Subaru Powered Westfalia - a pictorial

[Fergie]

The actual build thread is linked below, but I though you folks might enjoy some pictures of the conversion.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=487047

Base vehicle is a 1985 Vanagon GL with the full Westfalia package. The stock engine was the 1.9L wasserboxer, and stock transaxle.

Last trip before surgery:

Come friday, I'll fill everything, prime the oil pump, fuel lines, burp the coolant system, and give a turn.

 

[WAND3R3R]

Awesome work!

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Nice job
Looking forward to a road report

 

[etcatmeat]

Looks good! .....one question though, where does the turbo go? :smiley_drive:

 

[coguzzi]

youll love it, ive had 2 subi syncros and helped build a third which was a 2.2Turbo. my personals were a 2.2 and a 3.3 svx. loved all of them

 

[stclair]

Mine is off getting an EJ25 installed along with a few other mods right now. Should be ready for Spring. Nice work!

 

[Herbie]

Soooo damn sexy.

 

[berg]

subscribed

 

[Fergie]

Well...



I only had a bit of time before work, but I couldn't resist...glad I did.

The sound in the video doesn't do it justice....this thing sounds fawesome!

Now the beard can come off.

 

[BIGdaddy]

hahaha..that's awesome. Congrats!

We're looking @ a 1985 Wolfsburg weekender with the 1.9L that's available here. Runs great, has quite a bit of dealer servicing done by Socal Westy (i think that's the name)
-Coolant flush, new water pump/thermostat
-new brakes
-tune up (plugs, wires, belts engine compartment coolant hoses
-new tires
-new brake fluid
-new clutch, resurfaced flywheel, throwout bearing, etc.

Fire's right up, and when I drove it, it seemed to drive very, very nice. It's a true '85 with the tall 2wd springs, as well.

We REALLY like it, but here's our situation:

1. Buying it would clean out the piggy. Our house purchase last year took most of our savings.
2. We could probably afford to do a motor swap at the same time next year (March of 2013)
3. My dad has a line on a cheap 2.2L to use as a foundation. About $500.00 or so. Could you PM me your total costs for your swap including any kits you bought?

This is an amazingly hard question to answer, but do you think if we had a repair budget of say $300-400.00 per month, that we could keep the 1.9 going till then and possibly a bit further? Was your 1.9 experience fairly negative, or did you simply intend to swap the motor no matter what?

Again congrats, dude.

(p.s. I kinda like the amish look. )

 

[thecriscokid]

That sure is "one happy camper"! I always wished that I had done a swap when I had my 85 rebuilt. Nice Job!:sombrero:

 

[chimivee]

This is an amazingly hard question to answer, but do you think if we had a repair budget of say $300-400.00 per month, that we could keep the 1.9 going till then and possibly a bit further?

I don't know that I'd keep my van if it cost me ~$4k a year to maintain. In my 10+ years of Vanagon experience, that's plenty of budget to keep a well-maintained van running. Of course, it's a nearly 30 year old vehicle, so nothing's guaranteed... But even if it needed major engine or transmission work, you'd most likely still be within budget.

I just checked my expenses spreadsheet (cause I'm a nerd like that) on my previous van (stock 88 Westy) which I had for 4.5 years/38k miles. I spent a total of about $2200 on repairs/maintenance during ownership (about $1500 of that was repair shop bills, the rest was the cost for parts on work I did myself). Your mileage will vary.

Good luck!

 

[otiswesty]

Nice project, the Suby motor is a nice match for the Vanagon

 

[suntinez]

There you are!

Been wondering how this was going ... looks great, need to hear it in person

Soon, soon.

 

[Fergie]

A few things to consider about my particular swap are that several items could be deleted, or done on your own to save a good bit of money. I am very, very color blind for one, so this means that the wiring would have been hell for me. I just felt more comfortable with having Tom do the work. You could also skip the shortened oil pan, and new SS pipes, and could also skimp on replacing wear items on the engine itself. For me though, this is the only time in the next 10 years that I will have the time and the money to do this, so I wanted to do it right.

So, without further rambling, please excuse the crooked scan of my PDF, but here are my costs.

One cost I forgot was the starter adapter, which was $65.00 shipped. This allows me to run the TDI started, which is waaaayyy stronger than the 1.9L, or the beefier 2.1L starter.

Feel free to ask any questions you may have, and I hope the infor proves useful.

There are several items that weren't critical to this project and that could be deferred as maintenance later on. This is purely personal choice and financial means. I'll be back in school for the next 8-10 years, so this is my last chance to do something like this.

This was the biggest undertaking I'd ever done; prior to this it was a head gasket on an inline 6 on a Jeep. I also had a loaner vehicle from family to use while doing this, which took the pressure off of me time wise. If that wasnt the case; something like this could be one in a week or less, with all the parts already purchased and a thorough understanding of how things go together.

And no doubt about it, the people that do conversions as a business, if they are worth their salt, are getting a fair price for their conversions. Vanaru, RMW, Korkwood, BusLab, SmallCar, etc, are not making a killing as far as I see it, and their prices shouldnt be knocked.

As far my entire impression on the parts and swp itself, a kit like RMW or SmallCar, where you do not have to source from multiple vendors, crosscheck fitament issues, and make sure you have everything would be an easier way to go, even if the sum total cost is more.

As for the fun of driving it...it is awesome, and the sound is something else. As soon as I get the VSS issue sorted, it'll be that much better.