Tell Me About Vanagons W/ 911 Motors

[jyl]

I'm thinking about buying a VW Vanagon Westfalia camper. But the idea of hauling the family around with 100 HP seems . . . yawn. Do people put 911 motors in these? Can anyone tell me about the conversion process and the results?

Edit: I'm talking about the 1984-1991 Vanagon.

[Dantilla]

Excellence magazine had an article a while ago about a very well- done, and hidiously expensive, 3.6 powered bus.

It can be done with lots of fabrication.

I'd look into a brake upgrade as well.

[cowtown]

There was a parking-lot full of RUF-powered Vanagons at the Nurburgring when I visited. Let's just say they could pass my Seat Deisel without any problems. I'll have to dig up the video I took.

[azasadny]

There's a company in Texas (not sure where) that sells a Subaru engine and all necessary conversion hardware in a kit to put in a Westy. I sold my '85 Westy to a coworker and he drove it until the VW engine died, then put in a new Subaru engine and loves it. If you're interested, I'll ge the info for you...

[URY914]

Here is an early T-II with 911 power.

[island911]

porsche actually made a few factory-six vanagons. (B-12's or something)

anyway, for the water-pumpers (84-9x) you want a water-pumper . .. if you like heat, that is. Subaru motors seem to be the popular thing. A boxter motor may work to.

Personally, I'm good with the factory 2.1, in my syncro (which saps even more power)

[speeder]

I used to think a lot about doing the 911 in Vanagon swap, but in the end it just doesn't make sense. Especially w/ premium unleaded @ ~$3.00 @ gallon. What you want in a van is bottom-end grunt, period. You're not going to win any races in a Vanagon, I don't care if it has 400 HP. (Unless you're racing other vans). They are heavy, the weight is high and they have the aerodynamics of a sail.

911 motors, wonderful as they can be, were designed to propel small, aerodynamic cars and produce torque higher in the rev range. The later and larger the 911 motor, the more bottom-end power, but really a 3.6 is the only one remotely suited, IMO. The motor that makes sense, (at least sort of), is a 996 motor. The van is already liquid cooled, and you'd have 300 hp that is no good at the track but perfect for hauling around lots of ass. Plus they are cheap to come by, lower maintanence, etc.. The problem is the conversion cost. I looked into it, and you could basically buy a slightly used 996 for the same $$. No ethical wrench will do it, they're bound by some unwritten covennent to report people who make such requests to the proper mental health authorities.

The Subaru option makes sense, but not the turbo motors. (See above paragraph). The last thing you want is excessive engine heat as a high-output turbo motor designed for rallying struggles to move a camper up a mountain. Not good.

The platform of the '80-'91 Vanagon is absolutely the best ever built for quality interior space in a movable package, IMO, but the motor is the extremely weak link. What you ideally want is a torque-y, water-cooled modern motor w/ digital management for good efficiency and gas mileage. The 150 HP n/a Subaru motor is the only one that makes sense at this time. Do a search, there is a ton of info out there on them.

Check here: http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=subaru+vanagon&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

Kennedy Engineering makes everything you will need, (they are one of the first sites on that page), and the prices are reasonable. If you can do this yourself, you save a fortune. Keep us posted if you do it!

[speeder]

That type 2 w/ the 911 motor must handle like a shopping cart. Scary.

[widebody911]

A bunch of normal busses @ http://vintagebus.com



John Walker's

[Dantilla]

Yeah, I forgot our own John Walker's parts hauler is powered by a 911 engine. 2.7 if I remember correctly.

[jyl]

Thanks, guys.

We just took our old camper out of storage, it's at the mechanics trying to get it running again, and I decided I don't even want it. F250 3/4 ton 4x4 460ci w/ Lance camper, gets <10 mpg and way too much truck for the current stage of our life and where we live. Coincidentally, my BART car (beater car that gets left at the airport and the train station etc) is really getting o-l-d. As in, I'm never sure I'm going to get back from the airport.

So I am thinking about a Vanagon Westy to be both the weekend camper and the BART car. I see them for sale as low as $5000 withh a lot of miles. I figure they can't be too hard to work on, I could go through the suspension and brakes and misc, and then if the motor gives out, do a swap.

There seems to be a huge support network for the Westys - online forums, parts vendors, etc. I checked some parts prices, they seem frankly cheap (after buying 911 parts).

Am I right that they are DIY-able? Would a Westy with 150K miles be a big mistake?

[island911]

a good thread on westy's

You should expect plenty of problem free miles with those motors. (my experience, anyway)

The one caveat is that the heads can get crevice-corrosion, if the coolant is maintained properly. I haven't had this problem with a couple different vanagons, both 170k+. . ...but then I maintain the coolant well.

[john walker's workshop]

it was a 3.2 w/webers. sold the engine a while back, and it may get a 3.0 turbo stuffed in soon.

[Superman]

Hmmmmm.... A four hundred horsepower transporter. Hmmmm.

[Jamie79SC]

Consider a 5 cyl Audi diesel. I'm told that it's just about a bolt-on project for a diesel 84 - 92 Vanagon. I very nearly went that route after I blew-up my second VW diesel.

-edit route ends with an 'e'

[ckissick]

I had an '85 Westy with the original engine, and drove it to all 49 states on the continent, and a lot of Canada, over 2 summers. It had 50K miles when I bought it, and 120K when I sold it. It never had any technical problems at all; the only work it ever required was a CV joint replacement in Florida. I didn't mind the slow ride. I found it relaxing, which is what a camping/road trip should be. A fast Westy is a scary thought.

I'm currently looking to buy another one, also. The '86 to '91 years are supposed to be the most trouble free, and that's what I'm looking for. My budget is $10K, which should get me something decent. I have seen some for sale with Subaru engines. Sounds like a good idea.

Anyway, check these guys out:

http://www.poptopheaven.com/

The Eurovans are a lot more money, and less roomy.

[jyl]

I'm probably going to avoid the Eurovans. They seem expensive, have a reputation for unreliability, and seem like they'd be harder to work on DIY.

There are quite a few Westys around here. I guess I first need to get the Ford P/U running, then take a couple trips just to get my money's worth (and to make sure the family still likes camper camping), then sell it. I'm hoping to be shopping for a Westy by the winter.

When I was a kid, my dad had a VW bus. I think it would be neat if my kids grew up with a VW van too.

[Racerbvd]

Originally posted by URY914
Here is an early T-II with 911 power.

That is my buddy Mikes bus

[SpeedracerIndy]

I had a chance to check this one out a couple of years ago:



W O W ! ! The guy who built it from Fabcar happened to be dropping his daughter off where I was. He told me it has a 993 engine and a full suspension from a 2001 996! The level of detail on it was staggering. And the sound. He was nice enough to goose it as he drove off. He also told me he had gotten it up to 150 mph! Can you imagine going 150 mph in a loaf of bread?!? He diddn't tell me who he had built it for though, just that it cost more than a new GT2 to build. Anyone know who it was built for?

[Jamie79SC]

According to the article in Excellence, he had a scare in his origional bus and decided to build a super bus for his family.