It was like a toothache.

Tell me about dinner. That looks like something yummy. ;)

Oil and salt meat. Heat cast iron pan to smoking. Drop in 1 pat butter, heat to smoking. Sear each side of meat for 30 sec. Inside still raw. Slice thinly. ENJOY.

there is spray on paint that gives a black crackle finish - a friend used it on his valve covers & it looks great; no idea re durability

BTW - that is for the elbow not for the meat

mmmm. skirt steak! love it.

nice van too. that is a great project.

awesome!

I'm pretty much done. Got the last wiring connected, re-tightened everything, fixed some coolant leaks, got full throttle motion, charged battery, filled fluids, etc. Took time off to watch the Monaco GP.

Then the van wouldn't crank. Bad chassis ground. And then it wouldn't fire. Reversed polarity on fuel pump leads.

Finally, the Zetec started up. I ran it for 3 minutes, logging the ECU data, and shut down. I'll email the datalog to the Bostig guys (who sell this kit), they review it for any problems.

Here's a couple of the charts - the datalogger captures about 15 different series. This is rpm and air flow.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1274069130.jpg

I'll post a pic of the completed conversion later, but its dark now.

congrats!

what is the vertical trace?

Dunno. I haven't played w/ the software much.

I have to unfreeze the passenger side parking brake - it is stuck "on" - and finish filling the coolant - supposed to take 16+ qts, I've only got 1 gallon in it, not sure why its not sucking down more coolant, I did drain the old stuff, but vanagon cooling systems are weird. Install an extension cable to take the ODBII signal to the dash where I'll put a Scangauge2. Tie up some remaining wire bundles, like a neat engine bay. A couple of screws and nuts need finding. And have to figure out if my hoses are getting too hot from the exhaust, make a heat shield. But I should be driving the van again this week. First stop will be an A/C shop to get the hoses extended and the system charged. Then I'll have a functioning van again, just in time for camping weather. There's some preventative maintenance I should do before the first trip - replace front coolant hoses, new shocks, etc. But I'm glad to have this mostly done (x-ing fingers). Oh, I need a "Ford" sticker too.

Update.

The Zetec is working reliably and well. I had a coolant hose leak, a loose starter wire - fixed - had to add the optional heat shield, and there's still stuff I haven't finished - Scangauge, tachometer mod, and A/C hoses/recharge. But I have 2,000 miles with no problems now.

Bostig has just released a turbo kit that ups the (edit - corrected) torque to about 200 ft/lb. That'll have to wait for a bit - the wheels, suspension and brakes need upgrading or rebuilding first. But the path is clear.

Wasn't there a kit [I'm going back to the 1990's now...] that allowed you to mount a standard VW EA827 unit in a Vanagon? It wasn't much of a kit, since the Vanagon actually used this standard inline-four during it's production run...albeit in 52 hp diesel form. This kit allowed you to cheaply mount the 115 hp VW Golf/Jetta engine that was installed in those cars from '93 onward. Technically, you could install a VR6 with this kit, if you really wanted to, since the bellhousing bolts and the connection from the crankshaft are the same.. Anything is better than the "wasserboxer", which typically blew its head gaskets at 60,000 miles costing its owner more than $2000!

-I have to wonder WHY you chose that Ford engine instead of the available VW motors....that were actually installed from the factory on this vehicle. And there have been a LOT of flat-six Porsche conversions? What about those-

N!

The most common engine swaps for Vanagons are Subaru 4's. Zetec and VW 1.8/2.0 swaps are less common. Subaru 6 swaps are getting more popular. There are occasional Audi 5-cyl swaps. Porsche 911 swaps are very rare, just one-offs.

As an example, I went to a recent PDX Vanagon get-together. We had 41 vans. A few Subaru conversions (including a sweet turbo), 3 or 4 Zetecs, I don't recall any 1.8/TDI's.

Advantage of the Zetec swap is that the motor is very affordable - costs about $900 brand new in crate or $250 from a wrecker - and the kit is well thought-out and well-supported.

Edit - just a bit more info for those interested.

The VW 1.8/2.0 swaps use parts from the South Africa-made Vanagons. They are "factory" in the sense that this is how they came (come?) in South Africa, but they will still be franken-vans. Maybe a VW mechanic will be more willing to work on a VW 1.8 conversion. (I think) it is the same situation with the TDI conversions.

Over the last several years, the range of engine swaps for Vanagons has expanded quite a bit. At the same time, so have the expectations for the swaps. For instance, used to be the HP/TQ gains from a 4-cyl Subaru were considered enough, but now people would like more HP/TQ and more are doing the Subaru 6-cyl swaps. A normally-aspirated VW 1.8 won't meet the new expectations threshold for power either.

There are more companies offering complete kits and/or turnkey conversions. A new wiring harness is a big plus - so you don't have to strip one from a donor car then modify it to fit the Vanagon and spend the next months chasing down electrical issues. At the same time, the engines available to DIY'ers in wrecking yards are getting more expensive and older. Those putting in a Subaru 4-cyl are now often finding 80K+ mile motors and rebuilding them before the install.

For CA people, smog is a problem. The 4-cyl Subaru conversion can pass inspection if certain specific parts are used and the corresponding stickers obtained. The Zetec will not, nor will the other conversions. In OR, no issue. I took my van for emissions testing, the guy asked what kind of engine I was using and we had a nice chat about the different conversions he'd seen, but it didn't matter at all for passing.

There's a long upgrade I drive to get to the kids' school. Average car is going up at 50 mph. With the stock wasserboxer, I was struggling along at 40 mph in third. With the Zetec, it is 50-55 mph in third. I'd ideally like 50-55 mph in fourth. The Westy Vanagon is a fairly heavy vehicle - GVWR 5,200 lb.

The 911 motor does not really fit, being quite tall with the vertical fan - the (handful of) installs I've seen online use an extension to the engine lid, and the crankcase hangs low (which worries me more than an oil pan hanging low). The cost of a good-condition or rebuilt 911 engine is rather prohibitive anyway. The inline 4- cyl VW motors and the inline 5-cyl Audi motors have to be canted way over to the side, which isn't necessarily a problem but the engine compartment ends up being pretty full. The Subaru motors fit well. The Zetec fits well, not canted, with a slight reduction in ground clearance.

Another desired upgrade would be the transmission - a 5 speed would be nice - but I don't know of a tried-and-true swap for that using commonly-available parts. The stock transaxle is not super-robust, much above 200 ft/lbs TQ is getting a bit marginal as far as I know.

Compared to the Subaru and VW 1/8/2.0 kits, the Bostig/Zetec kit is more expensive, but the engine is less expensive (and that's comparing a new Zetec to a wrecking yard Subaru/VW engine), and the support (7-day/wk phone & email, written/video directions) are excellent. There are multiple good options out there for Vanagon engine conversions, which is good because the wasserboxer isn't getting any more attractive.

John, did you research gnd. clearance issues? Which ones stick up above the rear cabin floor?

thx for posting on this BTW - you have > 3,000 views, so it is something of a public service...

I don't know the ground clearance numbers for the different conversions. The Zetec can get another 2" with the high capacity, low profile oilpan. Plus better departure angle. I think you need that oilpan for the turbo anyway as it feeds oil to the turbo bearings.

None of the common conversions stick up above the stock engine lid.

Check out smallcar for one Subaru kit, they also have a wiring harness separately. Bostig for the Zetec kit. Stephans******** for a 1.8 turnkey. There are other convertors and kit sources.

I'm still using the stock Focus oilpan. Will switch to the high-cap pan later.

Weird, I can't post ********

A u t o h a u s