3 dozen or so sound clips of 2 stroke Detroit Diesel Buses

[RonG]

http://www.barp.ca/bus/special/sounds/

These good for us old guys.
Ron G

 

[Jim D]

Thank you, RonG.

The sounds that I remember are the manual transmission, Crown Coach, horizontal six Detroit two-stroke engine school buses that I rode in to school. The lady drivers double-clutched the crash box shifts perfectly. The buses had two side-by-side Autometer recording tachometers, gray boxes on the dashboard with needles in windows that shifted left and right. The GMC's exhaust resonated loudly just below max revs, so each down shift was a credenza blast of melodic noise. Where I lived there were steep hills and winding streets, so there was constant shifting gears.

 

[Birken Vogt]

Here in the land of California they have basically regulated 2 cycles out of existence. It has been several years since I saw or heard one run. I could only take you to one instance of an operational one today, in a fire engine.

 

[old-iron-habit]

Thank you, RonG.

The sounds that I remember are the manual transmission, Crown Coach, horizontal six Detroit two-stroke engine school buses that I rode in to school. The lady drivers double-clutched the crash box shifts perfectly. The buses had two side-by-side Autometer recording tachometers, gray boxes on the dashboard with needles in windows that shifted left and right. The GMC's exhaust resonated loudly just below max revs, so each down shift was a credenza blast of melodic noise. Where I lived there were steep hills and winding streets, so there was constant shifting gears.

Them sideways mounted horizontal bus engines also ran counter rotation at least in the old greyhounds. I sold one to a guy that used it in a different application and he was a bit peaved that it was going the wrong way.

 

[Todd v.]

Had to rebuild a 671 detroit that was in a fishing charter boat, it was a twin engine. Had a few burnt valves, 3 per cylinder if i remember correctly. Good lord that cyl head was a pain in the ass to get out of that sucker. It was an old wooden boat, if a remember about 65' long. But yea those things sound like they're screaming but they aren't. Moved that ol boat pretty well.

 

[RonG]

They are not uncommon here on the east coast but generally only in fire engines.I live on a hill and of course those beauties have jake brakes so I get my jollies when I hear them pass my house when going back to the barn.Most folks these days don't even know what they have heard.Ron G

 

[Steve Frazier]

Arlington Fire District used to have a Seagrave ladder truck when I was younger, it had an 8V71 in it. If the conditions were just right I could here it pull out responding to an alarm at my parent's place over 10 miles away! An area stone quarry had Euclid quarry trucks with the 12V71 in them, and again under the right conditions I could here them climbing out of the pit from my house at least 10 miles away.

 

[Jim D]

Steve, where I am now, the county road dept used to use 6 cyl GMC powered Clark (like Austen Western) road graders for snow plows. Until recently, they still had one in use to plow one route 10 miles north of where I am. As you say, on a cold winter day, I could hear it running 10 miles distant.

There is a thread on this site about FMC skidders built on M-113 armored personal carrier drivetrains. There is a vid on that thread, of a FMC skidder working in a swamp. The sound of the V-6 two stroke is evocative; five minutes of memories came back when I heard it. Near by to me, there is a machine that I can't stop thinking about buying, not that I can use it, that is powered by a 12V-71.

 

[RonG]

I've said it before here,probably a few times but I was in Germany in the early '60s when that M113 arrived to replace the M79s we were using and the early renditions had the Chrysler 413 gas V8 in them.I never saw the Detroit powered ones but about that time the military was transitioning to multifuel engines so it was just a matter of time.The M60 tank arrived with a diesel engine....ahh multifuel.....to replace the M48 with the Continental gas engine.Each platoon was assigned one tank and they were to be configured with a blade and a spotlight so we got the M48s,sent them out one at a time to get the blades welded on ect and shortly after we got them all back the M60s started arriving and we had to send them out for modification like the M48s had.So we were an combat engineer company with three tanks in our ranks.
I used to do a lot of dozer work for the german nationals and it was common to make a sportsplatz out of an old abandoned dump and some of those old dumps were soft and it was easy to get the dozer buried in them.Well,I did one particular day and I called for help knowing that we had those tanks and that is what they sent to yank me out of there.Those were the days.Ron G

 

[VTredneck]

Arlington Fire District used to have a Seagrave ladder truck when I was younger, it had an 8V71 in it. If the conditions were just right I could here it pull out responding to an alarm at my parent's place over 10 miles away! An area stone quarry had Euclid quarry trucks with the 12V71 in them, and again under the right conditions I could here them climbing out of the pit from my house at least 10 miles away.

Your post reminded me of a quarry near where I used to live. I was out in a big swamp hunting, (about 1000 acres), and it was getting dark. As the swamp was totally level and I could see no landmarks, it was getting dark, and stupid me had forgotten my compass, I was getting just a BIT concerned. I really had no idea where to go to get out of there. So, I just stood there for a bit, and then I heard it...............the 12V71 Euclid R35's they used were sending their wonderful melody loud and clear over 8 miles away. I knew exactly where the quarry was and it gave me the direction to go to get home. Loved those old Detroits then and I still do now!