Baby bus got saved!!

[Tedsoldbus]

Good news, bad news story.
I posted pictures of a baby bus sinking into the sod some months back. It is a 29 foot 1972 GMC New Look fishbowl. Lots of older guys chimed in about the engine, history etc.

The next day a BCM guy (to remain un named) called me and wanted to see it. He had been looking for one forever. I ceased talking about it hoping he would get it and told him I had friends that would help get it out of the muck. I met him there, and short version - he spent a lot of time finding the owner and could not agree on a price.

Sometime later he told me someone else got it and drove it out of there! No small task since the road was washed out between the bus and the road.
That is the bad...sad news that my BCM brother did not get it.

The good news is I stumbled onto a U Tube called Resurrected Garage. There is a video of the very young couple who saved it and them driving it out of the place I discovered it, all the way home about 2 hours away. Great video including tires coming apart a mile from home. The young guy has a background working on old diesel stuff and he seems to know what he is doing in both videos. He and his wife are passionate about getting this back on the road and camping in it. They drive it in both videos. Many of the systems, lights, etc still work on it than I expected when our BCM buddy and I looked at it all covered in moss and crap.

Baby bus got saved!
A good thing in the end and you should watch it just for how enthusiastic the young couple is about it.

Ted

[CrabbyMilton]

That's good news. I didn't know they built those well into the 1970's. I'll check out the video.

[TomC]

That ToroFlo 478 V-6 was a good motor-just retorque the heads twice a year. And no they were not a converted gasoline engine. They were made as a Diesel-just happened to have the same architecture of the gasoline version. Good Luck, TomC

[CrabbyMilton]

Plus he can always put in a newer CUMMINS ISB with an newer ALLISON. Better power and MPG and I would imagine those TOROFLOWS are getting harder to find parts. Looking back, why didn't GM just build all of their NEWLOOKS T drive?

[Tedsoldbus]

I know nothing about what you gentlemen speaketh, but the young guy mentions he is changing it because so few were made, finding parts when on the road would be very difficult.
Even Luke would probably say " You have a whaaaaaaaaaaaat?".
It sure sounded like it is running well. Shame to pull that engine and probably scrap it.

I expect I am more interested than many about this because it is a little bus and I visited it about 5 times hoping it would not die in place. I did NOT save it, but stood where they took it from (not far from home), and watching them drive it through places I know well like Hellen Ga to get it home. So it probably has a bit of sentiment for me.

Best thing I think about the 2 videos is seeing people without grey hair involved in an old bus! There is hope we will have someone to hand our buses off to when the time comes.

[Van]

Nice couple, we enjoyed the 2 videos. now you can too
https://youtu.be/3vHcoTmyXNY

https://youtu.be/VitTrylKibw
Anyone going to their car and bike show, wish we could make it

[chessie4905]

you could always pull the toro flo and replace with gas job. A 401,432,478 would be a drop in replacement with little to no changing, except for ignition feed and fuel line. those gas jobs, while not the most economical, are next to indestructible. Otherwise, a gas 366, or 427, which would probably have the correct bell hsg, or a mechanical cummins from a pickup.
Check for toroflo site on facebook. if there is one or google enthusiast site.

[luvrbus]

The ToroFlo was the four runner for the 8.2 Detroit some parts are the same they are not a bad engine lot of those still around,it was a better engine than the Cummins V470 

[CrabbyMilton]

GM had quite a bit of duplication and overlap. Kind of stupid from the standpoint overhead but it does make for rich history. I could understand putting a gasoline engine in those but GM already has their DETROIT DIESEL division that were considered the standard of the industry. Yet the GMC division came up with their own Diesel engines and the OLDSMOBILE Diesel was legendary and not always in a good way.

[luvrbus]

GM had quite a bit of duplication and overlap. Kind of stupid from the standpoint overhead but it does make for rich history. I could understand putting a gasoline engine in those but GM already has their DETROIT DIESEL division that were considered the standard of the industry. Yet the GMC division came up with their own Diesel engines and the OLDSMOBILE Diesel was legendary and not always in a good way.

Ford did the same with big gasoline engines they would install the Cat injection on their 534 gasoline truck engines the 534 was more beefy than the 350 Olds gasoline engine though and helded up fairly good,IH did the same on their 549 gasoline V8's before they started the 466 V8 diesel   

[CrabbyMilton]

Kind of a twist to that since CUMMINS is going to have a gasoline version of the ISB 6.7 soon. Like you said the same foundation but the rest is different.

[TomC]

I remember when Cummins came out with the natural gas version of the 8.9 liter ISL. Mechanics all said they took a perfectly good Diesel and put spark plugs in it and ruined the engine. Good Luck, TomC

[Utahclaimjumper]

It all shows that engineers come from a different world..>>>Dan

[chessie4905]

series 50 got spark plugs too

[BusNit]

My wife and I don't have many gray hairs and we saved a Newell from dying in the Arizona sun! Here she sits over us in my new pit. Not many wives willing to get under a bus for you on a photo shoot!