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
         |_______|/
                     http://www.lookup.com/homepages/76242/home.html