1954 wayne ford f-500

[magnakansas]

So, I have purchased a 1954 ford f-500 wayne short bus. 24 feet bumper to bumper. I have not seen this in person, yet.

THE PLAN

engine will be a cummins 12 valve 5.9 with modifications to move the horsepower and torque. Turbo, intercooler, The goal is 300 hp and 500ft/lbs torque. maximum rpm to be about 3200. dual alternators.

Rear end will have 3.73 gears.

Put a newer chassis under the bus 2005 or newer F450/f550.

Air suspension in stead of leaf springs.

Transmission will be 6 or 7 speed with over drive about .73 I will use fuller/dana 7 speed or NV5600. I am leaning towards the 7 speed.

Intended cruise speed 65 mph. expected weight to be 11,000 to 12,000 pounds.

I would like to use the bosch/bendix hydro max brake master/booster, with electric hydraulic pump.

electric hydraulic pump for power steering.... maybe not the same pump. I am having much difficulty finding specifications for the automotive pump output rate and pressures.

I will start with one a/c compressor and see if that will be enough.

19.5 alloy rims, 245 70/19.5 tires. -- would like to discuss tire choices.

three cameras, left side, right side, rear view.-- minimal mirrors...I assume state law has not kept up with technology, and if I have no mirrors I will get tickets.

tilt telescope steering column.

two seats up front.

ten maybe twelve seats in rear... with integrated 3 point belts,child seat latch points and recliners. that would be three rows of four seats. leaving some space in the right rear for toilet and sink. This will be hauling mostly girls, and when you gotta go, you gotta go.

Multiple batteries and inverter. remember electric power steering, brakes booster, and the dual alternators?

I will put a tow hitch on the rear as part of the plan/ system for mansfield bars. But, I not planning on towing with this. Well maybe bicycles.... lots of bicycles.

I am considering some sort of propane grill/stove thing and refrigerator. small and light weight.

I picked this bus because is looks cool. The trailing side should be more aerodynamic. It is short.

I have the bus coming in from colorado in a week- I hope.
I have the 3.73 rear end center section on the way in another day.
I have one of the two donor F450 chassis (2005)coming today.

here is the funny part.....I want to drive this by the end of the summer.

Lizard skin for roof insulation.
pull up, inspect, repair, insulate, recover floor.


regards to all.

william

[Johnny Mullet]

Sounds like an awesome plan! Hope to see it come together for you.

[Tango]

Welcome! Love seeing old iron brought back to life and put on the road. Sounds like a pretty ambitious plan "by the end of the summer". But I note that you very wisely did NOT indicate just which summer you had in mind.


300 out of a 12 valve Cummins 5.9 is easy-peasy but I'd never run one at 3200 for very long. That motor (even with mods) likes to stay well below 2 grand.


per Cummins...


"A long stroke and undersquare bore-to-stroke ratio yield favorable low end performance, producing peak torque at a meager 1,600 rpm."


It's The 24v that are happy at 2900.


Hope to see some pix real soon. Best of luck on the build.

[Rovobay]

Welcome. Remember to take lots of pictures. Sounds like you have a great plan in mind

[magnakansas]

The governor at 3200 rpm = I am at 1950 or so at 65mph, if i figured correctly, down one gear puts me at 2570 rpm and that would engage stock governor. The 3200 is to give me some head room to work with. never intending to go that high 2500 to 2700 rpm tops. cruise ment to be at 65. but there are some mighty steep roads between kansas and california. Then there is the grapevine....

I need to buy a camera!

I am hiring some of the work done. I cannot do this on my own with the time I have. I will buy as much "new" as I can, I dont want a 200,000 bus to start with. calipers, braking system, steering box, drag link tie rods, radiator, turbo, engine will be rebuild going in.

cheers,
william

[magnakansas]

Been watching your build. You went much deeper into body rebuild/restoration than I am intending to do right now. I hope to do body apart rust removal by doing sections as time allows. I hope the bus is relatively rust free.... but the 1948 I looked at about 6 weeks ago had perforations in about 90% of the panels.

william

[Tango]

Ya...I got lucky considering mines age. I did wind up replacing all the outer side panels but all else was in surprisingly good shape. Zero rust on the floor but the upper rub rails were toast. All comes down to its' history and environment I guess.

[magnakansas]

I am dreading what I will find when I open the tin can....... Perhaps I will have a pleasant surprise. Reading your build thread, I almost did a 4bt. I figure from looking at original engine out put specifications, an engine similar to yours would have more torque and horsepower than the original v-8, not by much, but still more.

william

[Tango]

The original Chevy Loadmaster I6 was 90 hp and 180#s of torque. My 4BT is currently 130 and 335 but I will be turning it up to 200 hp and about 400 torque.


Great thing about the all mechanical B model Cummins...they are a breeze to dial up more power without compromising mpg's or reliability. No additional parts needed. Mostly done with a screwdriver. The best set ups come with the inline pump.


A mild tune on a P pump 6bt can easily get you to 350 ponies and 400#'s. Stage another turbo and spend a few bucks and that puppy can put out a dependable 450 and about 500#'s.


Get crazy on them and you can top 2000 horsepower. But...you obviously give up reliability and mpg's when you get into that range. Just saw a video of a 6BT blowing up like nothing I've ever seen. But...it was passing through 2200 when it came apart!



Gotta love those old "one-wire" motors!

[magnakansas]

I read all I could find about you building your bus. What you have done influenced my decisions. There are two 4bta motors near me for sale at the moment. In the end, since projected weight is 11,000 to 12,000 lbs I went the 5.9. I am going to try self restraint as to power increase on the 5.9 and stay at or under 350hp.

thanks for responding. pictures to come as soon as I can.

william

[Tango]

Ya...if I had the room I would have opted for a six myself. But...this old rig is just too small and narrow. My engine sits back nearly two feet from where the I6 was and my firewall is now where my dash used to be. Made for a LOT of extra work. But then, mine should only weigh out around 8 grand, so the little four should move it nicely. One of my targets is 22+ mpg's. Would be mighty nice to get close to a thousand miles out of a tank of fuel. We'll see.

[magnakansas]

Well, 1954 ford bus $
moving bus from colorado to topeka $
2005 ford f450 with metal shavings in the engine $
rebuilt nv5600 including core charge and shipping$
dana s110 3.73 center section including shipping $
clutch and flywheel and shipping $

a new camera to document all of this $

going to use an exhaust brake too.


I wonder if I can keep this under the price of a new sprinter.......

[Tango]

"I wonder if I can keep this under the price of a new sprinter......."

Dodge or Mercedes?

Either way, it will be an awesome ride. Go for it!

[Frochevy]

This sounds like like an awesome plan! Are you planning to use p pump 12v? If so, Google AFC live from power driven diesel. I have one on my 98 12v dodge. Easy in cab "tuning" for a manual fuel pump diesel. Works great when pulling loads on long hills. Can dial it back and keep Egts cool. Can't wait to see pics of your bus!

[magnakansas]

with an expected load of 12,000 to 13,000 lbs while moving down the road, do you think i will heat up too much?
I will probably use ats three piece manifold - to aid in crack the manifold avoidance. That manifold has built in thread port for egt gage.

plan is for injectors, some pump work the goal is the 300 to 350 hp range. I will have fresh engine going into start with, still need to buy engine for rebuild.

Yes P7100 pump.

william

[Tango]

Hey Mag...
I'm guessing you are most likely already familiar with it, but just in case...


Cummins 4BT & Diesel Conversions Forums


Probably more 6's there than 4's these days.



Great bunch of folks...very narrow focus...lots of tech savvy & experience that is freely shared. A lot like this forum but not about buses.



Be sure to match your turbo(s) to your needs. Makes a huge difference.

[Frochevy]

I agree with Tango, take a look at the conversion forums. I use the cummins forum a lot and pick peoples brains. I've been chasing a slight air leak on my 98. I've replaced everything but the draw straw in the fuel tank. That's my next step on it. Lol

For 12 or 13000 lbs if set up right I doubt you have to worry about egt. But you might change your mind some day and want to pull something besides bicycles. Either way, the AFC LIVE is a neat setup and fairly inexpensive. I just wanted to let people know about it. It's fairly new to the cummins 4bt and 6bt world. (Only been around a few years)