Date:         Wed, 10 Apr 1996 10:12:30 -0500
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Scott Morrow <smorrow@gbutler.com>
Subject:      RE: Big Engine Bozo's

At 07:09 PM 4/9/96 -0500, you wrote:
>
>>Friend Richard's 1600dp is almost dead.  In just over a year its gone
>>from fairly healthy to 1/2 the power of a 1100cc! :)
>>So he is going to buy a new engine.  Cost no object.  He wants to
>>be able to crush my 1776.
>
>Steve Maher wrote: 
>If you want more power, why not go with an engine designed for more power?
>Kennedy makes adapters that can let you mount many different engines in
>your VW-- Japanese, American, European; 4, 6, 8 cyl, rotary. Total cost
>will be at or less than a properly built big-bore VW. You do have to
>do some fabrication yourself, depending on engine. But you won't be
>overstressing your engine and hoping it doesn't blow apart.
>
>Things are not completely rosy in these conversions: I'm currently
>having a clutch/pilot bearing problem with my '80 Vanagon that has
>a 2,8L Chevy V6 engine. Cause not yet known, but I suspect imbalance
>and/or misalignment of the engine and tranny, and maybe the clutch.
>(Or, it could be as simple as the PO forgetting to lube the pilot
>bearing when he put it in.)

Being a big fan of MORE POWER, I think your "cost at no object" friend
could build at least a 2007 or 2110 type I with no problem in the
reliablity department.  Keep the compression low for pump gas and
flow the heads with some 44 webers and he will kick some asphalt!

I've built plenty of "reliable" street engines that were up in the
2.0 litre range with no problems so far.  Even race a few of them.

I think with a engine conversion (gulp) I would think that there
are alot of factors (like downtime, fabrication time, engine 
searching time, etc.) that most would not want to deal with.

I think that if Steve is happy with his V6 Vanagon, then that is
great.  I use to have a 140HP Corvair engine in my buggy. (gobs
of power just ate up to many transmissions) so there are many
factors envolved in the engine conversions that some people
don't want to deal with or just can't deal with.

I have a buddy that uses Toyota engines in all of his buggys.
He loves em and says he would never go back to VWs ever.

Hope this helps, see ya
Scott Morrow				 
Kansas City, MO 
67 Chopped Drag Bug
74 412 Wagon
Fiberglass Buggy              		  
smorrow@gbutler.com