So I'm helping a local guy sell his 1977 Bluebird conversion. Nice bus and cool story (bought it new and drove it out of the BB factory!) Anyway, he special ordered (or specified the build on the bus) and got a V8 Cummins as opposed to the 3208 Cat. He said it is a wet sleeve engine and thereby better, probably an issue of debate for another thread. At any rate, he called it a "508", but from my research, it sounds more like a V903. Anybody out there care to chime in on this one. BTW, it is a nice rig, runs great and he is asking 10K if anyone has room for another rig. Hope everyone is doing well, Doug at 8000'
Cummins made a small 504cu/in, a 555cu/in (commonly called the triple nickel), a 743cu/in that never saw truck or bus use, and the infamous 903cu/in-that is still being made for military vehicles (primarily the Bradley tank). All the V-8's were originally made in England, and with their lousy casting methods, made for engines that didn't last. If your friends engine is still running, then great. But he should check with the local Cummins dealer to see if he can get parts for that engine anymore. Good Luck, TomC
Sounds like it's a 504. Mad a major meltdown a few years back and has 20K- on a rebuild. Really runs good, but SLOW on the passes (pretty similar to how the N/A 3208 in my 81 Wanderlodge was). Nice bus overall and it seems really well priced. I guess a guy could just run it till it croaks (if it ever gets enough miles on it to croak) and then repower...
I'd like to see some pics of the girl....share the beauty.
Here is a link to some pics:
http://ImageEvent.com/reddog/1977bluebirdrv (http://imageevent.com/reddog/1977bluebirdrv)