(April 8, 2015) LONDON — An armored coach used by "Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher as her campaign ‘battle bus’ has been put up for sale. The bomb-proof vehicle was built in 1983 and is believed to have been used for the former Prime Minister’s Northern Ireland tour. Current owner Nick Mead is seeking £25,000 ($37,500) for the bus and plans to list it on Ebay, but is ideally hoping to find a buyer in the UK.

“It’s a unique piece of social and political history,” said Mead, a military vehicle dealer. “It’s still in working order and, although it’s not exactly looking its best these days, someone who wanted to would be able to restore it to a good standard pretty easily.

“I bought it in 2012 because it was a fascinating vehicle but it’s big, ugly and it’s in the way now so I’m keen to send it to a good home. Given the American fascination with Maggie Thatcher, it may sell well over there but I’d prefer for it to stay in the UK.

“The bus is just as it was in period; we even found a ladies’ umbrella on board — whether it’s Margaret Thatcher’s or not I don’t know but we like to think it might be.

The bus was built by military vehicle specialist Glover Webb and is based on Foden running gear. It is powered by a 12-liter, supercharged V12 Rolls Royce diesel engine that can propel the coach to a top speed of 80 mph.

The windows are made of two-inch thick, bullet-proof glass, while the two-foot thick, honeycomb macrolite floor is capable of withstanding a land mine blast.

With seating for 36 people and space at the rear for an office desk, the coach even had its own auxiliary, roof-mounted motor that could pump clean, carbonized air to the sealed cabin in the event of a chemical, biological or nuclear weapon being deployed.

With just 13,670 miles on the clock, the bus was used to ferry passengers on the dangerous Derry Airport — Belfast route during the 1980s. It was also previously owned by the Met Police, used as transport for the Royal Marines band and as a viewing platform at an MoD research facility.

Mead has created a video tour of the bus: https://tradein.citnow.com/vtbattlebus