I, ve often wondered how a 1.4 copes with powering that big lump of metal. Especially if it's full of a family and all their camping gear. They must do OK I guess, but not sure I'd have massive confidence in it
I just can't understand why anyone would pay 50,000 plus for a second hand 'modern look a like' Bay when there are lots of excellent original ones out there for 12-20,000 what would you get for the extra 35,000 or so. I give up.
Can't see a picture of the lump? Perhaps indicative of style over substance considering the engine must constitute a large portion of the cost ....
Is it the same 1.4 engine I have in my Polo? they are good engines and the Polo pulls nicely but the Danbury weighs far more than the Polo. Its just the massive price hike for the Danbury that I question. Polo engines and gearboxes are cheap and a small portion of the Danbury cost. I mean, someone could buy a really solid Bay and give it new engine, best interior, rack and pinion steering, plastic dash etc. and still be far better and far cheaper than the Danbury.
The 1.4 engine in the modern danbury is 82ps (80bhp). My air cooled camper is more powerful The 1.4 'VW' engine over here in A1's & Polos is probably about 122ps
Stricter emissions regulations introduced by the Brazilian government for 2006 forced a shift to a flexible-fuel water-cooled engine[citation needed] able to run on petrol or alcohol. Borrowed from the Volkswagen Fox, the engine is a rear-mounted EA-111 1.4 L 8v Total Flex 1,390 cc (84.8 cu in), 58 kW (79 PS; 78 bhp) on petrol, and 60 kW (82 PS; 80 bhp) when run on ethanol, and 124 N·m (91 lbf·ft) torque. This version was very successful[vague], despite the minor changes made to the overall T2-bodied vehicle.[citation needed] It still included the four-speed transmission, but a new final-drive ratio enabled cruising at 120 km/h (75 mph) at 4,100 rpm. Top speed was 130 km/h (81 mph).[citation needed] 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) acceleration took 22.7 seconds (vs. 29.5 seconds for the last air-cooled version). Other improvements included 6.6% better fuel economy, and nearly 2 dB less engine noise.[citation needed]
Honest John gives an opinion: http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/road-tests/volkswagen/vw-t2-danbury-camper-2010-road-test//
In the real world i `persued` one at speed down the A1 on a run to Newark for the weekend . They`re pretty quick off the mark and overtaking seemed a breeze . I gave up when he sat at 75 - 80 mph although how much longer it`ll run at those speeds i dunno .... Probably a damn-sight longer than my 1600
