240 Landmarks Top ＞ Buses ＞ Hino BD (Blue Ribbon) Bus 　Hino BD (Blue Ribbon) Bus This bus debuted in 1952 and was Japan's first bus to have an underfloor engine mounted in the center of the body. At the time, coach-style buses in which a wide passenger cabin extended the full length of the body were starting to penetrate the market, and the center-mounted underfloor engine gave this model the largest floor space of them all. The engine in this vehicle was a pancake engine, basically a standard in-line engine that was laid on its side. To prevent fires, the engine was provided with drainage channels so that any fuel that leaked from the injection pump would not accumulate on the cylinder block. The minimum distance between the engine and the ground was determined both by studying examples of foreign buses and by collecting data from conventional bonnet buses operating on major routes in the Kanto region. This was accomplished by installing contact switches 25 cm above the ground on the undersides of the buses, midway between the axles. Based on the results, the engine height was set so that it was 30 cm above the ground when the bus was empty and 26 cm above the ground when the bus was at its rated passenger capacity. The engine was made easy to inspect and maintain by designing it so that ordinary maintenance and inspection could be done just by opening a cover on the side of the body. A simple and highly reliable engine lift was devised so that two workers could install or remove an engine in thirty minutes. Storage location : HINO MOTORS TECHNICAL ADMINISTRATION DIV. (3-1-1, Hino-dai, Hino-shi, Tokyo 191-8660) Year manufactured : 1952 Manufacturer : Hino Diesel Industry Co., Ltd. Classification : Designs/other Current status : In storage: not open to the public Vehicle name / Manufacture Vehicle name : Hino Blue Ribbon Model name : BD10 Company name : Hino Diesel Industry Co., Ltd. Year manufactured : 1952 Vehicle type/usage : Bus Location of actual vehicle/replica : None Model / Weight Style : Coach type Passenger capacity : 73 Gross vehicle weight : 11,390 kg Body / Size Overall length : 10000 mm Overall width : 2450 mm Overall height : 2950 mm Tire size : 9.00-20 Body / Axle / Driving / Others Wheelbase : 4800 mm Front tread x rear tread : Front: 1945 mm, Rear: 1750 mm Engine / Size / Power Cooling/cylinder arrangement : Water-cooled/horizontal inline 6-cylinder Bore x stroke : 105×135 mm Displacement : 7.014 L Max. power/r.p.m. : 110 ps/2200 rpm Fuel tank capacity : 120 L Fetures : Center underfloor engine Hybrid Hybrid system type : None Drive-train Drive system : 4×2 Performance Mode fuel efficiency : - Reference materials : Hino Jidosha 50 Nenshi 240 Landmarks Top ＞ Buses ＞ Hino BD (Blue Ribbon) Bus