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Date:         Tue, 18 Sep 2001 19:44:53 -0700
Reply-To:     David Marshall <vanagon@VOLKSWAGEN.ORG>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         David Marshall <vanagon@VOLKSWAGEN.ORG>
Subject:      Re: Digifant II 'Diesel' Conversion Pics
Comments: To: Alistair Bell <albell@UVIC.CA>
In-Reply-To:  <B7CCC392.870E%albell@uvic.ca>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

The A2 manifold requires a lot more work as it is much taller - I also didn't like the exit angle of the throttle valve. Also, we sort of killed the A2 intake manifold when we combined it with an A1 manifold to make a short "A2 manifold" that would not interfere. The throttle valve hit the fuel pressure regulator... perhaps on a second revision! :)

The oil filter is still quite accessible - lots of room around it to get your hands on it or that funky tool to remove it.

The pre-heat is an issue for people who have to deal with the smog police. I had a 1991 Jetta for a few winters with a K+N and never had a problem at -30C starting it up. A little rough for the first 15 seconds of life but after that not a problem. The Diesel battery like you pointed out makes mounting a stock box almost impossible. Normally I would do what your friend did and bolt the bottom of the box to the side wall of the engine bay and route a pipe to get the cold air from outside. You're right about the unshrouded filter - it does make it have an aggressive growl when you step on it. I kinda like it!

Water on the ECU isn't a problem as it normally sits in the rain try of a Golf or Jetta. The termination box is waterproof. Lengthening the cables, especially the knock sensor and the O2 sensor is not a good idea.

The coil is actually a 1986 Vanagon coil with the stock holder.

You are right about the engine cover - there is no messing around with that. However, there is a lot more messing around with other things that is pretty straight forward in a 15 degree swap. As I tell everyone, all conversions have compromises.

David Marshall

Fast Forward Automotive Inc. 4356 Quesnel Hixon Road Quesnel BC Canada V2J 6Z3 mailto:info@fastforward.ca <mailto:info@fastforward.ca> http://www.fastforward.ca <http://www.fastforward.ca> Phone: (250) 992 7775 FAX: (250) 992 1160

. Vanagon Accessories and Engine Conversions . Transporter, Unimog and Iltis Sales . European Lighting for most Audi and Volkswagen models

-----Original Message----- From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com]On Behalf Of Alistair Bell Sent: September 18, 2001 2:26 AM To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM Subject: Re: Digifant II 'Diesel' Conversion Pics

David,

A couple of observations/questions...

Why not use the stock manifold? You have to bash the body panels in anycase, and have the throttle valve at the rear of the engine. Save you the bother of the manifold work and leading the sewer pipe intake around the front of the compartment. Having the throttle at the rear also makes connection to the stock diesel accel cable straitforward and allows easier access for maintainance, adjustment of the switches etc.

The K&N filter is in the same approx area of the engine compartment as mine, except your intake pipe does obstruct oil filter changes a bit...every bit of access is appreciated when changing the filter, even with the VW doodad that cradles the filter, its hard to not spill a bit of oil!. I have noticed a couple of issues with the filter in this position. One is there is no provision for air pre-heat. While it is not a big deal here in Victoria (fuel consumption and warm-up times suffer only a little bit), In colder parts of the country this could be a problem. Also, paradoxically, even with the heatshield this can be a hot part of the the engine compartment, peformance oughto suffer in the summer. My friend with a pretty well identical to mine conversion, moved the battery up to the wasserboxer stock location and used an A2 airbox (with k&N filter element) mounted infront of the pass. side tailights. With a little bit of a snorkel he has a set-up that draws cool air.

The unshrouded K&N filters do make the engine sound louder.

I don't like the position of the ECU. Unless you have blocked off the vents on that side, water and snow will end up on the ECU. Mine is mounted inside the van, under the back seat. Maybe not the best for camping storage, but it is a nicer enviroment!

Its handy having that fuel filter bracket to mount the coil on, isn't it?

Perhaps the best thing about the diesel mounting angle is no fooling around with bulges/bubbles/cakepans on the engine hatch!

Alistair

albell@uvic.ca '82 Westy, diesel=>I4 gas

/"\ ASCII Ribbon Campaign \ / No HTML/RTF in email X No Word docs in email / \ Respect Open Standards!

on 18/9/01 5:05 AM, David Marshall at vanagon@VOLKSWAGEN.ORG wrote:

> I just uploaded some pictures of an installation I did to a customers 1982 > Diesel Westfalia. Out goes the 48hp Diesel and in goes a 105hp Digifant II > motor (ok... time to do the Tim Allen rant!). Quite the installation and I > must say that my 15 degree kits are much easier to do than the Diesel setup! > The biggest challenge is the intake manifold and intake system - there is > NOTHING out there, that is available in North America or Europe that will > fit without doing some sort of modification to the side wall of the engine > bay. Good to see VWSA has a custom cast intake system for their I4 > conversions. We used a 1981 Rabbit intake manifold that we removed some > material from to it wouldn't interfere as much with the side wall. We still > had to take a ballpien hammer to a 3x6" area on the side wall just above the > frame rail and dent it in two inches so nothing would interfere. A bit of > paint and some rust proofing took care of the damage on the side wall, > although I don't think the customer is totally happy we had to do this. We > used the original Digifant II throttle valve and installed it 'upside down' > so everything would line up right - the vacuum lines for the fuel pressure > regulator and the line for the frequency valve would be hitting the side > wall if it were installed the right way up. This also meant doing some > welding and grinding to the intake manifold so we could open the mouth of it > large enough for the A2 series valve to function correctly. The rest of the > intake system was fabricated with a lot of time and thinking... it resulted > in a very clean looking ABS plastic intake system and a K+N air filter > mounted on a custom bracket that fits on top of the water pump - once the > heat shield is in place it will make a very nice installation as everything > moves with the engine. The wiring harness was pretty uneventful as this is > the umpteenth time I have made a 'plug and play' Digifant II wiring harness. > Besides running a wire to the battery terminal the wiring harness was a > 'plug and play' event with only three seconds of cranking to get the engine > running the first time! Warning - make sure no one is asleep when you fire > up an I4 engine with only an exhaust manifold installed as it is a tad bit > on the loud side! :) > > Pictures can be seen at > http://www.fastforward.ca/vanagonswap/dieselparts.htm for those who are > interested. > > Any questions??? Feel free to ask! > > David Marshall > > Fast Forward Automotive Inc. > 4356 Quesnel Hixon Road > Quesnel BC Canada V2J 6Z3 > mailto:info@fastforward.ca <mailto:info@fastforward.ca> > http://www.fastforward.ca <http://www.fastforward.ca> > Phone: (250) 992 7775 FAX: (250) 992 1160 > > . Vanagon Accessories and Engine Conversions > . Transporter, Unimog and Iltis Sales > . European Lighting for most Audi and Volkswagen models >


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