|
*Blows some dust off the thread*
Toronto still has a bunch running, easily found in the downtown core among other places. The new hybrids have killed some of them, but there's a group that are getting overhauled (like 2468 below) because of reliability problems with a number of other bus models (hah!)
(the uploader seems to have degraded the quality of the photos but meh)
Keep it fuzzy. |
|
Good shots. I wonder if Fishies still make their way out to Lawrence West. Last time I was in Toronto, I had to deal with an Orion VII NG  I made the trip to that station just for a fishy and got denied
[last edit 3/31/2009 4:09 AM by Stewie - edited 1 times]
> The hierarchy of power dictates that the person with the most power does the least amount of work and retains the highest benefit. |
|
Thanks. I've seen them on Lawrence or Eglinton recently, I'll check next time I'm up that way.
Always easier to find one during rush hours...6 Bay, 54 Lawrence, 89 Weston, 95 York Mills, 168 Symington, 196 York U Rocket and a few other routes are some that may still use them.
[last edit 3/31/2009 4:19 AM by M. Fuzzy - edited 1 times]
Keep it fuzzy. |
|
Hopefully when I'm up in Toronto for a film festival in May I'll be able to catch one or two...
-Cody
CTHA
Founder of SOPER: Southwest Ohio Paranormal Exploration and Research
"It was a good drift," mused Erik, "but certainly not a great one!"
R.I.P. Ninj. . .we'll see in in the big transit tunnel in the sky! R.I.P. My little Chipmunk Ali Baker 11/25/2005 |
|
http://www.world-s...BUSSTOP/index.html
Check out my Bus Stop site. I got lots of fishbowl buses, and all kinds of other buses from various transit commissions.
-O.
FUELED BY OCTANE. |
|
Yo! These type of buses are awesome. I don't think they are used anymore in the States. I was in TO for the Pride and grabbed this shot of your #2455 (what year is it?)
I only took this one photo- mostly because I was so surprised to see such an old bus in daily service. Those must be almost 30 years old!
Not sure of the route, it was at the municipal building across from Sheraton around noon time
|
|
That would be a 1982-83 model on the 6 Bay, which almost always has a few fishies on it. Kind of funny, some of the oldest buses running a route through the heart of the business district.
Still about 150 of them kicking in Toronto.
Keep it fuzzy. |
|
Where fishbowls go to die in Toronto...all these ones are stripped of their plates, radios and fareboxes awaiting scrap.
There's also some Classics, Flyers and an Orion 6 or three.
Keep it fuzzy. |
|
I just found out that Tri-Met, my local transit agency has ONE remaining fishbowl in a sorry state at one of their bus yards here. Its in its predecessor's old flaming orange color too. I've been told too it had brand new tires put on recently for some strange reason.
|
|
i love fishbowls as you can tell from my user name, id take one over a dybrid (orion 7 NG) anyday
|
|
Posted by ExploringOhio
you darn Cannucks got nice drivers areas!!! one of the ones that we (Cincinnati Transit Historical Association) own is a '78 model and still has the early-model steering wheel and column... the one on that '76 you shot looks like they pulled it from a GM/MCI/Nova Classic... |
thats the optional column for power steering. you can see the pump and res in the shot of the engine area (pump beside the alternator, res over the fan drive)
Posted by ExploringOhio]
I'd really like to know when they started building the Fishbowls with that roof-mounted exhaust exit... They're aimed so odd too... (kinda angled forward, and like 20 deg. left of vertical.) |
about '73-74 but some US/Suburban models retained the bottom-exiting exhaust. the intake snorkel that comes up the other side from a set of louvers just behind the transom (standee) windows started appearing around '76. i had a '75 T6H-4523N ex-kingston transit (s/n C183) that had the high exhaust but not the high intake snorkel it depended what the city ordering the bus wanted and which plant it came from. mine was built in windsor.
rescuing that bus was quite easy, i just submitted a sealed quotation to the public utilities corp that was selling the bus and outbid the only other bidder by $1. i owned it from '94 til about 2001 when the municipality foreclosed on the property i was renting space from and demolished the building. i went back to pay my yearly rent and found an empty lot. until my bus was ordered moved to a commercial property, it sat most of that time in a farmers field about 1KM east from the Wilton Road exit on the 401 near kingston, and was quite easy to spot from the highway. if i were to get another one, itd have to be one of the rare TDH-3302 baby fishbowls with the 6V53 powerplant, theyre easier to find space for, but dont get one with a toro-flo engine. here's a clip of a nice one owned by CPC charters. about 2:30 he takes off wide-open and revs it up to governed speed. sounds nice.
http://www.youtube...atch?v=j93IZ7uqWI8
beware when buying a fishbowl that the frame bulkheads arent rotten, which is the primary reason fishbowls were retired as they cost upwards of $20K to rehab (the entire passenger floor must be removed to properly replace the bulkheads) the most common ones to go are the ones between the power plant and the drive axle. TTC buses are the only ones i know of to be going on their third rehab procedure to keep them in the fleet, and yes the TTC know something the others don't... the fishbowls are indeed worth the bother.
heres a nice gallery of fishbowls and other buses owned by dreamliner: http://gmbus.com/COLLECTION.HTM
i don't know if they have any left in their collection or not, the site hasnt been updated in 9 years but theyre a good visual resource
[last edit 12/22/2009 7:11 AM by steponmebbbboom - edited 2 times]
Mentos... The Freshmaker |
|
Ahhhh yes! I know that website and that video well!
Luckily we have not had any problems with bulkhead cracking on any of our Old and New Looks (fleet of 5) to my knowledge. Most anooying problems we have are the 1980 T8H-5307A which loses air pressure in the front bags in 5 minutes after engine-off, and the '75 one that busted a seal on the door regulator and can't hold air pressure above 90 lbs. We're probably gonna swap in a new (read: new to the bus, pilfered from another rotting bus in a scrapyard) regulator come spring time...
-Cody
Founder of SOPER: Southwest Ohio Paranormal Exploration and Research
"It was a good drift," mused Erik, "but certainly not a great one!"
R.I.P. Ninj. . .we'll see in in the big transit tunnel in the sky! R.I.P. My little Chipmunk Ali Baker 11/25/2005 |
|
you need to bubble-test the height control (leveling) valve for the front airsprings if all four are deflating. bubbletest the airsprings as well but even if they do leak, a faulty leveler will deflate them much faster. block the suspension at the bump stops and pull it out. 20 min job maybe $60/100 for the valve. http://www.anythin...-levelingvalves.mv
you should just replace the regulator valve with a new one because regulators are not that expensive, any regulator with the same size ports will work they do not have to be genuine GM, and all that goes on those regulators are the rubber disk diaphragms you can see it when you unscrew the bezel and remove bezel and knob together. they crack and leak. old ones do not last very long at all just replace the whole thing with a new one. princess auto you could hack this one in pretty easily: http://www.princes...?keyword=regulator
Mentos... The Freshmaker |
|
That regulator actually does look kinda close. It says max-psi is 150lbs, but is that an adjustable one that can go down to the 45lbs our doors use? I know automotive pneumatics well, but the nitty-gritty like that is beyond me...
Thing's pretty cheap too, so we could use it if it goes to 45lbs and plumb it in with bendable tubing since all the existing piping is nothing but a shit-ton of steel-pipe junctions connected together... it's rediculous!
In regards to the suspension issue, sometimes the coach decides to list down on the right front wheel, and sometimes both front bags deflate evenly. I can actually hear the leveling valve near the rear door hissing, so I'm about 95% sure it's that (though the occasional list does baffle me if it's the valve...).
-Cody
Founder of SOPER: Southwest Ohio Paranormal Exploration and Research
"It was a good drift," mused Erik, "but certainly not a great one!"
R.I.P. Ninj. . .we'll see in in the big transit tunnel in the sky! R.I.P. My little Chipmunk Ali Baker 11/25/2005 |
|
if the leveling valve at the rear is hissing, then it is leaking. it must be replaced. my suspicion is that your front leveling valve is defective, and your right rear leveling valve is beginning to fail intermittently. there is one for the front, and two for the rear one controlling the airsprings on each side. they do not communicate with each other. be sure that the hiss is actually coming from the leveling valve exhaust port before condemning it, soapy water or a smoke pencil will confirm the exact point of failure.
and yes, typical regulators like the one pictured will go right down to zero, i would not modify the piping unless it is damaged. the original design is robust and will last a long time. thinwall flex tubing, not so much. also, remove and plug the gauge, you do not need to be exact with the setting what is important is that the door mechanism is free from binding which can be verified by manual manipulation of the door, and that it opens and closes at a sensible speed. if you have any other questions, i have the genuine service manual X-7563 and parts book X-172011 if you need to request specifications or part numbers. they are very well written as were all manuals published by GM at the time. D
[last edit 1/6/2010 4:38 AM by steponmebbbboom - edited 1 times]
Mentos... The Freshmaker |
|
I stopped at the Belleville Fishbowl graveyard today... they're all gone
The land they were parked on was owned by Crawford Metals, so sadly, they've probably been processed into the giant metal mountain across the road from where they were parked.
hi i like cars |
|
Posted by bandi
I stopped at the Belleville Fishbowl graveyard today... they're all gone
The land they were parked on was owned by Crawford Metals, so sadly, they've probably been processed into the giant metal mountain across the road from where they were parked.
|
the aluminum cladding gets a good dollar. sad, the 45 passenger models are a good candidate for motorhome conversions, if you can find a V730 trans and 4-1/9:1 center section for them. the 45s came with the VH which were simply a lockable torque converter good for short bursts of 80km/h. long trips would overheat the ring and pinion because they had a stupid 5-1/6:1 ratio.
Mentos... The Freshmaker |
|
I actually made a comment about what a cool motorhome one of those would make as I was sitting in it last fall. You'd have to do it right, by salvaging some cladding off of another Fishbowl to fill in the side windows and have it look factory, but I think it'd be well worth the effort.
Good call on the gear ratios, I never considered that actually.
[last edit 1/10/2010 6:49 PM by bandi - edited 1 times]
hi i like cars |
|
i researched all that after i bought the bus and learned more about it... my plans were to convert it to a manual shift with the pumpkin and Spicer 7145-VK trans out of an S6M 4504A i even had all the parts and linkages lined up to buy from Natsco in 'sauga when i found out the bus had been seized and scrapped by the municipality... i didnt know whether to be bummed-out or relieved...
Mentos... The Freshmaker |
|
Posted by bandi
I actually made a comment about what a cool motorhome one of those would make as I was sitting in it last fall. You'd have to do it right, by salvaging some cladding off of another Fishbowl to fill in the side windows and have it look factory, but I think it'd be well worth the effort.
Good call on the gear ratios, I never considered that actually.
|
Oh if I did a motorhome conversion I would so put up fake ads on the side of the bus.
|
Ethics
