Peace and grease from San Francisco

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by BennysTire

I quoted someone else who said it may be a Duramax... But disagree. The 6.5 was before the Duramax. Made by Detroit, not Isuzu... Regardless, yes... Maintenance is key. Problem is when you buy used you have no clue on maintenance even if you have paperwork.


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http://soderholmbus.com/collins/pdfs/superbantam.pdf

[BennysTire]

Originally Posted by o1marc

http://soderholmbus.com/collins/pdfs/superbantam.pdf

Hate to break it to you, but the gen-1 Duramax (LB7) wasn't until after Y2K and was a 6.6 not a 6.5...
That brochure is not of a 1995 Collins

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[BennysTire]

Note the other engine options on that brochure:
Ford 6.0 Diesel (introduced 2003)
Chevy 6.0 Gas (introduced 2002)

Note the years Detroit Diesel V8 was offered:
http://bfy.tw/GD8E

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[jnymdnyt]

Gents, some good points here:

1. Maintenance is key - I was betting on the fact that since it transported student/kids that it will be properly maintained. There's also an inspection certificate approval from Department of Highway Patrol dated 3/16/15 at 345,251 miles ago but still don't know what they did (as Benny pointed out) which means I should give it a full tune up to get a baseline.

2. Great to hear stories of engines going 400k miles and still hauling.

3. Motivating to see a Suburban conversion and gives me an idea that it can be done, but expensive.

I'll take pictures of the bus (engine/tranny) tomorrow and post it here to maybe shed some light.

[jnymdnyt]

Here she is with a happy camper.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by jnymdnyt

Here she is with a happy camper.

Gotta love CA buses. Even a classic like that is CLEAN out there!

[BennysTire]

It's a beauty!!!

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[jjhwick119]

congrats on the bus!!! now all the fun stuff begins!

[BennysTire]

The rear sits pretty nicely! Looks like the bus never saw a full load of students in it's 23 years!
I'd swap the spindles for 4" dropped, put 2" blocks on the rear axle, and a nice set of 235/85R16 all terrains.
A 40 series Flowmaster I think makes the 6.5 sound a little "tougher" (it's such a rattler)
I wouldn't try to pull any extra power out of that motor. It really only needs to breathe a little better and stay COOL and it'll go a long way. Looks like it has AC, so it should have the clutch fan that engages more frequently than not. I see a lot of 6.5 busses that have what amounts to a constant-engagement fan and then a snap-on grille cover for winter.
Even I'm getting excited thinking about what you can do with that bus!

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[jnymdnyt]

Originally Posted by BennysTire

The rear sits pretty nicely! Looks like the bus never saw a full load of students in it's 23 years!
I'd swap the spindles for 4" dropped, put 2" blocks on the rear axle, and a nice set of 235/85R16 all terrains.
A 40 series Flowmaster I think makes the 6.5 sound a little "tougher" (it's such a rattler)
I wouldn't try to pull any extra power out of that motor. It really only needs to breathe a little better and stay COOL and it'll go a long way. Looks like it has AC, so it should have the clutch fan that engages more frequently than not. I see a lot of 6.5 busses that have what amounts to a constant-engagement fan and then a snap-on grille cover for winter.
Even I'm getting excited thinking about what you can do with that bus!

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Exactly what I was looking for in terms of advice.

Thanks!

[BennysTire]

Originally Posted by jnymdnyt

Exactly what I was looking for in terms of advice.

Thanks!

Hit me up when you're ready for rubber. I can steer you the right way. (Pun intended)
I can help you pick the tires that will do what you want them to do

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[Mr4btTahoe]

If it hasn't been done... replace the harmonic balancer right off the bat.

The older 6.5 likes to break cranks and 99% of the time, it can be linked back to a worn out harmonic balancer. I consider it a required maintenance item and if there is no record of it being replaced, no matter what it looks like, I'd replace it.

If you've got the coin, I'd go for a Fluidampr over the standard steel balancer. They aren't cheap... but it's good insurance.

[jnymdnyt]

Originally Posted by BennysTire

Hit me up when you're ready for rubber. I can steer you the right way. (Pun intended)
I can help you pick the tires that will do what you want them to do

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I am excited as well to work on it but I am currently out of town at the moment. Will definitely hit you up when I get tires. Thank you.

[jnymdnyt]

Originally Posted by Mr4btTahoe

If it hasn't been done... replace the harmonic balancer right off the bat.

The older 6.5 likes to break cranks and 99% of the time, it can be linked back to a worn out harmonic balancer. I consider it a required maintenance item and if there is no record of it being replaced, no matter what it looks like, I'd replace it.

If you've got the coin, I'd go for a Fluidampr over the standard steel balancer. They aren't cheap... but it's good insurance.

You are right on the money on this one. I've tried to locate the service records from the PO and previous company that owned it to no avail. Best to assume the worse, and it will be a learning experience since I have a feeling this will not be my last school bus.

Thank you.