FLASHBACK: 1968 GM Bus cold start
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- Опубликовано: 7 фев 2025
- This is my old 1968 GM 'fish bowl' transit bus. hadn't been started in about 2 weeks.
6V92 two-stroke Detroit diesel engine
single speed 'automatic' GM V-Drive
Manual Steering, NO AC
100 gallon fuel tank with no gauge
engine bored 0.010 over in 1998
flashback videos are footage from the old archives- recently edited and published!
i loved the smell of old diesel busses.
Used to ride buses, just like that back in the day and little kid in Rockford, IL
What a great bus. We used to have those type of busses in San Antonio Texas with air conditioning and comfort plus. The good old days.
Ok you just made my year, I'm a total GM Fishbowl fanatic, love buses in general, but I grew up riding them in my hometown of Hamilton ont, many very very happy memories.
Thanks Dan.
A Beautiful GMC Fishbowl Bus,She's Still Got It,Wish They Were Still In Use,A Part Of Great Transit and Charter Bus History!
Shout out to NYC. This is the bus that raised us too!!!!’
Thanks. I logged many a mile on these in my high school days.
I thought those "New Look" busses were so beautiful when they first came out.
One of the nicest looking GM Fishbowls ever
Awesome. My bus is a 1974 Flxible. Looks almost just like a fishbowl, except the 6-part windshield glass is composed of flat pieces, instead of curved.. 8V71 with a VS2 transmission. Vee drive. Slow driving. 5mpg.. Great project though. I converted it and lived in it for almost 7 years. BTW, my bus came from Portland TriMet. It still has the stripes on it.
I drove one of these from Framingham Massachusetts to Newton Corner Massachusetts in the early '80s. Interestingly my Grandfather drove a Streetcar on the same route in the late '20s early '30s. The change in the meter would rattle over every bump. I had to push the lever down to drop change from Window box to Change Box. It was Fun to drive
I used to drive one of these years ago, they had a switch by the driver. Forward was drive and back was the reverse (this was on the “new” fishbowls). I haven’t had a cdl for years now.
this one had a giant lever on the floor R N F
I love the look of that bus Dan. Wow! ...What a handicap conversion van that would be. Not so much a city bus as a weekend tripper or beach mobile... Or maybe just a place to kick back during "intermission" when you go to one of those all-day shows !
I'm shocked that it only went 41mph... I suppose that may be all you need for a city bus or a school bus.
Yeah if you keep it in the city.. no expressway use ever
Put you car in first gear and don't shift. It won't go very fast either.
I own and live in fulltime one of those buses mine is a 1968 with the original 6v71 dd and Allison vh 9 2 speed trans
Like it... used to re-body greyhound buses into bandwagons in Florida.
i got one of the newer versions of that bus a few years later.. had the 6v92T in it.. and that newer one was an all aluminum body cptdb.ca/wiki/index.php/Grumman_Flxible_870 it had been in Mexico at some point, and had a few bullet holes in it! LOL
my converted 1968 gmc bus is totally amazing the outside needs work!!!!
Old Acc transit bus ride to North Richmond, California
That’s a pretty cool bus man!
I would love to see this bus
6V-71!
I always liked them better without the a/c unit. This is a 5303 or 5305?
The Corvair of buses
why grade some slope as though it signify hilliness though..?
Let me know when it's for sale
I know the title says 1968 GM bus, but after taking a good look at what I see on that bus, that is not a 1968. What you have there is a second generation model. Which were manufactured between early 1963 through late 1967. Some say the second generation models are the most popular ever built. I like all GM new looks personally. Ironically, 1968 through 1971 was part of the third generation lineup.
Sounds like a 71-series to me. I suppose someone could have transplanted a 6v92 in, but the bus is a 68, and GM didn't bring out the 92-series until, what... 1974? But it really does sound like a 6v71.
this thing was in service for many years in PDX, and had many swaps and changes over that time :^)
Except for the non power steering, what a fascinating vehicle. What style!! I think I use to take those same style buses in New York back around 1968 to a school I went to, located at Gran Concourse. The sound of those engines can be used to lul insomniacs to asleep. There are many videos on youtube of the purring and clacking of the two stroke GM diesels with that purpose.
Was it yours? and if so, what did you use it for? What a nice camper/mini home it would make today.
oddly the steering wasn't too difficult - the steering wheel itself was about 28" in diameter and has a LOT of gear reduction.. I'm obsessed with the 2 stroke diesels - owned a number of these large buses over the years :^) theyre still super cheap for the amount of vehicle ya get! i used to just drive around with friends for no reason LOL
Did you see the 16 cylinder that Deboss Garage totally destroyed by over reving?? It still took a very long while!! lol!! Enjoy!!:
Episode name: SCREAMING JIMMY! 16cyl 2 Stroke Detroit Diesel 16v71 Wide Open
ruclips.net/video/JxLb3Yqqds4/видео.html
i have the kind that has a canister for my feul filter and in and an out port can it be swapped.
One speed transmission WHAT slow as fuck damn like 35 and that's it
Did this bus by chance carry a fleet number of 579 on the front below the windshield?
uhh dunno... but it was in portland its entire life im pretty sure
@@TotallyNormal- Thank you anyways.
When was this filmed?? 1998.
Wow manual steering on a bus that might take some muscle at slow speeds
LARGE steering wheel, and LOTS of gear reduction :^)
Pretty scary coming up that hill?
had to back all the way down the hill a few times when i first got it.. the gravel had a bunch or ruts in it too.. so keeping enough speed up was tricky! ya can see the whole bus flopping around on the air suspension!
@@TotallyNormal- $$ was that bus if u don’t mind
I thought they all had two speed transmissions. At about 30 mph, the torque converter is supposed to switch to direct drive to give you that second gear. Is your transmission not working properly?
that's how this one works... "technically" one speed ;^) since the unlocking function is required for it to idle.. and the lockup is required to keep it from overheating. Torque converters generate MASSIVE amounts of heat under heavy loads! it's not like they were too concerned with fuel efficiency.. but without the lockup on this setup, you'd be getting gallons to the mile! LOL
@@TotallyNormal- I drove buses for a friend's bus company back 35+ years ago when I was in college. He bought a fleet of five 1968 GMs from Delaware Transit in Wilmington. We drove them back home down route 13 on the Delmarva Eastern Shore. These would all do around 55 on the highway. Did some in town trips for him as well. If the A/C was on, that 671 couldn't push that pig over a railroad track crossing. They were also a little fussy getting them back and forth from reverse to drive. Fun memories.
Was that you??
I think you have a transmission issue. I’ve never heard of a single speed automatic in any Detroit powered bus. I drove a 1948 GM old look that shifted from low to high at 28 mph. It could eventually get to 64 mph after quite a while on flat terrain with a full load of passengers. Your bus sounds like it’s stuck in low range. In the late 60’s GM fishbowls came with 3 speed automatics with a final shift at 42mph which would take you close to 70. If you have a 6v92 my guess is you have a 3 speed auto which is stuck in second????
no 3 speed here! - It's an Allison Automatic VH hydraulic drive- its just a 'hydro drive' with a locking torque converter. some people consider the torque converter locking up at 30 mph another 'gear' but this thing is more like a torque converter housing, than it is a traditional transmission. there's not much going on inside of it!
@@TotallyNormal- Interesting! I used to ride those buses all the time when I was a teen, and I always thought they were two-speed automatics. Your explanation does make sense, especially since I don't remember ever hearing variations in engine speed - that is, relative to travel speed - once the thing was "in high gear", and that suggests it was torque-converter lockup rather than a gear shift (and no lockup).
I know very little about buses. Was this bus designed only for inner-city use, and never expected to be used on a highway or freeway?
yea that thing was a strange motor - only 250 horsepower but 875 ft lbs of torque! and yes - built for stop and go city traffic only.
@@TotallyNormal- hmm. What if you put say, a two speed or even three speed transmission on there... I find it hard to believe with that much power and torque that you can only go 41mph
Why would it be bored ten thousandths over when the liners are replaceable?
You man the bearings are oversized
COUGH COUGHFF How old was u?
Do you still own it?
that thing required a heavy line shop to do basic maintenance! those old V-drives were known for grenading as well.. even back then parts were HARD to find! owned it about 6 months before moving on
@@TotallyNormal- Oh well, at least for six months you got to drive around town like a badass!^^
ive owned over 12 different full size buses LOL they make great grocery getters!
How much do one of these weigh?
not sure actually.. couldn't find the photo i took of the GWVR plate.. they claim these ones are 'lighter' than the older ones from the early 60's.. but after driving it around.. it felt like the same weight as any other full size bus.. lol
this your ride
bought it for $600 not running... just had animals living in the airbox, dead batteries, and clogged fuel lines! came back the next day, fixed it in the parking lot, and drove it home! :^)
The thing that needs, is change the engine by new 1 that spend less and use a biodegradable fuel, like the biodiesel or biogas, and will be perfect, and not only this bus, all buses and classic buses. 😉😉😉