Re-power question

[IslandEric]

Hi Guys,

I'm in a delema. I recently bought a 1981 Silver Eagle in an auction for 9500.00. It was a gamble. The inside is real nice and it has all the things I want for a motorhome. Working central air, fridge/freezer, nice wood floor, couches, nice galley etc. needs updating but it's not a shell.

Here's the issue. The transmission went out. It has a Detroit 8V92 with an Allison 740d 4 speed. My mechanic is a Cummins fanatic. He says I'm better off pulling out the Detroit and Allison and putting a remanufactured Cummins with an Allison. It sounds great but we're talking about way more money than I paid for the entire bus.

My question is: Am I better off just putting a rebuilt Allison in and keeping the Detroit (which runs nice) not enough power or torque though I'm afraid but could be the torque converter on the Allison causing it to be a dog.

Or am I better off doing what he says? Remanufactured Cummins/Allison.

I'm very confused as I wanna keep the bus but at the same time don't wanna throw good money at bad. The bus has rust and will need some welding work done under the bay's. No structural rust as far as we can tell.

It also now has 1600.00 in new tires, so I'm already in restoration mode. Any info would be really appreciated! Eric

[beltguy]

Eric, welcome to our forum.

Installing a four stroke engine is not for the faint of heart, but the results are worth it. It is a major project and can cost over $40K to have someone do the work.

The big issue is the gearing of the bus. Four strokes are designed to run perhaps 30% slower than a two stroke.

There are two things you should read. First is my project build (see signature) where I detail my engine swap - that will show you what is involved. The second is a series of articles that I wrote for Bus Conversions magazine -- posted here: http://eaglesinternational.net/category/articles (down the list a bit).

Jim

[IslandEric]

Thanks for the info Jim. There is a wealth of good stuff there. Considering I only spent 9500.00 on the bus I think 40k would be out of the question for me. I'd love to get more torque and horsepower out of the Detroit 8v92 of possible.

Eric

[luvrbus]

Thanks for the info Jim. There is a wealth of good stuff there. Considering I only spent 9500.00 on the bus I think 40k would be out of the question for me. I'd love to get more torque and horsepower out of the Detroit 8v92 of possible.

Eric

What is the HP and torque it's easy to get 500 hp and 1650 ft lbs of torque from a 8v92 TA engine.I ran the 8v92 for 30 years in all types of applications keep it cool and it will serve you well.I could have had any engine I wanted when I removed my 8v71 and it got down to the 3406 Cat 425 hp and I went with the 8v92 for the easy install .I did blow it once fooling with different cams,injectors and pistons trying to flat line the torque curve.They are good engines just hard to cool and I do like the 3406 Cat it was the 1st million mile engine made 425 hp they will pull like a 500 hp engine.Ist thing is post us a photo or the serial number from the engine so we can tell what you have if it's a 8v92 it has to be a modification the model 10 never came with a 8v92 only the 6v92 or 8v71

good luck