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Old 06-09-2020, 09:10 PM   #1
Almost There
 
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: East Texas
Posts: 77
Year: 2002
Coachwork: International (Navistar)
Chassis: 37' FE Flatnose 3800FC
Engine: 7.6L DT466 with Allison MD 3060
What Have I Gotten Into

I bought a 37' FE flat nose 2002 International 3800 FC 7.6L with DT466 and MD Allison 3060. Saying that, I have no idea what I just typed. Is this a decent bus for conversion? Strengths? Weaknesses? In other words I have no idea what I bought. It's a clean Texas bus though--I already took the seats, floor, walls, and ceilings out and it looks good with very little surface rust on the floor and none underneath. My son has a CDL, so I had him drive the 2 1/2 hours home and he said it drove good and he couldn't find anything wrong with it.

I've had it about a month and still haven't even sat in the driver's seat. I know I need to learn to drive the thing.
1. How hard is it to drive one of these big monsters? My normal drive is a little two door convertible Fiat Spider. I also have a 1/2 ton Nissan Titan pickup.
2. How do you even learn?
3. Where can you get insurance on one? My insurance covered us on the way home, but said they would not insure a converted school bus.
4. In Texas you have to have a nonCDL class B license with an air break endorcement, which requires a written as well as a driving test. How hard are these two tests? When I was at the DMV today, a cop was standing off to the side listening and said you are required to pass the air breaks test first or it's automatic failure, then you must back up straight, do some other kind of backing up, and parallel park, before he would even let you out on the highway, as there was no use "wasting" his time if you couldn't do those four things. He didn't seem to be very nice and was looking like he just wanted an excuse to fail me for just walking into the DMV. (all I was doing was asking what I needed to do to get a license to drive the my 'RV' (converted bus).

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Old 06-09-2020, 10:14 PM   #2
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Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Damascus, OR
Posts: 681
Year: 2004
Chassis: International
Engine: T444e w/ 2000 Allison Trans
Rated Cap: 35
Sounds like a great powertrain combination. Fear nothing. driving is a bit different because you are sitting in front of the steer wheels. Texas is big country. take it for a spin around the block. Are you in the RVG? Spent last summer working there. Hot as balls. ugh.

as far as the CDL, C stands for commercial. this you are not. keep reading up on here, reach out to fellow Texans, you will get all your questions answered and gain confidence the more you learn
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Old 06-09-2020, 10:29 PM   #3
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Join Date: May 2018
Location: topeka kansas
Posts: 1,771
Year: 1954
Coachwork: wayne
Chassis: old f500- new 2005 f-450
Engine: cummins 12 valve
Rated Cap: 20? five rows of 4?
Hey Maggie

starters... DT466...... 2002 well an International, or Navistar dt466 is a four hundred sixty six cubic inch diesel engine... that comes to around seven and a half litres. This is the same engine used in small boats, and what is called "medium duty" trucks... kinda like big rig wanna be. Yours being from 2002 is more correctly DT466E the E means a computer, high pressure oil pump and a few other bits are needed to make the engine run. Electronic injection.

This engine has sleeves in the engine and rubber orings seal engine oil and engine coolant around the sleeves. Old age and/or to hot will ruin the O rings and then you have to make some engine repairs... if you are lucky piston rings and orings to go on the sleeves.

Overall the engine has a good reputation for durability.

FE that stands for front engine.... there will be a cover over the engine and that will be in the middle of the bus right up front. You will get heat from the engine coming up from the cover and floor. In the winter this can be good. In the summer...... well, not so good. Working on radiators, water pumps, belts, stuff like alternators, cooling fans..... oil leaks on the front of the engine..... all this work is kinda sucky on this engine layout.

FC I think that stands for Forward Controls... means you sit in front of the front wheels when you are driving.

Allison MD 3060..... automatic transmission. so the thing called a Torque Converter is really just a special kind of clutch. The Torque Converter - TC for short. Is a fluid coupling between the engine and transmission. Your particular TC also has inside it, a real live honest to god, Clutch. the clutch is controlled by the transmission control computer. Called a TCM, transmission control module, You have six gears in that transmission, but blue bird and allison are not likely to let you use 6th gear. When you get all done and on the road, You might be able to find a way to have the computer "hacked" or programmed to allow the use of 6th. 6th gear will not likely get you more speed, but will let the engine spin slower on flat level ground and you then get better fuel mileage. Kind of depends on the gear ratio in the rear axle. "low" gears like 6.17, 5.89 etc... give you the ability to do hills with out loosing so much speed... works like this... the drive shaft turns 6.17 times, and the rear wheel turns once. A 3.73 rear gear, the drive shaft turns 3.73 times and the rear wheels turn once.

You transmission, connected to a dt466E is about as good as it gets in this country. The engine and transmission are the kinds of things that "Truck repair" shops work on. If you watch truck repair places around here in Topeka Kansas, you will see school busses there almost every day. You have very common parts. Finding parts is not difficult and should be available for the next twenty years with out too much effort.

The engine computer and the transmission computer talk to each other and share information. It can be difficult to tell the cause of a problem because of this. You sometimes dont know what came first the chicken or the egg when it comes time to figure out why something is not working correctly.

Air brake parts are pretty standard and a truck shop can work on those too. If you are adventurous and can learn to turn a wrench, you should be able to work on air brake systems. go to youtube university and watch videos on air brakes till you are so sick of it you want to push the bus off a cliff. Wait a week then watch some more. You should be able to pass the Air brake test with a perfect score, or I think you are not ready to drive an air brake bus. YOU must understand what is being talked about, not just regurgitate an answer and pass the test. Please take the time to Know air brake systems. A parts guy should be able to get a part off the shelf and you should be able to name that part. from the treadle valve to air dryer, S cams caliper, shoes, etc.... You will need to know for two reasons....1) if you know the parts, and how they work, you will know why you follow procedures when you start, drive, stop and park the bus. 2) It will save your butt if you have a problem.

You might even be able to get paid to learn how to drive a bus.... many school districts pay for training for new hire drivers..... IF you have the time.

hope this answers more questions than it makes you think of.

william
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Old 06-09-2020, 10:34 PM   #4
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Location: Whidbey Island, WA.
Posts: 1,109
Year: 1984
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Chassis: All American
Engine: 3208 na boat anchor
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Going down the road should be easy, it's maneuvering in tighter situations were it gets tricky. In slow turns it will pivot on the rear axle, hence the saying "watch those right-hand turns". Backing up can be deadly without a spotter or a rear view camera. Hence the acronym G.O.A.L., "get out and look". I almost put a branch through the radiator backing up because I did not get out and look.
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Old 06-09-2020, 11:44 PM   #5
Almost There
 
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: East Texas
Posts: 77
Year: 2002
Coachwork: International (Navistar)
Chassis: 37' FE Flatnose 3800FC
Engine: 7.6L DT466 with Allison MD 3060
Quote:
Originally Posted by magnakansas View Post
starters... DT466...... 2002 well an International, or Navistar dt466 is a four hundred sixty six cubic inch diesel engine... Yours being from 2002 is more correctly DT466E the E means a computer, high pressure oil pump and a few other bits are needed to make the engine run.

Overall the engine has a good reputation for durability.

You transmission, connected to a dt466E is about as good as it gets in this country.
The reason I know it's a DT466, is there is a little emblem on the left beside the front door that says DT466. There is no E on it.

Glad to know I got a good bus. Now I just need to learn to drive it and get that dang nonCDL class B license. I'm not sure how I'm going to practice driving it though, if I can't get insurance. It needs to be inspected and needs license plates too, but can't do that without insurance and a proper license with the nonCDL class B.

I sure hope I don't get that dang hateful officer that spoke down to me in the DPS office today.
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Old 06-10-2020, 08:06 AM   #6
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Join Date: May 2017
Location: Athens, TN
Posts: 1,574
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Amtran
Chassis: International RE
Engine: International T444e
Rated Cap: 76
Congrats Maggie. Pics when you get the opportunity!
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Old 06-10-2020, 08:19 AM   #7
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in 2002 the only DT466 made was the DT466E, the mechanicals were finished after 1998..



the 466E / MD3060 combo is a great setup. . you can downshift that transmission in the mountains to help with braking..


get out and drive the thing thats how you will learn.. dont spend all kinds of time converting only to find you hate driving it.. so drive it now and learn it.


-Christopher
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Old 06-10-2020, 08:22 AM   #8
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Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 6,995
Year: 2003
Coachwork: International
Chassis: CE 300
Engine: DT466e
Rated Cap: 65C-43A
Quote:
Originally Posted by cadillackid View Post
in 2002 the only DT466 made was the DT466E, the mechanicals were finished after 1998..



the 466E / MD3060 combo is a great setup. . you can downshift that transmission in the mountains to help with braking..


get out and drive the thing thats how you will learn.. dont spend all kinds of time converting only to find you hate driving it.. so drive it now and learn it.


-Christopher
Somebody recently posted here a 2004 bus with supposedly a 1997 engine built into it.
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Old 06-10-2020, 08:49 AM   #9
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Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Eustis FLORIDA
Posts: 23,764
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Freighliner FS65
Engine: Cat 3126
Rated Cap: 15
Quote:
Originally Posted by musigenesis View Post
Somebody recently posted here a 2004 bus with supposedly a 1997 engine built into it.
Maybe somehow along the line someone got something wrong? I just don't see it. Unless someone had a timing cover failure or a blown engine and just swapped in a 97 out of a runner.
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Old 06-10-2020, 09:29 AM   #10
Bus Crazy
 
Join Date: Jan 2020
Location: Fraser Valley British Columbia
Posts: 1,043
Year: 2007
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Freightliner
Engine: C7 Cat
Quote:
Originally Posted by musigenesis View Post
Somebody recently posted here a 2004 bus with supposedly a 1997 engine built into it.
Yep I remember seeing that, they said they believed it was original and there was a comment about the dealer saying something about old stock at the chassis builder or such.
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Old 06-10-2020, 10:38 AM   #11
Bus Nut
 
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Location: Wild Wild West
Posts: 691
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: TC RE
Engine: 8.3 Cummins MD3060
Rated Cap: 84
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maggie01 View Post
The reason I know it's a DT466, is there is a little emblem on the left beside the front door that says DT466. There is no E on it.

Glad to know I got a good bus. Now I just need to learn to drive it and get that dang nonCDL class B license. I'm not sure how I'm going to practice driving it though, if I can't get insurance. It needs to be inspected and needs license plates too, but can't do that without insurance and a proper license with the nonCDL class B.

I sure hope I don't get that dang hateful officer that spoke down to me in the DPS office today.
If you use the Vermont method for registration, that will solve your problems as far as plates and non-commercial registration go. I can't speak for Texas, but in Nevada, once the bus is registered as a motor home, you do not need a class B license, or air brake endorsement. It's no different than that 95 year old retiree that walks onto the lot and buys a brand new $500K allegro bus and drives away with it. You should still watch and learn everything you can about air brakes, it is completely different that the brakes on your little Fiat go-cart!

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