GMC PD4501-066 - Lady Greyhound

The shop, part One

November 2006

Poor bus 066 had been sitting unused in the California desert for around five years. On the plus side, not much in the way of corrosion. On the down side, everything plastic or rubber was dry-rotted or hardened from heat and UV exposure. She started up and ran, but the motor had some issues.

Let's just say that getting Lady Greyhound home was an adventure, and leave it at that for now. I will probably post a page with that story in the future. Short story is that we found that she had a holed radiator, and she had to be towed the rest of the way home.

Our first concerns with Lady Greyhound are her mechanical soundness. Above all else, she must run reliably. So her first stop was a coach service shop. After a thorough inspection, the findings were: the radiator core has a large hole, the engine was almost completely seized, all air lines, brake and suspension were degraded to the point of disintegrating, the brake cans were damaged and mis-matched, several hubs were leaking fluid, a steering shaft was loose, all the tires were trash, and one wheel was not even of the correct type.

March 2007

To date, the shop has pulled the axles and hubs apart, replaced worn bearings and re-assembled them. They've freed up the drum brakes, and replaced all of the rear brake cans. They've replaced all of the brake and suspension lines, the leveling valves, and have replaced one leaking air bag. The steering box was sent out to have the shaft dealt with, and has been returned. The air clutch has also been fixed.

The original, non-functioning, coach air conditioning has been removed. It will be donated to another Scenicruiser owner who is doing a full restoration of a seated coach. The lowest 8" of the engine compartment bulkhead is steel instead of aluminum. This section gets the worst of the road grime thrown on it, so big surprise, it's seriously corroded.

April 2007

Found a good deal on some brand-new 22.5" rims, and a decent deal on some tires.

May 2007

Found a shop in California that would build a DD8v71TA with Jake brakes for us. 400+hp, nice. For the time, we are keeping the original Spicer 4-speed transmission. Eventually, I'd like to move to a Fuller with 7 or more gears, but no budget for that now.

25 May 2007

Here's the situation today. The bus is back from the steam rack, where they steam-cleaned the engine bulkhead. Next week, one of the body guys is going to repair the corroded areas of the bulkhead. Also completed now: The battery box has been removed to allow clearance for the valve covers and re-routing of the intake for the turbo. The insulation on the ceiling of the engine compartment has been replaced. The electrical junction box has been moved also to allow for re-routing of the intake. The engine is back together on the cradle with the transmission. Clutch and flywheel have been resurfaced. We have a freshly rebuilt alternator, and a new 700cfm air compressor. The radiator has been completely rebuilt. Originally, it was only going to get a new core, but the tanks turned out to have multiple pinholes, so the radiator shop fabricated new tanks identical to the old ones.

The week after next should see the engine back in the bus. Then, new exhaust, finish the intake lines, run the coolant lines, etc... We're getting very close.

6 Jun 2007

The engine is in the cradle, with all components attached, mechanical temperature and oil pressure guages were installed on the engine. The engine bay is clean, painted, and re-insulated. The wires from the junction box have been replaced and tagged, and a faulty rear engine control switch has been replaced. All of the unneeded components on the bulkhead have been removed, and the old a/c platform is ready to have the battery trays built on it. We also delivered three group-31 batteries to be used for the chassis electrical system. The corroded areas of the bulkhead are next, then the exhaust and replacing the engine cradle into the bus.

25 Jun 2007

The corroded bulkhead has been repaired, the wires have all been bundled up neatly into harnesses with modular plugs. The old a/c platform has been repaired and decked, to allow for battery trays, etc to be installed on it. A new throttle linkage was built to deal with the new throttle location, and to get around the exhuast lines to the turbo. Still waiting on the muffler to show up, and the air valve for high-idle/jakes.

16 Oct 2007

Everything was running over a month ago, but a snafu in the paperwork kept Lady Grey parked at the shop. Today, we brought her home. The engine starts with just a touch of the starter, and purrs like a kitten.