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1988 vs 1996 Liberty
I have the chance of buying a 88 or 96 Liberty but I’m concerned about the 8v92 vs the s/60 and 5 speed vs 6 speed. Will the older engine be as reliable and be serviceable? What is the advantage or disadvantage between them? Also does a vogue conversion have a parts problem? Thank you for your help. Charlie
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5 Replies
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Although the 8v coach is a good coach the number of places capable of working on it are much smaller than the those with series 60. There are several other things to consider also between those years. The brakes are differant as well as the park brake system. Vogue conversion does not use anything that as a rule of thumb you can not still get something compatable with. I would always suggest going to the series 60 coach for many reasons….my two cents
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Here’s my spin on the question………
For the moment ignore the engine. The real difference is going to be the conversion. In the time between when the 88 was built and the newer model there was a switch from converters to inverters. If the 88 was upgraded, and the addition of inverters was done by a converter I would be comfortable with the upgrade. I would be much less comfortable if the change to inverter / chargers was done by a service shop. If done right life is good, if the conversion to inverters was not done well my concern would be safety and reliability. The newer model will be far more convenient to live in including a house size refrigerator instead of an amonia process refrigerator.
Jeff is right in his preference about engines. The 8V92 is a great engine, but it is never going to be as good as a Series 60. The Series 60 is going to be more economical, have more people qualified to work on it, and will run at lower RPM and does not mind lugging. An 8V92 is somewhat less happy being lugged, and some owners say to drive it like you stole it. That engine needs to be run at an RPM range that gives good performance, somewhere in the vicinity of 1600 to 1900. Too low and it doesn’t have enough power to get out of its own way, and too much and all you are doing is converting fuel to noise.
The only thing most don’t comment on is the HT755 transmission on the older coach compared to the World Transmission (6 speed). The HT 755 is a robust transmission and is used in a wide variety of hard duty applications. It doesn’t shift as smooth as the six speed and does not have features such as fluid level measuring, but it is stout and reliable.
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was a year of changes–some had 748 atec trans–Big problem and was big changes in ddec operating systems going on then–DDEC 1 = almost non attainable. If it is a true 88 it should have a J as last letter in serial # Lots of converters used a year or two old chassi and titled them the year they were converted. a 96 would be U. Example mine is a 98 and number is W1026553/ W = 98 the year prevost built coach and 102= width .. 6553 is unit number built that year, FWIW.
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thank you to the answers and comments as it makes my conviction much easier. This will be my first and only. I want it for two years, maybe three depending on health. Thanks
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Duke, Duke, Duke of Earl… Go for the 60..
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