Date: Sat, 8 Sep 2007 08:45:15 -0700
Reply-To: Don Hanson <dhanson@GORGE.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Don Hanson <dhanson@GORGE.NET>
Subject: An engine transplant: ? (subie alterntaive) long post.
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252"
I like messing around with my vehicles to make em work better for me.
While I am pretty happy with my current 84 partial camper and it's
transplanted 92 Cabriolet inline 4 motor, I keep looking. I've been lurking
on the Subaru Yahoo list, toying with the idea of maybe doing a transplant
project sometime. But the more I read over there, the less I like the way
many of those projects seem to progress. Yes, when they are done and all
the glitches are worked through, their owners are almost 'evangelistic'
about their praise for their new motors. But, there seems to be an
uncounted number of potential quagmires to fall into, judging from the posts
over there.
That conversion (in any of it's possible permutations) does not often seem
to be anywhere near "plug-n-play", even when done by reputable specialty
shops..There are waaay too many posts about "how do you make a diagnostic
reader work on...." "What is the reason I get fault code_____?" "How do you
defeat the_____" Where do you run the _____, on the EJ-xx motor, if you
happen to have the other_____?" stuff like that. Or stories of in and out a
bunch of times with the motor, or of cross country trips by flatbed, back
to the shop to diagnose an odd-ball electrical glitch...Not very inviting to
me, once I read a month of posts more carefully..
Then, a week ago, someone posted a website for a shop that does 1.8l
Turbo VW motor transplants into vanagons..for substantial money, but about
the $ame as a complete Subie conversion would probably run you. So I
started looking at those...~150 dependable HP from that motor, well proven
as dependable and available cheap.."Hmmm," thinks I..
I also have some buddies who've had very good luck supercharging their
Porsche waterpumper V8s . Recently, at a dyno day, I saw a VW Rabbit with a
SC pulling 340Hp once...So I found this site below, with a full SC kit for
my Digifant II motor that I already have..Perhaps this is another way to
'upgrade' the power of a Vanagon. Same basic motor as the VW 1.8L turbo.
But with the twin screw SC, no need to change much in the EMS, no turbo lag,
about the same power output and just $3100, according to the website below.
Superchargers have been used successfully for a long time...since the
'30s..And the 1.8 liter block and head can take the stress, since they go a
couple of hundred thou with a turbo at 150hp..Not much more complex than
adding an air conditioning system..compressor, belts, ducting, maybe a
wastegate, maybe a knock sensor system..etc etc..
It would be nice to have the ability to take advantage of a break in
oncoming traffic to pass slow vehicles, without having to wait for the break
to coincide with a downhill...It would be nice to go uphill at altitude with
authority, or to have the capacity to tow a small trailer or to not worry
about stacking too many toys on the roof..
Just an idea..Ok you nay sayers..have at it..
http://www.bahnbrenner.com/vw_audi/BBM_Supercharger_Kits/BBM_Supercharger_Kit__Lysholm__MkII_1_8L_Digifant_II.html
Don Hanson
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