1964 Bristol Lodekka- Double Decker Bus - Page 2

bansil · 03-07-2012, 11:42 AM

I thought of this bus yesterday when I watched "The white bus" it was a 1967 B/W movie from england....very twilite zoney...

TygerCub · 03-07-2012, 05:48 PM

Love the ceiling. Very well done.

bansil · 12-15-2012, 07:18 PM

Sweeeet,thank you for the update,I can't wait for pics

bansil · 04-25-2013, 05:17 AM

it looks evgen bigger now

karlw · 09-18-2013, 09:07 PM

I just wanted to say hi and apologize for not posting lately. It appears my account was deleted from the forum for reasons that are beyond me. I have sent an email to the owner of the site and posted in the forum today hoping for an explanation but wouldn't be surprised if it gets deleted again. If so, it was chatting with you all. If not, I will be posting some updates soon.

crazycal · 09-19-2013, 10:48 AM

This is an example of what I wrote in your other thread.

karlw · 09-19-2013, 11:20 AM

So I want to update you all on what is happening with the bus and the latest picture parked in front of my house (not much has changed)

We have been trying to figure out what options we have with the engine and transmission. First, the engine is a very rare BVW engine. Which has two disadvantages, parts are not available and it drives super slow. The engine is only partially responsible for the slowness of the bus (max speed is like 40mph) because there appears to be a reducing gear in the transmission, the differential or both. Not sure yet. To be able to drive this around and enjoy it we need to replace the engine which leaves us with two possibilities, either we replace it with a gardner xlb engine that would fit right into the transmission (it is almost a replica of the BVW) or we put in a modern diesel. If we do the gardner, parts are still difficult to get and the bus will still drive too slow to be able to drive on freeways. Considering the size of the bus and the obstacle it would be to travel long distances off freeways, it doesn't seem like such a good idea. The other option and probably the best is to put in a new diesel (thinking cummins 5.9 or international dt466) and Allison automatic transmission. Obviously, this comes with it's own set of obstacles. First, the engine turns clockwise, the transmission goes in clock wise but comes out counter clock wise. There is also a gear that drops the drive line below the floor of the bus. A regular transmission would need to have a couple of elbows put in to accomplish this but I am told it is not a big deal. The reversing issue is a very big deal. I have heard my share of half cocked ideas about how to fix this issue and some are pretty good, but so far none are cheap.

So we spent the better part of a year trying to determine if it is worthwhile to go forward and fix it. I mean, this is going to be $20,000 minimum just to get this bus mechanically sound enough to drive regularly. That doesn't count the cost of the conversion. Of course, this is at a time when I hardly have the money to afford paying my bills. So after much deliberation about rather we should sell it and buy a schoolie for conversion, we decided that we want it bad enough that we are willing to go the distance on it. Currently our plan is to finish the inside of the bus conversion to where it is livable. We are going to then park it at an rv park around the corner from our current house where the rent is a fraction of the cost we are paying to rent a house. Save the money all winter and spring and by summer next year, we hope to have the money to afford to get the engine work done.

We are both really scared about it but we are willing to take a risk because we want to travel in this thing so bad. lol. We are crazy, no doubt in my mind about that at all.

On a side note, I did send in an application for that show "Rock my Rv". haha. Did it a few days ago and I doubt they would be interested with it but I gave it a shot just in case.

syke · 09-19-2013, 02:30 PM

Sounds like a solid crazy ass plan to me!

Go for it!!!!

gusbus · 09-19-2013, 02:44 PM

That bus is enough of an attention getter that they may just jump on it.
It would be huge advertising and an excellent canvas for invention &
creativity. Got the juices flowing here and mine usually flow like sludge

JakeC · 09-19-2013, 03:35 PM

Awesome bus! I would just put in a complete modern drivetrain. If you swap the rear axle with a normal one, you could use the standard transmission output. I would stick with mechanical vs. computerized though. It will eliminate alot of headaches. As for getting it below the floor, I would imagine that if you are swapping in an all new drivetrain, it could be mounted in such a way that the trans output would be below the floor level.

bansil · 09-19-2013, 10:16 PM

we will vote for you!!

sojourner · 10-01-2013, 08:18 AM

Concerning the drive shaft rotation. I'm a former marine mechanic (almost 25 years). Done a lot of repowers and such. Back in the old days when they wanted counter rotating props (before counter rotating engines), they would install one engine facing fore and the other facing aft. Any chance you can turn the engine and trans around and use a v-drive type gearbox to get your rotation issue solved? Not sure what kind of room you have to deal with but many times the modern engines are smaller and lighter and might afford you the room. Just a thought.

Travis

karlw · 09-10-2014, 01:33 AM

We found a solution to the reversing issue. A 1 to 1 gearbox for $3000 manufactured by a gear company and warrantied. So we are continuing our work on the rv portion when it cools down. We plan to move into it to save up money for the new engine and transmission. I will post updates as I get work done.

Docsgsxr · 09-10-2014, 10:27 PM

After reading your thread, I don't feel so bad with replacing my motor decision. But I do so LOVE YOUR BUS! I really hope your gear box solves your issue. It would be so cool to see your bus out and about at a park one day! If it isn't too much of a pain, I'd love to see more pics of the interior. I haven't been on a dd in years!

-Doc

dburt · 09-10-2014, 11:41 PM

I almost bought one of these old British DD buses a while back, but the engine/transmission/rear axle updates sort of derailed the whole idea. I was wondering at the time if a person could put a Cummins 5.9L or 8.3L diesel in the rear like a diesel pusher motorhome, and a MT643 Allison transmission for a bullet proof set-up. If it could be somehow managed, a person could put the radiator up front like an older Rockwell rear diesel pusher motorhome I had once. In fact if it could be made to work somehow, a person could buy a wrecked diesel pusher motorhome for the engine, trans and rear axle, or buy a good diesel pusher skoolie for the same components. Just a thought-

karlw · 08-07-2016, 09:54 PM

Hi everybody. We had to stop working on the bus because of life stuff, but we are back at it again and planning to live in it. I just thought I would update this thread and let you all know that we have a new site up. Doubledeckerdreamhome.com. We had to surrender gonewiththewenns.com because a couple of wynns did gonewiththewynns.com. It is a bummer but I think somebody will have a tougher time copying our new bus name. =) We will be updating the site more as time goes on with pictures, video and general info. I will also start updating this tread.

Currently, my challenge is finding insurance. All the major insurance companies have said they do not cover double deckers, much less double decker conversions. Any advice?

Famousinternetjesus · 03-26-2018, 02:36 PM

I’m very interested to hear all about the details of your repower. I’m currently deciding how to put an 8.3 cummins with an md3060 in my 1968 Bristol Lodekka . I’d be interested to know the name of the company who makes the reversal box. I’ve been speaking to some machinists who
Make tractor pulling transmissions haha.

karlw · 06-09-2018, 09:22 PM

We have been living in the bus for the past year and it has gone pretty good. It is amazing how many hours of work I have put into this bus in addition to my full time job. I was sure I would be done by now but though we have come a long way, there are some things I am still trying to work out that are going to require a do-over. The expanding and contracting of the front and back door was just too much. So now they look terrible and not to mention the gaps that seem to grow now that we are approaching summer.

The good news is, we have the money to finish it and even get the engine done, once we find a place that can do it for us at a price that is reasonable. I will update here once we get to that point. We have a website where we post all our pictures if you are interested at doubledeckerdreamhome.com. Here are a few recent pictures we haven't posted there yet.

Re: Famousinternetjesus

We still have not resolved this issue. I have been driving it with the original engine and transmission. I am attempting to avoid the reversing box and have a lead on a machine shop a friend of mine believes could help me as it appears they build custom industrial farming solutions. Hoping they can help us out.

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