Date: Thu, 04 Apr 1996 09:02:00 -0800 (PST)
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: "Maher, Steve (SD-MS)" <SMAHER@gi.com>
Subject: Re: Wretched Excess
>>of course love to see and hear a V8anagon if one of you
wasserpumperfahrers
>>wanted to "see my six and raise me two".
>
>That unit would fit perfectly inside the '85 CrewCab I'm lusting after,
Don't take that to the bank just yet. V-anything engines are bulky and
heavy, and in particular they are tall, especially if they have a carb
mounted between the cylinder banks as most older ones do. How high/low
is the rear floor and engine hatch in the '85 crew cab? Same height as
the one in a regular '85 Vanagon? Then it *won't* fit unless you cut a
hole in the hatch. Or uless it's a VERY low-profile engine-- a quality
that V8s are not known for.
>give
>enough power to make up for the auto trans,
Give enough power to *shred* the auto trans...!!
>bet I could do wheelies (well, maybe one :( )
^^^^^^^^^
Exactly.
BTW, this was suggested to me as a way of reducing the steering effort
in the V6anagon. :^)
>It would of course fit better into my '66 912,
How big's the engine compartment?
All these things can be accommodated, of course... some with a LOT of
work. Putting a 300-HP engine into a vehicle designed for less than 100,
creates a whole new list of concerns. How do you stop it? How do you keep
the back end behind the front end in a gusty wind or tight turn?
GM solved these problems with this engine-- by putting a Corvette around
it instead of a tailheavy van, with tires wider than some cars' wheeltrack,
brakes to match, and a tranny that could drive a battleship. Even with
the V6anagon's relatively small engine, I have to play with tire pressures
very carefully to make it handle well.
All that said... when you get it ready, can I test-drive it? :^)
_______
/\ o o o\ Steve Maher smaher@gi.com 75461,1717
/o \ o o o\_______ San Diego, California
< >------> o /|
\ o/ o /_____/o| '80 VW V6anagon
\/______/ |oo| '66 Mustang Coupevertible
| o |o/ '89 Son Sherwin
|_______|/
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