Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2004 11:48:02 -0800
Reply-To: Al Knoll <al_knoll@PACBELL.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Al Knoll <al_knoll@PACBELL.NET>
Subject: Re: Subject: small car VW engine conversion
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
My experience with Smallcar is pretty bad. NO warranty support whatsoever
in spite of promise after promise. The workmanship on my conversion is
atrocious. The installation was at best a prototype. They tout a good show
but ...
Problem after problem and NO support whatsoever. More by pmail if you
like.
They claim that they're making improvements but my formal certified mail
request sent in February of 2002 (no misprint) for reimbursement for
agreedupon warranty items has gone unanswered.
Letter:
Alfred F. Knoll
1600 37th Street
Sacramento CA
95816
February 28, 2002
Brian Steel
Small Car Performance
3716 South "G" Street
Tacoma, Washington
Dear Mr. Steel,
In response to our conversation this morning regarding reimbursement for
repairs related to the motor exchange you performed on my 1989 Volkswagen
Vanagon, I am including an updated copy of the table faxed to you in
December 2001 and e-mailed to you on January 12, 2002.
This table summarizes the defects found to date that are directly related to
the work performed on my car in August 2001. As we discussed this morning,
I have provided you with invoices for some of the work done so far and
requested reimbursement of those amounts noted in the invoices.
Many of the problems described in the table were noted within 14 days of
picking up my car last August. In particular, the power steering
performance, the air conditioning recharge, the excessive fuel consumption,
the brake judder, the power steering fluid leak, the inaccurate tachometer,
the grinding noise, the lack of cooling capacity, the misfiring, the
backfiring on shifting and overrun, the broken speedometer, the motor mount
flex, and the improper installation of the top coolant hose were discussed
with you in September.
Of these, the brake judder, power steering fluid leak, tachometer
inaccuracy, the grinding noise, the speedometer, the improper cooling hose
installation have been repaired. The tire damaged by inadequate exhaust
system clearance has been replaced and the exhaust system altered to
increase tire clearance.
Yet to be repaired are the lack of cooling capacity, excessive fuel
consumption, poor engine performance, etc, all of which are related to
materials and workmanship involved in the motor replacement. As you know, in
November, I offered to come to Tacoma to accomplish these repairs but it was
inconvenient for you at that time.
I appreciate your timely reimbursement to Seth Hatfield at H&R motors in
Santa Barbara for the warranty work he performed regarding the brake judder.
I am now asking you for reimbursement in the amount of $565.11 for those
expenses documented thus far in the invoices provided. I will provide
additional invoices for the other repairs not included in this amount at a
later date.
Sincerely,
Alfred F. Knoll
pensioner (SVX
> Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2004 19:14:59 -0800
> From: bryan duggan <bduggan@MINDSPRING.COM>
> Subject: small car VW engine conversion
>
> Hey there
>
> What does anyone know of the Tacoma WA "Small Car" VW engine conversion
> business? Their website (www.smallcar.com/vx.htm) offers an impressive 6
> cylinder subaru engine conversion for a wooping $9,000-$12,000.
>
> Where do they get off charging so much? Does anyone, or has anyone ever
done
> business with them especially this 3.3L SVX engine conversion? Are they
> worth it? Why? How can someone face their friends and family after
spending
> $10,000 on an engine. I want to, but why sould I?
>
> I have a hole in my 89 westy wasserboxer the size of a golfball, after
only
> 60,000 on a rebuilt. I've had it with the wasserboxer and want to put in a
> different engine. I want increased horsepower and improved gas mileage.
Can
> you suggest a conversion. Perhaps one that doesn't cost $12,000.
>
> Thanks
> Bryan
>
> I'm researching an engine swap... in fact, I've got dibs on a '91 Subaru
as I write this, hopefully I can get it cheap (like $150!). First, do a
search on the archives (http://gerry.vanagon.com/archives/vanagon.html) and
you'll find a wealth of info! Also, there are groups on Yahoo that focus
exclusively on this very subject (the urls escape me).
> By my estimates and research, Small Car has what amounts to a fair price
and a pretty good reputation for a completely turnkey operation. The key
phrase here is turnkey, drop the van off, pay them and pickup an finished
product. There's a lot of work here, but in the end (and this in >>MY<<
opinion), you end up with a great van running a modern engine that, in all
likelyhood, will last a long time. I have friends who have had to get
engines replaced and did so via the dreaded dealer method, even with
warranties, they pay many thousands of dollars -- the total bill was listed
as well over the $10,000 mark (they didn't pay that entire bill because of
warranties).
> So, if you wanna do this yourself, you'll need and engine (think salvage
yard, and you'll probably want to put some parts and money into it, ~$1000),
then you'll need the adapter kit (Kennedy Engineering and Small Car offer
these, ~$1500). More money will be needed for the hoses and various
fabrications needed to make this work. Figure you can probably do the parts
only for less than $3000 if you plan it out. People have chimed in recently
stating that they have done for much, much less. The hardest part from what
I can tell (I've not yet done this), is the making of the engine harness --
adapting the Subaru harness to the Vanagon requires many hours of work (and
significant quantities of coffee, beer, tequila, etc. from what I've
heard/read/seen). So, add that all up, and the price that Small Car charges
appears, in my opinion, pretty fare. And, with no intent to start any sort
of holy war, the SVX motor is overkill, the 2.2L 4-banger does the job very
well by all acc!
> ounts and gives you the added bonus of better fuel economy. I'm getting
to see my first this coming weekend, 29 Feb. over at Ft. Desoto here in FL.
All of this is my opinion based on several months of investigation. I'm
very much in the state of mind that I can, and will, do this myself. Also,
I'm planning on another $1000 to replace my entire drivetrain (Automatic and
transaxle) -- thus, when done, I basically have a new set of wheels should
last at least another 144,000 miles (as the current has and is continuing to
do).
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