Freeway flyer or Stock tranny??

[Michael Slack]

Hello to all my Bus driver Brother and Sisters. My question is this, I have a sweet 66 bus with a SO33 camper. powerded by a stock Dual port 1600. My wife and I plan on taking it camping next year, we live in Roswell NM. while Im not overly concerned with road speed, our tranny will at some time need to be replaced. What I am concerned with is "Mountain" driving!. I don't want to be Sluggin it up, around,and thru the mountain ranges!! riight!?. So now the question, what are the advantages and or disadvantages of going from a stock tranny to a freeway tranny?
We plan on doin alot of traveling do we keep or lose the reduction boxes?. what about cooling?. Any similar experiences like this out there?? I would love to talk about this. With warmest regards.....Michael Slack[/img]

[Towel Rail]

For mountain driving, you'll *want* to keep the stock gearing and RGBs.

[Marc]

Big-nut reduction gears are 1.26 ratio (compared to the 1.39 or 1.40 of earlier bus boxes) so with the 4.125 R&P and .82 4th your overall ratio in high gear is 4.26. That's about 4% taller than a `68-`74 baywindow has; your motor won't be happy pushing a loaded camper if you go much taller than that. What tire size do you have?

[Michael Slack]

Thank you very much for the replies my Brothers, I forgot to mention that if we did this freeway tranny thing, we were going to go with a 1776, to answer the tire question were runnin 14" wheels. So judging from the wonderful replies looks like Im stuck with sluggin it!, Oh well so be it, I'll just invest in every cooling accesory I can get my hands on. If I did do the 1776 motor it would certainly be with the Porsche style cooling shroud, I understand this is the stuff for coolin capacity.....anybody have some recomendations for my buss, were serious about travelin "Long distance" in it, and ya know this means Mountain ranges!! . Again Thanks you guys for the replies!!

With warmest regards...........Michael

[DaveB]

If you're going to a different shroud you may want to give Jake's DTM for T1 a look.

[Towel Rail]

I wouldn't use the Porsche shroud. Stock or DTM is where it's at.

[Marc]

And although a 1776 would be OK, I'd prefer an 88x74 1800 or an 1835 using the newly-available thickwall 92s for this application. Any larger and stock heater boxes aren't going to cut it. For carburetion, consider Weber 34ICTs or Kadrons. Stock DP cooling system should be adequate, but if you plumb in a full-flow filter it becomes fairly simple to add another oil cooler (perhaps with thermostatic bypass valve) should the need arise.

[heli-easy]

I had the porsche style kit. Its not worth it. The stock doghouse is more than enough cooling. If you have problems with cooling there is probably a problem with your setup, not the design.

Porsche kits are really only good for looks.
You have to use an electric fuel pump, and you must switch to dual carbs and you have to find carb linkages that work with that shroud. PITA!

I run a 2007cc stroker in my bug with a doghouse and have zero problems with heat. In fact it runs a little cool.

[Marc]

...The stock doghouse is more than enough cooling. If you have problems with cooling there is probably a problem with your setup...

Agreed. My son had a dual-Weber 1995 in his baywindow bus, and initially it was prone to running hot on a hard freeway run. Replaced the 9.5x905 fan belt with the "alternator" 11.3x912 type and never had a problem. Had a 1½-qt deep sump and a full-flow filter, but the shroud and sheetmetal were all stock doghouse stuff. Glued a strip of carpet padding to the cooler to replace the long-gone factory foam seal, and sealed all gaps in the cooler ductwork with RTV; most-important is the Hoover bit (unless you run a `75-up FI shroud with the fan-inlet ring, which fits closer to the cooler and doesn't require one).

[Weaponer]

I have a 67 bus with a 1776, engle 110 cam and a progressive 2bbl carb. Power is not a problem. Power was not even a problem when my bus was loaded for moving and I was towing a trailer. But to keep up with traffic at 75mph, my engine is turning 4270rpm. Living in Wyoming means that everything is a long trip. Probably in NM it is the same. I would like to have taller gearing.

[heli-easy]

That's funny... I use carpet padding on my oil cooler too. Works great and doesn't seem to be effected by the heat.

Another much over looked item that I personally believe helps the cooling system is a welded and balanced fan.
They cost a little more but I think they are more efficient (blow a little more air). At least I read that in some article but I can't remember where.

Plus the fan combined with RTV eliminates about 95% of all the rattles and whistling noises that an aircooled commonly has.