1981 Motorhome - Whats under its... err.. tunnel?

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AuroraGirl

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Im guessing a 454... anyway to know?
Also, whats behind that sucker? TH400? TH475 or whatever I rememeber reading?
@Grit dog i seem to recall you knew smething on this subject? I apologize if I am misremembering. I have the opportunity for a cheap set.... hes not very knowledgeable and you guys know a lot of that RV-specific stuff
 
CorvairGeek

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Typically a Turbo 400. Don't know how you would identify a Turbo 475, since the difference is internal. Never seen one myself (or heard one, I suspect they have a howl to them).
 
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SirRobyn0

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If I had to guess I'd expect to see a TH400, and a 350 if this is a class c built on a van chassis (front nose looks like a van) possibly a 400, but I don't think the 454 was an option. If this is a class A (not on a van chassis) then it's probably got the 454 and either the TH400 or 475
 
Grit dog

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^What he said.
Don’t know much other than what friend says about his he pulled from his old motorhome. He’s putting the 454/475 in a 68 C-10 he’s building.
Also the TH475 typically had a parking brake on the tail shaft.
I think that would be the major indicator. However 400 or 475 is sort of a moot point unless running a higher stress application.
The gear sets aren’t believed to be any stronger. Only straight cut to reduce thrust loads. Which can be accomplished other ways on a 400 when building it.
Never rode in one, but buddy says the whine in 1st gear.
Almost wondering if the 454 and 400 in my 86 aren’t out of a motorhome. I’ve taken it down this steep road, manual downshift to 1st the trans whines.
Make a nice drivetrain for that yellow truck AG.
 
AuroraGirl

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Hell even just the engine is desireable and he says he can show it run, jsut the motorhome around it rotting away and fiberglas fraying etc its a structural mess. sitting under trees for many years with nice access to the sun from one direction it seems. The odometer says 57k
Even just a th400 in rwd is what i need. Even though i have one of those.. its gonna require extracting a car from a hard to get to spot on my property anyway. But a guy trying to sell me those for some generators and random crap? Maybe. Ill have to see what hes got first.
 
SDJunkMan

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Make sure it's a Chevy, a lot of those had Chrysler running gear under them. Not real hard to tear the motorhome apart, but it makes a hell of a mess. I just passed up a free one that had a 440 in it, and a generator, because I didn't have any place to strip it out. Some of the class A's also had gear vendor overdrives in them.
 
Grit dog

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If it doesn’t go down the road, it’s only worth the price of a core. And if you have to take the moho to get the drivetrain, the owner should pay you a significant amount of money, not charge you.
A 28’ class a body and interior fills a 30yd dumpster exactly full if you have an excavator to smash it down in the dumpster. (And one to wreck it out with).
And you’re still left with a worthless chassis to cut up and dispose of.
Old motorhomes are a huge recycling and disposal issue.
Iirc, WA state spends 10s of millions a year cleaning up derelict motorhomes. From homeless that use them until they are un-useable and then abandon them. 1000s of them laying around just the seattle area.

Bottom line, it’s a horrible and expensive idea unless you get the drivetrain very cheap and leave the Moho where it sits.
 
AuroraGirl

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Oh no, he would pull the drivetrain and all that, I wouldnt touch it with a 20 yard pole. Its nasty looking and wouldnt be surprised if it was a drug den at some point
 
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SirRobyn0

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Grit dog said:
If it doesn’t go down the road, it’s only worth the price of a core. And if you have to take the moho to get the drivetrain, the owner should pay you a significant amount of money, not charge you.
A 28’ class a body and interior fills a 30yd dumpster exactly full if you have an excavator to smash it down in the dumpster. (And one to wreck it out with).
And you’re still left with a worthless chassis to cut up and dispose of.
Old motorhomes are a huge recycling and disposal issue.
Iirc, WA state spends 10s of millions a year cleaning up derelict motorhomes. From homeless that use them until they are un-useable and then abandon them. 1000s of them laying around just the seattle area.

Bottom line, it’s a horrible and expensive idea unless you get the drivetrain very cheap and leave the Moho where it sits.
Click to expand...

Gee All this time I didn't realize you are from Washington to...

Everything you said is right on, but I'll also add having one towed can be extremely expensive even for a short distance.
 
Grit dog

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^Black Diamond WA
 
AuroraGirl

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this motorhome is the "bring your tin snips and icy hot and the sawzall with some blades" kind of thing if you were gonna snag parts and run
 
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@AuroraGirl, have him pull the steering column for you, too. Should be a tilt/auto column
 
CorvairGeek

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I was assuming a Class A, Chevy powered this whole time. The thought of a class C hadn't crossed my mind or the idea of a Dodge class A or C. IIRC Dodge exited the class A business when the 440 went out of production. IIRC, Ford jumped in and out of the class A business too, but in the later 80s, along with John Deere (Ford 460 powered).
 
shiftpro

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Keep an eye open on old motorhomes for a GearVender overdrive. I'm not sure, but I think it was only GM who offered this.
 
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