Date:         Thu, 17 May 2001 23:17:52 +1200
Reply-To:     Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@stonebow.otago.ac.nz>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@stonebow.otago.ac.nz>
Subject:      Re: Corvair and Porsche 914 Engines (Was: Towing!!!)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>The beauty of the Corvair conversion (at least in the buses) was that you
>used the entire Corvair drivetrain.  I have seen V-8s run through these
>transaxles. They were made for Corvair trucks until '65.  Then they beefed
>them up even more in '66 using off the shelf GM tranny parts.  If I had an
>air-cooled Vanagon, it would be Corvair powered!


What I've heard is that they are weak. People run V8s on VW trans too, but
end up paying for a poor decision.

KEP says a Corvair trans with a 350 Chev V8 will only last about 3000mi.
Also the trans itself is designed for reverse-of-normal rotation. So the
crownwheel & pinion teeth are not cut for normal engines...unless you use a
Corvair engine also. And these are not built for power... ever tried to
stick a finger up an exhaust port? The ports are SMALL!

Anyway, why buy a copy of a VW engine? If you must have an aircooled six,
get a Porsche.

Andrew Grebneff
165 Evans St, Dunedin, New Zealand
ph   64 (3) 473-8863
fax 64 (3) 479-7527
<andrew.grebneff@stonebow.otago.ac.nz>
www.goingplatinum.com/member/vw1
www.highyieldcrusaders.ws/ref.html?ref=vw
www.aciimoney.com/index.shtml?vw1
VW & Toyota vans, Toyota diesels and Macintoshes rule