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Old 02-03-2015, 06:08 AM   #1
Skoolie
 
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Talking The Forge

Finally bought a bus, after more than a year of looking. It isn't everything I wanted, but it's more than I had. now the adventure begins.

I ended up with a '96 AmTran 72 pax, 38 ft long, DT466 w/ Allison trans.

Wanting a FE flat nose limited my choices, and wanting as near to 40 feet as I could get limited them more. But the biggest limit was price. I'll begin stripping her this weekend, and deciding how much of a roof lift I'm going to need to make things work the way I would like.

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Old 02-03-2015, 07:05 AM   #2
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You're in good company.
You got a good bus, I LOVE my AmTran. I got mine in Kentucky.
Price way key for me... but I love my bus.
Is yours the 466 or 466E?
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Old 02-03-2015, 09:26 AM   #3
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Honestly, I'm not sure. There are a lot of things I still need to figure out, like which transmission it in it. I know it is an Alison 4-speed, but not sure if it is a 545 or a 643. It started raining the day I got it so I haven't been able to get under it to do any more checking.

Any advice from a fellow Amtran owner would be great. I was originally after a BB but the lines on the Amtran are so much straighter that I figured it would be easier to do the body modifications like raising the roof and skinning some of the windows.
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Old 02-03-2015, 09:32 AM   #4
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Its almost surely the E, or electronic injection.
Yeah I much prefer the AmTran. I had a Thomas once and I like the one I have now so much more.
Have you looked at the engine plate/sticker to see what your HP rating is?
Whats the highway speed on your rig?
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Old 02-03-2015, 10:07 AM   #5
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I haven't looked at the engine plate, but the highway speed, all out on flat ground, with a good tail wind, is 65 mph. I got up to 68 going down hill a couple of times. I've driven it about 175 miles so far and I really want to find a way to get the RPMs down at highway speed, and maybe even get a little more speed out of it, 5 to 10 mph, just to maintain speed limit on the open highway.
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Old 02-03-2015, 10:12 AM   #6
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Thats about what mine does. The fuel economy isn't bad at all for what it is, though.
Mine has 4.44 gears, I'd imagine yours is similar. I'm ok with leaving mine as is for now.
I think playing with the governor and fuel can get these to 70mph. maybe.
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Old 02-03-2015, 10:55 AM   #7
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I had considered, and still am, putting a two speed rear end under it. That would give me more power for the mountains in low range and better fuel efficiency on the highways in high range. I did notice that coming up on long hill, but not a steep one at all, that it was all I could do to maintain 45mph. On the highway that is just a little too slow, even for a hill, once I head north into the mountains it is going to be really bad unless I do something to help the power.
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Old 02-03-2015, 11:44 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EastCoastCB View Post
Its almost surely the E, or electronic injection.
Yeah I much prefer the AmTran. I had a Thomas once and I like the one I have now so much more.
Have you looked at the engine plate/sticker to see what your HP rating is?
Whats the highway speed on your rig?
It could be a mechanical injection. They had them until 1997. I have one. 1997 was the last year for mechanical while some states got the E starting about 1995 like California.
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Old 02-03-2015, 12:30 PM   #9
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Before you spend the $$$ for a 2-speed rear end make sure the gearing is going to be a plus for you.

Most 2-speeds did not have very high gearing on the high side. I doubt you will find any that are much faster than what you have currently.

As far as slowing down on the hills, it is going to happen. The DT466 is a great engine but it is still only rated in the 190HP-285HP range. To get the weight and frontal area of a bus to go up a hill at speed is going to take a lot more HP than 285 HP.

I drove a 10-wheel Christmas tree harvest truck with a DT466. At loads of 30,000 lbs we could move along at 60 MPH very easily unless we got into a head wind. The tree box had a four foot high cabover section the width of the truck. All told we were 13' high. Going along the river against the wind one afternoon I couldn't maintain 50 MPH. While heading the opposite direction empty I hardly had to touch the throttle to maintain 60 MPH.
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Old 02-03-2015, 12:44 PM   #10
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Before you spend the $$$ for a 2-speed rear end make sure the gearing is going to be a plus for you.

Most 2-speeds did not have very high gearing on the high side. I doubt you will find any that are much faster than what you have currently.

As far as slowing down on the hills, it is going to happen. The DT466 is a great engine but it is still only rated in the 190HP-285HP range. To get the weight and frontal area of a bus to go up a hill at speed is going to take a lot more HP than 285 HP.

I drove a 10-wheel Christmas tree harvest truck with a DT466. At loads of 30,000 lbs we could move along at 60 MPH very easily unless we got into a head wind. The tree box had a four foot high cabover section the width of the truck. All told we were 13' high. Going along the river against the wind one afternoon I couldn't maintain 50 MPH. While heading the opposite direction empty I hardly had to touch the throttle to maintain 60 MPH.

If you find a school bus with 285hp, you better buy a lottery ticket fast.
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Old 02-03-2015, 02:59 PM   #11
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While I know little to nothing about the 466...what about some mods? The Cummins engines are relatively easy to pump up dramatically with nothing more than injector swaps and some turbo work. Any 466 techs on board that can comment?
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Old 02-03-2015, 03:23 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Outcast View Post
I had considered, and still am, putting a two speed rear end under it. That would give me more power for the mountains in low range and better fuel efficiency on the highways in high range. I did notice that coming up on long hill, but not a steep one at all, that it was all I could do to maintain 45mph. On the highway that is just a little too slow, even for a hill, once I head north into the mountains it is going to be really bad unless I do something to help the power.
Yeah, the 2 speed rear would be nice for mountains, but I doubt its gonna help on the freeway. Most have much lower gears, as cowlitz pointed out.
I think a few tweaks by a diesel shop would probably get you a few mph. These things aren't really meant to go much past 55-65. Nature of the beasts.
I got mine up Monteagle at agood pace, at least 45 mph.
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Old 02-03-2015, 03:37 PM   #13
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Remember that the engine has a redline beyond which you shouldn't run the engine. The redline and rear gearing will determine your top speed regardless of the amount of HP you have.

With a DT466 if you have the inline injection pump it will pump up about as easily as a Cummins.

If you have the distributor style injection pump it won't be quite as easy.

But much like a Cummins, changing injectors and pump settings will increase your HP.

The problem with increasing HP you also increase heat. You may find yourself with more power than you have cooling system to cool.

Everything is a trade off.

The easiest way in which to increase top speed if you have 10-hole Budd wheels is to go from 11x22.5 to 11x24.5 tires and wheels. That will give you 5-8 MPH more for the same engine speed. If you have 10x22.5 tires going to 11x24.5 tires will give you about 8-12 MPH more.

If you have spoke wheels the best you can do is go to the tallest 22.5 tire that will fit, most likely a 12x22.5 which is the same height as a 11x24.5.
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Old 02-03-2015, 03:40 PM   #14
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Going with bigger tires is NOT going to help in the mountains with the speed drop.
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Old 02-03-2015, 06:09 PM   #15
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"The problem with increasing HP you also increase heat."

True, and it is already running a consistent 200 degrees when I'm going all out on the highway.

Anyway, checked a few things out, it is the 190 hp model (485 f/lb torque), and I'm pretty sure it has the mechanical injectors. Still not sure on the transmission, is there an easy way to tell by looking at them if it's the 545 or the 643?
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Old 02-03-2015, 06:15 PM   #16
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There should be a data plate on the driver's side of the transmission case.

If you PM me your e-mail address and the VIN # of your bus I might be able to get a build sheet for it.
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Old 02-03-2015, 06:23 PM   #17
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They ain't cheap, but the new gen Allison 6 speeds are double OD (5th is .71, 6th is .61) and you'd still have some grunt on bottom for hills. Full lockup helps a lot on the downhill side as well.

BTW...below is a handy calculator. You can test out different gear ratios, tire sizes, RPM's, etc.

http://www.csgnetwork.com/multirpmcalc.html
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Old 02-03-2015, 07:31 PM   #18
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Quote:
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"The problem with increasing HP you also increase heat."

True, and it is already running a consistent 200 degrees when I'm going all out on the highway.

Anyway, checked a few things out, it is the 190 hp model (485 f/lb torque), and I'm pretty sure it has the mechanical injectors. Still not sure on the transmission, is there an easy way to tell by looking at them if it's the 545 or the 643?
This is what makes me want an MCI.
Or an old GM Greyhound. The cruising for thousands of miles part is where the real merit of the proper coach is evident. But Im fine with my Ward. I'll be sleeping and cooking in it infinitely more than driving it. Cheap is king in my world.
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Old 02-09-2015, 07:36 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cowlitzcoach View Post
Before you spend the $$$ for a 2-speed rear end make sure the gearing is going to be a plus for you.

Most 2-speeds did not have very high gearing on the high side. I doubt you will find any that are much faster than what you have currently.

I'm far from an expert on 2-speed rear ends, but most everyone I've talked to about it said that the high range is typically a 1:1, which would be a lot higher than 4.50 :1 that I think I'm running now. And if the low range is in the upper 4's or lower 5's, that would be a good power boost on the mountains.

Now that I know I have a 545 transmission, replacing that is a big priority as well.
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Old 02-09-2015, 07:40 AM   #20
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This is what makes me want an MCI.
Or an old GM Greyhound. The cruising for thousands of miles part is where the real merit of the proper coach is evident. But Im fine with my Ward. I'll be sleeping and cooking in it infinitely more than driving it. Cheap is king in my world.

Thought hard on this one issue, but between the structural strength of a school bus and the extra ground clearance for going WAY off road, I had to go with a skoolie. My wife was not (is not) happy with my decision. I told her in 10 years we'll get an other one, and it will be more her style. Probably a ready made RV. YUCK
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