Engine Upgrade Ideas for Your Luxury Coach?

[Neweller]

Jon, you plan on building a drone helicopter? Then you can get a govment job when you retire! And the way this govment works, you can't be fired.

Actually, kind of sounds like a cool engine design. I wonder how loud they actually are?

[rellick]

That would make a great jetboat engine, thanks for the post!

Originally Posted by MrE

Can't wait until the 2 stroke diesel OPOC engines are available. (Opposed Piston Opposed Cylinder)

325 hp (currently being tested) opoc™ engine module (two coupled with a clutch to achieve 650 hp) licensed by a major engine developer for an unmanned military Helicopter with an achievable weight of 450lbs and measures 15.8in x 35in x 41.5in

Advanced Propulsion Technologies, Inc.

An extremely lightweight opposed piston opposed cylinder (OPOC) engine has been developed under a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program. FEV and Advanced Propulsion Technologies (APT) were asked by the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) to modify this engine for heavy-truck applications. Analyzing the two stroke scavenging, the side-injection combustion, and the structure of the key components shows the potential of the OPOC concept. It is predicted for the 465 kW (650 hp) OPOC truck engine. The OPOC engine was designed to be modular. Each module is self-contained and delivers 325 hp. The modules are connected together via the Modular Displacement Clutch, which synchronizes the modules for achieving even firing when both modules are functioning. With an optimized scavenging process, the special design features of the OPOC engine offer a significant step towards the potential of the two-stroke engine having double the power density of a four-stroke engine. An estimated 90% scavenging efficiency has been achieved with unique gas exchange characteristics of the OPOC engine and the use of an electric assisted turbocharger. The OPOC engine runs with almost two times the engine speed (3800 rpm) along with a large cylinder stroke (167.53 mm), as a result of the split stroke of the opposed piston structure. This also improves the power density by another factor of 2.

http://www.engineeringtv.com/video/Opposed-Piston-Opposed-Cylinder

[Neweller]

Keith, that is exactly what I was thinking and why I was wondering how loud they might be? Didn't want something that would scare away all the fish. First thing I thought of was, Keith might like these for the Jet Boats. Heck, I might like one for that reason too. I'm thinking Jon might want to stack a couple for his pusher?

[MrE]

Pretty impressive power to weight ratio for a standard motor Could you imagine getting 20mpg in your Newell, they're predicting 100mpg out of a car?

[rellick]

I wonder what the price tag will be? And how many years of production it will take for it to come down? It would be nice to know someone in r&d. Might have to put a kicker motor to sneak up on the fish Ken!lol Some of the 2stroke jets will run the exhaust through the pump exiting the rear and down into the water, they are fairly quiet. My ZZ4 350 chev in my boat will burn 80 gallons/200miles motor and pump weight is about 700lbs.

[Neweller]

After recently talking with my diesel engine mechanic, I am told that a DT 466/530 engines would make a great donor engine on an early classic with the CAT or

Cummins 555. Or if you have a shot Detroit too. This motor would fit in the coaches with the lower clearance engine compartment and be very inexpensive to

maintain or ever rebuild. Non-electronic would be the easiest for the swap vs. the electronic versions but a little less hp. A 170 hp can be turned up to 250 hp with

just adjusting the fuel rate setting and other reasonably priced accessories can get you even more. The 466E can easily go 350 hp with 850 ft/lbs and if you want

to go racing, you will have to dig deeper into your pockets. But more horsepower is definitely doable with turbos, injectors, and p-pump upgrades. For every 50

cc's of fuel will yield another 100 hp.

[rellick]

The DT466 is a great engine, I had one in a gravel truck and it was easier on fuel than our 1/2 ton suburban!! They had them in a lot of school busses

[Neweller]

A local guy was telling me that he has a '95 straight truck with the 466 and it has over 700,000 actual miles on it and still running. They go quite a bit longer than the CAT engine in the same type of application. The mechanic said that when he worked for International for a number of years that a lot of the engines they rebuilt had over a half million miles. Because of the cost of building them up and the very high HP potential that can be derived, they are now becoming popular in sled pull and diesel dragsters.

[Neweller]

Here are some pictures of a Series 60 shoved into an older Eagle bus conversion. My mechanic friend just finished this job last week and it ran out wonderfully. The conversion is back at its owners to have its interior finished up over the next few months. The coach owner has had a few engines upgrades done this way and claims the financial return on investment is 2-4 times the cost to do it. That tells me something.

These pictures are about halfway into the install of the Series 60 after the old DD was removed which by the way is an available runner. There was a little more paint touch up before it left the shop. It's up to the customer how much time they want put into the painting preparations. He can paint the engine compartment and so forth if requested.

[Neweller]

Here's a shot of the radiator side and a closer one of the engine. Remember this is being updated on something like a 30 year old bus that probably seen close to a couple million miles in its life.

My son took these pictures and I will try and get a picture of the completed.

[Neweller]

Here are a couple more pics.