and the other one restored. We kept in contact to help each other during their the restoration process. Don Mayton visited their shop in September of 1999. Their restoration is not original condition. It was modernized for use as a display vehicle. They completed it in the summer of 2000 and have repainted to the original GM colors in 2007. Word has it that Peter Pan is using 4 cylinder GMC 471 diesel coupled to a HT740 Allison transmission to power their Futurliner. Follow this link for an account of Don Mayton's visit to see the Futurliner.
	FIDO the CANADIAN FUTURLINER
	This Futurliner was owned by Canadians Richard and Mario Petit. It was used by FIDO as an exhibit vehicle to sell cell phones. We were able to buy their spare parts and get excellent technical information from them. They donated their 3^rd gearbox, which they did not use in their restoration. History: After leaving the hands of GM the Futurliner made it's way in 1959 to the Michigan State Police. They used it as a "Safetyliner" display, educating the public of traffic safety and State Police Department activities. When the Michigan State Police were finished with it, it was driven to a junkyard in Spring Lake, Michigan where it resided for a few years. Next it went to Chicago, Illinois, again, under its own power. The group in Canada ultimately acquired it and restored it. In 2005 they decided to sell it and re-restored it to look like an original Futurliner. They sold it in January of 2006 through the Barrett-Jackson auction for four million dollars to Ron Pratte of Chandler, AZ. More pictures of Fido from the Busfan website.
	MIKE KADLETZ, California
More Pictures	Like the other Futurliners Mike's has extensive rust. They have started the "forever job" of replacing rusted metal -- the only way to restore these mammoths. Again we have established excellent communications and will continue to share information as we discover it. Mike has a collection of many antique Fire Trucks ranging from 1940s up through the 1970s.
	BRAD BOYAJIAN, California
More Pictures	Brad Boyajian has acquired two Futurliners -- one for restoration and one for spare parts. He allowed Charlie Glick to make patterns of the aluminum letters for castings for our Futurliner. Bill Putman is doing the restoration work for Brad. History: In 1956 a Futurliner was rear ended by another one that had lost its brakes on a mountain road (as told to us by one of our Paraders). This accident so damaged the vehicle that GM chose not to repair it and it was taken out of service. In 1959, when GM gave a Futurliner to the State Police (see Canadian Futurliner above), GM also gave to the Michigan State Police the damaged Futurliner as a source for spare parts -- GM even loaded up the inside with spare parts. After the State Police retired their "good" Futurliner, the "parts" Futurliner was towed to the same junkyard in Spring Lake, Michigan as was the Canadian one. Later it found its way Chicago and then to a junkyard in Yuma, Arizona. In 1999 it was purchased and moved to Brad Boyajian’s place in California, containing some of those spare parts. Follow this link for more pictures. In late 2007 we got word that Brad had sold the Futurliner to Nicklas Jonsson and would be shipped to Sweden.
	TOM LEARNED, Poland Springs, Maine (Formerly owned by KENDRICK ROBBINS, New Hampshire)
Robbins Pictures Tom Learned acquires Futurliner.	Kendrick Robbins sold what is believe to be Futurliner #7 to Tom Learned of Poland Springs, Maine. The vehicle has "Square D" on a plastic lens suggesting that it was once used it as a display. Tom has plans to restore it. Click here to read his story about retrieving it from New Hampshire.
	ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
	If you have any additional information about the history or whereabouts of additional Futurliners, we would like to hear from you. Our objective is to capture as much of the history of these vehicles as possible.