HELP - Lets Talk Engines.

[Cahlager]

Ok, so, somewhere down the line when we are finished with the interior of our bus, we will need to address the powertrain. I have done a good bit of research and have not come close to making a decision.

What I am working with is a 1949 Brill bus that has a HALL SCOTT 779ci 6 cyl GAS engine. The engine is also a pancake engine that is mounted midship underneath my kitchen. The engine runs and drives, but is Old, Rare, (SUPER DUPER) Inefficient, and will be very difficult to get parts for.

My 3 options as far as I can see them is to;
1. Maintain existing Hall Scott engine and perhaps amass a personal supply of spare parts. The issue being that if the engine were to break down a couple thousand miles from home, that bus aint going NOWHERE! I would have to ship my own part to me, possibly needing to fly home to find/ship it to myself. I would like not to do this.

2. Find another Pancake engine and transmission, such as the DD 6L-71. Issues with these is they are not true "Pancake" engines like the Hall Scott, and I would be worried about height limitations. Through my research I found out about other Pancake diesel engines, but thats all I did, I was not able to further find any classifieds nor pictures of the other diesel pancakes, so perhaps just as rare as my HS. I can and will go with the DD if need be, but I am not a huge General Motors guy, so if I could prevent them from powering my home, that'd be nice.

3. Remove the old HS engine and completely redo my bedroom (back of bus) to allow for a newer diesel pusher. This is easier said then done. The frame of my bus is not set up for this, so I am sure I would need to do a busload of custom metal work, frame, brackets, engine/trans mounts etc. I would also need to raise the floor of my bedroom most likely, and on top of everything I am not even sure there would be enough space behind my rear axle to accomodate it.


WHAT DO I DO!?

[bluebird90]

For what it's worth. at the wrecking yard in my area, there is a bus with a diesel hall-scott pancake engine. Maybe rebuild that and install. I would recommend a pancake detroit 6-71. I think cummins made a few.

[Cahlager]

To my knowledge Hall scott only produced a gasoline pancake engine, and even if they did produce a pancake diesel I wouldn't be interested. My existing Hall Scott runs great, and produces appropriate power. If I put the diesel in there I would be doing a lot of work to wind up in a similar situation. Hall scott diesel engines are more rare than mine, and are worth a pretty penny too, I imagine parts would be impossible to find, since the diesels themselves are.

And as I said the DD 6L-71 is not a pancake engine but instead a "Slant" engine. It saves a bit on the overall height but Im still not sure that it will fit. Research says they they are around 39" tall, which may be too much, I will find out for sure later today when I measure the height of my engine.


and I would super appreciate it if you had more information on the other pancake diesels, I didn't have much luck.

[ColoradoCummins]

Try the Crown forums.
Crown Coach Junkies on FB and Yahoo
There are some of the Crown guys here as well...
My 1978 has the 6-71. It is almost completely pancaked. Just the slightest tilt to it. I'd be happy to take measurements if you let me know what measurements you need.
The Crown's also used a Cummins. The 855 I believe...

I'm toying with swapping out my 6-71N (overheated and needs rebuilt) for a Cummins 5.9L. Still working on the measurements as well to see if the 5.9 would fit vertically in the chassis. That's a project for when I retire. For now, I'm spending my time on the road vs. in the shop.

Good Luck!