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Old 03-16-2015, 08:43 PM   #21
Site Team
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: southwest lowsyana
Posts: 542
Year: 1988
Coachwork: ward
Chassis: international
Engine: dt360a
Rated Cap: 65
thanks for the reply.

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Old 03-16-2015, 09:25 PM   #22
Bus Nut
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 352
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: International
Engine: 466DT
Rated Cap: 65
Just for some reference.
My bus.
95 IH mechanical DT466 (stock 210hp)
Spicer (ES52-7a) 7 speed manual trans (no overdrive)
4.44 rear gears and 11r22.5 tires

On the open flats, it will run 73 mph at 2600 rpm's. In the heat of summer you can only run that fast for so long, before engine temps start rising. I plan on swapping rearend gears to 4.10's this spring. That should make an easy cruising speed about 67-70mph.

As far as braking. Not a problem, ask my family ;). The freeway in Minneapolis I put them to a full test. I'm still impressed. I drive MD Linetrucks everyday and non of them stop as short as my bus.

I also get 7.5 mpg. Only once better, when I had a 60 mph tailwind pushing me 300 miles last summer 10mpg. I've tried running slower 60-62, but never got more then 1 mpg better.
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Old 03-20-2015, 08:53 AM   #23
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Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 34
Sent a deposit on this today. I looked at about 45 pictures, and I'm confident it is in the solid condition we want, and it is the size configuration we want. It may not meet our speed goal right away, but in the long run I'd rather start with an excellent solid platform and modify from there.



I was surprised that even the stairs are not rotting. Around here this is the first thing to go.
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Old 03-20-2015, 09:25 AM   #24
Bus Crazy
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Posts: 1,791
Year: 1997
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: B3800 Short bus
Engine: T444E
Rated Cap: 36
Wow.. That underside looks fantastic! I can't see a lick of rust on the frame rails or floor bottom..

I see that the bus has the lowest rated T444e. Mine has the same engine, but is a smaller bus. It does the job well for my size of bus, but for a bigger bus you might want to increase the power output. It ain't hard since a lot can be done simply with tricking the ECM.

Does anyone know if there are any real mechanical differences between the 175hp, 195hp, or 210hp versions of the engine, or is it all programming? That would be my guess. The engine compartments all look the same from what I can see.

Small anecdote: I had the fuel tank off of the bus to paint it and make new mounts. Before we left for our big trip this February I replaced the fuel lines (which - stock from the factory - were actually j844 air brake line and are wonderful to work with). Needless to say, there was a good bit of air in the system after it was all back together. I poured some diesel in the fuel bowl to get us going and it started like a champ.

It wasn't until about 20 minutes of driving later when we had hit the highway that the fun began! We were at cruising speed when I could hear the bus sputter a bit. I figured it was the air in the lines (hoped and prayed it was, that is). After sputtering for a while the bus all of a sudden took off like a bat outta hell! This was at highway speed and I could still feel the acceleration! My guess is that, with all of the air going through the system, the computer was holding the injectors open longer than normal. Once fuel actual hit the injectors it took a while for the computer to throttle them back again.

Anyhow, it gave me a sense of what the engine is capable of.. in short bursts, at least. With a good EGT sensor I'm sure the engine could provide a good bit more power than 175hp with just a simple tuner or resistor mod. My engine has 300000km+ on the odometer, so I'll probably stick with stock tuning.
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