Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2008 16:16:24 -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: Engine Conversions
In-Reply-To: <c4e7c5f90803031545vfcdd2d9t13d3acba16d0971c@mail.gmail.com>
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Another factor, say if doing a soobie,
You have dozens of sources for engines, and many choices of engines by type
and size.
And several vendors to buy the conversion parts from.
With zetec, unless you do your own conversion from scratch, there's just one
source, one vendor.
I don't know for sure if there's a waiting list for zetec kits or what,
But I do know for Subaru conversions you're not depending on just one
company or anything - you're kinda 'free lance' .
From Colorado westward there are many vendors supplying conversion parts,
and countless junkyards, and countless subaru's around..
Might be a factor in why there are so many of them.
That and the California smog legality thing.
And.....I think 'the deal' is whether it's OBD-I or II..and OBD-I soobies
have that one 'purely legal' conversion with an Executive Order, so there is
precedent for legal Subaru engines in vanagons, and the other engines and
later ones are just one small step further, so lots of them get blessed.
Yet if you approach Ca and ask them if you can legitimatize an OBD-II
engine....they balk. I think that's the case, and a factor in why there are
fewer of them in the west. There might not be one vanagon with a smog
ref-blessed ford zetec engine in it, in California. Or if there is they're
probably keeping a low profile lol.
But that's a factor - in Subaru the skies are wide open with many choices,
vendors, engines etc. - They're practically laying by the side of the road
out here.
Same for vw inline gas engines too, all over the place, and all kinds
of ways to accomplish the conversion. A bolt-in even if you get the stock
diesel vanagon engine mounting parts.
And people have pulled off Subaru and vw inline 4 gas conversions for under
$ 3K total cost, doing all the work themselves, and starting with a 300 to
500 dollar donor car. Or getting JDM low miles engines after the initial
conversion - those are only around 6 to 800 dollars, with like 50K max
miles on them. Lotta choices and access.
My main point is, there are lots of opportunities and ways to do these
conversions, the Subaru and VW based ones, especially in the west. It's
almost 'the norm' for vanagons here.
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
neil N
Sent: Monday, March 03, 2008 3:46 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Engine Conversions
I would hazard a guess that if one were to look into the Suby/Vanagon
or Tiico swap history, there might be indicators as to why there
isn't as much talk
I'm thinking that it takes time for a conversion to "catch on" (for
lack of a better term). With more end users, more talk.
It does look like a sweet conversion though --- :^)
Just a thought.....
Neil.
On 3/3/08, Peter Young <pyjme@aol.com> wrote:
> All of this talk about engine conversion options - Tiico, Jetta engines,
> inline 4's, Subaru engines - yet no one ever talks about the Bostig
> conversion! I currently own a
> 1981 westy, but I hope in the future to either: go Neil's route and
convert
> it to water cooled OR buy a water cooled van and convert it into a camper
> (using the 81' guts -
> I love the faux wood grain!). Either way, I want to drop in the Bostig
> conversion because I like the Zetec engine and the fact that their kit
comes
> as a turnkey motor with mounts and all of the appropriate conversion parts
> (which is really only one engine/tranny mating part), and I currently own
a
> 2001 Ford Focus wagon with the same engine. The Focus has really
> demonstrated the reliability and power of this engine. I have only had to
> get it worked on once for a bad exhaust sensor, and it only cost me $150.
> Besides that, just change the oil regularly and I haven't had to think
about
> that car running. The Bostig conversion gives you that same reliability in
> your vanagon (who doesn't want that!), 130hp that doesn't require any
engine
> compartment mods, and actually improves ground clearance in the rear (if
you
> pay a little more for the shortened oil pan). In addition to all of this,
> the engine tune is selectable between octanes and can be set for an
economy
> mode to improve gas mileage. For a price there are also super chargers
> available if you want, though they just make a vanagon ridiculously,
> obscenely more powerfully than anyone really needs (up to 195hp).
>
> What's the downside? It is an expensive conversion initially. The kit is
> $8775, then add $225 for the shortened oil pan. If you want the super
> charger it's another $2950. THe ECU reprogrammer to change tunes comes
> included with the engine. While expensive, it doesn't seem that bad when
> compared to the other kits where you may have to refurbish the donor
engine
> before installing it, fabricate mounts, buy extra proprietary conversion
> parts, etc. etc...?? The Bostig conversion is just a simple drop in,
> requiring you to only hook up the coolant lines, fuel line (the fuel
return
> line is eliminated - another bonus!), 7 wires, and a couple other small
> things. That's it. Bostig says just about any automotive shop can do the
> conversion in 10 hours, and that anyone with only a little knowledge could
> do it in about 15 hours. Personally, it would probably take me longer than
> that but than I am not the brightest weekend mechanic in the world by far
> (just look at my previous posts!). Another thing to consider is that after
> the initial investment, your maintenance costs are going to be almost nil
-
> this is probably a case where you really do get what you pay for. Here are
> the links to the Bostig site and a YouTube video of their super charged
test
> van in action:
>
> http://bostig.com/products/zetec/
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4B9_FeHKlXE
>
> All of the proceeding rant is, of course, just my opinion based on what I
> have heard about other conversions and info from online. I haven't
actually
> seen a Bostig van in person. I would be interested to hear if anyone out
> there has the Bostig conversion - is it really all they say it is?
>
--
Neil Nicholson. 1981 Air Cooled Westfalia - "Jaco"
http://web.mac.com/tubaneil
http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/
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