Date: Tue, 3 May 2016 11:38:16 -0700
Reply-To: Neil N <musomuso@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Neil N <musomuso@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: User Input: Oval's Motorsport Rebuilt Engines
In-Reply-To: <02f801d1a560$797a0ba0$6c6e22e0$@gmail.com>
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re: warranty work. Yes. That's a big consideration. Especially for us
up in Canada.
Dealing with the border is just one more hassle. I was asking about
these Oval's
engines on behalf of a fellow Vanagon owner dealing with a 1.9 oil in
coolant issue.
The engine still runs but there's crossover happening somewhere.
There's no doubt that an engine conversion is a viable thing for
*some* Vanagon owners
but a lot simply don't have the interest, tools, skills etc.
They just want it to get fixed but don't have, or can justify paying
$10-16K + so they
go for the WBX. There are examples of WBX's that run for some time.
Personally, were I to get a builder to do an engine, I'd opt for the
best quality
pistons, etc. but stick with the 2.1 displacement.
I may wear out my 4 way flashers (emergency blinkers) on long steep grades
but on my '88, the power is acceptable overall. This being solo
travel, not a lot of gear.
I'll use me as an example. I'd like to rebuild a spare 2.1 WBX partly
to gain knowledge,
but mostly to see if I can do it. I know it's a gamble. Point is, lets
say my rebuild runs
10K miles. At that point I could "call it good" (but who knows right?)
I'd likely keep it as a
spare but I could sell it with a bus or by itself with relevant caveats.
Given the goals and the gamble involved, I'd do my best to work on a
"replace as needed" plan. But when it wears out or fails, the next
person
builds it again. Who's to say it wasn't rebuild at least once before
that or at very
least, had heads replaced at that time? I think they were (excess
sealant present)
And humans being who were are, it's easy to overlook something or
simply miss it.
("sure. That stud will last at least 10K more miles")
But then I guess if one does things really right, they could end up
with a reliable long block.
I imagine doing so would cost much more than a VW I4 swap (DIY).
Neil.
On 5/3/16, Stuart MacMillan <stuartmacm@gmail.com> wrote:
> Jerry at NW Con Rod admitted he had problems with his piston kit supplier,
> so this problem has been going on for the past 16 years. My first question
> when he told me this was "then why the hell did you keep using them?!!
>
> The good thing about him is he is a production engine rebuilder with a full
> machine shop and clean room for assembly, so he can do anything that's
> needed. The bad thing is that unless you specify exactly what you want
> (valves, rings, studs, etc.) he will do the minimum to maximize his profit,
> which is to be expected.
>
> Go Westy pushes the limits of the WBX design with increased compression and
> displacement. You can read about how well this is going on The Samba. As
> these engines get over 50k miles there will be a lot more to read.
>
> They will go up to 2.3 on a 1.9 case, but it has to be modified for the
> stroke. They are running out of 2.1 cases, hence the $1000 core, little of
> which you can expect to get back, as they freely admit. When you figure
> well north of $7000 with shipping, crating, and core for an obsolete engine,
> it makes a Subaru conversion a no-brainer for me. But I can do it myself,
> though there are four shops around here that can do it and will work on DIY
> conversions too.
>
> Stuart
--
Neil n
Blog: Vanagons, Westfalia, general <http://tubaneil.blogspot.ca>
1988 Westy Images <https://picasaweb.google.com/musomuso/New1988Westy>
1981 Westfalia "Jaco" Images, technical <http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/>
Vanagon-Bus VAG Gas Engine Swap Group <http://tinyurl.com/khalbay>
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