Porsche 3.6 VW Bus

[9XI]

Question for Tyson, John Walker or the other resident wizards.

I have a dream floating around in the back of my head of a cherry 21 window type 2 or Vanagon Carat with 3.6 power, G50 tranny, good brakes, suitable suspension, etc. The disease started when I got my RS America. 3.6 power is pleasant. The V6 Eurovan is OK, but a Type 2 or Vanagon with suitable power would be better.

Is the Type 2 better for this kind of project or the Vanagon? I would guess the Vanagon, both for cost and ease, but I would like your thoughts.

Also, what kind of budget should I plan for a nice clean driver with the Porsche mods? Not for taking trophies at shows, just a nice sleeper commuter.

[JP911]

There was a feature in Excellence magazine a few months back on an older (don't think it was a 21-window) VW bus with a 3.6, suspension, and brakes from a 964 or a 993. It was very cool.

[klatinn]

Hi,

I just chime in here. I have a 68 VW bus (first year with full front window) with an 3.0 SC engine. The 68-79 Type 2's are easiest to convert from my experience.
The earlier split window buses have small engine compartments and without completely building your own frame underneath a G50 and flat six would just not fit.
In a Vanagon the problem is the engine height. Vanagon engines have a very low profile and the engine compartment is correspondingly very low. I doubt that a 3.6 will fit there without mods to the intake system (VarioRam in the way) and without sticking up in the luggage area. A 3.2 can be made to fit with some intake mods.

The 68-79 Type 2's have an engine compartment that's big enough and high enough even for a 930 engine.

Regards,
Klaus

[john walker's workshop]

my shop bus with a 3.2. soon to be a 3.0 turbo.

tight fit in an early, up to '67 bus, but doable. about 8 more inches to the rear with a '68-79 bus. lots of room in a vanagon.

[raceman]

there`s at least one company l`ve seen that does a lot of these VW van conversions but they seen to favor the 3.2 engine.l recommend the 993 turbo powerplant for correct power to weight distribution,nothing like a tow vehicle faster then the race car behind it!

[widebody911]

I think a vanagon would be easier; there's lot sof 3.2L vanagons running around.

Here's a link to buses with 911 engines from my bus site:
http://66.34.72.138/cgi-bin/gallery-search.cgi?string=911+engine

[9XI]

Thanks for the pictures and ideas. What about conversion cost?

Take a $10,000 bus and add on how much? $20K possible?

[Grady Clay]

John,

Cool conversion! Please post more images.

Why not heaters and killer full A/C - dehumidifier to take your customers to work and shag parts in the Turbo bus?

A 2-door flatbed pre-’60 transporter with the 3.2 and a 915/916 mid-engine would be great for hauling those Varioram & G50s. You can mount a hydraulic crane behind the cab or at the back.

Best,
Grady

[targa911S]

John you have just confirmed my suspicions all along that you were a rocket scientist! That is SO sweet!

[gumba]

Depends on how nice a job you want to do. I wanted mine to look like a factory install, use all Porsche parts, and be able to swap motors w/o modifying the tin, etc. The only modification we made was the rear engine hanger. Also how much of the work you are willing to do.
I'm currently running a 2.4 E w/Webers, about 160 h.p. A 3.2 would be nice for more low end torque. You should also include enough money for brake & suspension mods.
'68 v.w. crewcab w/2.4 & 5 speed

[slater]

There was a feature in Excellence magazine a few months back on an older (don't think it was a 21-window) VW bus with a 3.6, suspension, and brakes from a 964 or a 993. It was very cool.

It was last June or july. I only remember that cause I read it on the plane on the way to Disneyland. It was pretty in-depth

[john walker's workshop]

4 wheel SC discs, 73 5 speed, rack and pinion w/ vanagon steering box. complete 73 rear suspension including torsion bar tube. i'm doing another bus with short wheelbase rear suspension from a 68 912, 901, and a 68 912 engine. it also will have a modified (shortened struts) 73 911 front suspension instead of the beam. this bus was retro'd from an 11 window into a 15 window, i added the factory sunroof, walk-thru front seats, early wheel well shape, swapped the inward louvres to the outward style, and backdated the taillights and front bullet turn signals. it will be black on top, forest green below, black w/ green piping on all 3 seats. this pic is pre-912 eng/suspension swap, but after most of the body mods.

[ChrisBennet]

Originally posted by JP911
There was a feature in Excellence magazine a few months back on an older (don't think it was a 21-window) VW bus with a 3.6, suspension, and brakes from a 964 or a 993. It was very cool.

It was a 996 motor, suspension, etc. Not an easy project.
-Chris

[Adam]

Ahhh, those are so cool!

John, what does that thing drive like? I'm assuming it's like a big, boofy 911.

[Tspringer]

The prospect of a Porsche 6 powered VW bus is VERY intriguing! This could be the perfect new vehicle for my wife.

Why drive yet another soccer mom minivan when you could have a custom hotrod lotta windows VW bus?

I would prefer a 964 or 993 engine with tiptronic, modern dual A/C, modern stereo and built in DVD player, modern seats, interior, sound deadening and such..... in short a VW bus with all modern running gear and interior.

Who would build such a car? How much???

[Porsche_monkey]

Yes they look good. Maybe someone (JW) could comment on how they differ from my ponderous SUV in the handling department.

[1973911s]

You see those for sale on Thesamba.com every so often.

[First911]

A 911-powered Vanagon has been a dream vehicle of mine for a long time. Having owned a '66 Standard, '71 Westfalia, and '91 Westfalia Syncro, I think a late-model Vanagon platform would be the best for a daily-driver 911 transplant. There's a company in Glendale that sells engine conversion kits and related components (http://msdsinc.com/vanagon_ecs.htm ). They used to offer turnkey engine conversions but ran afoul of California DMV and smog requirements for switching engines and stopped doing them. Last I checked several years ago, it was $10-12K in parts and labor for them to do the conversion (not including the recommended 3.2 liter Porsche engine that you had to supply). According to MSDS, the 3.2 liter engine is the only one that will fit in a Vanagon without modifying the engine cover. If you modify the engine cover, you loose the ability to use the folding Z-bed.

A Vanagon is much more of a European driving experience than any American SUV. We have a Ford Supercrew and Chevy Express van conversion and they feel like tanks. Our '91 Vanagon cornered like it was on rails compared to an SUV, but in stock form they barely get out of their own way. One can't expect much with 90 HP pushing 5,000 lbs of bread box around. More power is definitely needed, but its never going to come close to cornering like a sports car. It would be a blast to drive a Porsche-powered one!

A 911 transaxle can easily be transplanted into a Vanagon and the shifter modified for the 5 speed. They need a 5th gear as ours was buzzing at 4,100 RPM at 70 MPH on the freeway. The VW automatic tranny is reportedly pretty stout and can handle the added torque and HP of a Porsche transplant. I've heard of Vanagon auto trannies used in VW drag cars and high performance sand rails.

You see a lot more Subaru engine conversions in Vanagons these days than Porsche. I'm sure its a cost and availability issue. It's pretty easy to buy used, low mileage engines from various Japanese exporters.

[jasonq]

along the lines of the subaru swap in a vanagon, there's a company outside of seattle that does them. http://www.smallcar.com. looks like a non-turbo subaru engine is about 6 grand to install, you supply the motor, and they sell all the parts too. They have also done the H6 from a svx into a vanagaon as well as the wrx turbo motor. I have had a westy syncro wrx/H6 in the back of my head as a the perfect ski roadtrip vehicle.

j

[randywebb]

Having spent a lot of time in junkyards to get cheap parts for my VW Bus many years ago... be very conservative with it and drive defensively. It is chilling to see some of the front end wrecks on the old buses.