Date:         Wed, 8 May 2002 21:52:41 +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: Bought an SVX for the motor.......but I like the car too much
              to               rip the heart out
In-Reply-To:  <23F66E6D73F4D31181C60004ACA369D7FB194B@ERD-LA-EXMB1>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed"

>I needed a new motor for my 85' Vanagon......well  I found it in a 94'
>SVX........117k on the motor.....the car had hit a curb and bent the left
>lower control arm and the left rim was tweeked .......After seeing the car
>with a perfect suede interior., ABS, cruise, 4 wheel disc brakes and 153 mph
>top speed and the uniqueness of the car.....I decided to keep  her in
>tact.......unfortunately the same week my friend decided to let go his 98
>white T100 4WD pickup w/ snugtop shell.....real clean!,,,,,,,I promised him
>I would buy it and followed through.....so now I have TWO cars more than I
>did last week.......Boy was the wife upset about this one!

Good man! Watch out, these things run wheel bearings, brakes and
transmissions like crazy. Convert it to manual (use an Audi Turbo
Quattro trans) and modify the brakes...

Whatcherpayferit? I was offered a damaged one, with all the bits to
fix it,  for $1640US, but didn't have the cash. They really are nice
cars, but too heavy for good performance. I quote "Wheels"
(Australia) 1992: "Okay, the contact patches don't reflect the car's
obesity, but the engine does... It struggles below 3000rpm. Once
turning past 4500rpm, The SVX comes alive, braaating its way to the
advised 6500rpm sector, and on to a 7000rpm redline... may look racy
and raunchy and ooh-hownaughty-gotta-have-one, but don't expect it to
cause facial distorsion when launching from repose... The SVX will
kick butt in the marketplace and on the blacktop."
Power: 172kW (132hp) @5600
Torque 304nm (good) @4800
0-100kmh (0-64mph): 7.6s
0-400m (standing quarter): 15.6s
Fuel consumption: 20.6 imp gal (fewer mpg than that in USgal, not good)

Well, a good car ruined by excessive mass (1600kg=3250lb), extreme
poor reliability (the engine's a gem however) and very high pricing.
So people didn't buy it... only 24,000 were made. These are exclusive
cars!

And easy to hot-up: put exhaust or belt-driven supercharger on!
--
Andrew Grebneff
165 Evans St, Dunedin 9001, New Zealand
<andrew.grebneff@stonebow.otago.ac.nz>
Seashell, Macintosh, VW/Toyota van nut