Date: Sat, 14 Jul 2007 21:34:16 -0700
Reply-To: Rob <becida@COMCAST.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Rob <becida@COMCAST.NET>
Subject: Re: Cost? -was Why convert? was Re: Inside a Subi engine EJ22
In-Reply-To: <044901c7c685$b3c52420$0b0ba8c0@RON>
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At 7/14/2007 07:13 PM, The Bus Depot wrote:
>I decided that in the long run it was still much cheaper to put in
>another stock engine, even after factoring in
>the potential cost of a head gasket job every 75-100k miles. In fact I could
>replace the stock engine a couple of times over.
When my 2.1 rod put a hole in the case I had choices and they
couldn't cost me much over $2k. (1) Buy another VW, (2) find a used
engine, (3) buy a rebuilt, (4) go to the auction and buy a Caravan,
(5) do the conversion.
The auction Caravan would have been the cheapest <g>.
If I'd known about the $1k rebuilt engines (mentioned above) my
decision would have been a lot harder....
During this series of threads I've seen a wide range of $$ talked
about. Then again on this list I've seen people claim to spend what I
consider to be outrageous amounts of money, hell I've seen people get
rid of new tires because they are the "wrong tires". I'm not in that
league, <shrug> a thousand dollar Vanagon is way better than no
Vanagon at all in my book.
Six to ten-thousand dollars for an engine? Not for me today....
Some background is needed. I remember the first time I heard of a
Subaru going into a Vanagon (the early 90's on this list), I went and
looked at a friends Subaru to actually 'see' the engine. That was it for me!
Ok, here is what my Subaru conversion cost me.
This does not count any tools I bought (a folding engine hoist and an
engine stand come to mind) , it does not count the electrical tape or
plastic ties, it does not count the soldering supplies, it does not
count the JB Weld or bandaids. Not counted is the 4x8 sheet of
plywood I used to do the wire harness on.
$2109.87 was the total spent (near as I can tell) including shipping and taxes.
The header, mount, wiring guide, adapter/flywheel (all KEP), throttle
kit (Mastercraft, actually the KEP adapter/flywheel came from
Mastercraft), PS hose (Smallcar), Shiels thermo housing, was $1137.94
When you include a new radiator (my helper over torqued the bleed
bolt and cracked it), oil psi gauges, clutch & cat converter I spent
$500.42 at BusDepot.
These things were not necessarily part of the conversion, just things
that needed to be done.
$164.08 at the Subaru dealer (on-line). This was a new timing belt
and assorted seals & o-rings.
The donor ended up costing $185. I paid for the '91 Legacy, diesel
fuel for my friends truck, lunch for my friend and subtracted what I
got selling used Subaru parts, this came to $185.
I have $122.23 in misc receipts from assorted FLAPS & hardware stores
including the hoses & hardware.
I (later) didn't like my 'fix' for the coolant return line so I spent
the $100 and for the one Mastercraft sells and another $5 for the
coolant flush "tee" (for filling the system).
That adds another $120 or so to the total bringing it to $2229.87 for
my conversion.
I'm sure people are going to nitpick this, doesn't matter, it's "my" reality.
Rob
becida@comcast.net
With a '91 Subaru 2.2 in an '87 Vanagon in western Washington.
