May I ask you something? How much horsepower did these 6V92TA have and what was their maximum speed? I tried to search on the net but these infos are so much hard to find lol. You are my best hope since you had direct experience.
3:27 I love your St. Barnard. I had one many years ago named him Bernerd; he lived to a ripe ole' age but ended up having to have him put down. A sad day!
The RTS first appeared in Southeastern Massachusetts in the Brockton Aria Transit fleet about 1977... we called em Space BATs. 35 years later, they were still in use at Walt Disney World in Orlando. Perhaps underappreciated... a pretty durable piece of engineering from the now defunct GM Truck and Coach Division.
Hard to believe they were designed in the late 1960s. First prototype came out 1968 and production started in 1976. Looks like it came out in the 2000s. That's a 6v71 V6 two stroke diesel. Wow it has a ZF Ecomat series, an efficient transmission with a good spread of gears for good performance and highway cruising. Never heard one with a 6V71 which were introduced in 1938!
The RTS looks like an absolutely beautiful conversion, My absolute favorite "new" bus model.. Wish we could see the inside if it looks nearly as nice as the exterior, it must be a WOW! Purple may not be my favorite color, but it sure looks nice on this bus!
FINALLY!! I have an RTS and have been waiting for you to get one in. I have the Series 50 though. And I'm also converting mine. I have so many questions...my mind is scrambled right now. I was so stoked when I saw the notification!! You guys are the best and I really enjoy your channel and you both working together. God bless you guys! 🚌
These buses first appeared in southeast Massachusetts in the Brocton Transit Authority fleet. We called em Space Bats, circa 1975? Forty years later, they were still in use when I took my family to Disney World in Orlando! They will always be among the coolest looking transit coaches ever!
That is a really nice conversion. Very well done! The 6v92 is certainly not lacking for power, and I actually prefer the sound of the 6v over the 8v. It just has a better cadence to my ears. When I was in California, I worked for a truck repair shop that contracted to work on the Department of Corrections busses. They were all MCI, with 6v and 8v92s. I did get to ferry them back and forth from Folsom Prison to the shop, and they had plenty of power! I think that they have all been converted to the 6 cylinder 4 stroke Detroits by now.
The RTS transit coaches were okay but my favorites were the mid-80's Orion transit coaches with the Detroit Diesel 6V92TA and Allison 4sp auto's. They were quick and drove like a dream. Indianapolis used to have a fleet of them.
I wonder if that’s a former Golden Gate Transit bus. The old RTS’s had the 6V92. I remember those ones being retired and eventually sold off I want to say in the early 2000’s. SF Muni would soon follow suit and retire the majority of their 2-stroke buses as well although they held on a little bit longer until SFMTA decided on what to replace them with. I think they kept one New Flyer D60 for their historic fleet. The later RTS buses had the 50-series and remained in active service with GGT up until just a couple years ago. I pass by their maintenance shop frequently and there’s two or three GM Fishbowl buses parked in the shed.
What a heavy boat, needs a tag axle. Mud tied the day that pulled up on the concrete. Local bus company bought a fleet of those that had been setting for 10 years in Alaskan brush, failed bus company. What a pile of junke but they made them work after millions in parts an labor. Ran on interstate transit routes into Portland Ore daily for 15 years. Heavy pigs. 40 fter with the 6v92s. Roared but slow accelerating on freeway onramps loaded with pass.
ZF transmissions just work like that, driven many buses with them. At light throttle they will give you a near butter smooth shift, at 1/2-3/4 throttle they give you a very firm and fast shift and at full throttle/kickdown they will feel like they're slipping to prevent an overly harsh shift. That's how they're supposed to be and even brand new buses with them will do that so it's nothing to be concerned about.
Our zf's in the UK are like that. It's like 1st to 1.5 the 2nd it's kinda like a half gear between 1st and 2nd. Most of our kick downs are disabled to avoid abuse. Unfortunately!
@@johnburns3390 I drove mostly Volvo B10's and MB O405's with ZF's here in Australia, the B10's had a switch under the throttle pedal with an adjustment bolt on the underside of the pedal, just wind it out to thwart the boss lol. More difficult on the MB's because the udjustment was on the underside of the floor.
@@Tiger351 yeah drove my fair share of B10's. Our depot only had 1 MB 0405. The B9's I drive now have electronic throttles so no Tom foolery with the pedal lol.
Here's what I recall. Light throttle, 2nd gear start. Medium to heavy throttle, 1st gear. Torque converter may lock up in first, second, or third gear depending on how much throttle load. And don't rev the engine or it will do bad things in neutral.
That's a very nice Bus conversion, from a city transit bus, I think the Transmission is geared the way it is, because those Buses where designed for inner city type traffic, but it seems very good on the open road from what I can see, I don't know if I would have painted it Purple, but still looks good,
Gawd, that bent steering wheel would drive me crazy.. and holding the wheel at the end stop... Don't even talk about the air...lol. all good stuff.. learning curve.. Nice bus...
I definitely think you need to have a Lenny’s Peak Hillclimb Leaderboard display when the shop gets built; much in the same vein as the Top Gear Leaderboard; and the worst time gets the “Hey Lance” Award for Best effort!
First-time viewer and new subscriber. Love the vids. Totally amazed at your ability and mostly your prowess about the big boys. Keep em coming. Oh BTW, that steering wheel is wonked out!
That bus is actually named Purple Reign, it was built by paradise coach interiors and was built as a cross between a part bus and a rv. It has a dj booth with turn tables behind the passenger seat.
You may be able to use a steam iron to steam the moisture out of the paint on the lid of your tool box, it works on furniture. There is you tube videos about doing it.
You have been super busy especially now the weather is improving. Good thing Tyler is there working busses while your busy getting the shop floor ready. That purple bus is sure different and that steering wheel looks bent in the video😁
The first thing I noticed when the test drive started was the bent steering wheel which to be honest is ore common than people might think on all types of vehicles built since about 1980 in the USA. It was about that time that the federal government mandated that steering wheels had to be able to bend in the event of a collision. The side effect of these bendable steering wheels is that they could also be be bent by a driver who pulled on the steering wheel getting in of the drivers seat or the vehicle. Additionally I have steering wheels bent by tow truck operators when strapping the steering wheel in place if the vehicle was to be towed by the back of the vehicle, or by a driver trying to control a vehicle if it stalls, the power steering fails, or a front axles tire blowout and the list goes on .
Man I loved the RTS buses when I drove them before they got replaced. Unfortunately they weren’t 2 strokes (they had the series 50), but they were nice driving buses
That gravel by the slab is gets compacted in the mud, been there. When it’s time for more base course I would first put some geotextile fabric down, a good money saver in the long run
Ceramic coating on those rusty intake and exhaust pipes sure would make those engines way more pretty. I really feel that would be a service many bus owners would like.
Good video and also thanks for the waggle commercial. I've been looking for something exactly like this unit for our Weimaraner while we travel in our RV.
Scott why you take the cut trees and drill holes in the trees lay down left side road and back side of the shop to keep your sho pad wash away from heavy rains. a retaining wall you also do to lower pad to keep the mulch clean of gravel.
I drove an International 4500 with an 8V92 and a 4 speed Allison for many years moving oil well drilling rigs. I don't think it ever got over 4 mpg. LOL. What can you expect to get on a transit bus conversion such as this one?
I was thinking the same thing on your second point. I'm 6'5 and know not all buses are built the same in terms of driver head-space, but this one seems particularly bad.
This really is such a great channel Scott. I always enjoy your content and usually learn something new. There is no doubt whatsoever that you have THE coolest theme tune too. 😎 I love it and drive my wife crazy as I keep singing it...... 🤣🤣🤣 Keep up the good work and best wishes to all of you.
Your content and production is great. The theme song could stand to be edited down a bit with maybe some live shots of the artist performing punched in there . Maybe meet up with him for a bus meet and share the 🎤
Wow I had no idea the purple bus had a better turning radius. Sorry ☹️ didn’t catch the model of that bus . The gearing was interesting also the commit on great torque at the stop signs
i Believe there a check valve on the back side of the head that go bad that would cause this issue, it keeps pressure in the line so when the bus sit's it wont loose prime..
Do they have a means to protect the transmission in that Ford Focus they tow behind the bus? Do they remove the half-shafts? Remco axle lock? Auxiliary transmission lube pump?
The focus of that era is either manual trans or the junk dsg automated manual trans, Basically an electronically controlled manual transmission. No fluid pumps in the trans so its no problem
The only down side to converting a transit bus is the lack of the exterior storage bays below the floor of the bus and insurance can be difficult to get for privately owned transit buses but that is a beautiful bus for sure.
At 20:27 you can see the battery cables have corrosion build up at the post. The bus owner is conscientious and wants to avoid unnecessary costs and performance problems. So he will disconnect the batteries and pull these cable lugs from the post and brush and sand all the crud off and then reconnect and spray with that purple battery terminal protector spray.
Coupon Name: BGM40
Offer Value: 40% OFF on Pet Monitor 4G/4G Lite
info.mywaggle.com/bus-grease-monkey?Bus%20Grease%20Monkey&BGM40
Having life depend on technology bothers me.
the world needs more badass 6V92 RTSes saved and turned into these!
I drove those buses many times during my 28 year New York City Transit career. I always liked them!
I'll never remember the B82 the same wsy agan....
May I ask you something? How much horsepower did these 6V92TA have and what was their maximum speed? I tried to search on the net but these infos are so much hard to find lol. You are my best hope since you had direct experience.
3:27 I love your St. Barnard. I had one many years ago named him Bernerd; he lived to a ripe ole' age but ended up having to have him put down. A sad day!
The RTS first appeared in Southeastern Massachusetts in the Brockton Aria Transit fleet about 1977... we called em Space BATs. 35 years later, they were still in use at Walt Disney World in Orlando. Perhaps underappreciated... a pretty durable piece of engineering from the now defunct GM Truck and Coach Division.
If you’d asked me before this video if I’d like the looks of a purple bus, I’d probably said no but this is a sharp looking bus. Looks great!
Purple people eaters!
Would look good with a vikings logo.
Now if only they were any good...
Hard to believe they were designed in the late 1960s. First prototype came out 1968 and production started in 1976. Looks like it came out in the 2000s.
That's a 6v71 V6 two stroke diesel.
Wow it has a ZF Ecomat series, an efficient transmission with a good spread of gears for good performance and highway cruising.
Never heard one with a 6V71 which were introduced in 1938!
The RTS looks like an absolutely beautiful conversion, My absolute favorite "new" bus model.. Wish we could see the inside if it looks nearly as nice as the exterior, it must be a WOW! Purple may not be my favorite color, but it sure looks nice on this bus!
FINALLY!! I have an RTS and have been waiting for you to get one in. I have the Series 50 though. And I'm also converting mine. I have so many questions...my mind is scrambled right now. I was so stoked when I saw the notification!! You guys are the best and I really enjoy your channel and you both working together. God bless you guys! 🚌
Really cool! Enjoy it!
HEY! Ex-Golden Gate Transit 1989 TMC RTS #1146! I drove it in regular service!
These buses first appeared in southeast Massachusetts in the Brocton Transit Authority fleet. We called em Space Bats, circa 1975? Forty years later, they were still in use when I took my family to Disney World in Orlando! They will always be among the coolest looking transit coaches ever!
That purple color looks like a tropical Skittle... that’s what they call the newer Tulsa buses in the fleet, Skittles buses.
That is a really nice conversion. Very well done! The 6v92 is certainly not lacking for power, and I actually prefer the sound of the 6v over the 8v. It just has a better cadence to my ears. When I was in California, I worked for a truck repair shop that contracted to work on the Department of Corrections busses. They were all MCI, with 6v and 8v92s. I did get to ferry them back and forth from Folsom Prison to the shop, and they had plenty of power! I think that they have all been converted to the 6 cylinder 4 stroke Detroits by now.
The RTS transit coaches were okay but my favorites were the mid-80's Orion transit coaches with the Detroit Diesel 6V92TA and Allison 4sp auto's. They were quick and drove like a dream. Indianapolis used to have a fleet of them.
We had Orions in Pittsburgh , Pa. They were the best bus I ever drove and worked on . ,Thanks for the memories
Amazing that little car can push that big bus.
I wonder if that’s a former Golden Gate Transit bus. The old RTS’s had the 6V92. I remember those ones being retired and eventually sold off I want to say in the early 2000’s. SF Muni would soon follow suit and retire the majority of their 2-stroke buses as well although they held on a little bit longer until SFMTA decided on what to replace them with. I think they kept one New Flyer D60 for their historic fleet. The later RTS buses had the 50-series and remained in active service with GGT up until just a couple years ago. I pass by their maintenance shop frequently and there’s two or three GM Fishbowl buses parked in the shed.
You are right-- it is a Golden Gate Transit bus! - Debra
What a heavy boat, needs a tag axle. Mud tied the day that pulled up on the concrete.
Local bus company bought a fleet of those that had been setting for 10 years in Alaskan brush, failed bus company. What a pile of junke but they made them work after millions in parts an labor. Ran on interstate transit routes into Portland Ore daily for 15 years. Heavy pigs. 40 fter with the 6v92s. Roared but slow accelerating on freeway onramps loaded with pass.
What a beautiful bus! Love the colour and everything else about it. WOW. Your shop pad is coming right along. Quite a lot of fill in the end.
That hill ain't no joke 😁
I've always wanted to met Malcolm. That's the best RTS bus I've seen. I'm starting to restore mine.
He is very friendly and travels a lot i bet it wouldn’t be hard to meet up with him somewhere
ZF transmissions just work like that, driven many buses with them. At light throttle they will give you a near butter smooth shift, at 1/2-3/4 throttle they give you a very firm and fast shift and at full throttle/kickdown they will feel like they're slipping to prevent an overly harsh shift. That's how they're supposed to be and even brand new buses with them will do that so it's nothing to be concerned about.
Our zf's in the UK are like that. It's like 1st to 1.5 the 2nd it's kinda like a half gear between 1st and 2nd. Most of our kick downs are disabled to avoid abuse. Unfortunately!
@@johnburns3390 I drove mostly Volvo B10's and MB O405's with ZF's here in Australia, the B10's had a switch under the throttle pedal with an adjustment bolt on the underside of the pedal, just wind it out to thwart the boss lol. More difficult on the MB's because the udjustment was on the underside of the floor.
@@Tiger351 yeah drove my fair share of B10's. Our depot only had 1 MB 0405. The B9's I drive now have electronic throttles so no Tom foolery with the pedal lol.
That hill is a good test for a bus both going up and down. The Tom Feller song never gets old! 👍👍👍👍
No way that's my friend's bus!! Ex-Golden Gate Transit 1146, 1989 TMC RTS!!! He's a cool guy.
Whazzup @TheCRTman. Or should I say Mister D409? XDDDDDDDD
@@L-Taraval LOL
Was wondering what happened to this bus lol
That bus has some really nice shifting speeds and its smooth too!
Here's what I recall. Light throttle, 2nd gear start. Medium to heavy throttle, 1st gear. Torque converter may lock up in first, second, or third gear depending on how much throttle load. And don't rev the engine or it will do bad things in neutral.
I love these old GMCs so much
That's a very nice Bus conversion, from a city transit bus, I think the Transmission is geared the way it is, because those Buses where designed for inner city type traffic, but it seems very good on the open road from what I can see, I don't know if I would have painted it Purple, but still looks good,
Gawd, that bent steering wheel would drive me crazy.. and holding the wheel at the end stop... Don't even talk about the air...lol. all good stuff.. learning curve.. Nice bus...
gee I'm not the only one who got bugged by it , nice bus though
Wow from the inside sounds just like I remember these from my city. Really nostalgic engine sound. Wonder what year this one is!
1989
I definitely think you need to have a Lenny’s Peak Hillclimb Leaderboard display when the shop gets built; much in the same vein as the Top Gear Leaderboard; and the worst time gets the “Hey Lance” Award for Best effort!
Unique to turn a Transit bus into a conversion, would definitely be a cooler option than a Skoolie
First-time viewer and new subscriber. Love the vids. Totally amazed at your ability and mostly your prowess about the big boys. Keep em coming. Oh BTW, that steering wheel is wonked out!
That is the most purple that I have ever seen in one place in my entire life!
That bus is actually named Purple Reign, it was built by paradise coach interiors and was built as a cross between a part bus and a rv. It has a dj booth with turn tables behind the passenger seat.
You may be able to use a steam iron to steam the moisture out of the paint on the lid of your tool box, it works on furniture. There is you tube videos about doing it.
Love that bus! By watching the video, you can see it is torquey down low. The interior from the little I seen, looks like it was done really nice!
Watching wet ground get squeezed by the RTS approaching concrete pad, larger stone typically lowest base, then smaller above in layers.
Must be a ex GGT bus... Golden Gate Transit. The muffler and ZF gives it away. I lived riding these on the 80 SANTA ROSA via Hwy 101.
I suspect you're right. The rare RTS that wasn't geared for 35mph from airport terminal to parking garage?
No. 1146
@@alteredmoodsdeep Good to see ya! - Kwesi
10:59 it was in 2nd gear at this point. The second shift was the lockup torque converter.
You have been super busy especially now the weather is improving. Good thing Tyler is there working busses while your busy getting the shop floor ready. That purple bus is sure different and that steering wheel looks bent in the video😁
It need to be straightened, was easy to see. Driver probably doesn,t notice this.
I was searching the comments for anyone noticing (and mentioning) that wonky steering wheel! _I can move on with my life, now!_
The first thing I noticed when the test drive started was the bent steering wheel which to be honest is ore common than people might think on all types of vehicles built since about 1980 in the USA. It was about that time that the federal government mandated that steering wheels had to be able to bend in the event of a collision. The side effect of these bendable steering wheels is that they could also be be bent by a driver who pulled on the steering wheel getting in of the drivers seat or the vehicle. Additionally I have steering wheels bent by tow truck operators when strapping the steering wheel in place if the vehicle was to be towed by the back of the vehicle, or by a driver trying to control a vehicle if it stalls, the power steering fails, or a front axles tire blowout and the list goes on .
Man I loved the RTS buses when I drove them before they got replaced. Unfortunately they weren’t 2 strokes (they had the series 50), but they were nice driving buses
That gravel by the slab is gets compacted in the mud, been there. When it’s time for more base course I would first put some geotextile fabric down, a good money saver in the long run
Who knew Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was into purple RTS buses :-)
Ceramic coating on those rusty intake and exhaust pipes sure would make those engines way more pretty.
I really feel that would be a service many bus owners would like.
just a suggestion you need to make a turn around Spot near the Pad to make it easier for those RV to turn around
The Barney bus 😊. It looks nice though... much better than my invisible bus.
An add for Planet Fitness is what I was thinking! LOL
The fuel check valve on the bulkhead were prone to rotting (dissimilar metals) aluminum check valve installed into steel bulkhead,
I will be nice when your shop is built so you can work indoors. Hopefully you will have at least 2 bays
1:18 sounds like waiting for the bus to the Magic Kingdom.
Por favor, mantengase alejado de las puertas.
Wow so proud of your channel. Look at you guys having sponsored videos now :)
Congrats!
Thank you Tom Feller for a great song. By the way nice video.
you gotta make a longer video, Bud!
Kinda relaxing to watch this kind of videos
That's a super cool Rig, still like the old PD series buses!
Thanks for the video, and the progress report. It helps me stay motivated on my projects.
Good video and also thanks for the waggle commercial. I've been looking for something exactly like this unit for our Weimaraner while we travel in our RV.
Ya need a nice cover for Olive oil, great video by the way. Safe travels up your way
Wow it's three Eyed giant Purple People Eater!!!!!
@11:24 looks like the perfect day. 👓👍👍👍
Scott why you take the cut trees and drill holes in the trees lay down left side road and back side of the shop to keep your sho pad wash away from heavy rains. a retaining wall you also do to lower pad to keep the mulch clean of gravel.
That Waggle is an awesome tool.Gonna get me one!
Nice looking Oliver Super 55 in the background spotted while you were walking your new drive path.
Telling Leroy to get out of the dirt would be like telling you to stop working on Detroit’s lol :p
My experience with the "RTS" was it was always a lousy, bumpy ride. You could feel every pebble in the road
Total junk and a back breaker.
Always a pleasure when you drop another video!
I drove an International 4500 with an 8V92 and a 4 speed Allison for many years moving oil well drilling rigs. I don't think it ever got over 4 mpg. LOL. What can you expect to get on a transit bus conversion such as this one?
Someone did mama on that steering wheel.
That wobble would annoy the hell out of me
That warped steering wheel would drive me crazy!!
I was thinking the same thing. Just watching it makes me feel slightly uneasy.
Also, how do you bend a steering wheel?! Must be a bad accident...
im wondering how it got bent
For the record…. I didn’t sit on it ;)
Me too!
Road rage maybe?
Thats a nice looking Transit im living the colour cordination
I'm never quite sure what I'm watching, but I love watching it!
We had busses like that when I was a kid but the motor was quiet only hummed didn't sound like a diesel but was!
Boy is the steering wheel crooked .
It seems this gentleman seems to be sitting to high for windshield .
Never drove an RTS .
Nice to see you busy!
I was thinking the same thing on your second point. I'm 6'5 and know not all buses are built the same in terms of driver head-space, but this one seems particularly bad.
RTS I drove one of these buses while working for New York City Transit Authority
wow that bus is so cool!
This really is such a great channel Scott. I always enjoy your content and usually learn something new.
There is no doubt whatsoever that you have THE coolest theme tune too. 😎 I love it and drive my wife crazy as I keep singing it...... 🤣🤣🤣 Keep up the good work and best wishes to all of you.
Leroy is so darn cute for such a big dog 🐕😍❤
I bet having to use a steam shovel to pick up his mess isn't so cute!!!🤣
8:16 That steering wheel - or the steering shaft - appears to be bent. The angle of the wheel keeps changing as he turns it. Is that normal for a bus?
Sweet sounding six. Oh my.
Thats awesome dude! Love those RTS's
Tom's song NEVER gets old! 🐒
That town is perfect... Old school
Are the steering wheels always warped or does it just happen over time..I've seen more that a few
dam i seen this bus up in jackson wy back in like 2003 i think i liked it them i was driving a 5107a at the time the (fish bole)
Your content and production is great. The theme song could stand to be edited down a bit with maybe some live shots of the artist performing punched in there . Maybe meet up with him for a bus meet and share the 🎤
Love the video and the music keep up the good work
Wow I had no idea the purple bus had a better turning radius. Sorry ☹️ didn’t catch the model of that bus . The gearing was interesting also the commit on great torque at the stop signs
Great Looking Bus of the GMC RTS
Awesome idea for Leroy boy do we love our pets!
i Believe there a check valve on the back side of the head that go bad that would cause this issue, it keeps pressure in the line so when the bus sit's it wont loose prime..
He just had that replaced
Do they have a means to protect the transmission in that Ford Focus they tow behind the bus? Do they remove the half-shafts? Remco axle lock? Auxiliary transmission lube pump?
The focus of that era is either manual trans or the junk dsg automated manual trans, Basically an electronically controlled manual transmission. No fluid pumps in the trans so its no problem
You should paint landing strip lines on the bus deck!
Beautiful country down there!
That wobble-wonky steering wheel would drive me nuts.
Second that it would probably be easy to bend straight
It look good
That text bombing was Unnerving nice rts
This is the bus I would convert to an RV if I ever got the money.
The only down side to converting a transit bus is the lack of the exterior storage bays below the floor of the bus and insurance can be difficult to get for privately owned transit buses but that is a beautiful bus for sure.
We used to have a women who lives in our town who changed her name to Purple Patty because ----. Yes E V E R Y T H I N G!!!!!!!
At 20:27 you can see the battery cables have corrosion build up at the post. The bus owner is conscientious and wants to avoid unnecessary costs and performance problems. So he will disconnect the batteries and pull these cable lugs from the post and brush and sand all the crud off and then reconnect and spray with that purple battery terminal protector spray.
Leroy says "Get out of the GREASE"
I wonder if a 6-speed Ecomat with the V-drive adapter would fit in an older GM?
Yep, the pad area looks quite soft