Eagles International Forum

Hello all,
Nice to join a new community of unique vehicle owners.
I'm Considering the purchase and a Silver Eagle conversion. 1989 with a M-11 Cummins and Allison transmission but I have couple of questions:
Is it possible to finance an Eagle conversion?
What are the major concerns for the bus's condition when looking to buy?
I saw one of the major parts suppliers is out of business, will it be difficult to find parts for this thing now?

I'm in the Cincinnati area. Where would you typically take once of these to service?

Thanks,
Eric

You will have a very hard time ( if at all ) to get someone to finance that old of conversion. The m-11 and allison is a good combination. Always look for rust in large amounts. The springs ( torsilastic ) are an expensive item to replace. The front end has some wearable parts that need to be looked at. There are places around the country to get work done. I don't like saying this but if you don't have the now how to work on these things the cost will add up very quickly.

Wayne

This is a great thread about inspecting an eagle: (http://www.eaglesinternational.net/test ... f=5&t=4343)

Service: Since it has a Cummins and an Allison, most truck shops should be able to service the drivetrain.
If you look at my project thread, (http://www.eaglesinternational.net/test ... 6&start=10) You can see what was the most rusted out on my eagle. Like Wayne said, the most expensive part is the torsilastic suspension, I think the first thread I mentioned covers inspecting the suspension also. If it has a lot of rust and you don't have the space to fix it, it can get expensive quick. So, take a look, and use your common sense and the inspection checklist.
And, parts are around, It just takes a little searching to find them...

Eric, welcome to our forum.

We are glad that you are considering purchasing an Eagle.

There are two extremes in approaching an Eagle purchase. The first is to buy a finished or nearly finished bus. The second is to buy a bus that will need rebuilding. Lets look at each.

The ready to go bus has a lot of advantages. You can hit the road and enjoy your Eagle right away. The purchase price is often penneys on the dollar of what the previous owner invested in the bus. The disadvantage is that is the bus will have features that you will want to change. In addition, the work (and components) may be marginal - especially if it was an owner conversion.

The project bus also has advantages. When you build it yourself (or have it done), you can choose the quality of the conversion and the components. If a person chooses to do their own conversion, it can be a great and rewarding project. The biggest drawback is that it can be a huge undertaking often taking several years. Unfortunately some folks bite off more than the can chew and give up before completing the conversion and often end up with a vehicle that only has scrap value.

If you read a few of the projects documented on this forum, you will see some wonderful Eagles and, unfortunately, some that the owners gave up on.

We will help you with your search. Just ask questions.

Jim

Thanks for all the great responses guys. The inspection list is exactly what I needed. My initial inspection of the bus was a bit of shock and awe....it's massive but fits my mission perfectly as a race track coach and I believe it's been well maintained with no expense spared but I need a more thorough inspection.

Is there an alternative/retrofit for the torilastic suspension?
What is the dropbox? Is it serviceable/replaceable?
What type of brakes are on these buses?

I'm sorry if these things are already on the forum but it's taking me some time to track it down.

Hi Eric

Folks have added air springs for both the front and drive axles. Not a huge job for a good fabricator. There are threads on this forum that will give you an idea of what is involved. If you have problems finding them, we will look them up for you.

The dropbox is a gear box that has an input from the driveshaft that goes over the axle and the output is the input to the rear differential. They are serviceable as far as bearings go, but I don't think the gears can be bought separate. There are spare dropboxes available if you look hard enough. They will probably be available for years if folks think to remove them before they scrap the bus.

Standard brakes are drum air brakes. A few folks have adapted disc brakes, but that is very expensive. The parking brakes could be what is called DD3 (early models) but most are dual chamber spring brakes. Parts for all of the brake system are available - mostly off the shelf.

Jim

An extra point here. There is an incredible amount of data on this forum. Searching for specific information can be a challenge for lots of reasons.

I want to encourage folks to ask questions. If it has been discussed in one or more threads, we will dig it out for you. Some of us have been here since day one and can recall quite a bit of the general items discussed over the years. That can give us an advantage in searching out the information.

Bottom line ask away. Others probably want to ask the same question(s) and shy away. Don't do that! We are here to help.

Jim

beltguy wrote:An extra point here. There is an incredible amount of data on this forum. Searching for specific information can be a challenge for lots of reasons.

I want to encourage folks to ask questions. If it has been discussed in one or more threads, we will dig it out for you. Some of us have been here since day one and can recall quite a bit of the general items discussed over the years. That can give us an advantage in searching out the information.

Bottom line ask away. Others probably want to ask the same question(s) and shy away. Don't do that! We are here to help.

Jim

Yes! Please ask lots of questions! We like to help!

This is a very good (In my eyes ) thread about adding air bags to supplement the rear torsilastics. If your bus (or future bus) is sitting low this would be a good way to fix it with out removing the complete drive axle assembly.

http://www.eaglesinternational.net/test ... php?t=4399

Thank you again for all the info.


Regarding the Torsastics, how do they fail? Do they just fatigue and yield by twisting? If a bus suddenly rides lower after hitting a bump does that indicate a failure or an adjustment slip?

Where would I source replacement Torsilastics for a 1989 M20?


Thanks!
Eric

If the bus went over a bump and was suddenly sitting lower, I would guess that the torsilastic had slipped inside the tube. There would be no way for the adjustment to slip that I see. Over time and road vibration they will slowly sit lower and lower, which leads to reindexing the suspension. I think there are several threads about that in Eagle Tech. If your adjustment screws are all the way out, you have 2 basic options, airbag the suspension, or replace the torsilastic. Sulastic.com has what they call a "rear torsilastic spring for eagle buses". It is priced at $2250. I am not familiar with the model 20, but from the pictures the spring looks right for a 05. You also have to factor the work it takes to remove the rear axle, with airbags I do not think you have to remove the axle. But airbags or torsilastics, both are fine, It just depends on how much work you want to put into it.

http://sulastic.com/copy-of-one-torsila ... -5-x-48-34

Others will chime in and tell more.