| phone : (215)679-8943 |
| 9 am to 5 pm eastern time |
| Here is another of our conversions. We have installed a 60 series engine and an Allison transmission (specially shortened) into an MC9 coach. The project was a challenge not to change the body therefore saving the paint and mural. |
| We started the project by building an engine cradle using the latest rubber mounts to not send engine vibration into the coach body. |
| We have a special jig that lets us locate our front mounts and rear mounts at the exact location necessary. The crossmember in front and pedestal brackets in the rear are manufactured in-house. |
| The mount brackets attached to the engine are also manufactured by us. Now that we have the engine mounted on the engine cradle, we installed the engine into the coach. The challenge was not to have the transmission collide with the tag axle tube. The problem was overcome by building a shortened electronic transmission. |
| With the engine in place, we have to make the various connections between engine and chassis. We started by installing a new crankshaft pulley. |
| A new idler pulley was installed for the air conditioning belts. |
| We installed the alternator on the turbo side of the engine and drive it off of the accessory drive pulley. |
| New copper water manifolds were made for the top and bottom radiator connections. |
| The old muffler was removed and is being replaced with a muffler that is compatible with the 60 series engine. |
An air cleaner and hoses for a 60 series are being installed.
| We removed the radiator shutters and we are having two air charged coolers custom made for in front of the radiators in place of the shutters. |
| Here is one of the coolers installed. |
| The squirrel cages will be retained. |
| Air plumbing from air cleaner to turbocharger: Modify air cleaner by loosening exit port rotating it so that exit port points straight up. Install 90 degree rubber elbow 5" ID and use second more than 120 degree elbow joining it and installing onto suction side of turbocharger. |
| At this point air cleaner element faces side service door and suction side of air cleaner points into opening above intake to align with hole above. |
| Build air cleaner base plate 12"x13" 1/8" steel with one leg, bolted to muffler housing. |
| Make up air tubing from pressure side of turbocharger into bottom of aftercooler (4" pipe). Turn turbocharger exit to 6 o'clock. Install 90 degree elbow 4" connecting 45 degree elbow straight up into bottom of aftercooler. |
| That finishes the air cleaner installation. |
| The engine and transmission are now permanently installed in the chassis. We are currently making our own harness to connect the all electronic controls in the driver’s area with the engine and transmission. |
| Here is the rest of the story.. |
| We installed our transmission computer, transmission harness and accelerator control into the coach. We finalized the installation by reinstalling the rear bumper and trailer hitch and road tested the coach. |
| The road test felt great! |
| At this point we took the coach to our local Detroit Allison dealer to dyno test the coach for horsepower, heating and any other problems that we may have not been aware of. The dyno test also checked out great. Horsepower was higher than with 8V-92, no heating problems and we were complimented on a clean and professional installation. |
| In retrospect, this installation is a better idea than installing an 8V-92 into an MC-9. |
| Give me a call if you have any questions and we can do an installation for you. |
| P.S. Last weekend I went to Charlotte, North Carolina to pick up the converted coach that we did the 60 series engine swap on. We picked the coach up to give it a check up and to do some service work. Leaving Charlotte, heading north on route 77 through the Blue Ridge Mountains I ran into an eight mile stretch uphill and it was a real pleasure to pass a number of expensive motorhomes and every truck at 60 mph. |
| It seemed that no hill up or down was a problem for our 425 HP, 60 series engine with a Jake Brake. |
| This motorhome was built a number of years ago, but the looks of this coach and the performance with the 60 series engine, in my opinion, has more prestige than the higher priced motorhomes and is really a pleasure to drive with it's increased horsepower. |
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