Movie version should have a stripper pole, hookers, contraband (beer already been done), police chase through multiple states, and a jump. GRMers are the allies on the ground. Oh, and a helicopter.
What I miss?
Movie version should have a stripper pole, hookers, contraband (beer already been done), police chase through multiple states, and a jump. GRMers are the allies on the ground. Oh, and a helicopter.
What I miss?
fasted58 wrote: What I miss?
An Amy or three? 
fasted58 wrote: Movie version should have a stripper pole, hookers, contraband (beer already been done), police chase through multiple states, and a jump. GRMers are the allies on the ground. Oh, and a helicopter. What I miss?
Someone should have slapped a big "Colorado Was Fun" bumper sticker on the back before they left Wisconsin.
As it is, I can't believe they were not pulled over even once.
i'm disappointed by the lack of "we used duct tape and jb weld to patch a failing xxx on the side of the road" posts. this went way too smoothly.
NOHOME wrote: As it is, I can't believe they were not pulled over even once.
I can't either. We were passed by 3-4 police, and passed several others running radar. Not a one stopped us.
The only thing I can figure is, they were so overwhelmed by the pure awesomeness of what they were seeing, they never even noticed the lack of plates. 
patgizz wrote: i'm disappointed by the lack of "we used duct tape and jb weld to patch a failing xxx on the side of the road" posts. this went way too smoothly.
Duct tape was used, as was a torch and solder a pile of tools, multiple stops at parts stores, and countless stops for fuel.
It did go much more smoothly than it could have. I never thought I would be glad for long boring drives on the interstate, but I sure appreciated them this weekend.
Speaking of fuel, any idea what that thing got for gas mileage? 
speaking of no plates.... wait, wut
rslifkin wrote: Speaking of fuel, any idea what that thing got for gas mileage?
I am curious as well. I'm guessing 3.5 mpg
And today I have new heroes!
Toyman01 wrote:NOHOME wrote: As it is, I can't believe they were not pulled over even once.I can't either. We were passed by 3-4 police, and passed several others running radar. Not a one stopped us. The only thing I can figure is, they were so overwhelmed by the pure awesomeness of what they were seeing, they never even noticed the lack of plates.
No offense, but in it's present state it does look like a mobile meth lab ala Breaking Bad and I'm shocked that you didn't catch any flack for it either!
In reply to rslifkin:
7.6 mpg and a 20? gallon tank had us stopping every 100 miles. We stopped twice on the way up, and 11 times on the way back. I budgeted my fuel costs at 8 mpg, saw the bus and threw that out the window. I was pleasantly surprised at the fuel economy. This thing is a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be.
Fueled by Caffeine wrote:rslifkin wrote: Speaking of fuel, any idea what that thing got for gas mileage?I am curious as well. I'm guessing 3.5 mpg
Curious too. I'll say 6 MPG...
That's really not that bad, all things considered. Modern drivetrain, OD trans...that should be able to get pretty good numbers.
Glad to see you made it. Awesome journey, pretty much blows any journeys I had out of the water. Mine were all cake walks compared to yours.
As for no tag, I drove the Suburban (bought from Singleslammer) from Columbia Mo to Atlanta, GA with no tag. Never got stopped despite being "seen" by multiple LEOs along the way.
I noticed you listed a DT466 as a possible swap, good idea. One thing is figure out what rpms you are running now. Since a DT466 is governed to 2400 rpms (per web info), it would suck to put one in and still not be able to go very fast. With a tall enough overdrive, you should be able to overcome this limitation though. Look forward to seeing how the bus turns out.
7.6 mpg for a gas powered bus like that is damned impressive! I was figuring 5 - 6 at best. Depending on what you end up with for a drivetrain, it's got some potential in that department. I would be surprised if you could see 10 mpg at 55 - 60 with a diesel if it's geared right.
Still trying to mentally build this into something that I would WANT to drive cross country. Having a lot of fun doing so, but boy am I ever spending A LOT of your $$$
In reply to 81cpcamaro:
Id love to do a dt466 in my '63 IHC, but.....it's even longer than a 6-71 Detroit which would require sectioning the firewall back by about 6" to make fit. I suspect this bus will have the same issue.
81cpcamaro wrote: I noticed you listed a DT466 as a possible swap, good idea. One thing is figure out what rpms you are running now. Since a DT466 is governed to 2400 rpms (per web info), it would suck to put one in and still not be able to go very fast. With a tall enough overdrive, you should be able to overcome this limitation though. Look forward to seeing how the bus turns out.
There is actually a cab/chassis on craigslist at the moment that could be a donor. Engine, trans, drive shaft and rear axle. Basically the bus body would drop on a truck chassis. That would give me modern brakes, power steering, and suspension.
That's the direction I'm leaning, but it's too early to make those decisions. I've got a lot of measuring and staring off into space to do first.
BrokenYugo wrote: I'd hazard a guess it's a truck 360, 196 hp@4000 rpm, 327 lb·ft@2400 rpm (SAE net). 70s truck 390 is 201@4000 and 376@2600 (net), the old 352 made 208@4000 and 310@2800 (SAE gross). Those were the only FEs used in trucks according to Wikipedia. Slow in any event with, based the brochure I found, around 10,000-12,000 lbs of bus. http://nipper.freeshell.org/56fordbus.htm
There's also a lower 300cid range car FE as well. FET's are tough SoB's though. Just have a thirst equal to Dracula.
In reply to Toyman01:
Might I ask, did you at least have 1 piece rims for your journey? Or are you a madman that did this on split rims? 
In reply to WOW Really Paul?:
The PO's, PO, had converted it to modern wheels and Yokohama tires. They were 10+ years old, but rode and drove pretty well. No issues on that front, though I was prepared to put a set of tires on it if necessary. $$$$ 
I wouldn't necessarily rush to swap the chassis. There's a good chance it's already more or less an old medium duty truck chassis, so it shouldn't be too hard to work with. You're looking at beam axles and leaf springs, so upgrading the suspension a bit is easy (and you could throw newer axles under it if you can't put better brakes on the current ones).
I find it funny that this thing got the same mpg as my '67 thunderbird did with the same motor.
JamesMcD wrote: I find it funny that this thing got the same mpg as my '67 thunderbird did with the same motor.
I bet you did more than 55mph in that thunderbird.
It's also not a terrible shape, aerodynamically. Sure it has to punch a giant hole through the air but the front and rear curvature should be helping a fair amount.
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