Date: Sat, 8 Dec 2007 15:38:31 -0800
Reply-To: Scott Daniel - Shazam <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Daniel - Shazam <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject: Re: Friday humour: Top 5 Reasons why you SHOULDN'T try converting
Friday humour: Top 5 Reasons why you SHOULDN'T try converting Re:
Top 5 Reasons why you SHOULDN'T try converting an 81 AC Vanagon
to water cooled (pic
In-Reply-To: <c4e7c5f90712081020m61619c9btfb51897f3fd4a401@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Perhaps by 'air cooled bus' you mean an 80 to 82 air-cooled vanagon, and
some people might enjoy going that route.
But, if you mean any air-cooled VW Bus up to 79, I absolutely do not
recommend those - old, unsafe, antiques, and much harder to work on than any
vanagon. Cute maybe, but really.........just light-years behind compared to
a vanagon, in all aspects.
For those who don't yet have a vanagon, the first really decent year is 85.
I saw an 80 air cooled vanagon once, it was such an early model it had this
weird small horn pad, not the kind we're used to that goes across the whole
steering wheel.
It was very much like an older Bus still, in various ways.
Scott
turbovans
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
neil N
Sent: Saturday, December 08, 2007 10:20 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Friday humour: Top 5 Reasons why you SHOULDN'T try converting
Friday humour: Top 5 Reasons why you SHOULDN'T try converting Re: Top 5
Reasons why you SHOULDN'T try converting an 81 AC Vanagon to water cooled
(pic
Hopefully I'm not misunderstanding your post. :^)
For the record everyone, I started this thread as an attempt at Friday
humour.
I love my air cooled Westy, (though it is underpowered). Why else would I be
going to all this trouble to convert it?
:^)
I started my driving life with the old Beetles. A 58' in fact. Loved that
car. And I really enjoy the sound of an air cooled engine.
True my 15 degree conversion site contains a "warning" of sorts, but that's
only in an effort to help other people really think about what they're
getting into. i.e. I *strongly* suggest that one should think twice about
doing this conversion **unless** their air cooled van is cherry and rust
free.
But that's just my .02 --- :^)
I'm totally "into it" and I'm posting what I can to help others if they
choose to go this route. Thinking about it now, for the "handy" people on
this list, an air cooled bus might be a really economical way to go in terms
of an engine conversion. Pick up a rust free with a blown motor for a
"song".....
Not sure if you are referring to the quoted text below, but as for
"chiseling" I'm pretty sure Robert was being literal. I ended up chiseling
the top rad mount bracket out because 6 or so of the spot welds were only
visible from the top in area behind dash. Drilling would have been really
tough due angle, so I found that the chisel went through the metal easily.
If I did it again, I'd just drill a few "starter" holes and chisel around
the welds, and remove the extra metal on the bench.
Neil.
Robert wrote:
I converted a 1980 Westfalia to a water-cooled
inline -four and I don't understand what all the
chiseling is about.
The two holes for the two top ten mm bolts are
already in place- all you need to do is make a
grille template from a water-cooled Vanagon,
trace it onto the air-cooled and cut the lower
radiator grille opening .
The top mounts are there from the factory in the
air-cooeld models. The bottom has two brackets
that bolt to the frame and the radiator.
Assuming that the Canadian model is identical up
front to the American one..
Robert
On Dec 8, 2007 7:31 AM, Jonathan Poole < jfpoolio@gmail.com> wrote:
> I am with you Robert. It seems to me that on this list of all places
> folks
> would be open to the idea of such projects. Also I don't think you even
> need to cut the lower grill opening as it is for air conditioning and the
> top opening allows for plentiful airflow to the radiator so that makes it
> even easier.
>
> I am guessing that the anti early vanagon/air-cooled (conversion and
> otherwise) folks are in the minority but I don't understand why they are
> so
> against the early vanagons?
>
> Jonathan Poole
> '83 ac westy
>
