Insane amongst the insane?

[EastCoastCB]

Watch with sound UP!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRziS6C3i1Q

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by formulagirl

yep I had an r-5 350, RD 200, RD 400, and a RZ 350, you could say i like two strokes too-but a diesel? i work on 8.3 blue birds all day, never have i seen or heard a two stroke diesel, now i am interested....

Buddy of mine imported an RZ500 back when they were new and managed to get it titled as a "manufacturers prototype". Boy was I jealous.

Ever heard of someone putting a 671 or 871 blower on their hot rod? Back in the olden days those were roots type superchargers robbed of of two stroke Detroit diesels. From.... You guessed it.. 671 & 8v71 engines.

Later on other manufacturers produced versions aimed at the hot rod market.

Another interesting note on the DD 2 strokes. No intake valves. They have intake ports like your RD but they do have exhaust valves.

[dan-fox]

Well, just for the record, I managed to talk myself off the ledge on this one. I hope it goes to / has found a good new home. On the sale thread, the owner has reduced the asking price, and I can attest that he is a good and reasonable person to deal with.



It was my wife who originally went bats**t over the looks of the thing, and I thought to strike while the iron was hot, so to speak. But, it's not at all what I've spent time thinking about. I want to build an RV to my specs out of a stripped bus, not start piecemeal dismantling/remantling someone else's idea of an RV. Also, the prospect of joining another community, this one devoted to keeping Crowns alive well past manufacturer EOL, did not appeal.



Also, wife put her foot down at a stick shift. She won't even drive my 6 speed Kia Soul, even though she cut her teeth on VW Bugs.



So I'm still looking for that 40' shoebox RE with the 8.3/3060 just like everybody else is. I would encourage others who have been looking for a Crown because it's a Crown to look at that one, though. It's nice.

[Iceni John]

Originally Posted by formulagirl

never have i seen or heard a two stroke diesel, now i am interested....

EMD's legendary locomotives all had 2-stroke diesels, and EMD's basic architecture is similar to Detroit's 2-strokes like mine. Fairbanks-Morse's opposed-piston designs were used in locos and submarines for many decades. Foden in England and Nissan UD in Japan also made effective 2-stroke truck diesels. The world's biggest diesels are huge (and I mean several stories high) marine 2-strokes producing over 100,000 SHP at less than 100 RPM, with cylinders big enough to stand inside. Commer in England made their TS3 with 3 cylinders, 6 pistons and one crankshaft (work that one out!), and Napier made the Deltic with 18 cylinders, 36 pistons, 3 crankshafts and not a single valve, a truly unique design - I spent many a happy mile behind Deltic locos hauling 400 tons at 100 MPH, a sound you'll NEVER forget with 72 pistons wailing like a banshee. There were even 2-stroke diesel aircraft engines from Junkers in Germany and others, culminating in the Napier Nomad which was a 2-stroke diesel and gas turbine all in one, and this amazing engine still has the lowest SFC of any aero engine.

So, 2-stroke diesels really aren't that uncommon, even now. Try one - you may like it.

John

[Rberriz]

here’s my crown I’m doing a conversion on!!!

[Birdarchitect26]

Das Real Purdy

[Pizzajones05]

How'd your conversion go? I found an old crown for 18,000 and am considering it. Obviously price is on the high end for a bus to convert, but what I hear about their quality intrigues me. What do you say from experience?

[Rwnielsen]

Originally Posted by formulagirl

yep I had an r-5 350, RD 200, RD 400, and a RZ 350, you could say i like two strokes too-but a diesel? i work on 8.3 blue birds all day, never have i seen or heard a two stroke diesel, now i am interested....

They're in Lot of commercial boats. They went out of production around 1995. Shrimp boats, dive boats fishing boats.... The one's I've dealt with used a bit of oil but they sure sound nice.

[bus-bro]

Yeah, 2-cycle diesels rule the sea! Almost all big ships are powered by long stroke 2-cycle engines.

[cowlitzcoach]

Originally Posted by Pizzajones05

How'd your conversion go? I found an old crown for 18,000 and am considering it. Obviously price is on the high end for a bus to convert, but what I hear about their quality intrigues me. What do you say from experience?

$18,000.00 for a Crown is pretty premium pricing. For that price it better be one of the unicorn Crowns--unicorn defined as a 10-wheeler with a Big Cam Cummins with 350+ HP.

[BeNimble]

There has been a 69 Crown with mid-engine 8.3 on sac CL for $6k for months.

[Crown_Guy]

I'm replying to the post regarding the 69 on Craigslist and having trouble with the reply software.

This is not likely. Mid-engine Crowns of 1969 vintage only had three options. Gasoline powered, and on it's way out, would have been a Hall-Scott of either two sizes. Diesel options were only the 220/262turbo 743 cu. in. Cummins, or the Detroit Diesel 6-71 naturally aspirated, no turbos's yet. The 8.3 Cummins wasn't ever laid down and is used in rear-engine Crowns and others, and it's a newer engine. The Craigslisting is very obviously in error and the seller knows nothing about the bus, which is very common for folks unfamiliar with large vehicles in general, and Crowns specifically.

[Crown_Guy]

Double post trying to reply regarding the Craigslist post. And can't see how to delete this duplicate.



This is not likely. Mid-engine Crowns of 1969 vintage only had three options. Gasoline powered, and on it's way out, would have been a Hall-Scott of either two sizes. Diesel options were only the 220/262turbo 743 cu. in. Cummins, or the Detroit Diesel 6-71 naturally aspirated, no turbos's yet. The 8.3 Cummins wasn't ever laid down and is used in rear-engine Crowns and others in it's vertical position, like a truck, and it's a newer engine. The Craigslisting is very obviously in error and the seller knows nothing about the bus, which is very common for folks unfamiliar with large vehicles in general, and Crowns specifically.

[bus-bro]

Did they not lay the Cummins's 855 down in the amidship Crowns?

[Crown_Guy]

Originally Posted by Pizzajones05

How'd your conversion go? I found an old crown for 18,000 and am considering it. Obviously price is on the high end for a bus to convert, but what I hear about their quality intrigues me. What do you say from experience?

Do you have any details on this Crown?? Year of manufacture, engine details, Cummins, Detroit 6-71? If it's a late one built in the 90's it might be a rear engine Crown II and could have Cummins 8.3, Cat 3208, or Detroit 6V-92. If it's a mid-engine pancake it can only be a Cummins 743 or 855, or Detroit 6-71 either turbo or not. Stick shift still or auto transmission, and where is it located and where did it run in service and the type of service. All this is important and helps determine the value of the Crown.

Quality is great but it also depends on some other factors as well. I know of a Crown that just sold for way more than $18K and it was worth every single penny. Most Crowns today in good running condition are worth all of 10-15K if there's no underlying expensive issues needing attention. Otherwise 6-10 with the understanding that repairs will be needed.

The one thing to keep in mind always with a Crown is that once something gets fixed/repaired (properly and not on the cheap) you as a private owner will not likely ever put enough miles or wear and tear on it to ever need to do that particular item for the life of your ownership running into decades even. So it's money very well spent.

Put up details and I'll see if I can offer advice on what to do with this Crown. And not all Crowns are worth high dollars. Like I said there can be many factors working against it being worth much at all. A Crown can be fixed and repaired, even if in rough shape, but you must accept the costs to repair and be able to get it cheap enough to make it feasible to invest in the repairs. If the body is good the running gear and mechanicals can be repaired and then you get a great running and good looking Crown for the ages.

[Crown_Guy]

Originally Posted by bus-bro

Did they not lay the Cummins's 855 down in the amidship Crowns?

Absolutely. They went to the 855's after retiring the 743 (220-262hp). The 855 was used in several versions, Small Cam(855), Big Cam I, II, and III, up to end of production. Not sure when they switched but it was sometime in the early to mid 1970's and all the 855's were extremely successful and made a great engine for the Crowns. The 855's had much better low-end torque and performed better with the common manual 5-spd's and even better when matched with a 10spd in the mountains. Solid and reliable as befits a Crown. Remember that all Crowns used off the shelf heavy duty highway truck running gear components, so when I say that the Crown and it's running gear is a million mile vehicle, I'm not exaggerating. It's built in from day one.