OT Vanagon subi conversion, A quick ballpark tally of what's involved and cost Options

[Mark Henry]

I have a good friend who has a VW shop and he has gone through 3 rebuilt longblocks on a ladies WC westy. He's at a total loss so he was asking me how much is a subi conversion and what is involved.

He can get an engine locally, but what else is needed?

I take it a trans adaptor and I believe you need the brain with the engine. and some kind of mount is needed.

Has anyone here done this job/project?

[rhodyguy]

smallcar.com

[Tom_T]

Mark

IMHO & for my money, a GoWesty rebuilt waterboxer is the best bet for me, & probably for the client there.

Not because they do a better job rebuilding than many other shops - nor even than a Subie conversion - but because they offer a 48 month/48,000 mile warranty on their rebuilt engines - 2x what VW gave new & 4x the average rebuilders' 12/12 warranty.

They're more or less plug-n-play - other than wanting to fully update everything needed in the coolant system, & can be had in a variety of bored & stroked flavors from 2.2 - 2.7 L with increased HP & TQ - & they end up pretty close to Subie 4 power anyway.

I don't know what customs duties nor cross-border issues will do to the warranty, cost & shipping, etc. - but definitely worth your buddy checking out & advising his client on. It's also worthwhile to read the associated articles, & maybe even to call owner Lucas Valdez on the unique USA-CAN issues.

http://www.gowesty.com/ec_view_category.php?id=82

+ $500 to engine cost for 48/48 -
http://www.gowesty.com/ec_view_details.php...gory_parent_id=

Engine & crate core charges are refunded upon return, so even their current top dog 2.45L 110 HP 150 lb/ft TQ is about $6500 with the 48/48 warr. + taxes & other charges.... plus any other cooling & other issues beyond just the motor, which I don't consider part of the motor cost, but rather other needed maintenance items afterr 23-30+/- years!

PS - if their Auto Trans is slipping (or manual problems/wear), now is the time to rebuild it, or get a rebuilt one from Gowesty etc. too.

Whenever ours in next next in need of replacement or major work, that's what I'll do - or more correctly, have my long time 40 year mechanic Hans do - just to have the warranty protection, if for nothing else. .... on a 2.4 or 2.5L! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/happy11.gif)

Cheers! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)
Tom
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[KELTY360]

www.rockymountainwesty.com

Small Car has a nice cast aluminum bellhousing but Rocky Mountain Westy has a better mount IMO. RMW has superb fabrication skills also.

[stugray]

A friend of mine at work has a 4WD vanagon with a Suby conversion in it.

If you wanted to speak with him, I could get his email address.

[OU8AVW]

+1 for Rocky Mountain Westy conversions. There's a shop close to them that does rebuilds on the Suby motors and works with RMW on getting everything needed. Last time I tallied it up it was around $15k for EVERYTHING i needed. Including new coolant lines, AC and cruise control for a 2.5 rebuilt. That's as much as I could figure out to spend.

Go Westy requires their engines be backed up with a 100% new cooling system. That's every hose in the car.

[rgalla9146]

Go to "The Samba"
More Vanagon conversion info than you can imagine.

[DBCooper]

You might look at conversions as new business, Mark. A lot of shops around here do them and several specialize, so there's demand. The initial work and cost is the same as a VW wasser conversion, but the Subarus are stronger, then if one goes sour you can get a good low mileage replacement for a thousand bucks, plug and play. Something to think about.

[Chris H.]

I have a good friend who has a VW shop and he has gone through 3 rebuilt longblocks on a ladies WC westy. He's at a total loss so he was asking me how much is a subi conversion and what is involved.

He can get an engine locally, but what else is needed?

I take it a trans adaptor and I believe you need the brain with the engine. and some kind of mount is needed.

Has anyone here done this job/project?

Yes there are a TON of them on The Samba and you'll get some unbiased opinions there. It's a lot like a 914 conversion but easier in a few ways...the plumbing is already there (assuming it's a wasserboxer), the electronics are slightly more compatible, etc. Smallcar makes a mount, there are plenty of engine options.

[76-914]

Get all your questions answered here. Tom is the moderator and has converted many vanagons. https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/subaruvanagon/info

[Chris H.]

LOL! DUH! How could I forget that? I get those dang e-mails every day (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif).

[DBCooper]

Wow that's cool. In that newsgroup there's a "files" section (here: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/subaruvanagon/files) that has category "Engine Costs" with a spreadsheet called "Prices.xls" that compares do-it-yourself and three shop costs for the conversion, and for different engines. The spreadsheet's from 2007 but is pretty interesting and probably still fairly relevant. It shows do-it-yourself of $5000 vs. $9600 turnkey from GoWesty for a 2.5, for example. Low end is $3800 for a do-it-yourself 2.2 liter (which is a very nice engine, and can be done as California CARB approved and legal). That should answer the cost question.

[JmuRiz]

norustscott has one he built long ago. Not sure if he's active here anymore.

He was having fun at a bug out event doing dragraces with it. they DQ'd him because it was too fast. He was just out to have fun, didn't care about winning races.

[Mark Henry]

That's what I started to figure out on the price $5K DIY and $10K-up to have a shop do it.
So it's out of the budget.


Thing is my buddies shop has replaced the VW 1.9 engine 3 times, pro rebuild from california and every time the damn thing blows up in 10 miles.

They have their guy install it, he's a factory trained tech, but he's around 70 and they are beginning to wonder if he is doing something wrong.
Head gasket issues first time, hole in the piston this time.
They want me to look at it, old guy swears timing is correct, I'm thinking there is a air fuel ratio issue somehow as it sounds like a lean condition.

My bud is behind the 8-ball and he's a stand up guy with a good rep and wants to keep it that way.

[Jon H.]

If he has more time than money,aside from the engine, ecu wire harness etc., the only thing you absolutely have to buy that is specific for the swap is a set of headers, $250usd from outfront motorsports (or just the flanges and make your own headers) and the adapter plate and flywheel $520usd. The rest can be scrounged or fabbed on the cheap. My svx conversion cost approx.$2750 and that included adapter plate, headers, engine mount ($400USd) throttle cable $75 usd , VSS $60usd? new clutch $300cnd, starter $100cnd, complete engine and peripherals $350cnd, coolant pipes $275 usd? throwout bearing. Don't add up those values it does add up to $2750, I'm forgetting some things but I do remember the total. If he's good at fabbing and you have a good pick and pull like we do here in ottawa (two actually) then it can be done on the cheap. There is a Kenny u-pull in hamilton. My swap took aprox. 40 hours that includes me building the wiring harness. If he is really resource full I'm sure it could be done for less than $2000 cnd. I have also just put a sub by 5mt in the van which has improved the van dramatically. I do know someone in Toronto who has header flanges for sale if needed.

Regards'

Jon