Helen the Superior Bus

[cadillackid]

I know helen.. im friends with brad who had it for a good while.. what makes you think a hole in a piston? if its pricing wasnt so high I wouldve bought that bus and took it home..



pull the ignition coil wire and while its cold leave the choke OFF, and DONT pump the gas.. and turn it over.. listen to the starter.. if the re-ne-ne-ne-ne are even your compression is reasonably OK.. if you hear re-ne-ne-Neeeah-ne-ne where one or more in the sequence sound way different.. then you know you have compression issues.. id sooner think you have a burnt valve than I would a broken piston on that engine..

[mike802]

The OP named this bus Helen after his Grandmother who told him to never give up on a dream. We will be keeping the Helen name because this bus is stilling fulling dreams. If the OP ever reads these posts I hope it will help him deal with his disappointment for having to sell Helen. My wife and I care for two handicapped ladies who have been dreaming of having a bus like Helen so they can travel. Their type of handicap makes travel very challenging and this bus will open up a new world for them. We chose Helen because she is older, I like older because it means she is easy to work on and is built better than newer buses, in my opinion. Also one of our ladies really got excited when watching Helen in the Facebook videos, she just fell in love with Helen and when she came up for sale I felt maybe the original Helen had a hand in helping our ladies fulfill their dream.

[mike802]

Yea don't know about the hole in the piston, just a guess. I had a van once that acted similar and had a hole. If the engine checks out I will get it running better for now, but will probably repower for better fuel economy and performance at some point.

[cadillackid]

yeah if I remember right brad told me its geared really low which a V8 gas doesnt particularly like... my full size superior (with a 392) and re-geared for about 2600-2700 RPM at 65 gives me 5-7 MPG.. at 55-60 I can get a decently solid 8 MPG.. not bad for an old IH 392 and a 4 barrell edelbrock carb..




if that was my bus and it was going to be a roadtrip cruiser id be inclined to go with a more modern gas engine and an overdrive transmission.. the sheer weight of doing a diesel swap would probably involve a complete new chassis or suspension.. that bus isnt super heavy duty in the front.



and of course id make the A/C work.. brad said it never did..im guessing it was designed for shore power only

[musigenesis]

Pretty cool seeing an old skoolie project from before my time being brought back to life.

[mike802]

I agree, we have been kicking around the idea of installing an LS 5.3 or 6.0 with an 4L80E or 4L85E tranny. We have also considered the 8.1 vortex but gas mileage is a consideration.

[cadillackid]

there were SAE3 bells made for the Big block Chevies.. school busses with 454 / 8.1 both were built in the early 00's with SAE3 bells.. an SAE3 bell brings you the possibility of running an allison 1000 / 2000 auto (5 or 6 speed).



MPG will be tough no matter what in any motorhome simply because of aerodynamics.. the superior with its slanted windshield will do better that a thomas or carpenter would.. EFI will help over that of a carb.. the low headroom will help you a bit too.



one option is U-haul sells off the cab and chassis of their Box trucks when they are done. the straight cargo vans go for pretty big bucks but the cab N chassis are often reasonable.. many have the 8.1 with allison trans. they are Chevy C5500/6500 occasionally a 7500.. I see them of different years from 2006-2009. which would be 4th gen allison TCMs / valvebody which I believe you can tune them with EFIlive and set 6th gear on as well as build your own tunes for the motor..



its essentially a drivetrain package to swap in.. being the superior is a bus chassis your transmission sits below the floor anyway so most likely space isnt an issue..



a bonus is the motor comes with an A/C compressor and powered steering pump so if you choose to add PS and road A/C there is part of it..

[mike802]

Thanks Cadillackid: It would be great to get the whole truck with all the linkage and wiring harness and all those little bits you don't get with a take out. Is there a site where U-haul sells these cab and chassis or do I just have to keep my eyes on Marketplace and Craigslist?

[cadillackid]

they have a trucks for sale section. I know my local U-haul puts some of their stuff on their own site but I think the main Uhaul site has a trucks for sale section that shows what they have for all locations.. the 26 foot Box truck cab N chassis are the ones with allisons in them.


its just a thought as most often they are good runner drivers that are road legal with a rear light bar installed in the back so you can simply drive it home. a buddy of mine bought one and made a "pickup" out of it. (shortened the frame and put a custom mid-rail flatbed on it)..

[mike802]

Thanks Cadillackid: I will check it out, sound like a good option.

[cadillackid]

look forward to seeing this build!! I love short busses.. rode Superiors to school, so its neat to see this one is going to get built and enjoyed again!

[mike802]

I got the report from my mechanic and it looks like the old 6 is just tired. Compression test showed 75 pounds across all 5 cylinders with number 6 coming in at 65 pounds. This engine when new had close to twice those numbers. Also the accelerator pump has retired, I suspect ethanol has eaten the rubber plunger away. We have decided not to pursue any effort in fixing this engine and just re-power with a more modern, more powerful and more efficient engine. I feel I have hijacked this post long enough will keep everyone updated on my progress with my own threads. My latest update can be found under New Axles For Helen.

[cadillackid]

75 is pretty low.. those cylinders would have to run quite a bit of timing and a bit rich to get any firing.. and probably near impossible to start cold

[bradsbus119]

Originally Posted by mike802

The OP named this bus Helen after his Grandmother who told him to never give up on a dream. We will be keeping the Helen name because this bus is stilling fulling dreams. If the OP ever reads these posts I hope it will help him deal with his disappointment for having to sell Helen. My wife and I care for two handicapped ladies who have been dreaming of having a bus like Helen so they can travel. Their type of handicap makes travel very challenging and this bus will open up a new world for them. We chose Helen because she is older, I like older because it means she is easy to work on and is built better than newer buses, in my opinion. Also one of our ladies really got excited when watching Helen in the Facebook videos, she just fell in love with Helen and when she came up for sale I felt maybe the original Helen had a hand in helping our ladies fulfill their dream.

Just totally made my day!

I am so glad Helen is getting some love!
She is a great bus and that body is near perfect.

My family will be happy Grandma Helen lives.

Seems mechanical issues I had still linger.

I always knew she would need A motor and possibly trans swap her ladybits are very tired.

Little history on the number 119.

It was the first school bus I rode and my lifelong affair with buses began.

The number on the inside and all exterior was done by me

[mike802]

Hello Brad: So nice to here from you, your response put a huge smile on my face! Yes the original mechanical issues still linger, except the fuel tank is working wonderful, I have not dared to try the auxiliary tanks. The accelerator pump is not working, I think ethanol gas keeps eating away the rubber. The engine is tired, at only 75 pounds of compression at around 70 thousand miles I think she spent a lot of time at idle. I have a Cummins 12 valve and an automatic transmission ready to install, I just need to finish up a few projects before I can get started on it. Thank you for the history, really nice to know.