Hello:
Finally got the bus out and about running the new (to me) motor and tranny 1st 75 mile trip and visit to the truck stop(shocker that was) today .
The new rig is a Cummins L10 with a B400R tranny with 6 speeds. The rear end was changed to 4.625 (which was original to the MCI 7 when they tried the Allison 70 6 speed tranny. The R is retarder which works well . Have an optional foot switch for that .
The whole package is 84 inches long with the retarder and another inch or so for the #20 hose fittings on the back.
SO I reworked a cradle to put the front mount 5 inches toward the rear of the bus and the pulley is right where the old pulley was located.
The cradle has side plates that bolt into the frame rails at the rear . I also had to cut part of the tag center section out and replaced it with a .5 inch steel plate . This allows enough room to change the hose fittings on the back of the tranny if required. The air cleaner system from the original transit bus was modified to fit into the 7 I had to make up a new air box that transistioned the air from the original opening to the top of the new filter box inlet.
I completely reworked the cooling lines because the engine moving toward the back made it impossible to use the lines coming down the side in the rear so the new lines go across to the back on top and tee down into the tranny cooler on the left side rear behind the turbo (looking from the rear of the bus).
So enough of that here are some pix.
I have more pix if anyone is interested in a detail let me know happy bussin Mike
hello only one pix went so here ore more.. mike
and more
And one more mike
very nice work ! Nice job.
Looks way cool, and so clean. What was the performance like?
Hello Not bad but remember it only has 270HP so the top end is light. but I don't go 80 anymore.
I dont know enough yet to make a comparison; certainly in the lower gears it seems to be fine. Not many hills in Florida so I need to get out and about.
So far runs about 10 to 12 pounds of boost around 1500 to 1700 RPMs around 55 to 65 MPH
turbo temp is 900 . Outside temp was 90 and I run a dash air AC system off the blower pulley. bus is about 36000 lbs.
Regards and happy bussin Mike
Mike, that is one nice and neat clean looking installation well done!
Mike,
Looks great....
Couple of questions?
1. In the third picture on the left side looks like the ends of 2 yellow cylinders....What are they?
2. Do you have your valve cover vent routed back to the oil pan?
Again enjoy the road........quietly sneaking up on those DD's :)
Skip
Hello Skip;
The yellow cylinders are an air compressor; 120Volt that is good for nail guns etc. In this case it is a spare in case of problems. Would probably get me home in case of problems but with the Cummins that may be questionable because the fuel pump is mounted tandem to the air compressor.
The vent for the top of the engine is on the side by the fuel pump and vents to the ground. The line on top going to the alternator I believe is a vent / oil return. THe alternator has a large hose on the bottom for oil return. On the other bus that top line fed into the oil fill pipe. This engine came from a new flyer Marta Atlanta and I changed the oil fill from the side to the rear/front . I changed to the T drive pan but probably could have used the double pan. Clearance is greater than I thought. anyway too late for that .
Hope this answers your questions?
Regards and happy Bussin Mike
Mike,
Congratulations!! Glad to see you got it on the road. Come down for a visit sometime. Jack
Great looking installation, Mike. Cliff and I will have to get over your way this winter and take a good look at it first hand. I DO admire a craftsman.
Bob
Now that is one very cool professional installation! Also the photographs are great. Thank you for the great post. :) :) :)
As I said while you were working on it, AWESOME! Great job, and glad to see that it turned out so good. ;D BK ;D
Mike, I like. Looks good. Tom Y
Mike,
You have done a great job on the installation. After doing 3 of them I know how much work you have done.
I have one question, what kind of pipe did you use for the water to the hot side. Looks like PVC, if it is I would like to know how well it works
Jack
Hello; What kind of pipe did you use on the hot side ? looks like pvc..
Well its not PVC but it is supposed to look like it and you are the 2nd guy to ask that question.. It is 2" hard copper .
I really want it to stay there so we painted everything else grey except the engine which is Cummins beige. With copper at a premium price I did not want to advertise a nice hunk of copper for some idiot to try to get his next fix with.
Another gentleman asked why I went with a mechanical L10 and a computer tranny..
Well this is what was available at the time. I bought 2 transit buses from Sportran Shreveport. Orion 1 1989 buses with L10 B400R packages. One I bought from Randy Fulkerson and the other at auction in Schreveport La. I wanted the complete bus to get all the wiring and gages etc for the job. All the transmission cabling is now in my mc 7
I would have preferred a series 50 with a 5 or 6 speed tranny but nothing was available at the time. The installation of a series 50 would be a snap compared to the Cummins. However it is done and we know how to do it now.
I do have the other bus running it is a 30 footer and that may be the next project to make a beach bus. It may be my future ride because it gets 10 mpg weighs 26000 now before conversion. My MCI 7 weighs in at 36000 and I do not know what the mileage is yet hoping for 8 but time will tell..
Thanks for all the comments Regards and happy bussin mike
Sure looks good mike, when were there you were neck deep in it and being a rookie, I tryed to envision the final outcome, lol. You did a great job, but everythingyou did on that bus was well thought out, I appreciate the way you explained everything you were doing and why, being a rookie I'm often full of questions so as I go I'm trying to build a knowledge base, sure looks great.
Mike, you make it look too easy......... :)
Fantastic repower, tons of room, perfect planning.
Best of luck .
Sammy
Quote from: mikelutestanski on July 07, 2008, 06:22:04 PM
I also had to cut part of the tag center section out and replaced it with a .5 inch steel plate . This allows enough room to change the hose fittings on the back of the tranny if required.
I have more pix if anyone is interested in a detail let me know happy bussin Mike
Very good workmanship, planning and photos.
I have a question....do you photo of the cut part of the tag center section out and replaced it with a .5 inch steel plate?
Sojourn for Christ, Jerry
Hello;
The reason for the tag cut out is in the pix. the back of the fittings on the tranny come to within 1/4 inch of the tag axle. So if the fittings ever had to be changed then you would require the room that this modification generated.
Regards and Happy bussin mike
ANd more:
And one more;
Thank you very much to share your photos. I can now see how close clearance to the tag's tube frame.
Maybe you have already done this....Have you thought about adding an large flow transmission oil cooler for your retarder?
Keep up the good work.
Sojourn for Christ, Jerry
Hello:
Maybe you have already done this....Have you thought about adding an large flow transmission oil cooler for your retarder?
Yes the retarder cooler is the one provided by Allison for this application; and is plumbed vertically behind the turbo. The water from both radiators flows into the cooler on its way to the pump. I endeavored to utilize the specified parts from the donor bus wherever possible.
Regards and Happy bussin mike
Quote from: mikelutestanski on July 10, 2008, 11:32:47 AM
Yes the retarder cooler is the one provided by Allison for this application; and is plumbed vertically behind the turbo. The water from both radiators flows into the cooler on its way to the pump. I endeavored to utilize the specified parts from the donor bus wherever possible.
Thank you for sharing that. I had wondered how that was done.
It would be interesting to put a coolant temperature sensor inline between the retarder and the pump. I'm not saying you should, it's just the sort of thing I would find interesting. But then I'm the type that one day when I get all the "necessary things" done on mine, I will probably populate the dash with enough gauges to make it look like the cockpit of a commercial jet. ;D
Did you have to make any major mods to fit the engine in the compartment? How does the series 50 compare to the L10 in HP and mileage?You said it would be a snap to put in a series 50. What kind of a time frame is a snap? A couple of weeks? Your attention to detail is unbelievavble. Was the motor that clean when you bought it? and has it been rebuilt? Sorry for so many questions but I am considering a repower.
Great job!!!
Hello
It would be interesting to put a coolant temperature sensor inline between the retarder and the pump.
I thought about doing that but the only way was to drill the hydraulic fitting and I ran out of time; however the fireprotection system has 3 extra sensors and one of them is layered next to the fitting that goes into the cooler. That gives a rudimentary transmission temp going into the retarder.
Did you have to make any major mods to fit the engine in the compartment? How does the series 50 compare to the L10 in HP and mileage?You said it would be a snap to put in a series 50. What kind of a time frame is a snap? A couple of weeks? Your attention to detail is unbelievable. Was the motor that clean when you bought it? and has it been rebuilt?
Yes unless you don't consider reworking a cradle to add 5 inches to the front and rebuilding the mounting system major. And as stated before the only thing original on the coolant system is the radiators (utilized some of the old pieces naturally).As to how the series 50 compares to the L10 that is like comparing an apple to an orange. The 50 is computer driven and the L10 is mechanical big difference there. Now a more direct comparison would be a Celect L10 or an M11. this L10 is mechanical but the nice part of the older L10 is the engine is shorter and fits under the rear bulkhead. The m11 and the newer celect L10 is at least 2 inches higher and you may have to modify the bulkhead where the hatch is to fit it in.
Horsepower wise the 50 is 325 and the L10 is 270. the select may go to 320 or so not sure.
The fitting in of the seies 50 is this: The series 50 is the same length as the 8v engines whereas the inline 6 cylinders are longer.So if you have the same tranny (like a 740 you have to think about your driveshaft length.
I do know one gentleman who has a series 60 with a 740 and a 7 inch driveshaft. He has many miles on the coach ; and it works fine. He had to cut a hole in his rear door and put a cover over it for one of the pulleys to work.
My installed L10 motor came from a transit in Atlanta and was filthy. Had to take the external parts off to get the block clean. Looking back I would have looked harder for a steam cleaning outfit . Took a week to clean the block. I replaced the rods and mains as I changed pans . Replaced rear main seal it was leaking and any other that was required. Don't know much about the top end yet so left that alone for now.
As far as time to do a job that is not answerable by me. Too many variables involved. Several outfits on the west coast will do the job for you and it takes 4 to 6 weeks for them to do it and at least 25K . From my experience That price is worth the job if it is as extensive as mine.
I have spent 6 months on this job. Working about 6 hours per day. The tag axle and rear end took 2 days with 3 guys working.
Hope this helps remember this is all my opinion and we know about opinions don't we?
Regards and happy bussin mike
Amazing how much room suddenly opens up when you take the V block out and install an inline. Very nice work. Will be curious as to your fuel mileage once everything settles in! Good Luck, TomC
Hello Thank you everyone for your comments . They are appreciated when you spend a long time on a project. I found some pix of the engine as we received it. We received the engine on the base frame of the bus less transmission. It was transverse and they never bothered doing anything to the back.
Regards and Happy bussin mike
and another view
and one more.
mike
Thanks for sharing more photos.
Question...is that alternator's bracket came with this engine? It looked new or you made or OEM? ?
Sojourn for Christ, Jerry
Hello That bracket came with the engine
happy bussin mike
Nice job Mike. I like a tidy engine compartment, you can take pride when you hear the oo's and aaw's when you show the engine compartment