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1955 Chevrolet Task-Force 6800 Superior [6802]

1955 Chevrolet Task-Force 6800 [6802] in The Partridge Family, TV Series, 1970-1974 IMDB Ep. 1.01+

Class: Bus, School — Model origin: US

1955 Chevrolet Task-Force 6800 Superior [6802]

[*][*][*][*][*] The vehicle is part of the movie

Comments about this vehicle

AuthorMessage

ahight US

2007-11-03 03:51

[Image: 53552516mr6.3502.jpg] [Image: 20809429du0.5162.jpg] [Image: 37198807wk6.5006.jpg] [Image: 46814839lc8.6215.jpg] [Image: 80922373la2.283.jpg]

-- Last edit: 2007-11-03 04:24:52

Pokeoddsponge US

2007-11-03 04:11

It has a Carpenter body. I think an International chassis.

-- Last edit: 2007-11-03 04:50:07

Buc84 US

2007-11-03 06:21

Chassis is a 1955 "2nd series" to 1957 Chevrolet.

firebird86 US

2007-11-03 06:26

agreed, I believe its a 6700 Series, I think that was the bus chassis? comments?

-- Last edit: 2007-11-03 06:28:14

Ddey65 US

2007-11-03 14:13

Firebird86 wrote agreed, I believe its a 6700 Series, I think that was the bus chassis? comments?

Yes, School Bus chassis models were 6700's.

supcoach US

2008-02-03 02:32

POKEODDSPONGE- YOU ARE SO WRONG!!!!!!!!!The bus used in "The Partridge Family" had a body by Superior Coach and was powered by Chevrolet. (no ifs ands or buts). Watch the episodes on Nick at Nite or buy the DVD.

Montell305 US

2008-04-06 20:25

Supcoach is correct, this is a 1955-1957 Chevrolet with Superior body.

Montell305 US

2009-03-02 01:05

To confirm... I read on the internet where the Partridge Family bus used in the TV Series was a 1957 Chevrolet Superior school bus purchased used from the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Ddey65 US

2009-05-01 13:40

Ever see the made-for-TV biopic "Come On, Get Happy: The Partridge Family Story?"
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0212885/
Instead of this bus, they use an early-1960's GMC, with the inner headlights covered up.

stronghold EN

2009-05-01 15:35

I was wondering why the Johnny Lightning diecast looks like a different Chevrolet bus (earlier/later? model)
[Image: chevrolet6700partridgef.1107.jpg] [Image: chevrolet6700partridgefv.4497.jpg]

Ddey65 US

2009-05-01 19:25

That Johnny Lightning toy looks more like a 1955 than the 1957 the real bus is. In fact, it almost looks like a mid-1950's Dodge.



-- Last edit: 2009-05-02 14:33:29

benzguy1986 US

2009-07-07 19:07

The package says "1956 Chevrolet bus" - cowl is correct but the body (of course) is all wrong.

CaMAroFaN PH

2010-04-14 07:54

This not maybe a School Bus,might be a Single-Deck ?

tv boy US

2011-10-14 16:10

*Attention* bus experts: I'm pulling images for this show now, and I've found several that badge this iconic bus as a (5800? 6800?), as opposed to the 6700-Series we have listed. Should we change?

1.02:[Image: 1partridge2e.473.jpg]1.03:[Image: 1partridge3f.2598.jpg]1.08:[Image: 1partridge8d.7331.jpg]1.16:[Image: 1partridge16b.2512.jpg]

I'm also starting to think it's more specifically a '57 instead of the '55 we have listed.

-- Last edit: 2011-10-15 15:52:47

tv boy US

2011-10-16 00:12

1.01:

[Image: 1partridge1d.475.jpg][Image: 1partridge1b.623.jpg][Image: 1partridge1e.1387.jpg][Image: 1partridge1f.5170.jpg][Image: 1partridge1o.8681.jpg][Image: 1partridge1r.4296.jpg][Image: 1partridge1y.1612.jpg]

...and yes, Shirley Jones actually drove the bus on the streets of Hollywood. They didn't use a tow vehicle or a stunt driver.

1.04:

[Image: 1partridge4a.5723.jpg][Image: 1partridge4b.2387.jpg]

Finally, from 1.10, a clean, DVD version of the original photo:

[Image: 1partridge10b.6141.jpg]

-- Last edit: 2011-10-18 02:29:42

skywatcher68 US

2011-10-16 05:09

tv boy wrote I'm also starting to think it's more specifically a '57 instead of the '55 we have listed.

Far as I can tell, 1955 was the last year for this particular badge on the hood.
www.hotrodscustomstuff.com/assets/galleries/170/esp-02.jpg

After seeing the fender badge in the thumbnails, I can definitely say it's a '55.

-- Last edit: 2011-10-16 05:21:41

tv boy US

2011-10-16 15:43

Thanks Sky. The conventional wisdom among the Partridge Family fan community is that it's a '57. I love it when we can upend conventional wisdom. I've seen us do it several times with proof. ;)

tv boy US

2011-12-04 09:51

Opening credits:

[Image: 2partridgeop2.6246.jpg]

...and in ep. 3.02, we can see the camera crew reflected in the windows as it passes by!

[Image: 3partridge2b.9631.jpg]

streamliner US

2013-05-11 00:45

Never ceases to amaze me how many times I see the same incorrect info repeated online. For the record, the PF TV show bus was a 1955 Chevrolet Second series Task Force 6800 chassis with Superior Coach body. Specifically, an 8 window with 220" wheelbase. If it were a 6700 chassis, which it was not, it would be 26" shorter, have a 194" wheelbase and only 7 side windows. It was also not a 1957 Chevrolet, nor did it have a IHC or Ford chassis. Nor did it have a coach body made by Carpenter, Blue Bird or other make. The PF bus had a distinctive 1955 Chevrolet bowtie hood emblem and right side fender "6800" badging. In addition, the coach maker name "Superior" was stamped into the sides and rear door. These are all easily seen countless times throughout the show's 4-year run.

The distinctive Chevrolet hood emblem and badging as seen on the PF bus were only briefly used by Chevrolet for a few months in 1955 as the new look was a mid-season design change. This makes the PF bus easy to identify. The 1955 Chevrolet Second Series Task Force school bus chassis was only built from March 25, 1955 until summer, 1955 when Chevrolet re-tooled for the 1956 model. The badging for 1956 is unique to 1956. Again, in 1957, the Chevrolet school bus "cowl chassis" had unique badging as well as new steering wheel. Hood "windsplits" were also added. The windsplits were two raised stamped semi circle bumps on top of hood to add rigidity and reduce sheet metal vibration. You will note there are no such hood windsplits, aka "hood spears" on the top of the hood of the PF TV show bus.

The bus that was once stored at the side of Lucy's Drive-In (never called Lucy's Tacos)into c1987 was definitely NOT the former Partridge Family TV show bus, but instead a lookalike PF "tribute bus". The Lucy's Drive-In bus was a 1956 Chevrolet, as is clearly demonstrated by fender and hood badging. Not a 1955, and also not a 1957 as it would have hood spears and different badging. The Lucy's Drive-In bus had a school bus body made by Carpenter, not Superior Coach. It was a different year, as well as different make coach body and design. The Lucy's bus can be seen in the 1981 episode of "CHiP's" titled: "In The Best of Families". S5 E18. There are many other differences I could list. ie: The Lucy's bus has 2 front + 2 rear roof-mounted school bus STOP lights. But the PF bus does not. The Lucy's bus has left side fender badging, while the real PF bus does not. Also, the Lucy's bus is painted in a Mondrian-inspired scheme, yet the real PF bus was repainted several times after the PF show was canceled and later, Columbia Pictures / Screen Gems / Lorimar disposed of it. Are we to believe these items re-appeared later, after PF? No, it's a different bus. That said, the bus parked at Lucy's Drive-In for many years does however have a connection to the PF TV show in that it was created by Bell Records in late 1970 as a promotional bus. But the bus did not run well and after a few appearances it was sidelined sometime in 1971. This bus never appeared in the PF TV show.

In his poorly researched 1994 book "Partridge Family Album", author Joey Green wrongly identifies the PF tribute bus parked at the side of "Lucy's Tacos" (sic)as the same bus used in the PF TV show.(see Pg. 97) Since then countless internet postings, including Wikipedia, have wrongly repeated Green's same incorrect info that the PF bus was a 1957, and that the "Lucy's Tacos" bus is the same bus from the TV show. Wrong. It was not.

The bus used in the PF show pilot episode at "Al's Used Cars" still in school bus yellow was also not the same bus later painted in the Piet Mondrian ("Composition with Red, Blue, and Yellow", 1930)-like paint scheme and used for the duration of the PF TV show. Different bus. That bus was in fact a 1957 Chevrolet Carpenter, but was never seen in the TV show again. Note the bus at "Al's Used Cars" has only 7 side windows, one shorter than the actual 1955 Chevrolet Superior PF TV show bus. There is also no evidence that there was ever more than one PF bus. It is obvious when watching the show that the Producers barely took care of the one 1955 "hero" bus, as the peeling, sunbaked paint demonstrates. The actual PF bus had body rot in specific places and was dented and painted over from the outset in places. Collectively, the dents, paint scheme, roof rack, side grab handles, trailer hitch, underbelly battery boxes and interior are unique and unmistakable.

It remains a mystery what happened to the actual PF bus. What is known is that shortly after the PF show was cancelled in spring, 1974 the actual PF TV show bus was completely repainted a plain cream color for use in "The Candy Drive", an episode of the short-lived Lorimar TV show "Apple's Way".(1974-75)

Within the storyline of this episode, the former PF bus is again repainted a brighter yellow. A brief shot inside the bus confirms the recognizable PF seat fabric. Aside from a few airings on TV Land in 2000s, over the past 40 years “Apples Way” has never been syndicated, and to date is not available as a download or on DVD.

The last known sighting of the actual PF show bus was in the 1976 Lorimar Prods MOW "Helter Skelter". Here the bus exterior was again repainted green and grey and used as Charles Manson's creepy hippy bus in a scene depicting the Barker Ranch. For "Helter Skelter" the PF bus was repainted, several bench seats were removed and generally dressed down. But despite the dressing, there's no mistaking this was the former PF bus. ie: the remaining seats seen still feature the distinctive PF psychedelic upholstery fabric.

Note: Because the actual PF bus was repeatedly repainted post-PF, it was no longer in the distinctive Mondrian-inspired paint scheme after Columbia Pictures / Screen-Gems disposed of it. Therefore, any sightings of the bus after summer, 1974 would NOT be as it appeared in the PF TV show. People claiming to have seen the actual PF bus looking as it did during the 4-year run of the PF TV show -- ie: at Lucy's Tacos in 1980s -- cannot be looking at the real PF TV show bus.

The true fate of the actual 1955 Chevrolet Superior PF TV show bus is not known. However, it is reasonable to assume the PF TV show bus was scrapped sometime after spring, 1976. From time to time people have claimed to have seen the bus. But like UFO, Loch Ness Monster and Big Foot sightings, there is never any follow-up. Either the person claiming didn't have a camera, doesn't have any pictures, submits a photo(s) that are vague and inconclusive, and / or they can never say where it was. There have also been fake sightings using doctored pictures. Ultimately, these people are always impossible to communicate with. If the real PF bus had survived, it would've long ago been identified as the PF bus, spotted, photographed, collected, restored, shown and/or placed somewhere on display sometime in the past 44-plus years. It has not.



-- Last edit: 2020-05-23 23:01:14

somename US

2013-09-27 00:18

Of pop music, school buses and neoplasticism

-- Last edit: 2013-09-27 00:19:25

supcoach US

2013-10-07 17:53

http://telstarlogistics.typepad.com/telstarlogistics/2008/01/on-the-road-in.html

eLMeR MH

2014-09-14 23:29

Same think as streamliner and Skywatcher68: 1955 only "upturned hat" hood emblem and 1955 only fender emblem.
1955 Chevrolet 6800 Superior.

supcoach US

2016-03-31 02:55

Yes it was originally a school bus. In the state pictured above should be Bus-Single Deck..

markar561 US

2018-04-08 09:43

Streamliner is absolutely correct that it IS a 1955 Chevrolet second series. The body parts from 55-59 are easily interchangeable, so the hood or emblem could have been replaced at any time after manufacture. I happen to have a Superior bus of this same style, but it's a 1 1/2 ton 5400 series 5 window with 154" wheelbase. I also have a 1955 2nd series 2 ton 6500 dump truck with 172" wheelbase. The axles and wheels are identical, the weight capacity is determined by the frame dimensions & gauge, leaf springs, and tire size & plies. In 1955 these all used a 10 lug wheel bolt pattern with 5 wheel slots, but only used 5 of the 10 studs on the front axle. Starting in 1956, a 6 lug "budd" pattern with 6 wheel slots was used on both the back and the front. If I am not mistaken, I only see 5 lugs and 5 slots on the wheel in the pic with Shirley driving, which proves that it's a 1955 2nd series. While it is still possible that the wheels, hubs, and or axles could have been changed over time, it is a lot less likely due to the expense, labor and the fact that it was previously a government vehicle. An emblem or hood is relatively simple and easy to replace with something similar, but not necessarily exact. 1957 models used a completely different one year only fender emblem sometimes referred to as a bullet due to it's shape, which also has a different mounting bolt pattern. Same goes for the wind splits or hood bullets, 1957 one year only. I also noticed that the front overhead roof mounted flashing red lights which mine has are missing, as well as the driver side 6800 fender emblem and windshield wipers. The lights may have been an option, but I'm pretty sure wipers are mandatory in all states.

streamliner US

2020-05-23 23:33

Thanks markar561 for adding your additional info. Especially your knowledge of the difference in 1955 Chevrolet wheels. After 1955, Chevrolet stopped using split rim type wheels on 6800. Yet another detail that confirms the PF bus was a 1955, and not a 1957. The PF bus had split rim wheels with 5 slots, while a 1956 and 1957 had 6 holes and solid steel wheels. Also, the steering wheels, which were the same for 1955 and 1956, were different in 1957. The style of steering wheel seen on the PF bus is clearly a 1955, and not a 1957 steering wheel. In addition, yes, the PF bus had windshield wipers mounted on the top of the windshield, not the bottom.

As for the possibility that a long list of items were changed to make a 1957 bus look like a 1955 – while this is hypothetically possible, it is not practical or likely. There would be no reason to do this. Reality is, the producers of PF were cheap. In 1969, the studio bought a 15 year old decommissioned L.A. school bus, purportedly for $500., painted it, and used it in the pilot. After the show was picked up for production in 1970, they did a little more work dressing the bus. But that’s all. The bus was used in many episodes in the first season, after that its use steadily declined. By the 4th and final season, the bus appears briefly only twice.

In an interview several years ago, “Repo Man” Director Alex Cox insisted the 1971 Chevrolet Impala 4-dr, as driven by “Bud”, Harry Dean Stanton’s character, was in fact a 1973, with many 1971 parts switched. Cox actually bought the car, and drove it later during post-production as his daily driver. Despite being there, his memory was merely false recollection. True, 1971, 1972 and 1973 Impalas are similar, but Bud’s “Repo Man” car was a stock 1971 Impala.

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