Future for Workhorse

[az bound]

With the demise of the 8.1 what gas powerplant is in the plan at Workhorse, if any? Sad to see another great bigblock disscontinued.

[wa7hra]

Quote:

Originally Posted by az bound With the demise of the 8.1 what gas powerplant is in the plan at Workhorse, if any? Sad to see another great bigblock disscontinued.

According to a presentation by WH factory people at the Spring Rally in Palm Desert, CA, one of the things that is being seriously looked at and tested is a front end, Navistar 6.5 liter Diesel engine. (I may be wrong on the exact size) The claim is that it is "quiet", efficient, and will do the job.

My observation of designers is that they are always optomistic. I, too, will miss the big block gas engines.

Bob, wa7hra

[justlou]

The 502 and 572 are still in production. Either could be reworked for RV applications.

[Fred and Bonnie]

But, is not a gasser!

[Gary 47]

The 502 ans 572 are gas engines. They are "crate" motors available from GM Performance Parts . A 572 tuned for low RPM torque would make an awesome motorhome engine. With the new restrictions on diesels, a BIG gas motor could make sense. However, making one of these beasts emissions compliant could be a problem.

[JayGee]

I wonder if the 502 or 572 would buckle up to the converter/transmisson as a replacement for the 8.1?

[az bound]

It's going to be interesting to see what happens. Service advisor at Workhorse service center said the new diesel engine units will be going up another $20,000. because of the costs to make them more environmentaly friendly. EPA is starting to come down on them now.

[Gary 47]

Don't consider this as gospel, but I believe that the 454, 8.1 (496), and 502 are the same basic casting (not sure about the lineage of the 572). In the days of carbureted and TBI 454s, the hot setup was to replace a 454 with a marine 502 from GM. It wasn't technically legal, at least in California, but once it was installed - who knew. As I recall, all the accessories were interchangeable. With computers and tighter smog laws, swapping engine types has gotten almost impossible.

Would appreciate feedback from someone who's current on GM engine types and families to straighten me out on some of the details.

[Davel]

Gary 47,

You are correct, the 454, 496, and 572 are all "big blocks". They got their start as the "mystery motor" GM ran in NASCAR in '63. The first production usage was in 1965 in the Corvette, Chevelle, and the Impala/Biscayne. The sizes of the production car motors was 396, 402, 427, and 454. There was a 366ci motor for trucks and buses. The 8.1 came out in 2001. The 502 and 572 are crate engines that deliver up to 720 hp....with a warranty. Can you say burn outs in a motor home....

Dave

[mfire1339]

The 496 is an completely different engine than the 454 bbc engine line. No engine parts are inter changeable.

Mike

[ron55]

since navistar furnishes fords diesel engines for their pickup, they ought to get the ford v10 for their coach. I had a ford v10 and I never had a problem for 45K miles

[Norm4015]

How long can Workhorse last without selling chassis to manufacturers? I would think they would already come up with an engine to use in their larger gasser chassis. Many people speculate what Workhorse may do while they keep silent and let Ford take their business away.

[RustyJC]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ron55 since navistar furnishes fords diesel engines for their pickup,....

Ummm, not any more. That relationship soured with the 6.0L and 6.4L engines - Ford started building their own diesel for 2011.

Rusty

[Spoonman]

Don`t see much of a future in RV business for WH.They went from the leader in their class to an also ran, all self inflicted. Doing this in an overall declining market is proving disastrous.They have known about the loss of the big block and have not invested in an alternative because their future doesn`t show a return on the investment.