I would like to share this project a bit, and some of you might have a good laugh at my expense, so here it is. I have talked about it on the Wanderlodge forum as well but I get the idea a lot of them think I am a little kooky. Also posting photos over there is a right pain. It is hard enough taking the photos and loading them without having to go through image resizers and compressers every time. Still, this gong show may end up there or here or on both. Or if I have to live in the Fossil due to a discontented wife, progress may well slow to a stop.
Anyway, this thing showed up in my yard last night.
The truck, not the Rover. It happens to have a 425 hp Cummins ISM with 1550 pounds of torque and a 13 speed transmission. I like thirteens because you can split each of the top gears in half to always be within a couple hundred rpm's of perfect.
This has been in my yard for a few years now, and known to some of you.
The Fossil has a naturally aspirated 3208 Cat with 210 smoky, wheezy horsepower. To ensure I am never ever in danger of utilizing more than perhaps half of its 450 pounds of torque, Bluebird threw in a state of the art MT643 Allison automatic. It is a four speed with fourth being direct, so not only is the Fossil underpowered, it is gear bound as well. And pulling a toad (was till last year my little Diesel Liberty) we are around 39000 pounds. Possibly as much as 43,000 with full tanks as it holds around 400 gallons in total of fuel and fresh water.
So you can see where this needs to go. Pull the little v8 and jam in a big straight six. Drive very quickly up hills. Live happily ever after.
Great project. Scene reminds me of Hope, BC, and Jamie Davis towing yard.
Take lots of pics! I need reference material for my model truck kits 
This is a very interesting project. Do truck engines have more interchangability than cars, given that a handful of companies supply engines to most of the major truck brands?
Ive always wondered about this kind og thing. It'll be super interesting to watch!
Yeah, this is super cool. Manual trans motor home? Count me in.
I like this. A lot. Carry on please.
In reply to mr2s2000elise :
I live 30 minutes from Hope. And I dragged 80,000 pounds up and down the so called highway to hell five nights a week for seven years. Some nights it certainly is hell. I jacknifed one night coming down the smasher (8 per cent) in the snow and I bounced my trailer off the center concrete divider to straighten it up. It got me into the snowshed which was heated where I could slow down. Good times. By the way, that highway is the route out of the Fraser Valley, and is a good part of the reason for this project.
slowbird said:
Take lots of pics! I need reference material for my model truck kits
This is a very interesting project. Do truck engines have more interchangability than cars, given that a handful of companies supply engines to most of the major truck brands?
Most trucks are very similar same under the cab, although in recent years manufacturers have started aligning themselves with engine manufacturers.
I have always liked the look of several vintage rvs, but most seemed underpowered for their weight, especially when trying to tow. How much larger is the doghouse going to be to fit the cummins?
That extra oomph would definitely improve a bus and its ability to move. I seem to recall a really long night in which I found myself (in a different life/era) with about 22 wheels, two trailers, and 30,000 pounds or so of crap cruising through the Tehachapis, and I did not lose speed at all (except for when death was a direct threat). The 425 is no joke with momentum.
In reply to Chesterfield :
I actually hope to make the doghouse smaller. Certainly it will not grow. This engine may hang out the front a bit......
It is good to hear that doghouse will not be a larger intrusion into the bus. I thought the cummins was longer and taller than the cat.
In reply to Chesterfield :
You are correct. Some shoehorn and tweaking will be required. I plan to lift the bus four inches and drop the motor four inches which will put the valve cover close to where the little cat is. And the doghouse is only as large as it is because the air cleaner and other accessories are up above the motor. I want to move them all up front somewhere.
I know a shop in Gananoque Ontario that is set up to do that conversion. 
They swapped out my motorhome engine in three days last fall. Great fabricators.
I like your plan.
So this is a 'pusher' ? and will follow along with much interest
This project makes my eyes water with joy.
Brett_Murphy (Forum Patrón) said:
This project makes my eyes water with joy.
Mine will be watering for different reasons.
It sounds like you have planned this swap thoroughly.
In reply to Chesterfield :
Everyone has a plan till they get punched in the face as Mike said.
Got a mobile mechanic to pull the codes so I will know what was already broken before I start disconnecting things. There is a data logger on the dash but it does not respond.
So what kind of equipment are you using to move the big engines?
In reply to Patrick (Forum Supporter) :
The 3208 Cat is a medium duty engine while the Cummins is a heavy duty engine. My guess is twice as heavy. And significantly longer and taller.
bearmtnmartin said:
In reply to Chesterfield :
Everyone has a plan till they get punched in the face as Mike said.
It is big project, and usually don't cooperate fully with plan. Sometimes even the small projects choose to be a bigger headache than the should be.
I had a few requirements for this job: Significantly more power, no more start up smoke (its embarrassing leaving a campground) and a proper engine brake. I live in British Columbia and exhaust brakes do not cut it. Been there done that. So I picked the M11 /ISM because it is the most compact engine that gave me all that, and was well supported. An added bonus is there is nothing wrapping around behind the head so I can get it as far back as possible. I will gain around 800 pounds in total.
I corrected the weight gain. I was confusing kgs and pounds.
In reply to Patrick (Forum Supporter) :
I have a little Ditch witch track loader to push and pull things around, and the plan was to build a trolley with a bottle jack at each corner to roll the old motor out and the new one in. I suspect the new one will need to go in and out more than a....well you get the idea. For the big stuff I will borrow my dairy farmer brother in law's massive John Deere loader Tractor.
