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Date:         Tue, 10 Feb 2009 17:43:41 -0500
Reply-To:     Kim Brennan <kimbrennan@MAC.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Kim Brennan <kimbrennan@MAC.COM>
Subject:      Re: The real story about the invention of the WBX?
In-Reply-To:  <02f001c98bce$e7f88ec0$6401a8c0@PROSPERITY>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes

To the best of my knowledge the WBX was designed by Oettinger. Which intended to make it a 6 cylinder. It was probably cost reduced to a 4 . And, of course, the 6 was a rare option in Europe.

On Feb 10, 2009, at 5:28 PM, Scott Daniel - Turbovans wrote:

> here's my thoughts on it : > Yes on needing to go to water cooled for emissions reasons. > > I also think they just wanted to stay with the original design > concept and > layout ....... > which is rear engine, aluminum block , opposed four. > > I can't really guess which is more inexpensive to make.......and > inline cast > iron block four, or an opposed aluminum block four cylinder > engine....... > Bit is seems to me that a cast iron block inline four would be > plenty cheap > enough to make for a manufacturer. ....and cheaper to make than an > aluminum > block engine. > > there is the factor of having all the experience and tooling for > making > opposed aluminum block engines........perhaps they wanted to take > advantage > of that. > But one does wonder....... > was it 'internal politics at VW' ............or just stubbornness > about > keeping it an aluminum opposed four engine....... > or crash considerations... > or more likely .......acceptance in the European market. > Perhaps they felt that hard core VW owners would not accept a > Vanagon with > a tilted over inline four iron block gas engine. > > But I'll be building mine after I pick up my 'new' 16 valve 87 > jetta 1.8 > inline four .........123 hp, 5,800 rpm, .....CIS-E fuel injection. > Should make a nice vangon engine .......and I hear they get better > fuel > mileage than waterboxer engines. > PLUS............a REAL head gasket !! > just few too many projects ahead of that one though. > > haven't heard anything for a while. but there is/was a conversion > shop in > Sacramento , Ca............. doing 1.8 T engines into vangons. > that's inline four 1.8 ........with FIVE valves per cylinder ! and > turbocharged. > > Scott > turbovans.com > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Jens Jakob Andersen" <jayjay@ZORCK.DK> > To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM> > Sent: Tuesday, February 10, 2009 12:46 PM > Subject: The real story about the invention of the WBX? > > >> Hi, >> >> We are trying to find out what happened inside the heads of Schults >> and Heinz (VW engineers that we cuss about when working on our cars >> ("That day Schultz said to Heinz over lunch "Fit, too tight a fit? No >> Heinz, we will place the bolt there - no problem -if people need to >> work on that part they will allways have taken the front half >> apart")) - on the day when they decided: >> "Lets convert the CU to water-cooled - it will be real easy, done >> quite fast, and a good stable conversion - instead of just using one >> of our great inline.-4 engines" >> >> So my basic question to this list - does anyone know about why >> VW decided to create the WBX, instead of changing to inline-4 in >> 1983? >> >> Here is what I have found so far: >> "The switch to water-cooling for the boxer engines was made abruptly >> mid-year in 1983 because VW could no longer make the air-cooled >> engines meet emissions standards" >> >> >> Happy driving >> >> Jens Jakob


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