I had found this info before ,but now that I semi need it ,I can't find it .Do any of you have any info on the Greyhound Gx7 prototype? This was the bus that was manufactured in 1948 or 1949 .It was pitched to Greyhound but they didn't go for it.They opted instead to go with the Scenicruiser much to their sorrow with all the problems they had with the Scenicruser.I would like to know how many of these prototype's were made (I think maybe three) what kind of running gear did they have and who was the manufacturer.Also,what happened to them.I know that the Blue Ridge Quartet out of Spartanburg S C wound up with one of them,don't have a clue about where it went from there.
GX-1, GX-2?
Quotetwin air-cooled V6 engines from the Aircooled Motors Co., the successor to Franklin Motors and the source of the Tucker's aircooled six. The original idea was that both engines would run on the hilly sections, and then one engine could be shut down on the flats.
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ftheoldmotor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F04%2FGX-1-760x467.jpg&hash=44a121f2c0b5ca8459190231eae19635e056576a)
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.curbsideclassic.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2013%2F12%2FGreyhound-GX-1.jpg&hash=9b0bbde53206e61f9024ac7a625d15309e4c0d56)
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.curbsideclassic.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2013%2F12%2FGreyhound-GX-1-shop.jpg&hash=2d5f33b7af9d72ab4692786fdfadeebfd44766ab)
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.curbsideclassic.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2013%2F12%2FGreyhound-GX-1-ad.jpg&hash=e72806ea40b78967685e7214dc7af5fbdc6ceeba)
http://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/curbside-classic-gmc-pd-4501-greyhound-scenicruiser-everybodys-favorite-bus-except-for-greyhound-and-gm/ (http://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/curbside-classic-gmc-pd-4501-greyhound-scenicruiser-everybodys-favorite-bus-except-for-greyhound-and-gm/)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPKkVxKeKtE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPKkVxKeKtE)
http://www.busmag.com/pdfs/2002-09_Greyh2.pdf (http://www.busmag.com/pdfs/2002-09_Greyh2.pdf)
Nope Darkspeed. I am sure it is a GX 7 .There is a picture of one on the Staily Coach Old bus pictures page.However it is just a picture .No info except that it is a GX7 PROTOTYPE. It actually looks like a spraddle legged Scenicruser!!
I thought GM was pushing the 4901 for the first 40 ft for GreyHound it looked like a over gown 4104 I remember it was named the Golden Chariot some GM guru told me
hmmm..
well this is GX-2 but I cant find anything higher than #2
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ftheoldmotor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F04%2Fbus2-760x385.jpg&hash=c8eca02467d0f6d66e15800fa1e9de0ab03c46dd)
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.curbsideclassic.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2013%2F12%2FGreyhound-GX-2.jpg&hash=0c8b15c2fd6041aff5a4c76d1bd2e674dd628884)
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi198.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Faa193%2FMISTERLINSKY%2FBUSESINC2%2FAGREYHOUNDSCENIGX-2.jpg&hash=ab533d29384b4321ed1519c5a8c159c25b67a788)
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi198.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Faa193%2FMISTERLINSKY%2FBUSESINC2%2FAGREYHOUNDGX-22.jpg&hash=4c4c8fe4d114e2077a5e0c46e9f3b2e8a34f7035)
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forcbodiesonly.com%2Fmopar-forum%2Fattachment.php%3Fs%3D5d22de595807750ea7565f95d04c294e%26amp%3Battachmentid%3D53421%26amp%3Bd%3D1433196783&hash=4add74b7d00625309933dc5d8135c4c498bb7206)
and pre cruiser prototype "Golden Chariot" PDX-4901>
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi865.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fab215%2Fwoodburner802%2FUnusual%2520Busses%2F5.jpg&hash=54c2ae5c193aa911ec2bc83a85024b24dafdb97b)
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fjoycewiggins.tripod.com%2Fphoto%2F933.jpg&hash=1a34eefb23926def51d62524593ce1cd16969c5f)
I dont see anything on http://www.staleycoach.com/oldbusphotos.htm (http://www.staleycoach.com/oldbusphotos.htm) marked GX-7? Which photo?
Big Red -
No such critter as a GX-7 prototype for Greyhound, only the GX-1 and the GX-2, which the Blue Ridge Quartet out of SC ran for a number of years after Greyhound was finished with it in 1957. It's probably best known for being the vehicle Greyhound used for publicity jaunts to persuade state legislators to allow 40' buses on the highways.
Tom McNally and Fred Rayman's book "Greyhound Scenicruiser, Flagship of the Fleet" has an excellent history of the GX-2 in the first chapter.
Initially it was a 35' coach based on a 1948 GM PD4151 chassis, but later stretched to 40' and adding a second rear axle. It used the Silverside's powertrain: 6-71/4-spd, which, when lengthed to 40', became really underpowered. It was the only model produced, being hand-built in Chicago by Greyhound's Motor & Supply subsidiary.
Nobody knows what happened to it, rumor says it ended up in a Nashville boneyard.
The next prototype for Greyhound was a full-scale mockup with a wooden skeleton and no interior, built by GM's Truck & Coach Division in Pontiac, which then led to the building of EXP-333, the very first (and last!) Scenicruiser.
The initial problems with the Scenics - primarily the twin-engine setup - soured Greyhound's relationship with GM, leading them to purchasing MCI in Winnipeg. But, after the '61-'62 refurbishing with the then-new 8V71, Greyhound definitely got their money's worth out of the coach - no other model stayed in the fleet longer, and it's still to this day considered the most iconic design ever built.
FWIW & HTH. . .
;)
You Guy's are awesome!!It is the GX2.The picture on the Staily bus page had an inset that told what it was but it was so blurry that even with a magnifier it looked like GX-7 .A couple of the BRQ visit a web site that I also spend some time on.I will ask them if they have any info as to what happened to the GX-2 .I'm curious as to how they obtained service for this thing when something went wrong.
Quote from: bigred on October 29, 2015, 01:45:00 AM
I'm curious as to how they obtained service for this thing when something went wrong.
Well, as long as it wasn't exclusive body parts/panels, servicing wouldn't have been too much of a problem, as the powertrain was the same as a Silversides, of which there were still quite a few running around in the '50s.
FWIW & HTH. . .
;)
Thanks for posting that. Nice eye candy too.
If it was 3751 running gear ,they probably never had to do anything !!!! What a tank!! I think that that someone said they only made one of these.I was thinking at least two.The reason I thought that was the fact that the Dog had a destination sign on the top front but the BRQ'S bus had three clearance lights on top,but if they were using 3751 parts ,changing the destination sign to clearance lights would really not have been a big deal.The sign kind of looked like an after thought.
The unit with the "Ralf Marterie" on the side is different in a number of ways
1. drivers side window - not solid
2. trim up the center of the lower roof
3. three lights on roof
4. riser window is two piece and not 4 piece - or it could be just two piece + reflection looking like a divider
5. divider trim missing from top in rear
6. -looks like it has round turn signals rathe than arrows
7. marker lights behind front wheels
more im probably missing.... but these are things that could have been changed
There was only ONE GX-2 Scenicruiser prototype, built in late 1948, finished in June, 1949. GM supplied a partially-built PD4151 Silversides as the base to start the project.
Initially a 35' two-axle model, it was stretched to 40', a second rear axle added, along with power steering and a restroom. Major differences between the GX-2 and the iconic Scenic include the V-drive, rear axle driven, intermediate just a bogie, and the restroom on the curb side. Plus, of course, the body. The production Scenics introduced in 1954 had a T-drive, rear tag, intermediate drive axle, restroom on the street side, similar styling to the 4104, etc.
All the while the GX-2 was being used for political publicity jaunts, Greyhound experimented with lots of different things, using the coach as a "test mule," so to speak. That's why you'll see photos of it with different windows, lighting, wipers, destination sign location and so forth. Pics of it in Blue Ridge Quartet livery show the coach as it was last configured before disappearing.
FWIW & HTH. . .
;)
Are there any PDX4901'S left?? Or was it another one of a kind coach??That thing is one sharp bus!!!
Quote from: bigred on October 29, 2015, 01:37:56 PM
Are there any PDX4901'S left?? Or was it another one of a kind coach??That thing is one sharp bus!!!
http://www.cptdb.ca/index.php?showtopic=10257 (http://www.cptdb.ca/index.php?showtopic=10257)
The one and only PDX4901 is currently owned by the folks at Wilson Bus Lines, HQ's in Templeton, MA. It is undergoing restoration as time permits. Wilson also owns one of the few remaining Trailways Golden Eagle Articulateds, which is in operable condition and is use for publicity purposes.
FWIW & HTH. . .
;)
The 40 foot stretch 4104 was also publicized as the "Highway Traveler" not to be confused with Greyhound's magazine of the same name.
I have an interesting promotional pin about 2-inches long that Greyhound put out as part of the 40-foot 4104 publicity campaign.
These days, we tend to forget just how active a part of the American experience Greyhound Bus Lines were. RIP
edward
Does the one that Wilson has have the original drive line or has it been changed to the 8V71???
Quote from: bigred on October 30, 2015, 02:56:24 AM
Does the one that Wilson has have the original drive line or has it been changed to the 8V71??
I believe it has the 8V71, but you could call them and ask. . . ;D
FWIW & HTH. . .
;)
With all the electronics and computers available today I would think that the twin engine set up could be workable !! Incidentally,who paid for the engine swap out on the Senicriser's ,GM OR Grayhound??
Today they would use some kind of cylinder deactivation.
A GM guru in Dallas told me Greyhound paid Marmon/Harrrington 10 mil to change all the the drive trains on the 4501 that included the transmission and rear axle.
The twin 471's in the 4501 used a 3 speed with a 2 speed auxiliary transmission.I have some b/w photo's showing the set up some place he gave me.
That setup would have worked if they ran the engines in sync like they do in the oilfields but they put in the drivers hand when to run just 1 engine and the little 150 hp just could not handle it.
The old timer in Dallas told me very few drivers wanted to drive the 4501 and would do their best to break it
Quote from: bigred on October 30, 2015, 11:09:11 AMWith all the electronics and computers available today I would think that the twin engine set up could be workable !! Incidentally,who paid for the engine swap out on the Senicriser's ,GM OR Grayhound??
Quote from: chessie4905 on October 30, 2015, 01:20:23 PMToday they would use some kind of cylinder deactivation.
I think of the Cadillac 4-6-8 and quiver in fear!
One last note on the GX2.I reached out to Kenny Gates of the Blue Ridge Quartet .He was very gracious in replying .He doesn't have any idea what happened to GX2 ,but he did say that it was a money pit .Seriously under powered and very expensive on repairs and parts.He actually went as far as to say that buying that bus was one of the worst mistakes they ever made.He went on to say that another drawback was the height of the coach.It required a twelve ft clearance which presented a problem in getting to some of the venues that gospel quartet's have to get to. I would love to thank all of you who helped me in finding out more about this piece of bus/quartet history.Just about the time I think I have graduated from the college of Busoligy ,you guys remind me that I am still in kindergarten!!!LOL
GM and CHRYSLER use cylinder deactivation on many of their cars and tucks now and while they are much improved over the old V8-6-4, they still have some bugs to work thru. FORD decided to go with twin turbo(ECOBOOST) in order to get more or the same power with less cylinders. Time will tell how this idea works out. But turbo charging diesel engines has long proven itself in terms of power and fuel economy but I'm still wondering why cylinder deactivation never got over with diesels.
Today's diesels are powerful enough so you don't need 2 and with turbo charging, the peak power is used as needed but the idea of 2 engines in a bus is interesting.
Give it time. There was a recent article that auto mfgs. are working on running on down to 2 cyls instead of four.
The computer technology was pretty limited in 1980 with the 8-6-4 system and didn't work smoothly, combined with the particular Bosch fuel injection system used on the same engine that had it's own issues with hesitation, etc, resulted in poor customer satisfaction.
There are quite a few cars around with cylinder deactivation now - Mercedes and Audi for instance use it
Jeremy
I have a 2005 Hemi powered Jeep with the cylinder deactivation .On this one ,it works beautifully giving me close to 20mpg on the highway.We won't even talk about the in town mileage!!!
Money-pit or not, it's a dam shame the GX-2 was not preserved. I would give my right arm to own that coach in any condition. Had it survived, it would have been right up there in value with the GM Futurliners in my opinion. (But I may be a slight bit bias!) For that matter, the GX-1 should have been saved as well. At least the 4901 is still around.
One wrap-up posting - for a few more (OK, a lot more) detail on GX-1, GX-2, PD4501 and the like, check out www.scenicruising.com (http://www.scenicruising.com)!