8.0L Conversion Team Bus 1947 Clipper

Thanks for the tip but I had checked Jegs . They have 2 on order for some time but no del date. GM parts houses are showing not available or discontinued. Ones that are showing it as available say not available when you call. Im not in a jam for this. At some point these have to be available I would think. Thanks. Tom

Thanks for the link to the video. There are few vehicles ever made that are cooler looking than the Flxible Clipper. Nice to see one actually being used as a bus, not a motorhome.

Glad you like Barry. Seated coaches are rare. I think we are the only one out there logging miles with passengers. Im in the process of pulling seat backs out and having new sidepanels stitched in. Keeping the original striped seating surface. Reinstalling the covers with new foam. Got 4 done. Just dropped 4 more covers off. Its a real period piece when you step inside this. We will log another 4-5,000 miles this summer. I was going to hang an Allison on the V6 but its not a cheap conversion. The more I think about it the more I want to do a 21st Century driveline conversion on this. Just got to figure a way to maker it happen. This 8.0l with Propane and an Allison is what I want to try for. Looks like the 8.0s are all going to Freightliner. Luckily the 50 year old GMC 6 and the 68 year old Spicer 4 speed are still usable for now. Tom

Fresh out of the barn in 1997 rolling on borrowed wheels and tires. Did 5,000 miles that summer.

OP, that is one nice bus. As for the 8.0L, if no parts supplier can find it, it might be a good idea to look for other means of motivation. From all indications, the 8.0 is from the same engine family that GM already sells in various models of 454 (7.4L) & 502 CID (8.2L) engines already. The 8.0L looks like an answer to a question that didn't need to be asked, IMO. If it were my decision, I would consider one of these big blocks: 12568778 or 12568774. I feel confident that there may be some kind of propane or CNG conversion that can be used with either engine.

If you weren't dead set on propane, maybe you could find an 8.1 w/Allison out of a wrecked 2500/3500 from 2001 to whenever it was dropped, possibly 2006. It would definitely out perform 2 old GMC v6 gas engines, if that's what a 401M is.

I just remembered another truck I have actually driven with an 8.1 & Allison trans. It was an '05 GMC 6500 U-Haul truck. That thing was a hotrod. It could probably be converted to propane or CNG. This engine/trans should be available from wrecking yards.

Thanks for the input guys. Correct current engine is a 401M. 454 would be very able but its not much cheaper than the 8.1 or 8.0. Ive looked at used 8.1 motorhome units with Allisons. Price is good but most of the ones ive seen are 01-03 and they've been sitting around for years. The earlier Allisons have some issues and im less inclined to go used. Kind of hard to get excited about the used setups--unless something really interesting popped up. It expensive to be on the road. Don't necessarily want to be finding out how good the used unit is when we are travelling. When we update it would be best to go with new. Propane with the 8.0l and an Allison would be pretty much bulletproof and it would kind of be the next leap. although a conventional 8.0 would suffice. ptintegration.com 8.0 set up is state of the art but expensive at $26k(engine only). For now old GMC power will get it done. Tom

http://powertrainintegration.com/2014/05/03/pithon-8-0l-lpi-big-block-receives-new-name/http://schoolbusfleet.com/channel/green-school-bus/news/2014/05/09/8-0l-pithon-engine-to-power-thomas-built-propane-bus.aspx http://fleetsandfuels.com/fuels/propane/2014/05/ Heres the Pithon 8.0l Chevy engine they are supplying to Freightliner. Its truly the next leap in technology. Its also set up with an air brake compressor for air brakes. Our bus has air brakes. Tom

1954 Chevy said:

I just remembered another truck I have actually driven with an 8.1 & Allison trans. It was an '05 GMC 6500 U-Haul truck. That thing was a hotrod. It could probably be converted to propane or CNG. This engine/trans should be available from wrecking yards.

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Oh yea I've driven one of those 8100 powered U-Haul trucks and they're pretty quick