This could be fun to watch

[sdwarf36]

BangShift.com A Guy And His Son Are Going Cross Country To Buy This Sweet 1956 Ford B600 Bus Right Now! Follow Along! - BangShift.com

I've asked years back-how come it seems 60% of us seem to buy buses on the other side of the country? It usually at least makes your first story a good one!

[Piersg]

That was a good read. That guy has balls of steel to drive that bus home!

[Toyman01]

That would be me. It was quite the trip. Total round trip mileage was just over 2100. From Charleston, SC to Allenton, WI, and back.

The bus made the 1047 mile homeward leg like a champ. We had a few teething problems initially. There was some serious doubt about it making it home, but we kept plugging away at it. If all else failed, the tow bill was getting cheaper by the mile.

There is a thread about the entire trip from first contact, to rolling home, here.

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/fo.../109517/page1/

[Kubla]

just read the grassroutes motorsports thread, if you are getting 7 mpg, keep the engine and tranny, my DT466 bus only got 8 mpg at a governed 62 mph, 29 feet long. same for my shorter TE 444 powered bus but I was pulling a car behind it on the trip back. I assume it has hydravac brakes with the booster somewhere under the drivers seat area (had a early 60's B600 bus at one time) and I think that there are 2 brake cylinders per wheel.

[sdwarf36]

Welcome Toyman! You've come to the right place.

[VeldatheWonderbus]

Such a great vehicle! Keep us posted, please!

[Toyman01]

She's going to need a lot of work to bring her back to her former glory. I'll fire up a build thread in the next week or two. This weekend will be figuring out exactly what I have. The bus is full of miscellaneous RV parts.

How do you guys usually strip old paint. I'm thinking about sandblasting it, but if there is a better way I'd love to know.

[Offgr1d]

That would be a rad build

[Tango]

SWEEEEEEET!!! --- And Welcome! Love those lines, but then I am a sucker for most of the early iron. Gonna love following this build.


And personally...I'd look into a Cummins 5.9. Tons of torque and 20mpg.

[M1031A1]

Toyman,

OUTSTANDING adventure! I've done a few of those with an M109A3 @ 2200 rpm - 55 mph. I know the adrenaline rush as the trip unwinds and at the end. I'm following your build with intense curiosity! LOVE the way your son has run with the "thinking off the top of your head" and "utilize all available resources" mentalities. You've taught him well!

M1031

[Hvbuzz]

Welcome!! Awesome adventure. A trip you and your son will be talking about for years to come. Your next adventure will be working and converting your bus. It will seem to take at least twice as long as you think it will, and 3 times as much money then you planned. But totally worth it in the end.

I'm with Tango. 6bt will probably be your best option. But I would probably run a Allison MT643 behind it. Not a dodge transmission. Just plan on a modern single ratio rear axle geared for engine rpm's. It was mentioned on your other thread, but you really need to read through this thread on pirate4x4. fawk it! i think i`m building a vintage truck - Pirate4x4.Com : 4x4 and Off-Road Forum Its a really long thread, but well worth the read. Near the end he gets to the engine, trans, and rearend swap.

[Tango]

When considering gearing, RPM's, tire size, MPH & such, the tool below can be very handy...

Engine RPM Calculator

I wound up with a Dana 80HD rear end and new Allison 6 speed tranny tied to my 4BT Cummins. Not the cheapest alternatives but I had to get to a reasonable highway speed in order to tour the country. The Dana's have quite a few R&P combinations and the Allison is a double OD. Should get me to about 65 at 1800 RPM's...that engines "sweet spot".

Best of luck on the build, no matter what route you take.

[Toyman01]

Tango, what does your bus weigh?

This one has a GVW of 18K pounds and has a medium truck axle under it now, with 22.5 truck wheels and tires. It's probably twice as large as the Dana 80 in my pickup. I didn't think a Dana 80 would be large enough to hold the weight.

I also didn't thing a 4BT would be enough power to move it without struggling all the time. It's got a Ford FE big block gas engine in it now and it struggles on any hill.

I'm still a long way from a re-power, but I would like to have the start of a plan in case a deal comes along.

[Tango]

Howdy Toyman --- My rig is just 21 feet and will only be about 8K lbs when completed so I have a lot less to deal with. Your rig is bigger and heavier but I have no idea what your axle rating or actual weight might be. That's definitely what you need to work around. At 130hp & 330 pounds of torque, the 4BT will be adequate for my build. You would definitely need a 6 and the right gearing. The 5.9's can easily be dialed up to a mild 300hp with nothing more than a few turns of the fuel screw and bigger injectors and turbo. Or...you can go nuts with them like the 1200+hp pulling rigs. And the 4BT can easily be cranked up to about 180.

Chevy has online manuals for just about everything they ever built. You might see if Ford has something similar. If not, there are online sources for actual, original manuals which are worth their weight in gold.

My stock 1.5 ton rear axle was rated to 10,500 but the "one-ton" Dana is good to 11,000. Go figure. Yours is post-war so the rear gears may be a little better (higher) than what I had (6.17:1). Even with the 350 Chevy that was in it, it would still barely pull 45-50 tops. But finding the right gear set and wheel configuration can be tricky. Especially if you want to keep the front & rear tires/wheels the same. The engine RPM calculator I posted above will tell you a lot regarding any combination you might be considering.

But it all comes down to what you want and what you expect from the drive-train. Just get a handle on what you hope it will do...and build to that.

Can't wait to see where you go with it.

[dan-fox]

Originally Posted by Toyman01

How do you guys usually strip old paint. I'm thinking about sandblasting it, but if there is a better way I'd love to know.

I've recently run across a process called water blasting or dustless blasting. If you've got a pressure washer, you're halfway there. If you've got a pressure washer and a sandblasting pot, you're 80% there. The pressure washer does all the heavy lifting, and rinses. A modest air compressor suffices to drive the blast media to the tip. Google or YouTube either phrase.

[leadsled01]

Originally Posted by dan-fox

I've recently run across a process called water blasting or dustless blasting. If you've got a pressure washer, you're halfway there. If you've got a pressure washer and a sandblasting pot, you're 80% there. The pressure washer does all the heavy lifting, and rinses. A modest air compressor suffices to drive the blast media to the tip. Google or YouTube either phrase.

I bought one of those from HF. But it does not have the compressed air option. It just siphons the sand. It sort of works, definitely not for big jobs. imo

[dan-fox]

Ahh. Good point. I'm guessing you got one of those "portable" sand blast units - the ones that have an over-the-shoulder strap? Those are toys; I have one also. They do work for small stuff.

The key word I left out is "pressurized" as in "pressurized sand blaster". Like this:
110 lb. Pressurized Abrasive Blaster

There are smaller ones for smaller money.

Once you have all this gear you still need to pick up the gizmo that mixes sand and high pressure water. This one is from Northern Tools, there are others:
General Pump High-Pressure Abrasive Blasting Kit — 3,500 PSI, 8.0 GPM | Pressure Washer Sandblast Kits Nozzles| Northern Tool + Equipment

If you're starting from zero, it could be a significant investment. But it's not inconceivable that most of us have a pressure washer and an air compressor lying around.

[REDD]

Originally Posted by Toyman01

That would be me. It was quite the trip. Total round trip mileage was just over 2100. From Charleston, SC to Allenton, WI, and back.

The bus made the 1047 mile homeward leg like a champ. We had a few teething problems initially. There was some serious doubt about it making it home, but we kept plugging away at it. If all else failed, the tow bill was getting cheaper by the mile.

There is a thread about the entire trip from first contact, to rolling home, here.

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/fo.../109517/page1/

Great piece! Love the old body lines...I'll be watchin'.

[REDD]

Originally Posted by Toyman01

She's going to need a lot of work to bring her back to her former glory. I'll fire up a build thread in the next week or two. This weekend will be figuring out exactly what I have. The bus is full of miscellaneous RV parts.

How do you guys usually strip old paint. I'm thinking about sandblasting it, but if there is a better way I'd love to know.

Do not SAND blast, it will warp your old panels, use soda, plastic or nut shell blasting. If the previous owner[s] used lots of silicone, seam sealer, Tremclad ... products that blasting bounces off of, use dry ice. My brother has a mobile guy that does the dry ice when needed. He builds cars for theses guys, boothillauto.ca. .....check out "56 hauler" one of my favorite builds my brother worked on.

[Tango]

I agree with Redd...SANDblasting sheetmetal can quickly turn into a nightmare. Oil canning all over,warped panels, etc. Fine for heavier steel but most auto body metal is much safer cleaned using the alternative media he listed above.