Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2008 08:36:40 -0400
Reply-To: Jim Akiba <syncrolist@BOSTIG.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Jim Akiba <syncrolist@BOSTIG.COM>
Subject: Re: Neil's from scratch motor swap...and pre-Friday ramble
In-Reply-To: <71d9cdf90806122024k2d77e2e6u77fddd97478f40d1@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
I agree with Jake from the average owners standpoint, not to mention
that lot's of "race fabricators" make garbage and suck at their own
jobs. Lot's don't but if you don't know enough, you could easily screw
yourself badly. It'll all depend on the person, and I can easily say
that way better than 90% of vanagon owners wouldn't find it worthwhile
or low risk enough to do on their own(meaning even having it made as a
one-off for them). But on the other hand Don is right, it *can* be
shopped out cheaply if you know how to make sure everything is done
right, and you know what you're asking for.
Jim Akiba
On Thu, Jun 12, 2008 at 11:24 PM, Jake de Villiers
<crescentbeachguitar@gmail.com> wrote:
> You've made the engine carrier - now you need the special oil pan and
> pickup, the bell housing and the starter, among other things. $600 is a
> bargain Don.
>
> On Thu, Jun 12, 2008 at 7:53 PM, Don Hanson <dhanson@gorge.net> wrote:
>
>> Quite a bit of work, eh? But you are getting there now. I still wonder
>> why you chose that route but then it's all good anyhow.
>> I was looking more closely at the conversion in my Van...the Diesel motor
>> hangers...specifically. People always tell me..Oh yah, those kits, if you
>> can find em are about $600 bucks, if you don't already have a diesel van
>> and
>> have to buy the whole kit...(for putting an inline four gasser in exactly
>> like the original diesel vans were installed.) But looking at the motor
>> carrier bars in mine...these are dead simple. You could have some made at
>> a
>> race chassis shop for about $100 bucks...Just two bends in some steel
>> tubing
>> with plates welded to the ends. A good chassis builder or someone who
>> builds roll cages could make a pair in an hour, max.... The motor mounts,
>> from the carrier bars to the block, those are cast and you might be better
>> looking for junkers or perhaps those are still available as aftermarket
>> parts. You could probably also make those..but not so easy as the engine
>> carrier bars... The Kennedy Engineering adapter plate...again not too
>> expensive..
>> The best part of doing a conversion like this is that it has been widely
>> done before and you could likely find one to copy pretty easily or borrow a
>> diesel van and copy that..No 'reverse engineering' needed.
>>
>> Recently, the rear end of my SO's 70's beamer 2002 rusted pretty much
>> off...The shock mount and spring perch was a stamped extension of the
>> trunk...and it rotted away leaving a rear wheel kinda floppy...She really
>> loves that car so I took it to my local race fabricating shop and we
>> figured
>> out a new rear suspension...a couple of tubes, some plates, etc. Ol' Russ
>> welded and bent...and now she is happy again for just $175! Works better
>> than new, too, except stuff in the trunk gets all wet and dirty if the road
>> is wet...
>> The point being, with a bit of creativity, you can do almost anything to
>> these simple old German cars, and they are certainly worthwhile to keep on
>> the road. Almost any "normal" American, what with our "disposable
>> mind-set"
>> would have just paid to have the cute little Beamer box smooshed...But not
>> Marie..."I just put a rebuilt engine in that car" she said (almost 4 years
>> ago) "And it's got a new tire!"..."can't you fix it? You built a racecar
>> that goes 200mph, you should be able to fix a simple bit of
>> rust...."....Yes, dear...Sure, honey...
>> Don Hanson
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Jake
> 1984 Vanagon GL
> 1986 Westy Weekender "Dixie"
> Crescent Beach, BC
> www.crescentbeachguitar.com
> http://subyjake.googlepages.com/mydixiedarlin%27
>
| 
