Engine conversion

[kjb01]

Hi guys been a while since I’ve been on here.
I’m looking at doing an engine conversion on my 71 and was just wondering what people are doing?
Is there anyone out there converting these to electric? Or is the Subaru a good way to go?
I just want to get it reliable for a few decent trips away next year.
Regards Dan

 

[mike202]

There's no reason an aircooled engine can't be reliable. It's all about maintenance and getting a good engine built to put in your bus in the first place.

Electric conversion is megabucks, and scooby conversion is more money than a well built reliable aircooled engine. Plus you can do your own service with an air-cooled engine if you learn a bit about them.

That's my opinion anyway, but it's your money and your choice.

 

[kjb01]

There's no reason an aircooled engine can't be reliable. It's all about maintenance and getting a good engine built to put in your bus in the first place.

Electric conversion is megabucks, and scooby conversion is more money than a well built reliable aircooled engine. Plus you can do your own service with an air-cooled engine if you learn a bit about them.

That's my opinion anyway, but it's your money and your choice.

Hi what would you go for if you were in my shoes?

 

[sparkywig]

Hi what would you go for if you were in my shoes?

Keep it stock(ish), less to go wrong once it's all set up and easy to maintain.

 

[ozziedog]

^^^^
Exactly what they’ve said above. If you want it reliable then go stock and that really is where VW earned its reputation and iconic status as a reliable work horse. Where it goes slightly awry is that these needed fettling / servicing at 3 to 5 thousand miles depending on usage but that was when they were new ish and not fifty plus years old. So now they need to be maintained a little more. The big problem here is people don’t maintain their vehicles to an ‘As New’ standard and a little short cut creeps in here and there and the next thing you know is a motor with an incorrect air filtration set up and an ignition that is supposedly superior and an exhaust that sounds a touch noisier. I have all three of those mods on my van but I won’t even start on suspension mods on an old van. If you stay stock and learn how to maintain your motor on one of the excellent courses available nowdays , your trips on the big yellow taxi will be almost non existent. The other thing with changing stuff is that it’s trying to match up different technologies from different eras. Electric motors seem great but still need a larger network of replenishment also it’s big bucks, and Subaru might be good if you know what you’re doing. I’ve got an old van to bimble about in and go touring and camping ,, .Is yours unreliable??? What issues do you seem to have ??? Pop up a picture of your engine bay and let’s have a look.

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,same goes for brakes ,,,,maintenance

 

[mike202]

Hi what would you go for if you were in my shoes?

If you are wanting to use your bus for trips out and maybe a few longer trips in europe, you should get a good recommended engine builder to make you an engine for your style of driving and requirements.
If you look at my thread you will see that’s what I did in 2019. I would also recommend getting a more powerful than stock engine with a refurbished gear box to match it so that driving is easier and cruising on A roads/ motorways is better. That said I’m not talking about getting a fire breathing monster of an engine but the stock engine is under powered for most people at 50hp!
My engine is only about 85 hp now but the extra horses make it so much easier to drive.
As far as maintenance is concerned changing the oil around 3000 miles is important but that means about twice a year so hardly a difficult task. Checking the valve gaps or tappets is also important, although I hardly have to adjust mine each time.

 

[kjb01]

There's no reason an aircooled engine can't be reliable. It's all about maintenance and getting a good engine built to put in your bus in the first place.

Electric conversion is megabucks, and scooby conversion is more money than a well built reliable aircooled engine. Plus you can do your own service with an air-cooled engine if you learn a bit about them.

That's my opinion anyway, but it's your money and your choice.