68_early_bay
Well-known member
Oh.my.god. :shock:
Talk about acceleration 8)
Talk about acceleration 8)
'71 Deluxe - Now with Super Secret Subaru Swap!
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Thanks Alistair! Yes you've pretty much nailed the concept. I was considering using some rubber landscaping "bender board" to do it, it's a little bit more low profile than the mud flaps and very inexpensive. I don't want anything hanging down too far to be visible from the outside of the bus. But if they don't work because they're not large enough, these flaps would probably be the ticket with a bit of trimming.aogrady said:
I think the Porsche grille would look really nice and clean but still contribute to the problem and also give away that something is "not quite right" with the bus. The only thing I want to give that away is some tire smoke and some shrinking tail lights. :lol:aogrady said:
To your point about the data logging the tuner studio software has data logging which Jeff uses to tune the EFI. If you look at some of the videos he has the main display screen shown on his laptop that has all of the critical info shown in real time. The logging screen that is not shown can display any of the information in chart form so you can really see what kind of effect each change you make has on the overall system. Google "tuner studio" and check it out.
I need to get a cheap netbook or something so I can take over where Jeff leaves off, even though this stuff is fun for him and he seems to really get a kick out of his Frankenstein creation.
There is a surprising amount of pressure created by the stock vents and my little JK scoops. I get the feeling that this idea will probably end up killing a fan motor.aogrady said:
Yes the fans pretty much run in stop and go traffic around town. I think only the first rad fan runs-I have never seen them both run which is a nice feeling because I know I have more cooling capacity than I apparently need. I took it on the freeway and when I stopped the bus and got out the fans were not running. However I have not had the chance to go on any longer trips at highway speeds so i guess i don't really know yet how it cools for prolonged periods of time. The "fan on" LEDs will help me understand what's going on back there without a laptop. I can hear fans run when idling but I can't hear shit at 70mph, other than that Subaru growl.
The open deck lid discussion you found is right on.
The 9k RPM engine is nutty! Honestly I wanted to swap the engine strictly for reliability and low maintenance so I could enjoy the bus with my family. I thought it would be quicker and thus safer keeping up with modern traffic, but I got WAY more than I bargained for.
I guess I have not yet mentioned that Jeff replaced all the seals and adjusted the valves so short of changing the oil there is no maintenance to do for another 100K miles. Oh and my bus doesn't leak any oil, which is a trip because the bus sure looks like it should. :lol:
Thank Al! I did ask Jeff to cut a hole in my deck lid and stand off my plate but I think this was counterproductive in my case because of the excess heat from my rads may be getting directed into the hole by my bumper. I am going to remove my plate standoffs to see if that changes things for the better.Bundy said:Hi,
Loving your work on this conversion.
...
Another thing I did was cut 6 large holes behind the rear number plate and stand it off the engine lid with a couple of rubber grommets...I reckon that's helped keep better airflow out of the engine bay as it never seems overly hot in there after a long run anymore.
...
Good luck with it...oh, the gearbox will transform the drive! I had mine rebuilt with the 091 c+p and a taller 4th...cruises beautifully and 1st is useful too now :lol:
Cheers
Al
PS: Fit a rev counter...that way you know it's still running when at the lights! I had to as couldn't hear it
Do you know what gear ratios you used on you gearbox?
Thanks for the tip on the tach- I already contacted aspro about getting one of his tachs. Just gotta send him my center trim ring when I get the hang of dealing with a newborn again.
Up until I blew up my T1 engine I had been replacing all the suspension and brake components so it is surprisingly stable at 90-100mph. I only need to replace my drag link and work on my steering box because turning the wheel does not feel smooth at low speeds. But yeah, buses should not be driven like this, it's just not gonna work out very well if something happens.marco said:
I don't know if anyone noticed in the engine swap pics but my friend put some acetone on a rag and rubbed the old chalky paint on my bus while it was at Jeff's shop. This is how it looks underneath:
I plan to eventually try the oven cleaner paint stripper trick to get back to OG paint/patina from the belt line down. I know there is some crappy body work in places on the bus so I plan on blending those areas with this Krylon Satin Burgundy, which seems to match the OG Chianti Red pretty well:
I have several friends who have painted their entire buses with this type of paint. It's inexpensive, looks sweet, and matches OG colors really well. This '60 double door panel was done with it:
Of the other guys I know who rock this paint, one did his panel in a Turkis Green and the other dude did his '57 Kombi in Palm Green/Sand Green. I'll have to dig up some pictures to post.
Obviously I have other priorities right now but when I get down the list a ways, the bus will be white and red again.
I plan to eventually try the oven cleaner paint stripper trick to get back to OG paint/patina from the belt line down. I know there is some crappy body work in places on the bus so I plan on blending those areas with this Krylon Satin Burgundy, which seems to match the OG Chianti Red pretty well:
I have several friends who have painted their entire buses with this type of paint. It's inexpensive, looks sweet, and matches OG colors really well. This '60 double door panel was done with it:
Of the other guys I know who rock this paint, one did his panel in a Turkis Green and the other dude did his '57 Kombi in Palm Green/Sand Green. I'll have to dig up some pictures to post.
Obviously I have other priorities right now but when I get down the list a ways, the bus will be white and red again.
Bundy
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- Joined
- Jun 5, 2009
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- Location
- Cheshire
- Year of Your Van(s)
- 1971
- Van Type
- Custom
Do you know what gear ratios you used on you gearbox?
I had the 4.57 final drive (as per an 091 gearbox) and a 0.82 4th gear fitted in mine.
Quite a bit jump from 3rd to 4th, but the engine is more than capable.
70mph is just under 3500rpm now
Cheers
Al
I had the 4.57 final drive (as per an 091 gearbox) and a 0.82 4th gear fitted in mine.
Quite a bit jump from 3rd to 4th, but the engine is more than capable.
70mph is just under 3500rpm now
Cheers
Al
mychatype3
Well-known member
Bundy said:
Hello,
Most Earlybay's have the CA gearbox:
CA 1)3.800 2)2.059 3)1.261 4)0.821 5.375 IRS 1600; VW type 2 T2A tot 07/'71
So when you install de Weddle 4.57 you have a great freeway-flyer 8)
http://weddleindustries.com/products/new-products/new-388-ratio-vw-type-1-ring-pinion-sets-made-usa
4.57 set for VW 002 Bus (Made in USA)
Price $369.82
Part # 5B-457E
Better 4th gearing than the CP (6 or 5rib
):CP 1)3.778 2)2.059 3)1.260 4)0.883 4.571 IRS 2000; VW type 2 T2
Nice build keep up the good work
Kind regards Mycha
Wow it's been yet another long stretch with no updates but I have stuff to post so here it is.
Mycha thanks for the info on the weddle parts, this will come in very helpful when deciding how to proceed with my gearbox upgrade. As mentioned before I already bought a 091 six rib trans for the additional strength compared to the 002. I was planning on re-gearing the six rib at a later date, as I think that lowering the RPMs at speed will also be helpful in lowering the coolant temps when cruising the freeway.
So last year Jeff re-located the fill neck to the cross over pipe between the two radiators. He cut an access hatch into the deck of the bus so now the fill neck is at the highest point in the system and the overflow is plumbed to a quick and dirty catch can made out of a water bottle. It's working great, I just checked the coolant last weekend and it is completely full. Here's the pics of the setup:
Here's the access hatch for coolant. Jeff and I have talked about making a nice cover plate for this with Dzus fasteners to seal it up nicely, just hasn't happened yet.
The water bottle overflow/expansion tank.
You can also see the hole in the deck lid and the license plate stand offs on the back side. I have since re-installed the standoffs between the plate and deck lid.
I bought this nice looking tank to replace the water bottle.
It's a little tall to fit where the water bottle is now so we'll see if we can make it work somehow. Maybe mount it on the left side. My buddy also hooked me up with some pulley covers so when I get them on the engine bay should look a lot cleaner.
Mycha thanks for the info on the weddle parts, this will come in very helpful when deciding how to proceed with my gearbox upgrade. As mentioned before I already bought a 091 six rib trans for the additional strength compared to the 002. I was planning on re-gearing the six rib at a later date, as I think that lowering the RPMs at speed will also be helpful in lowering the coolant temps when cruising the freeway.
So last year Jeff re-located the fill neck to the cross over pipe between the two radiators. He cut an access hatch into the deck of the bus so now the fill neck is at the highest point in the system and the overflow is plumbed to a quick and dirty catch can made out of a water bottle. It's working great, I just checked the coolant last weekend and it is completely full. Here's the pics of the setup:
Here's the access hatch for coolant. Jeff and I have talked about making a nice cover plate for this with Dzus fasteners to seal it up nicely, just hasn't happened yet.
The water bottle overflow/expansion tank.
You can also see the hole in the deck lid and the license plate stand offs on the back side. I have since re-installed the standoffs between the plate and deck lid.
I bought this nice looking tank to replace the water bottle.
It's a little tall to fit where the water bottle is now so we'll see if we can make it work somehow. Maybe mount it on the left side. My buddy also hooked me up with some pulley covers so when I get them on the engine bay should look a lot cleaner.
I drove to Bug O Rama in Sacramento back in May. It's about an hour away. First long drive in the Busaru! We cruised up to the show at about 70 MPH in cool weather, me in the bus and my buddy Thomas in his 914 with a turbo WRX swap. My water temp gauge sat at 190 deg F the whole way. I tried to take a video of the ride- sorry about the poor video quality, it's almost not worth posting.
[photobucket]http://vid1041.photobucket.com/albums/b415/Snarky-Snark_and_the_Funky_Bus/71%20Deluxe%20and%2071%20Westfalia%20Weekender/Busaru/IMG_4875_zps5176a70c.mp4[/photobucket]
Driving:
The show was cool, we got to park together with another friend who has a EJ22 swapped Panel with the radiator mounted on his roof rack. Jeff helped with that swap as well. Here's some pics:
[photobucket]http://vid1041.photobucket.com/albums/b415/Snarky-Snark_and_the_Funky_Bus/71%20Deluxe%20and%2071%20Westfalia%20Weekender/Busaru/IMG_4875_zps5176a70c.mp4[/photobucket]
Driving:
The show was cool, we got to park together with another friend who has a EJ22 swapped Panel with the radiator mounted on his roof rack. Jeff helped with that swap as well. Here's some pics:
Driving home:
914 eye view
Driving home was the true test of the cooling system, since it was about 95 deg. F that day. No overheating but the temp gauge was reading 210 deg. at about 60 mph which made me uncomfortable. When I would accelerate past 60mph, the temps would start to climb so I just sat at that speed, like a coward, which bummed out all of my friends because I was driving at aircooled speeds. This made me wonder if my temp gauge was really accurate- I never got around to comparing the Microsquirt EFI temp sensor vs. my crappy $20 gauge. Well it turns out the gauge reads 8-14 degrees higher than the sensor used by the ECU, so the actual temp at 210 deg. on the gauge is 196F. More on this a little later...
914 eye view
Driving home was the true test of the cooling system, since it was about 95 deg. F that day. No overheating but the temp gauge was reading 210 deg. at about 60 mph which made me uncomfortable. When I would accelerate past 60mph, the temps would start to climb so I just sat at that speed, like a coward, which bummed out all of my friends because I was driving at aircooled speeds.
This made me wonder if my temp gauge was really accurate- I never got around to comparing the Microsquirt EFI temp sensor vs. my crappy $20 gauge. Well it turns out the gauge reads 8-14 degrees higher than the sensor used by the ECU, so the actual temp at 210 deg. on the gauge is 196F. More on this a little later...Yeah Andy, Carlos' bus turned out really nicely, he painted his radiator box green like a coleman cooler or a stove or something so it will blend in with his other roof rack accessories. He has driven it down to LA from the Bay area (6+ hours each way) and he has also taken it to Portland, OR and back (10+ hour drive one way). It certainly has no issues with cooling since it's got frontal area exposure (lol) to air flow. Not as un-natural as my setup. Anyway, a couple of pictures of his bus:
Here's one from Portland:
The 914 is for sale, BTW.
Here's one from Portland:
The 914 is for sale, BTW.
Back to my swap, I have been getting a lot of inquiries about my cooling setup. Some have modelled their radiator configuration after mine and have struggled with excessively high temperatures. I think it is a great deal more difficult to get this to work on an early bay than it is on a late bay because of the differences in the vent sizes that feed the radiators. Also the size of the opening in the bottom of the engine bay that lets the hot air escape is larger without cutting the bus. I think what would have been ideal for this swap (for me anyway) would be to get a '72 crossover bus with the nice looking EB nose and the late bay rear end. Best of both worlds. But I didn't have the Subaru Swap in mind when I bought the bus so it is what it is.
Having seen some of the problems others have had with this configuration on an EB, I wanted to be very clear on how this setup performs. Last weekend I spent some time on the highway with Jeff monitoring the ECU coolant temperatures to compare to my Sunpro Gauge. We found that as the temperatures increase, the bias of the gauge increases as well. That is, the hotter the coolant, the less accurate my gauge reads.
It was 95 degrees outside when we did the test on the highway. I put the stand offs back under my license plate to allow the heat to escape through the decklid, because I had removed them, but other than that, there are no changes to my setup from the original install. We drove with the regular highway traffic, and I made sure to pass some people and cruise at "modern" speeds to really see what happens. We found that the gauge read 190 deg when the ECU was seeing 182 degrees. At 200 degrees on the gauge the ECU read 191, and at 210 on the gauge the ECU saw 196. WHAT A RELIEF! I could have just floored it when driving back from Sacramento back in May because I was nowhere near as hot as the gauge showed (what a piece of shit lol).
So on a 95 degree day, driving at about 70-75 mph at 4500-4700 RPM, the MicroSquirt ECU reported an engine temp of 196-197 deg. The fans are set to turn on at 185 degrees so at least one of them is running on "low" at this temp. However I think that my planned transmission upgrade will reduce the both the RPMs and the engine temps at highway speeds, and the fans may no longer need to run to keep the engine cool on the highway. Hopefully.
It's up for debate on whether or not it is OK to rely on the fans to cool an engine on the highway. It's not ideal but I'm comfortable with it. There are two fans, so there is redundancy, and also in many cases on modern cars the fans run full time if the AC is on, so they are designed to be very reliable. And besides, how often do you hear about someone having issues with their radiator fan burning out and needing to replacement? Unless it's there's been a traffic accident, it doesn't happen often. I have managed to convince myself that it's OK. I'll let you all know if one fails lol.
And finally, here's a fun little sticker I added to my back window...
Having seen some of the problems others have had with this configuration on an EB, I wanted to be very clear on how this setup performs. Last weekend I spent some time on the highway with Jeff monitoring the ECU coolant temperatures to compare to my Sunpro Gauge. We found that as the temperatures increase, the bias of the gauge increases as well. That is, the hotter the coolant, the less accurate my gauge reads.
It was 95 degrees outside when we did the test on the highway. I put the stand offs back under my license plate to allow the heat to escape through the decklid, because I had removed them, but other than that, there are no changes to my setup from the original install. We drove with the regular highway traffic, and I made sure to pass some people and cruise at "modern" speeds to really see what happens. We found that the gauge read 190 deg when the ECU was seeing 182 degrees. At 200 degrees on the gauge the ECU read 191, and at 210 on the gauge the ECU saw 196. WHAT A RELIEF! I could have just floored it when driving back from Sacramento back in May because I was nowhere near as hot as the gauge showed (what a piece of shit lol).
So on a 95 degree day, driving at about 70-75 mph at 4500-4700 RPM, the MicroSquirt ECU reported an engine temp of 196-197 deg. The fans are set to turn on at 185 degrees so at least one of them is running on "low" at this temp. However I think that my planned transmission upgrade will reduce the both the RPMs and the engine temps at highway speeds, and the fans may no longer need to run to keep the engine cool on the highway. Hopefully.
It's up for debate on whether or not it is OK to rely on the fans to cool an engine on the highway. It's not ideal but I'm comfortable with it. There are two fans, so there is redundancy, and also in many cases on modern cars the fans run full time if the AC is on, so they are designed to be very reliable. And besides, how often do you hear about someone having issues with their radiator fan burning out and needing to replacement? Unless it's there's been a traffic accident, it doesn't happen often. I have managed to convince myself that it's OK. I'll let you all know if one fails lol.
And finally, here's a fun little sticker I added to my back window...
Hey gang, I'm back with a little update. Dropped the bus off with Jeff a few weeks back and got some work done.
Got a few things tidied up in the engine bay, here is a fish eye lens "before" shot, with the water bottle coolant overflow tank and the pulleys exposed:
"After" shot, with pulley covers installed and a the new stainless overflow tank mounted on the left:
Coolant overflow tank:
Jeff integrated a new prop into the decklid since the stock one was removed:
Here's how it looks when not in use:
Overall engine bay shot:
The access hatch for the coolant fill neck got reworked:
Hatch slides to close and is held in place by a single screw:
I also bought a wideband 02 sensor/controller so I can run the Microsquirt EFI as a closed loop system. The EJ22 should run better and my gas mileage should improve. Hope to get it installed soon.
Lately I've been spending my time building this Mercedes W124 wagon, but I've got it to a point where I'm satisfied for now. This coming year I do plan on spending more time and money on the bus. Perhaps the transmission rebuild? Maybe install the interior? I'd love to paint the bus below the belt line. We'll see.
Thanks for watching...
Got a few things tidied up in the engine bay, here is a fish eye lens "before" shot, with the water bottle coolant overflow tank and the pulleys exposed:
"After" shot, with pulley covers installed and a the new stainless overflow tank mounted on the left:
Coolant overflow tank:
Jeff integrated a new prop into the decklid since the stock one was removed:
Here's how it looks when not in use:
Overall engine bay shot:
The access hatch for the coolant fill neck got reworked:
Hatch slides to close and is held in place by a single screw:
I also bought a wideband 02 sensor/controller so I can run the Microsquirt EFI as a closed loop system. The EJ22 should run better and my gas mileage should improve. Hope to get it installed soon.
Lately I've been spending my time building this Mercedes W124 wagon, but I've got it to a point where I'm satisfied for now. This coming year I do plan on spending more time and money on the bus. Perhaps the transmission rebuild? Maybe install the interior? I'd love to paint the bus below the belt line. We'll see.
Thanks for watching...
aogrady
Well-known member
Hi!
Looks amazing! Really love the conversion, always look forward to seeing more updates - the Merc looks nice too!
Cheers,
Alistair
Looks amazing! Really love the conversion, always look forward to seeing more updates - the Merc looks nice too!
Cheers,
Alistair
Hi
Had a quick look at your project,here in OZ,i have seen a couple of people with their radiators
under the floor,about midway under the floor,it frees up a lot of space in the engine bay
and heat too,
Theres a guy here that manufactures crown wheel and pinion to fit subaru 5 spd gearboxes in vw's !!
Had a quick look at your project,here in OZ,i have seen a couple of people with their radiators
under the floor,about midway under the floor,it frees up a lot of space in the engine bay
and heat too,
Theres a guy here that manufactures crown wheel and pinion to fit subaru 5 spd gearboxes in vw's !!
aogrady
Well-known member
Any more updates? [THUMBS UP SIGN][WINKING FACE]
LOL Alistair, thanks for keeping the thread alive. As you know I have been busy but pretty much just posting to Instagram.aogrady said:
So I finally got my Wideband O2 sensor installed. I have run just about a half a tank of fuel through and I'm at 21 mpg around town. I expect it to continue to improve as I put more miles on the bus. So far so good.
Sensor installed in exhaust header (NOTE: oil drips are from my Mercedes- the bus doesn't leak oil at all. I know it's hard to believe LOL.):
Also cleaned up the original seat belts and installed them. I just cleaned them in soapy water with a brush and it worked pretty well. Cleaning them really made the belts nice and supple again. Now they are much easier to adjust, even if it still sucks to have to adjust them.
Just another shot of the engine bay:
I took a gang of co-workers to my friend's wife's restaurant and got this shot of the bus with the hand painted sign. Hippies love burritos.
I'll have to dig up some throwback stuff to post. There are some nice pics from a Cars and Coffee meet where someone parked their Ferrari next to my bus LOL.
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