Rolls Royce Turbo Jet Engine for Blue Birds

[orbitalsolutions]

Now this ought to get my bus going up the big hills just as fast as
a Corvette !!

Just joking, but I wanted to make a point here.

Fast and Slow are relative terms. A non-turbo BB is not a Slow bus,
it is not underpowered. It drives exactly as it was intended to
drive.

Horsepower is only half the equation. The other factor in speed
performance, just as important as horsepower, is vehicle weight.

The reason Blue Bird went to turbos is because they continued to
make their buses heavier every year. A non-turbo, non-air ride, non-
driveline retarder Bird will run the speed limit any where with the
correct gears. That's the truth, so how fast do you want to go?

I would not be surprised if a NA 3208 in a '77 will go up hills just
as fast as a '85 with it's turbo power. Remember, turbos are not
engine friendly. One of the diesels biggest enemys is heat, and
Turbos give them an extra heaping dose of it. Turbos wear out any
diesel motor faster than if the same motor was naturally aspirated.

When the turbo breaks down, notice I said when and not if, you will
be sitting on the side of the road looking at a hefty repair bill.

There are two sides to every coin.

I live in the west and am no strange to big hills. In fact, they
are so big out here they call them mountains. I have not, yet,
traveled a downgrade lower than third gear in my '78 bus. Keep in
mind the huge air tankage in these busses, that is just as important
as a drive line retarder in safely navigating down grades.

Some folks forget that prior to the eightys there were no such
things as turbo chargers, drive line retarders and air-ride
suspension. Seems that all the freight in America still got
delivered to it's numerous appointed destinations with out problems
for over 30 years! How bout that!

So what do you want? Speed, what ever that is is a thirty thousand
pound truck, or reliabililty? If it's not there it can not break.
Yes, you will slow down on the big upgrades, just like trucks always
did for many years, but you will climb it without any problems
except for the unmentionable shame of being passed by four wheelers.

Perhaps another subject, but I think many folks do not realize what
great riding busses the leaf-spring 'Bird models really were. Have
you ever driven a leaf-spring 'Bird? If not, I am willing to bet
that you will be greatly surprised when you do, they have a very
nice ride. Again, you will never have an air leak problem, ever,
guarenteeed! You can crawl under your bus safely without having to
block it up, any time you want to take a qick look around. Even at
a rest stop, in seconds.

So what are you really looking for?

There is no greater teacher than experience. I drove big trucks
long before the days of turbo chargers and air-ride suspensions.
However, none of them rode anywhere as well as my leaf-
spring 'Bird. Still, they were rock solid dependable just like my
old bus is.

The first time I drove a leaf-spring 'Bird I was totally amazed.
For me, it is the choice suspension as far as ease of ownership,
dependability and low cost of operation.

Oh well, that's enough for now.

For those of you still interested in the Rocket Engine Upgrade e-
mail me off line for more info.

Thanks and have a great day.

-James
78FC33SB
LasVegas NV