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Date:         Wed, 8 Mar 2006 10:32:46 -0800
Reply-To:     Aaron <lists@MYCOMMUNITYNET.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Aaron <lists@MYCOMMUNITYNET.NET>
Subject:      Re: Subaru Conversions
Comments: To: John Rodgers <inua@CHARTER.NET>
In-Reply-To:  <440F125F.3090008@charter.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed

On conversion price...

While I may be biased as I have a Subaru in my '85, I can say that it can be done for much less than the conversion shops charge. I rented some time in a mechanic's shop and was able to do most of it myself. As far as cheap, I bought a $500 '94 legacy which had 120k miles and a bad transmission. Then I found a reasonable deal on a 2002 motor ($1900) and ended up using that for the conversion and putting a junkyard transmission in the subaru - which I kept and have driven 10k miles with no problems.

So, if you look a the cost of the 2.2L Subaru conversion, the cost of the required and suggested parts from Kennedy Engineering is $1608. You can get a subaru with all of the required parts (like my '94) for $500. Redo the seals, water pump, timing belt, etc for $250. Add in $400 (what I spent) in misc. materials, and a lot of time and you have a conversion. Let's see...

1608 - Kit (required and suggested parts) 500 - Engine (I spent $1900 for a 2002 2.5L engine) 250 - Engine seals, T-belt and waterpump 400 - misc parts ===== $2,758

That's if you do it yourself. The most expensive part is the time to do it. I took three months to finish. I spent a few hours a day for 2 weeks getting most of it done, and then only had a little time here and there to finish. Plus I had to factor in snowstorms since it was outside and Jan-March in Pullman, WA.

If you don't want to do it yourself, I know that there are some individuals who do them for quite a bit less than the shops do it. Ask around on the Subaru Vanagon yahoo list. If I recall, I think $2500 is a typical price.

So, don't think that a conversion HAS to cost what the advertised price of a shop is. You are paying a lot to do what many of us here could do with a lot of time, learning and some effort. I learned a lot, but I'm happy that I did it.

Aaron '85 Sunroof Vanagon w/'02 Impreza 2.5L Engine. '85 Westfalia 1.9 (waiting for the subaru body to die) '94 Subaru Legacy 2.2

P.S. I am very happy with the conversion although I sometimes wonder if I would have been just as happy with a 2.2. With the subaru the van is so much nicer to drive and much more refined feeling. The power doen't feel like too much, or too little...it's just right. Any vanagon owners ever try to restart your engines when you came to a stop? I did for a while after converting since I thought it had died. The smoothness is amazing.

On Mar 8, 2006, at 9:20 AM, John Rodgers wrote:

> Sudhir, > > This is one of the reasons I have been wondering about why the V6 > conversion hasn't caught on. these little Chevy V6 engines are all > over > the place. You can pick up a good one here in the South for $600. > > I just bought a basic van - dirty deed done dirt cheap - but by the > time > I do the mechanical work that needs doing, then spend $5-8 grand on an > engine conversion, I'm going to have over $10 grand in this > puppy!!! And > that is not a restoration by any means. So it begs the question - > "Do I > want to do this on an 18 year old van, a generally not very popular > van > at that?? I really have to think about this. > > Granted, the guys who have worked out all the details, made kits, > and do > conversions are entitled to a profit for their efforts, but for me, as > much as I would like a Subiegon, getting it there is over the line of > cost for me. Fixed income seniors like me find it hard to do such > projects. And young folk with families also find it difficult. Though > the latter could benefit from have a more reliable vehicle for hauling > the family around. > > But there ought to be a better way. > > Regards, > > John Rodgers > 88 GL Driver x2 > > > Sudhir Desai wrote: > >> On the subject of price, I really do not understand why the prices >> are >> so high. :/ >> I completed my chevy v6 conversion for less than $2500 in parts. >> >> Sudhir >> >> On 3/8/06, Jon Brown <jbrown510@gmail.com> wrote: >> >> >>>>>> Well, if your work is any reflextion of your WEB page.... good >>>>>> >>>>>> >>> luck... >>> >>> >>> The site doesn't work with Firefox, there is a note to that >>> effect now... >>> I'll cut the guy some slack.. for now... >>> >>> It is nice to see more "shops" getting into the conversion >>> bussiness. It's >>> also shocking to see the similarity in costs of professionally done >>> conversions. >>> >>> $4500 for the installation kit (without a motor) plus $1100 for >>> installation >>> plus $$$$ for a used motor. >>> >>> Funny how for years everyone (the TiiCo gang, the Subaru gang, >>> the tuned WBX >>> gang) claimed thier new found religion was the most cost >>> effective... all >>> looks about the same to me... $7k+ >>> >>> >>> >> >> >> >>


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