shorty school bus

[gdaddy01]

anyone know anything about a 1977 short school bus with a 361 fe in it , dog , junk , gas hog , good for a truck , stuff like that . I am thinking about trying to get one for a camper , rv , tow truck .  automatic trans , not sure what was put in school buses . any thoughts ?  guy wants 1800 dollars for it , very little rust , side glass good , needs a windshield , flat glass though . 13 foot wheelbase , seems to be right size for what I was thinking .

[blykins]

I ride one on occasion.

[Stangman]

Dont forget your helmet Brent.

[BattlestarGalactic]

361 FT.  Gas hog...that about covers it.   Likely be very under powered for towing anything.  Plus it is probably geared for 45 mph.  Don't plan on running 65 mph with it.

Hate to say it, but throw a 12v cummins in it and pull what you want and get something respectable for mileage after you put some faster gears in it.

[FrozenMerc]

School buses are a great source for 12V Cummins (And old IH IDI's if that is more your thing) backed by Allison autos.  Most people don't think to look there and they can often be had much cheaper than rusted out old Dodge pickups with bad transmissions.

[shady]

gonna need side glass for the window lickers.

[BattlestarGalactic]

School buses are a great source for 12V Cummins (And old IH IDI's if that is more your thing) backed by Allison autos.  Most people don't think to look there and they can often be had much cheaper than rusted out old Dodge pickups with bad transmissions.

Absolutely.  They were not powerhouses, but will get you there.  Not sure how much computer crap is on the later stuff and if it can be tuned up?  Local racer uses an old lawnservice IH S series with DTD466 and he says it's stupid slow.  He's tried to get it turned up, but dealer hasn't been able to do anything with it.  Tops out at like 45 mph.

[mike7570]

I like this one

[gregaba]

I would buy it.
I would change it out to a 460 with auto overdrvie  and about a 300 rear.
Should get 8 to 10 MPG and still pull whatever you want at highway speeds.
Greg

[RustyCrankshaft]

School buses are a great source for 12V Cummins (And old IH IDI's if that is more your thing) backed by Allison autos.  Most people don't think to look there and they can often be had much cheaper than rusted out old Dodge pickups with bad transmissions.

Absolutely.  They were not powerhouses, but will get you there.  Not sure how much computer crap is on the later stuff and if it can be tuned up?  Local racer uses an old lawnservice IH S series with DTD466 and he says it's stupid slow.  He's tried to get it turned up, but dealer hasn't been able to do anything with it.  Tops out at like 45 mph.

12v 5.9's in school buses were typically set up for more power than the ones in a Dodge. Dodge maxed out at 215hp. School buse 5.9's could be had anywhere from 160 hp to 230hp. And if you slide the torque curve plate forward, ease up on the AFC spring and put a set of 3k RPM governor springs in one with a P7100 it'll do about 350hp with the as equipped turbo.

Most DT466's were pretty low HP, but the basic engine will take a LOT of power. Do you know which version he has? Early 466's had rotary pumps and they'll max out around 300hp depending on the specific model. If it's a later DT466 (DT466p) those had inline pumps and they are tuned the same way a inline pump on a Cummins 5.9 is (Bosch P7100 pump) and will make about as much as you'd want in one. Swapped one into a pickup a few years ago and it was a bit less than 800 on the chassis dyno which is the point at which I had the chain binders so tight to keep the tires from spinning we started peeling the tread off them so I decided to stop there.

If you want to replace the 361 and get up to 50 mph I  have a really good running 538 I just pulled out of a C series Ford. Got 5.2 mpg driving it to the shop!

[turbohunter]

Reminds me of when I had the bright idea to buy a fire truck to protect my ranch in northern Calif.
Was in Ohio doing a job and saw a fire truck for sale on the side of the road in Lockington. Fires were raging in NorCal that year (like most others) so I figured, why not.
It had a 361 and my brother and I drove it cross country at 52 mph. Went by Bonneville during Speed week and I’ll guarantee it was the slowest thing there.
Still on the job though.

[BattlestarGalactic]

Marc.  I know a similar story from a fellow FE'r  here(another Mark).   Bought a bucket truck in Ohio and drove it back to Mass.  The story was quite the same as yours.  Slowwwww and hardly steady.

Rusty,  I don't know the history of the truck.  It seems it was speed limited more then just low on HP.

[gdaddy01]

7 no's 1 yes , two neutral , not sure about mental state of those two or mine  though . anymore suggestions ?  I was thinking 390 out of 65 t bird c-6 with gear vendors od

[C6AE]

7 no's 1 yes , two neutral , not sure about mental state of those two or mine  though . anymore suggestions ?  I was thinking 390 out of 65 t bird c-6 with gear vendors od

"Old School" lettered on the side...
A 2v-390 w/Gear Vendors OD sounds perfect.

My experience with trucks and 4v FE's says the 4 bbls and the power valve are open most of the time.
(Use a rev limiter, that low gear is used up in about two seconds, just sayin')
I have an Allison w/bell for an FE/FT

[gregaba]

If I had the 65 390 with a GV I would use it. Will pull about anything and still be good for about 10 to 12 miles per gallon.
Would look at some higher gears for the rear as if I remember right those school buses had a very low rear end ratio.
Greg