A 1950 Flxible Clipper school bus being restored by band alumni from Elizabeth City and Northeastern high schools is back in the caring hands of its former mechanic.

James Bray, 70, of Elizabeth City, maintained the bus at his garage on County Street from the late 1970s until 1995, when the school district decommissioned it and three other vintage Flxible (pronounced flexible) Clippers. While Bray serviced the four buses during those years, only Bus No. 4 remains.

All four vehicles were used to take band members at the now-defunct Elizabeth City High School to and from events, and later did the same for Northeastern High School's band. In 1996, the school district sold three of the buses and placed Bus 4 in a school garage, where it sat until last September when alumni from both schools launched an effort to restore it.

Last Thursday, Bus 4 was parked in Bray's garage where he was busy tuning the rear-mounted engine and getting it road ready. The alumni want to use the bus in parades and school exhibits.

Van Johnson, an ECHS band alumnus, is leading the restoration effort. Johnson said the bus was towed to Bray's garage after it was featured at the Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools 300th anniversary history exhibit Nov. 15-16 at the K.E. White Graduate Center.

According to Johnson, Bray was happy to be asked to take care of the bus.

"He was the only one who worked on (all four buses) for ages," Johnson said. "He seemed to be real happy that we've asked him again."

The alumni group wants Bray to take his time restoring the bus's engine.

"We missed the Christmas parade but that couldn't be helped," Johnson said. "We're content to wait to make sure that everything that needs to be done gets done."

Originally, Bus 4 was built with a Buick "Straight-8" motor. Bray said that in the late 1970s, however, he built and installed the motor that's still in the bus, a Chevrolet 350 small block.

For more than 20 years Bray serviced the engine and while it's been nearly 10 years since the bus was placed in storage, he said he hasn't forgotten how to work on it.

"I know this (engine) like a book I worked on it so long," he said.

The bus was towed to Bray's County Street garage, where he's been working out of since 1971. Bray said that once he charged the battery, the engine ran well enough to drive the bus inside.

One problem he noticed right away was that the fuel in the gas tank was old and contaminated.

"This gas is so old that it stinks," Bray said.

Still, the old gas didn't prevent the motor from starting, he said.

"That thing settled down just as quiet," Bray said proudly.

Bray also said that the Chevrolet 350 isn't so old that he can't get parts if he needs to.

"I can get any piece for it I want," he said.

The Chevrolet 350 engine is the third one that's been installed in the bus, Bray said. The second motor was a Chevrolet 400, but it was badly damaged during a band trip, Bray said.

According to Bray, the band was returning from a performance in Williamston when something went wrong with the engine's governor, which regulates speed. Because of the mechanical problem, the bus's transmission was unable to shift out of first gear, Bray said.

Unaware of a problem, the driver drove the bus at speeds of 50 to 60 mph in first gear before realizing something was wrong, Bray said.

"I would say she was probably turning all she could," Bray said of the struggling engine.

He had to drive his tow truck to Williamston to pick the bus up and return it to his garage. Bray said that by the way the engine sounded he suspected that it had been over-revved, and he was correct.

Apparently, the connector rod, which connects the pistons to the crankshaft, had been straightened out and ruined by the excessive force on the transmission, Bray said.

"That straightened the connector rod right out," he said.

Since then, there have been no more serious problems with the bus's transmission, Bray said.

"This is a tough old transmission," he said.

Bray also said that the bus's original electric ignition system was still in good working order.

"That's a good firing system," he said.

Bray said he has to be careful, however, not to touch some of the system's components to avoid receiving a mild shock.

"You grab ahold of that and she'll shake you," he said, laughing.

Johnson said that the band alumni have formed the Miles Clark-Scott Callaway Band Alumni Association to oversee the restoration. Clark, also known as "Uncle Miles," was an Elizabeth City millionaire who took the ECHS band under his wing.

In addition to the four band buses, Miles also purchased uniforms and instruments. When Miles died in 1965 he left the band a large sum of money in a trust fund. When the band needed to purchase new buses, it used some of the trust money, Johnson said.

Callaway served as the band director at both schools for more than 30 years.

Last September, the school board agreed to donate the bus to the alumni association if it established a nonprofit organization.

Johnson said on Tuesday that organization has received corporate status and is applying to the IRS for nonprofit status. An attorney in Camden County has agreed to help the association create the nonprofit organization at no cost, Johnson said.