I have just completed my conversion(well, we all know a van is never really finished, but....)and am willing to volunteer my van for a dyno run. I need to break the motor in first as I only have about 40 miles on it so far. My first impressions are great. My van is an 85 Westy with an automatic. I have not done any hard 1/4 mile runs yet(break in), but the superior power over the old 1.9 is easily apparent. The van really wants to leap off the line and will now pull up a hill without even having to kickdown. The cruise control will actually hold my speed up an incline!!! Ahhh the luxury. Overall the conversion went well. This is definitely not a recommended project for the novice tinkerer as there are some little things that come up along the way that need modification and/or fabrication along with some creative thought. It can be a bit of a puzzle at times, but solving the puzzle is part of the satisfaction of doing it yourself. I was fortunate in that I was able to take the time to do everything the way I like and have access to a heated garage space. The van was out of commission for about two months, but I was not working on it that whole time. The van is not my only vehicle. I also replaced my tranny and final drive while I was at it, so my conversion was a little more involved than some. Some issues are specific to year and transmission type. My kit came complete with the exception of the alternator belt(it had a belt, just the wrong one). I think Peter had a brief period where the kits came without some very important parts, but he has since solved the problem. Tim |
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