Leyland o600 engine

Back in the day when the turbo 680 was first released, it was called the 690.
Very confusing as AEC had a 690.

A while ago a friends son dumped a whole Leyland bus into a scrap bin.Was going to be a mobile workshop.Anyhow,it landed upside down,so I was able to salvage the 6" starter.I should have salvaged the enamel badge too.Was either a Leopard or Panther,from memory.Ex BCC.Underfloor,either a 600 or 680.

Whats are peoples views on putting a 680 in? too much power for the gearbox? (which I will be rebulding) or good to have a bit more grunt there just for when it's needed?

heres some pics too!

and some more

Many moons ago, (late '80s), I was running the workshop at a bus depot and we had a fleet of Leyland, AEC, Albions and Bedfords, as most country bus runs do. The fleets was being gradually updated to Leyland Tigers with the TL11 engines and hydo-cyclic boxes.

One afternoon I had a radio call from a driver on one of our distant routes to say the bus was down on power. Now this particular bus, an under floor Leopard with a 680 engine, ran from the bush into town with workers and school kids each day, but only came to the depot for fuel once a week.

When I got there and started the engine, there was an almighty knocking noise. Towed back to the shop and a strip down revealed that a piston had burnt and clattered to the point where nothing was left and the gudgeon pin had worn through the liner and the block. The driver assured me that the kids were so noisy, he hadn't heard a thing wrong.

Now to the point. The block was obviously a throw away, or so logic dictated. However, after speaking with an engine re-conditioner at Nambucca Heads, he assured me it could be repaired. He bored the block way oversize and fitted a heavy walled liner which he then bored back to standard and fitted an original liner. Total cost at the time was in the vicinity of $500. That bus ran for years after that, without a problem. The driver, not so much.

Just shows that nothing is really broken. You just need to talk with the right people. That's what these forums are all about.
Steve.

I was wondering whether that hole in the block could be drilled, tapped and plugged? (or even cast iron welded)

Jarrod.

You could always go the Hillbilly/Bush mechanic Route.....LOL

www.jbweld.com/collections/automotive/pr...highheat-epoxy-putty

You hear & read all sorts of weird & wonderful stories about this Stuff.

Mack 711 motors were notorious for this kind of problem,due to the very thin bore walls.All kinds of bodges kept them on the road for a few months,but a thinwall liner cant resist coolant for long.600 Leylands had thick castings,and if the whole thickness of the iron is gone,the block will have no strength anywhere.Not just one hole,but the whole block wasted away.

Your original 600 engine is 125hp so an older 680 at 150 hp would be fine. The later 680 at 200hp would stretch the transmission too far.

Think I'll get another engine, like you say its that bad in one spot that I have no confidence in the whole engine now and would always be worrying about it pouring coolant into the oil. I only have 2 liners out at the moment and who knows whats behind the others! I might have found someone with an engine from a leapard (horizontal 680) so I'll see what it's like.