Blue Bird Mini Bird

The Blue Bird Mini Bird is a Type B school bus built by Blue Bird Corporation, introduced in 1977 and based on the Chevrolet Step Van. It was discontinued in 2002 as market tastes shifted away from Type B school buses.

Overview

In 1977, Blue Bird introduced the Mini Bird as a Type B school bus. It was designed with a maximum capacity of 38 students, 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" wide body and 77" 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. In 1995, the round headlights were replaced with square versions.

Mechanical Details

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 became an option. In the 1990s, the 6.2L diesel V8 was replaced with a more powerful 6.5L diesel.

Manufacturing

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 and in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. Following the closure of Blue Bird Midwest in 2002, Blue Bird ended production of the Mini Bird.