Finally got my first Grand Villa after 6 months of searching and few failed attempts.
This add in Oregon attracted my attention and responded.
Have a great friend that drove me almost 600 miles to see it.
All was as described and the widow made a great offer I accepted on the spot.
It is a 1990 U300 will 45K miles and a 8V71 DD that started at half a key and run with no smoke at all.
It is incredibly original with nothing changed.
Incandescent bulbs all over and neon lighting.
Only added 4 solar panels but no extra batteries and they get 100% charged in 4 hrs so I need to increase the battery capacity.
Welcome! Enjoy the ride!
Welcome! We love pictures. Congratulations on your new to you coach.
Lynn and Marilyn
We are always happy to see another GV join the Forum. Congratulations on your purchase!
Congrats
All righty then. Welcome to the family and the forum.
Hey, Hey. Another double bumper added to the party. Welcome aboard.
We were at the first GV reunion at FOT a few years ago.
It's time for another one!
Our first was a 90 460 gasser
The first mention of a '71 series DD in a Foretravel I have seen
Agree. All I have seen were DD 6V92's.
Possible
Unicorn (anything extremely rare, unique, magical, or almost impossible to find)?
Thank you all for the greetings.
It was the first 8V71 I ever heard of and was not sure at first but when they assured me the mileage is accurate I had to go and see it.
Owner was a retired trucker and a great mechanic after I inspected the engine bay.
No oil dripping and I inherited all the tools he used.
Trying to figure out how things work and ordered LED bulbs replacements.
Too many mirrors inside to keep clean but ....
Waiting for a cooler day to recoat the roof and looking to add few more truck batteries for the solar panels.
I cleaned the generator area first a looked for issues but besides paint pealing in the actual generator unit didn't find anything.
Both roof AC work really good.
After cleaning
In Harvy North Dakota we drove by this GV and I had TDW take a couple pics. Sorry I didn't stop for any info but thought I would post. Jim.
It sure looks like my new toy from the pictures.
Brown stripes that are damaged by the sun.
Will redo mine in forest green soon.
Lovely looking coach, welcome
Kev uk
GV are such fun coaches. I'm always surprised how many positive comments we get on our 240. There just aren't many vintage motorhomes still out on the road.
Andrei, enjoy. They are wonderful machines.
Michael
Welcome!
Sure would like to see a picture of that 8v71, most likely rated at 318hp given transmission limitations of the day.
Big surprise today.
When I inquired about it the lady said V8 diesel and I was suspecting 3208 cat but she was sure it was Detroit diesel and when picked it up the I looked only through side doors at the engine.
Today I decided to lift the bed and take a look at it.
Big surprise when I saw the big turbo so got a flashlight to read the label.
It was in French and clearly it is a 6V92T.
Just a bit smaller then 8V71 but more HP due to the turbo.
I already saw some cat prints on dusty beam.
Plan to clean it a bit with some pressurized air first.
Another double bumper? I greet you my brother!
By the way, your turbo charger is feeding a supercharger. Won $20 at an RV park when a guest said it was not possible. Well seeing is believing. Your engine uses a lot of air. Keep an eagle eye on your air filter. Also for motor oil you need to use Delo 100 NOT Delo 400. 100 is for 2 strokes and it is low ash. Available special order from O'Reilys. 3 gallons per case.
Soon you will be finding yourself opening the window when you go thru a tunnel just to hear it roar.
Hey Steve, I for one, DO slide open the window in tunnels to hear the sweet sound of that DD. Nothing like it...
Congratulations on your purchase.
One thing that is unique about '91 and earlier U300 and U280 is the manual air leveling.
Here's an old thread on the subject: Leveling Jacks for Grand Villa (https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=42105.msg421221#msg421221)
Thank you all.
Did someone clean up in the engine bay today and it looks better but not perfect yet.
Started to scrape and sand the sunbaked stripes but got too hot outside.
Will build up a shade system soon.
Will look into that suggested oil difference.
Look up removing the vinyl stripes-- sand paper (1000 or 2000 is only used AFTER removing the stripes).
Don't "VOTE" on oil OR use "crowd-sourced advice". Your engine was designed for
DELO 100 4O WEIGHT!
The Detroit 2-cycle engine blower (not a supercharger) provides scavenging air to blow the exhaust gases out of the cylinder, and fresh air into the cylinder, it does not supercharge. The blower replaces the intake and exhaust strokes of the 4 stroke cycle.
Supercharging means the air charge delivered to the cylinders is above ambient pressure. The turbocharger provides the supercharged air through blower to the cylinder.
Blowers, when used to supercharge 4 cycle engines, are superchargers.
Sorry about the rant.
Tim
I've always been of the impression that the blower on Detroit engines was where the early drag racers got their blowers from ?
Those double bumpers are tremendous, right up there with train horns for the intimidation factor.
Not to belabor the point but if memory serves Detroit referred to those engines as Turbo-Supercharged.
You are correct, the 8/71 blower was the cornerstone of the early to mid stage of the dragsters and funny cars. On the Detroit's they don't create the high pressure of a 4 cycle application but they are superchargers anyway.
Detroit Diesel Supercharger 6V92 | 8V92 | 12V92 | 16V92 (https://dieselpro.com/detroit-diesel-92-series-blowers-supercharger.html?srsltid=AfmBOorcnFYJmi5bqWTiOMOGwzd6_LbmTHZHy-VuTq2VSBkQXQJclJGY)
Listen to Brett about the low ash Delo 100 #40. !!! The oil is available at oil distributors or most any marine dock/shop. Never a multigrade oil. Shell Rotella T1 #40 single grade may be used if you can't quickly find Delo 100 #40. Shell Rotella T1 40W Heavy Duty Conventional Diesel Motor Oil 550054466 |... (https://www.wholesalemarine.com/shell-rotella-t1-40w-heavy-duty-conventional-diesel-motor-oil/?msclkid=249f2876419c11c287a440cfe344dc95) It has higher ash content but right at the cut off line. Install a quick drain to make oil changes easy and without a mess.
You have a lot of rust in the generator compartment and may have a significant amount of rust damage to your bulkhead and sub-frame. Check now as it won't get any better down the road.
The engine is a 6V-92TA so six cylinders and not a 8v-71. I've never seen a 71 series in a Foretravel. The 6V-92TA is an electronic engine so it gets excellent fuel mileage for a big coach.
Read all you can about Detroit 2 cycles and the coach itself. I've driven mostly Detroit 2 cycles since 1967 and love them. They do have a few things different so you have to pay attention. If the engine loses a belt, do not use the override button on the instrument panel. Lots of engines, 2 and 4 cycle have been ruined by trying to drive the coach to another spot with no cooling.
Don't idle the engine for more than a minute or two. Don't shut the engine off at the top of a grade or you may damage the turbo (any turbocharged diesel) but cool the engine at 1000 rpm. The engine coolant drops temp a lot faster than the oil so keep that in mind.
Check air cleaner as it takes in air right behind the rear tires and gets dirty and or wet quickly.
Learn how to decend grades using the transmission and lower speeds. The 2 cycles don't have good engine braking unless you have a Jake Brake.
Pierce
As Craneman says, any device or "blower" that raises the pressure even a small amount is a "supercharger." Super just indicates anything higher than atmospheric pressure. Detroit 2 cycles may have different blower ratios and different blower designs as well as bypass valves on some. Check pressures the big Roots blowers give on Detroits!
CAC is used as a term for an intercooler. In ordering a replacement, Intercooler is the key word in a search at any parts store or catalogue for any vehicle including airplanes and boats also. Your 6V-92TA has an liquid to air aftercooler that is located right below the Roots blower instead of an intercooler located in front of the radiator. As the Roots blower/supercharger compresses the air, the air gets a lot hotter and the aftercooler drops the temperature way down right before it goes into the cylinders so reduces the thermal load on the engine and allows denser air to provide more energy when the diesel is injected. The turbocharger sits on top of the Roots blower so also creates heat that the aftercooler reduces. Lots of good articles on intercoolers and aftercoolers online.
Pierce
Congrats on the new Grand Villa. They are wonderful coaches.
Thank you all for the fantastic advice and education on my new toy and will put them in practice.
After doing a superficial cleaning of the engine bay I gave it a start and it made beautiful sound.
Headliner in the cabinets is sagging and I tried to fix it with buttons but didn't work.
No wood behind.
Is it fiberglass or aluminum?
How do you fix sagging headliner material?
There are many old post on the subject of "headliner sagging". Use the search feature under the "Community" tab.
If it's a cabinet on an exterior sidewall, it has a Foretravel custom aluminum extrusion that joins the roof to the wall.
Here's an old thread with a PDF of the extrusion: Mounting to wall in 92GV (https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=46735.msg474631#msg474631)
I used 7" wide scrap pieces of laminate flooring and screwed them to the wall with a self drilling screws. I think I pilot drilled the hole into the aluminum extrusion first. I only had to remove the wood trim piece before installing the scrap laminate. When the scrap piece is tightened down it pulls on the liner to make it tight on the ceiling.
Regarding the rust I did a frame inspection and didn't find anything major and weather here is great in that regard.
But I added 4 marine sacrificial zinc anodes directly on the frame to slow and even stop the rusting process.
2 front and 2 back
With mine, I ran 1"x1/4" oak pieces down each outside corner to take up the slack in the cabinet headliner. I used 1/2" or 3/4" stainless steel screws and pre drilled each hole with a short drill bit. I don't remember exactly how long they were but they were minimally long. The corner of the coach has an aluminum corner channel that is extremely strong. It does have some wires that run through parts of it so that's why I went with shorter screws and a short drill bit. It worked great and we have no sagging headliner in the overhead cabinets.
If you need to do the living space headliner, I've seen where others have removed the center strip and stretched the fabric to the middle. Unfortunately for me, someone didn't know to do that and put up strips throughout the coach living space to remove the sag. Stretching would have been better as it would like it did originally.
Hope that helps.