The Japanese transport company Asahikawa Denkikidou from the city of Asahikawa, on the occasion of its 100th anniversary, decided to revive an old city bus. This MR430, manufactured in 1962 by Kureha Auto Body, was very rare even for its time.
There were only three such cars in the Asahikawa Bus fleet. The presented vehicle operated on the route until 1978, after which it was written off.
The body was fairly rusty, especially since the bus had been in an accident at one time, which was noticeable by the broken nose. During the renovation of the external panels, 3,000 new rivets were installed. In total, it took about 8,000 hours to restore the unique bus – at the rate of 8 hours a day. 15 companies and over 1000 people were involved in this process.
The MR430 model has a very interesting body design. The side pillars with a negative angle and the rounded rear are reminiscent of American buses of those years. But what really sets this car apart is the Mitsubishi Fuso chassis with two front steered axles.
The bus has a length of 11.98 m, a width of 2.48 m and a height of 3.06 m. The curb weight is 9690 kg. The salon has 45 seats. Passengers, interestingly, sit like in the subway – with their backs to the window and facing the aisle, which makes boarding and disembarking easier. The total capacity reaches 110 people. The MR430 model is equipped with a DB34A engine with a displacement of 8.55 liters and a power of 220 hp. With. Transmission – manual, 5-speed.