Eagles International Forum

Hey guys I have a friend with a 1993 model 15 entertainer. 45 foot, raised roof, 102 wide. But is titled as RECO instead of Eagle, the vin# R2344VA.. Any body have any ideas on the history of this coach?

Around 1982 the government began requiring a 17 digit VIN number. Obviously this bus does not have what would be considered a proper VIN number. It was probably re-titled by the converter.

Strangely, I recently received an email about a 94 Eagle with the same VIN format. Perhaps private builders do not have to meet the same VIN format standards.

Jim

George at Ramblin' told me that a converter can issue a statement of origin and the bus can be titled anything you want.

That's how they used to get around problems with importing Eagles into Canada. They just titled it as a Prevost and put some French decals on the dash. The folks at Customs had no idea, it said Prevost and that is a Canadian product. Eagle had no market in Canada and never applied for an Import Certificate. MCI did because Greyhound is in Canada.

He asked if I wanted mine titled as a 1997. I declined. that has been a blessing. registration is cheaper on a 1978 and when I had to pay sales tax on all my vehicles when I moved from Alaska to South Dakota, I paid for a 1978 instead of one twenty years newer.

Something everyone should consider when retitling.

Thanks for the info guys, all we know is the bus was built for Billy Joe Royal and started life as an entertainer not a transit/trailways bus. Coach has only 570,000 on it

Have a look just inside the engine door.

There's a frame rail just below the lower edge of the door opening, running just behind the top of the bumper. Look for a small plate welded onto the top near the right corner. You might find the original number on there or somewhere nearby, welded onto another frame rail. Also, starting in the mid-80's Eagle also had a production number. I believe the first two digits were the last two digits of the production year and the rest was the number of coaches produced to that point. An 88 Eagle would be 88-XXX with the XXX representing how many had been built so far during that year. Why this was needed was beyond my understanding given the VIN identified each vehicle.

And Bus & Car did sell some new Eagles directly into Canada during the 60's and 70's. It could be the permitting started because Prevost and/or MCI were wary of a new competitor in the new coach market. A number of 04 Eagles were sold used into Canada. If they were at least 15 years old there was no problem to get them in. If they were younger, a permit was required.