Praise for the 366 Gas engine

[Oldmopar]

I know that on this board everyone thinks that they need to have a diesel engine in their bus. I would like to say that is not true.
I now have 2 buses, one mine and one is my daughters. I have the bus with the DT-466 and MT643 combo, she has a 1991 GMC/Ward with a 366 gas and a AT545. I had to drive the bus back from Cd'A Idaho to Tacoma Wa. This is about 350 mile and over several mountains and steep grades. I was truly pleased.
I had enough power to get up to speed and I had no problems doing 65-70 without being on the floor. I could get to 75, and even had the "overspeed" light come on at a little over 80MPH.
Then on the down hill areas, the engine braking was great, you don't get that in a diesel.
So, I know the mileage is a little less, but don't over look the 366 gas as an option, it is a nice driving bus.
BTW, both Buses are the same size, 66 pass and close to the same vintage, so it was a fair comparison.

 

[Tango-SKO]

Engine braking on a diesel is greater than an equal sized gas engine due to the much higher compression. The weak link is in any non-locking automatic. A standard tranny dropped down a couple of gears will almost put you into the dashboard on most diesels. Add a Jake or retarder and they will do it very efficiently.

And there is no comparison between gas & diesel when it comes to MPG and service intervals. There are plenty of reasons why virtually all heavy, over the road commercial vehicle are diesel.

For light loads and short runs, gas is OK, but when it come to moving a lot of weight cost efficiently...well...

 

[Booyah45828]

Depends on what you're looking for in a bus. Short trips a couple times a year and a gas would be alright. If you plan on travelling the country and/or putting on a significant amount of miles I'd stick with a diesel. Better fuel economy, they're usually more robust, and they seem to last longer are the primary reasons for a diesel. That and you can't beat the torque of a diesel when moving a heavy school bus.

 

[cadillackid]

the reason that gas motor held down on the downhills was because you had its revs up and the Torque converter on the AT545 on a 366 vs the one in a diesel is a different animal... the stall range on the gas engine is much tighter and the gas engine RPM's are typically higher...

yes your diesel has much more comporession and on a locked upo MT643 should pull you down nicely..

the gas engine pulls you down with an AT545 because of the tightness in the stall... a 545 itself doesnt 'free'wheel' its the TC that does... a tighter TC will not allow it to free-wheel.. on a diesel the TC stall is designed to always have the RPM's at or slightly abiove the max power band of the engine... thus very loose.. thaty works both ways so going down a hill your 545 in a diesel has that loose differential and very little 'pull-down'..

I would think though that a 643 on a DT-466 should give you great pull down unless the TCC is not working properly on the 643...

-Christopher

 

[EastCoastCB]

My 466/643 combo on a 40 footer is awesome, and really has nice engine braking.
The Ford gasser Thomas I was given for free was horrible. It sounds like the 366 is much better than the 370 ford, for sure. That Ford I had was free and the only reason I'd take another one for free would be to sell it to an orange grove or exporter. No power, horrible mileage, no engine braking. That 370/545 was crap. Crap flarn crap.

 

[Oldmopar]

Keep in mind what I was saying, diesels are better, yes. But, the 366 gas is still a fine machine. I will not get rid of my DT466 powered bus. I was just very impressed with the gas engine on my drive. It was way better than expected.
That and we paid $825 out the gate for a very nice bus. She is making a tiny house out of it, so it will see very few miles. For a full time RV it may not work as well, but would work.

 

[EastCoastCB]

Keep in mind what I was saying, diesels are better, yes. But, the 366 gas is still a fine machine. I will not get rid of my DT466 powered bus. I was just very impressed with the gas engine on my drive. It was way better than expected.
That and we paid $825 out the gate for a very nice bus. She is making a tiny house out of it, so it will see very few miles. For a full time RV it may not work as well, but would work.

Great for building a small, mobile house.

 

[Geo Jeff]

whats the MPG up there at 70 80ish. Do you have helmet on or just goggles. I just assumed the buses would push the front glass out of the rubber molding and kill the driver.

Do you even need a gas gauge at 80 ish. Seems like it should just have a right turn signal for the next off ramp and come on every time you pull out on the E-way.

When was the last year a full size skoolie had a big block? A turbo would be nice let you get some torque down a little lower in the rpm . Same shitty MPG but at lower rpm. Probably low compression engine as well so they could be built a lot I would guess.

Sadly a diesel will always be better on every mark. but if you can afford the fuel life is yours to explorer.

One last thing next time its at 80ish can we get a picture of the blur out side. Id like a video of you coming down on a civic with a loud muffler that cant get out of the way. Whos going to believe him any how. I was hit by the partridge family at 80mph on I 90 level ground.

I tell people I tow my trailer and horse with my Geo Metro all the time. No one believes me so i always bet them a tank of gas.

 

[Oldmopar]

Trust me, I was shocked at how well this bus ran. It is the Fuel Injected 366 Tonawanda engine. I fueled up in Spokane Wa. and still had a little, not much, fuel left when I rolled into Puyallup to park it, 310 miles later. I would guess it got about 6-8MPG, not great. My DT-466 I am told will do 8-10 MPG. If you do a lot of miles this will add up. I do read of people running Detroit 8V71's in old Greyhound style buses, they get 5 MPG.
I got this bus by chance, a super low bid that we did not expect to win. When I drove it home, I was impressed. And YES, it has an overspeed light that comes on at about 80 MPH, only possible on flat land or slight down hills.
Should everyone go get a Gas 366 bus, HECK NO! But, there are those that are building a tiny house and these are a good option for someone that will only be moving their home once a year. No need to spend more for a diesel. Or, maybe you are making a RV that will see 3,000 miles a year or less, could be a good option.
I just don't want people that could get a good bus that fits their needs to pass on a great deal, just because it is gas powered. You need to find the bus that meets your needs.
As a side note, my wife followed me the whole way (verified the speeds), she was following somewhat close the whole time. When we got home she pointed out that she got 38.6 MPG in her 2017 Ford Escape. I said yes, you were drafting, the bus was basically "sucking" the car down the road.

 

[Stu & Filo. T]

Try this


https://youtu.be/AyXgMal3C1U

 

[Oldmopar]

Priceless!

 

[Carytowncat]

Oldmopars i am right there with you; love that 366 bbc! I roll an almost identical bus a 1985 GMC with the 366 and stick shift. I didnt realize the mileage was so good lol i sorta figured it at 4 to 6 but heck 6 to 8 is like... awesome! Also that bbc V8 exhaust sound is my national anthem lol It almost makes me tear up it's so perfect! "Oh beautifullllll for spacious...." *tear*

I also know the v8 motor and adore it's simplicity. Block, carb, distributor, alternator and we're good. I helped a friend put a motor in a truck, so i am confident that it is possible.
I have no opinions on diesel because i don't own one, but from what i hear they are just as loveable

 

[Fox Slider]

Ive found a couple 366 in my bus searches now. Love those 80's GMC front ends. They're both 8 windows and neither of em knew the MPG.

If i could get 8 on flat, i could live with that.

 

[EastCoastCB]

Ive found a couple 366 in my bus searches now. Love those 80's GMC front ends. They're both 8 windows and neither of em knew the MPG.

If i could get 8 on flat, i could live with that.

My gas bus experience was with old Fords. 4mpg was the average on both. If you went easy on em.

 

[cadillackid]

Ive found a couple 366 in my bus searches now. Love those 80's GMC front ends. They're both 8 windows and neither of em knew the MPG.

If i could get 8 on flat, i could live with that.

id love to find one of those shorties to hang onto as a classic bus.. I love the gasoline busses.. grew up riding gas busses to school until my last year or two where the school started to buy diesels

 

[Fox Slider]

My gas bus experience was with old Fords. 4mpg was the average on both. If you went easy on em.

Ya, thats just too bad! I did some math earlier between 6mpg gas, 9 diesel (6 window light build, not towing). Or just a 3mpg difference. over 6k miles is about 300gl diff. call it $1k.

 

[Fox Slider]

id love to find one of those shorties to hang onto as a classic bus.. I love the gasoline busses.. grew up riding gas busses to school until my last year or two where the school started to buy diesels

Ya, they're super cool.

 

[cadillackid]

as for gas bus MPG my Superior which is a 392 IH small block gets 5-7 at 55-60 MPH on average.

 

[LargeMarge-TC]

We had two 366 tall-blocks.
.
* 1974 Chevrolet cab-over semi-tractor with an Allison 643 pulling a 30' semi-trailer converted to full-time live-aboard.
* 1968 28' Flxible city-bus with an Allison.
.
Fortunately, we are never in a rush to get anyplace.
An example:
* north of Yreka in California is the Ashland Volcano grade into Oregon.
This's a long incline.
We had eleven minute miles.
.
To put this velocity in perspective, we were paced by a herd of sleep-walking asthmatic kittens.
Only part way, of course... but still...