Purchasing 1967 Silver Eagle 01 and Torsalastic Inspection

[asnowsquall]

Thanks for accepting my membership. My name is Dave, and I’m very excited to be flying soon to check out a 1967 Silver Eagle for purchase.  I know that the torsalastics for the rear is NLA, so I’d like to prepare to be ready to inspect them when I arrive. I’ve found some info on where to check for rust. It looks like I’ll be able to slide under the rig to inspect I hope. 

[beltguy]

Dave, welcome to the group.

We have a ton of good information on this forum.  The first thread I will refer you to is a great one on inspecting an Eagle:  (link) This has quite a bit on Torsilastic inspection plus all the other great inspection tips.  Once you make it through that thread, let us know what other questions you have.

I am pretty sure that the 1967 would be a model 01.  Both the front and rear axle torsilastics are made of upobtainium.  That said, folks have fabricated/adapted air springs to both of those axles.  Big job but may be worth it if the bus is otherwise in good condition and is what you want.

JIm

 

[DoubleEagle]

I would advise you to consider looking at other Eagles as well, that are newer. The Model 01's are older, and have parts that are much harder to find. In your case, the bus you are going to check out might have been extensively rebuilt and modified, and might be a good deal if the price is right. Over the years, many things about the Eagles improved, such as the brakes, and additions like automatics and power steering, etc.

The problem with Torsilastic suspension tubes not being available might not be totally true. I worked on a Model 10 last year that had a 1981 axle with a Model 01 Torsilastic Tube on one side, and a Model 10 Tube, on the other side. The difference was, cap head bolts and nuts were used on the 01 side, instead of the usual 'special' bolts, and they lined up with the axle mounting plate. My thought on seeing this was, if a 01 tube can fit on a 10 axle, maybe a 10 tube can fit on an 01 axle. Wouldn't that be nice for all the people with 01's. ;)

[asnowsquall]

Thanks for the info. It would be cool if the new parts could be used in older rigs. The bus I'm going to look at is from a member of this forum that you may know, Mike Mingus. He has passed away and his wife is selling the bus. I can see from history in this forum that he took care of it, but I haven't found anything about the condition of the suspension, or rust. She thinks he may have purchased power steering but I see no record of that in the forum. I'm thinking I'm going to need that for where I'm going to be parking this huge bus. I had a 38' RV and was able to fit it in my location, but that had no tag wheels and power steering. I'm a little nervous about this factor. I'm a wrencher and have a Mig welder and even at 61' I'm ready for a challenge, although I am slowly winding down.  

[DoubleEagle]

It's only two feet longer, and if you end up getting this bus with power steering, you should have no problem. Some of the early models had air assist added to the manual steering, which worked fairly well and made nice noises. If you are 61, you are fairly young, as many Eagle owners are far older.
Where did you see this Eagle listed, I don't recall seeing an 01 for sale that sounds like this one?

[rusty]

I met Mike at a couple of rallies over the years. I don't know the condition of the bus but I do know Mike knew the Eagles very well and would think he took care of that bus.
Wayne 

[asnowsquall]

Thanks for that feedback! I gathered that from all of his posts on this forum. I’m excited to see the bus today! His wife seems very nice and I’m grateful to have a swing at this bus.

[beltguy]

Looked up the project thread for this bus (link).  Of course, Photobucket screwed up the photos like it has on thousands upon thousands of threads all over the internet.

It sure looks beautiful on the inside.  It appears that the bus was purchased already converted.  Hopefully the original converter repaired any structural rust.  However, you should still make sure that the frame structure has not be compromised.

Jim

[asnowsquall]

So that bus needed too much work for me, and I didnt like the rust. Since then I purchased a 1990 Model 20 with only 117K on it. 6V-92 with 5 speed manual. Taking some time to get comfortable with the shifting. Thinking of making a cheat sheet with gear/speed/rpms to help with downshifting mostly.

[asnowsquall]

Looked up the project thread for this bus (link).  Of course, Photobucket screwed up the photos like it has on thousands upon thousands of threads all over the internet.

It sure looks beautiful on the inside.  It appears that the bus was purchased already converted.  Hopefully the original converter repaired any structural rust.  However, you should still make sure that the frame structure has not be compromised.

Jim

That was the actual bus indeed. Defiantly had potential but no power steering, although she had the air assist hardware to go with it to be installed.The key for me was rust, and it needed 8 tires, and winshield was popped out. It did have the Onan 7500 Quiet diesel which was nice. low hours too.