Date: Mon, 5 Jun 2000 09:59:48 -0700
Reply-To: Bill Davidson <wdavidson@THEGRID.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Bill Davidson <wdavidson@THEGRID.NET>
Subject: Re: I've seen the Tii conversion completed
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
RE: Re: I've seen the Tii conversion completedBrent,
Yes it would be great to see all the engine conversion options organized on a web site...
But I think it is also important for people to know what kind of a choice they are making when the do a conversion.
That is, the choice to deal with the smog laws in their state which may not allow conversion... far better to know this before than after.
Also, it is important to know that after a conversion it may be had to get a mechanic to work on your engine... I doubt any VW dealer would touch it... and the best VW mechanic I know (George of German Motors in Tahoe City) said of conversions: "We don't do them, and we won't touch one anyone else has done."
And even if you find a local mechanic that will work on it, what happens when you are far from home... who will you find to work on a conversions out in Utah or Wyoming or....
Perhaps the only people that can live with the service situation on a conversion are people who are committed to doing their own engine work and people who have a mechanic that will work on it and they don't drive all that far from where their mechanic is located.
It's easy to get excited about a new/better engine... it's a nice dream.... but there are some realities that are best considered before committing to a conversion.
My 2 cents...
Bill
----- Original Message -----
From: BRENT CHRISTENSEN
To: 'Bill Davidson' ; vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Sent: Monday, June 05, 2000 9:47 AM
Subject: RE: Re: I've seen the Tii conversion completed
Yes, I know it will be a while before it is a viable option in California (that is probably an understatement given the dealings I have had with CARB in the past).
I am not thinking about it for me (I have a VW Canada motor with only about 35,000 miles on it right now, so hopefully it will be a long while before I need a conversion!) I am thinking more in terms of inclusion in the www.vanagon.com/info/articles web site area. I think information on the various options and peoples' impressions of their choices would be a valuable asset to the site.
Thanks Bill.
Brent Christensen
'89 GL Syncro Westy
Santa Barbara, CA
-----Original Message-----
From: Bill Davidson [mailto:wdavidson@thegrid.net]
Sent: Monday, June 05, 2000 9:42 AM
To: BRENT CHRISTENSEN; vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Re: I've seen the Tii conversion completed
Brent,
I wouldn't get too excited about the conversion...
I know you live in California.
Can you imagine what it would take to get a conversion past the
----- Original Message -----
From: BRENT CHRISTENSEN
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Sent: Monday, June 05, 2000 9:27 AM
Subject: Re: I've seen the Tii conversion completed
Thanks for the great information. I know there are a lot of people watching this topic very closely.
The comment about the cruise control puzzles me - does this mean that there is no cruise control option in South Africa, or is it just not included in the kit?
Brent Christensen
'89 GL Syncro Westy
Santa Barbara, CA
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM]On Behalf Of A & C Grobey
Sent: Sunday, June 04, 2000 9:23 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: I've seen the Tii conversion completed
If anyone is curious, I got a look at a completed Tii conversion on Thursday. My sister bought the kit and had it installed by her mechanic. I stopped by to visit the mechanic and took it for a test drive. My thoughts and the mechanics comments are as follows:
Positive things:
This is a very clean conversion. It looks like it belongs there. The dipstick and coolant are still accessible through the license. The engine fits with lots of room to spare and no need to raise the deck lid.
The engine idles very well. There is less vibration than a WBX on idle.
The oil filter is very accessible and easy to reach.
You use the stock muffler/Cat and the stock fuel injection.
Not so Positive things:
The air Intake to the Fuel injector just after the air filter has two plugs in it. It seems like these would blow out pretty easily on a backfire or even just vibration. The air filter is also hard to reach.
There is no cruise control option enabled. I think they'll have to rig something.
The camshaft pulley seemed off center and kind of warbled a bit.
No Oxy sensor. Could be a problem for DEQ.
The mechanic liked the kit and the way it ran. Both of us drove it up a very steep hill near his shop and were impressed with the power band. We were able to accelerate from 55 up to 65 on the hill. In my van, you can only accelerate to about 58. The mechanic did not have the best opinion of Peter (the guy who sells the kit). His first complaint was that they had a bad transistor coming off the coil. The replacement was hard and very slow to get. Once they got it, it wasn't a Telefunkt or Bosch but some cheap Taiwanese transistor. He also told me that the instructions had bad info on the scan tool. Other than those few problems, the install was pretty smooth. He just didn't like the way Peter didn't seem so eager to help. They were led to believe this kit had been installed many times before, but the reality is this was his first US shipment. They were in it for 30 hours and they figure the next time will take about 20.
I am very interested in the kit for my Carat. However, I would definitely miss the low-end torque. My Waterboxer is running too well right now (knock on wood) to think about it just yet!
[text/html]
