snwbrdr435
Member
Any updates to this thing?
Volkswagen Vanagon 4x4 Conversion.
- Thread starter vwhammer
- Start date
vwhammer
Adventurer
Nope not yet.
No physical stuff anyway.
Like an idiot I bought another Vanagon and I am in the process of going through it to use as a daily driver.
Once that is done (hopefully in the next month or two) I will get back to the 4x4.
In my spare time I have been doing a little design work on the output of my Subaru trans so I can reverse the output and move it down.
As may be evident in my last few post in this thread there have been and will soon be a lot of design changes in the layout of things.
After working with my original design and getting some of it mounted I was not pleased with the layout.
I have since decided to ditch a lot of that and go back to one of the ideas that I mentioned way early in this thread.
Anyway it will all make sense once I get back to it and, with the new game plan and having some parts made ahead of time, I hope that it will progress more quickly than it has in the past.
In the meantime if you are bored and/or interested you can check out my 2wd Vanagon build.
https://www.expeditionportal.com/fo...ittle-van-daily-vanagon-adventure-rig.198832/
Until next time.
No physical stuff anyway.
Like an idiot I bought another Vanagon and I am in the process of going through it to use as a daily driver.
Once that is done (hopefully in the next month or two) I will get back to the 4x4.
In my spare time I have been doing a little design work on the output of my Subaru trans so I can reverse the output and move it down.
As may be evident in my last few post in this thread there have been and will soon be a lot of design changes in the layout of things.
After working with my original design and getting some of it mounted I was not pleased with the layout.
I have since decided to ditch a lot of that and go back to one of the ideas that I mentioned way early in this thread.
Anyway it will all make sense once I get back to it and, with the new game plan and having some parts made ahead of time, I hope that it will progress more quickly than it has in the past.
In the meantime if you are bored and/or interested you can check out my 2wd Vanagon build.
https://www.expeditionportal.com/fo...ittle-van-daily-vanagon-adventure-rig.198832/
Until next time.
snwbrdr435
Member
Still interested in progress on this thing.
Interested as well. I liked the size of our Vanagon, but the drivetrain, brakes, trans, etc was not up to the task of what it could carry and dealing with modern road speeds (at least not without throwing ~$20-30k at it). 80 series axles under one would be the bastard love child of both of my previous rigs, would love to see this complete!
Subaru made a H-6 Engine in the mid 90's (I think) to be use on a car (sorry don't remember the model, the one with the "Dual window" for the front) had a Time chain and very simple electronics/sensors, etc so is easy to adapt..
Personally I have a 2002 H6 Outback and that engine is very bulletproof and deliver a very nice power band..
vwhammer
Adventurer
Sorry no new progress as of late.
It's still happening but it's just moving real slowly.
I ran into a snag with my 2WD Vanagon build, that I am currently working on, when I discovered that my transmission was trashed.
It took nearly 4 months to track down a good trans which slowed down that van build a bit.
Until the 2WD is out of the garage I have no room to work on the 4WD.
Anyway the plan is to have the 2WD done late june early july and resume work on the 4WD.
I have done a lot of redesign work on the 4WD and have a pretty good game plan on how to proceed so, fingers crossed, the build should move along at a better pace than recently.
On another note, I believe the car that ricardo is speaking of is the SVX that had a 3.3 H6.
It did make 230-240 hp but had a habit of destroying the transmission that it was attached to.
They still had belt driven timing.
I have considered one of these engines off and on for some time but I already had the 2.2 so decided to run that.
If I ever shoot for more power, I would prefer a turbo set up so power loss at higher elevations if not as drastic.
It's still happening but it's just moving real slowly.
I ran into a snag with my 2WD Vanagon build, that I am currently working on, when I discovered that my transmission was trashed.
It took nearly 4 months to track down a good trans which slowed down that van build a bit.
Until the 2WD is out of the garage I have no room to work on the 4WD.
Anyway the plan is to have the 2WD done late june early july and resume work on the 4WD.
I have done a lot of redesign work on the 4WD and have a pretty good game plan on how to proceed so, fingers crossed, the build should move along at a better pace than recently.
On another note, I believe the car that ricardo is speaking of is the SVX that had a 3.3 H6.
It did make 230-240 hp but had a habit of destroying the transmission that it was attached to.
They still had belt driven timing.
I have considered one of these engines off and on for some time but I already had the 2.2 so decided to run that.
If I ever shoot for more power, I would prefer a turbo set up so power loss at higher elevations if not as drastic.
snwbrdr435
Member
Any updates to this?
vwhammer
Adventurer
I wish I could say there were updates but I have none.
Been working on my 2wd van and the 4x4 has been pushed to the side.
The good news is that the 2wd is nearly finished and I have gathered a few more of the good parts for the 4x4 build.
I do need to build a motorcycle sometime soon but my primary goal is to get the garage set up to work on the 4x4 as soon as the 2wd is outta the shop.
I know it's been a long time coming but it's still happening.
Been working on my 2wd van and the 4x4 has been pushed to the side.
The good news is that the 2wd is nearly finished and I have gathered a few more of the good parts for the 4x4 build.
I do need to build a motorcycle sometime soon but my primary goal is to get the garage set up to work on the 4x4 as soon as the 2wd is outta the shop.
I know it's been a long time coming but it's still happening.
vwhammer
Adventurer
Well crap guys and gals I have my work cut out for me.
My wife and I will be moving to Colorado in March and I need to get this thing running and driving at the very least.
We will have a garage at the new place but it would be ideal if the van could be driven under it's own power to make moving it and moving it around here and out west that much easier.
I have done some design work on the new 4 link set up that I will be using and have purchased most of the joints that will be used for that so I feel like I can knock that out pretty quickly.
Finally have a local place to get steel so I don't have to wait 5 days for steel shipments.
I have made some changes in the way the transfer case is going to be laid out so I think I am just going to build a much more simple tubular transfer case mount since I don't need it to support my control arm mounts as it did in the previous design.
The main thing that needs to happen first is getting the engine and trans mounted up so I can see if my axle clears the trans.
After that I will be hitting up Front Range Off Road with all my dimensions in the hopes that they can build my new rear axle and have it too me in time to install it and drive.
I will carry on with the 4 link build using my mock up axle so at the very least I can have it rolling in the event that it is not rolling AND running.
Even if it was running and drivable I will likely not be driving it out west.
I simply want to make it so I don't have to drag a suspension-less chassis up on a trailer but driving it on the trailer would be ideal.
Anyway it's make-it-or-break-it time.
I have no plans to half-****** the build but I may not make things as tidy as I would like.
All of the details can all be squared up at a later date when I have more time.
If this build interests you then stay tuned because there should be a flurry of activity in the next 8 to 10 weeks.
Wish me luck.
My wife and I will be moving to Colorado in March and I need to get this thing running and driving at the very least.
We will have a garage at the new place but it would be ideal if the van could be driven under it's own power to make moving it and moving it around here and out west that much easier.
I have done some design work on the new 4 link set up that I will be using and have purchased most of the joints that will be used for that so I feel like I can knock that out pretty quickly.
Finally have a local place to get steel so I don't have to wait 5 days for steel shipments.
I have made some changes in the way the transfer case is going to be laid out so I think I am just going to build a much more simple tubular transfer case mount since I don't need it to support my control arm mounts as it did in the previous design.
The main thing that needs to happen first is getting the engine and trans mounted up so I can see if my axle clears the trans.
After that I will be hitting up Front Range Off Road with all my dimensions in the hopes that they can build my new rear axle and have it too me in time to install it and drive.
I will carry on with the 4 link build using my mock up axle so at the very least I can have it rolling in the event that it is not rolling AND running.
Even if it was running and drivable I will likely not be driving it out west.
I simply want to make it so I don't have to drag a suspension-less chassis up on a trailer but driving it on the trailer would be ideal.
Anyway it's make-it-or-break-it time.
I have no plans to half-****** the build but I may not make things as tidy as I would like.
All of the details can all be squared up at a later date when I have more time.
If this build interests you then stay tuned because there should be a flurry of activity in the next 8 to 10 weeks.
Wish me luck.