Pussy Puller

[BIG GAZ]

Hi,
I have bought a Volvo B10M from Surfside, ADP657. I believe it was the first new bus in the fleet in 1988 that was used to transport signatories during Expo in That year.
Anyway I have turned it into a transporter for my land speed Jaguar that I race on a salt lake in SA. I have genuine Volvo Alcoa's with 295/80 22.5 Continentals and it goes like a dream. I intend changing the diff from a 4.25 to a 3.78 to lower the revs as the Hay plain can get boring at 2300rpm and 100kph. When I change the diff I would like to swap in the axle lock as the road into the lake is 200 k's of dirt and can get slippery in the wet.
Any suggestions or opinions would be welcome.
GAZ

[Maladjusted]

Hi BG welcome to the forum sounds like you have a real nice little hobby there.
I thought you were implying that the Volvo pulls the Jag around on a trailer- well thats what I immediately thought as soon as i saw your heading!
Or is the car a nice snug fit in from the rear

That ratio change will do wonders for the top end speed of the vehicle, and then also with the diff lock installed should be almost unstoppable.
You don't say whether it is Auto or Manual so I will go out on a limb here, in Bog cog in a manual it may be just that little too high to do a lot of slower manoeuvring. That may be the only downside to the ratio change.

[BIG GAZ]

Mal,
Thanks for the welcome. I have lurked here for a while and have a bit of time to build my knowledge base on the Volvo now. There seems to be tonnes to find out and I am very eager to put all my dreams into motion now with the bus.
The bus has a ZF 4 speed auto and yes, the race car fits snugly up the rear with ramps over the wheel arches and down to the rear bumper.
I am converting the fixed side panels to swing up bin doors so I can build in some storage under the bus this week end. I would like to fit a water tank behind the diff with storage for the race fuel behind the tank right up to the rear bar with access down from the top, through the floor.
The Jag goes all the way into the bus half way past the middle door.
The electrical system looks like a nightmare and I can't understand why it has to be so complicated for a school bus. The volvodemort site has a wiring diagram for the mark I so I will see what the differences are.
I am looking to get a proper wheel alignment (axle bend) and want to replace the shocks when I do the king pins. Any recommendations for brands of shocks?
Thanks
GAZ

[BIG GAZ]

We'll I got distracted on the week end so instead of working on the front end I was chasing an air leak in the rear end. It appears that the leak is from the connection on the rear LHS air bag which is conveniently completely enclosed in the chassis frame.
Does anyone know how to get to the fitting? I thought that maybe I could undo the bolts on the top plate and then try and jack the bus up from the chassis and hopefully the axle will drop down enough to expose the fitting at the top of the bag.
Any ideas?
Gaz

[BIG GAZ]

The wheel alignment is now complete! ProAxle at Narellan did a fantastic job with both the camber and the castor so now it drives like a dream. He even said it drove better than some of the brand new buses that he does dozens of ( not mentioning any names). They also did the front brakes and hub seals and checked the king pins, shocks, bearings, steering damper etc while the axle was out.
It did throw the belts off when I tried to bring it home which was due to a worn alternator pulley. The pulley was expensive but was available that day fron Volvo so I suppose that is what you pay for!
The next job will be to tidy up the wiring and switch panel and start fitting out the interior for lounge and living area. A sparky checked out the faulty fuel gauge but it is the sender as we'll. the price for a new one is ridiculous so I will stick to a dipstick for now till I can adapt VDO units into it. Has anyone done this?
Gaz

[BIG GAZ]

I have finally had the diff ratio changed from 4.25 to 3.78 which brings the revs down to about 2,000rpm at 100kph. Strangely enough it seems to go just as well off the mark as it did before, admittedly with no load on board.
Volvo Chullora also replaced the rear drums and shoes, checked the bearings so I am all ok for the trip to Lake Gairdner for Speed Week on 18th March.
It is a long trip from Sydney to Port Augusta but I can't wait to hit the road!
GAZ

[Clayton]

Hi Gaz
It’s been a while, but hoping you still check in here.
Would love to see your setup.
We are researching to do the same thing as yourself.
I can’t seem to PM you.
Cheers

Clayton

[The Phonj]

"BIG GAZ" Is no longer a registered user and this is one of the reasons you would be unable to PM them.

[Clayton]

Thanks mate
Do you know anyone on here that has a similar setup?
Cheers