"Scoober" a true bluebird from Dickson co Tn.

[jeremywilliams]

I bought this ol bird from a head mechanic who bought it because it was a good bus supposedly. Drove 4 hrs one way for this bird. Been a lot of work done to it. It's a short bus but already had a carrier air conditioning unit in both front and back.

My question for a lot of you guys is this. This bus has 19.5" wheels instead of the 22" on the bigger buses . My top speed is 53 mph. I need help getting it goin faster. As it takes way to long and has trouble pulling hills. Will it be easier to add power to the motor (ie bigger injectors or pump work ) or governor adjustment . Or even a rear end ratio adjustment? I need advice![

As soon as I figure out how to add pictures I will add some. Thanks!

[bansil]

welcome!

A lot of people use photobucket or flicker, cant find tutorial, but google "photobucket picture attachment" and that should get you started

[Tango]

Welcome --- It sounds like you found a Blue Bird, but what engine & tranny? Also need to verify what rear end and gearing before diving in too deep. If it is an "old Bird" there is a good chance the trans is an Allison 545...aka boat anchor, but there were others. Like I said, start collecting the basic info above, then you can go to one of the online gearing/tire size/speed calculators like the one below. From there you can make a better informed decision.


http://www.csgnetwork.com/multirpmcalc.html

[jeremywilliams]

thanks guys awesome site. It has a 5.9 cummins 545 allison. its a short bus (28 ft maybe? ) but had the carrier ac units up front and in the rear, NICE!. I found one reason why its not reaching a desireable speed. The throttle is out of adjustment. the foot throttle can be bottomed out and you can take a stick and it revs at leat another 200 rpm if not more. i still may do a few mods to get a higher top speed.

[Tango]

Probably the easiest/cheapest way to pick up several MPH would be to either trade out the 19.5" wheels for 22.5's or find larger diameter 19.5" tires. If you know your final gearing, that same calculator above will tell you exactly how much difference it would make. I will be going down to 19.5's on my shorty due to an axle swap, but found some tires that have a significantly larger diameter than "standard" and give me another 5 or 6 mph at the same rpm. I found there is a pretty wide range of actual diameters at each given tire size which can make quite a difference on your cruising speed.

[cowlitzcoach]

If we are talking about a Blue Bird Type 'D' bus (most likely a TC1000 or TC2000) you are pretty much SOL about swapping wheels to accept the more common 22.5" tires. You may be able to find a tire that isn't Lo-Pro that will be taller and give you a few more MPH. But I am not aware of any 22.5" wheels that have that smaller bolt circle and smaller lug bolt pattern. Your issue about using taller tires is clearance issues in the fender wells.

The problem you will face, more than anything else, is you are going to run out of HP to go much faster.

In order to increase speed you need to overcome the drag that is caused by the big brick frontal area of the bus. In order to go faster the need for more power goes up exponentially in a curved line rather than a straight line.

The data plate on the engine or the line setting ticket (build sheet) will tell you which HP version of the 5.9L you have. They ranged from as low as 140 HP to 250 HP.

You don't say what model year you have but I would guess, since it has A/C, that it most likely has the 190 HP version which should be good for cruising at 55-60 MPH without any problem. But it could be the 160 HP or 180 HP version, neither of which will have the power to go much faster than 50 MPH regardless of rear end ratio.

Injectors and pump settings are relatively easy to update if you have the inline PT style pump. If it has the rotary style pump, not so much.

If your bus has the lighter duty axles that are normally found when you have the 19.5" wheels you may find that higher speed rear end gears are few and far between in the used market and very $$$$ in the new market.

If the data plates inside the bus do not tell you which axles and gear ratio you have it would be very helpful if you got the LST. It will tell you what the factory used to build your bus.

If you send my the VIN and body number I might be able to get the LST for you if it is still in the system.

Good luck and happy trails.

[r_w]

http://www.wheeladapter.com/dually_adapters.php

Bottom of the page has adapters for dually pickups to run 22.5 wheels. They might work. Not sure of the weight rating, but I am pretty confident in Fred building them stronger than any axle they will fit onto. I run his spacers on the back of my Ford 15 passenger van.

[jeremywilliams]

Thanks guys. I will get the numbers off the bus when I get home. I appreciate all the help. Thanks again. Ps I still haven't figured the picture loading out .

[Tango]

The "picture thing" is pretty simple.

Set up a photo sharing account with Flickr, Photobucket or whoever.

Load your pix there

Open the pic you want.

Copy the "URL" or "BBC Code"

Paste it here in your message.

At least that's how my Flickr pix work.

[jeremywilliams]

Hey guys, just got out here to the bus . It's a 97 model tc1000 . Rear axle ratio 3.54 . The engine ser. No. Is 45343904 , transmission no is 3210805920 . Chassis no. Is 71620.rear axle differential is 360ca100-4x.

I am working on pics. Thanks !

[jeremywilliams]

Found my dog tag on the 5.9 think I know why this bird don't fly lol it's got a 160hp rating at 2500 rpm.
I have a friend that's a cummins mechanic. He has an injector pump and injectors out of a 210 hp cummins. I may swap it all out and find a turbo that will move a little more air. Anyone here done any cummins upgrades?

[Ponyracer]

Yes, done several upgrades on 12v and 24v engines. What year is yours? That will determine if its 12 or 24v and what injection pump you have.

ID what the engine yr is then search on you tube, all kinds of tricks for various yrs. Start with a good CAI and larger exhaust, removing the muffler. Then either advance the pump timing and or adjust fuel screws for more fuel. YOU WILL NEED A EGT GAUGE when doing this, as the more fuel in, the more power, and the more heat. Running a "turned up" engine without an egt is a good way to melt a piston/fry a turbo.

I'd say your biggest limitation will be the tranny. Also keep in mind the more mods u make the worse the fuel economy will be and the shorter the lifespan on the drivetrain.

[jeremywilliams]

its a 97 model with a p7100 inj pump. thanks for the info.

[Ponyracer]

This will get you started.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WZUEXYi0Zw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orRh9s5aavU

[bansil]

you will kill the tranny if you turn up the engine, check out specs at Allison->just something to research before you take the plunge

I plan to swap trannies and then turn up the fuel some

[Tango]

Still not sure what you have but an Allison AT 545 is rated to 235 HP as I recall...but it's been a while.

[bansil]

I was thinking the applied torque was too high (wt x convertor = too much )....could of been me tho' ; reading and stuff

[Tango]

Weight can indeed be a factor, but Allisons are typically de-rated quite a bit. There are a bunch of powerhogs who do pulling events that still love the 545's and they run 500+ hp dragging umpteen ton sleds. But I'm guessing they have made a few mods along the way too.

[r_w]

And don't care nearly as much about longevity...

[bansil]

Originally Posted by r_w

And don't care nearly as much about longevity...

no shiat if you cant relax and drink/eat...who cares what HP rating was