Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 05-15-2014, 11:23 AM   #1
New Member
 
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 1
advice- fishbowl with Allison 2 speed in the mountains

Hey guys. I'v been watching this board for awhile now. I found a '79 fishbowl with an Allison 2spd automatic and I live in mountains of NC. The owner said it reaches 65mph. The bus is fully built out and pretty sweet. Im really curious as to how this transmission performs in the hills. I going to look it at it on monday and would really appreciate any insights or pointer to some links where this topic might be covered.

thanks guys,

nick

nikoli is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-18-2014, 12:31 AM   #2
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 34
Re: advice- fishbowl with Allison 2 speed in the mountains

I drove a few of those back in the 80's in upstate NY. A 2 speed automatic is not going to be conducive to mountainous driving. It may well hit 65 on the interstate as long as it's relatively level but as soon as you try steep grades it will bog down, shift into first and speed will drop significantly.
want2camp is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2014, 09:02 PM   #3
Bus Crazy
 
opus's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Montana
Posts: 1,626
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: All-American R/E
Engine: 8.3 Cummins
Rated Cap: 72
Re: advice- fishbowl with Allison 2 speed in the mountains

Go here and search. You'll find more: http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php?board=1.0
opus is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-22-2014, 10:15 PM   #4
Bus Crazy
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Adirondack Mountains NY
Posts: 1,101
Re: advice- fishbowl with Allison 2 speed in the mountains

I don't know if it's the same or not, but I had one experience riding in an old GM with a 2-speed automatic in high school. It was an away track meet, and for some reason they hired a city bus instead of one of the town's skoolie contractors.

It was the late '60s, and the bus was one of the "round-cornered' ones from the 1950s. (Sorry GM fans, I don't know those model numbers.)

It would be more accurate to call the drive train a torque converter with two ranges rather than a transmission. I'm sure in city line service they never shifted, just slushed their way from one stop to the next in city range.

On the highway trip, it went like this: The driver would start out with his foot to the floor. I wouldn't say the bus really accelerated, I would better describe it as "accumulating speed." We would be going faster and faster, and the noise level from behind the back seat was reaching a crescendo that sounded like we were seconds away from riding a fireball to Mars. Then, at somewhere around 40 miles per hour, there would be a lurch as the city range dropped out and the highway range kicked in. The engine dropped to about an idle as it continued to gradually "accumulate speed" up to match the highway speed of the other traffic.

In re-reading your post, the seller says it "reaches" 65 miles per hour. I will bet that is on level ground with no wind.

I love the look of the old GMs, and if I were in the market for an antique transit, I would look for a stick shift and not go with the slushpot. With the price of fuel today, if I had one of these antiques with a two-speed for nostalgia value, I would probably trailer it to wherever I wanted it to be. Of course, Publishers Clearinghouse would have to change my life to make any of that possible.

I can't say the '79 is similar to the old 50's bus, but my story is free and worth what you paid me for it.
__________________
Someone said "Making good decisions comes from experience, experience comes from bad decisions." I say there are three kinds of people: those who learn from their mistakes, those who learn from the mistakes of others, and those who never learn.
Redbear is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
What would you recommend? 39 ft and mountains Letsbenomads Skoolie Conversion Projects 12 03-02-2014 07:24 PM
2 Trannies for Sale...'46 Chevy & an Allison 4-Speed Tango Classifieds | Buy, Sell, Swap 0 09-01-2012 05:12 PM
1967 fishbowl convertion for sale in oregom chev49 Classifieds | Buy, Sell, Swap 1 05-11-2012 03:53 PM
engine overheating in mountains jeephauler Conversion General Discussions 3 08-15-2006 02:21 AM
1986 bluebird DT466/5 Speed man/2 speed rear code4 Classifieds | Buy, Sell, Swap 2 08-14-2006 11:29 PM

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 03:15 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.