Unarguably I'd say. A water cooled Japanese engine is a big change to make. It's your bus to do as you please, but to say it's still the same classic it was makes no more sense than someone rocking up in a T5 claiming "they're all VW's, it's the camping that counts".
Im pretty new here so maybe my point is invalid ! but im loving my 1.7 type 4 engine and a worn out progressive with a bit of wind and a small hill she will go off the clock ! although I suspect my speedo over reads by 10mph . looking at twin webers next to ease my hot start issues with my worn out single. it feels quite torquy to me too and my last car was a 5.7L chevy.
@zedders. Only people who know I've got a scooby, know I've got a scooby. To the vast majority of people I pass or see whilst out and about in it, it's just a classic bus. I very much doubt the same people ever think that about a T5 but that's ok. The owner of the T5 wanted a T5! I do what I do because I want to; not for anyone else. You're assuming that people care what others think about what they've done to their stuff.
No I'm not, I'm saying that if you fit a Subaru water cooled engine it's no longer the air cooled Classis it was. It's now a kit var based on a vw t2. I don't give a hoot either way about actually doing it and I know you don't either, but claiming it's still what it was is daft.
Maybe to anyone who knows what it is. As I said, to the vast majority it is what it was. "Kit car"? Ha ha ha.
I went to a big classic car show a few weeks ago and of course the stars of the event were the variety of classic vehicles kept in their original stock condition. But a few escorts and cortinas and morris minors were there with changed bodies, large modern engines, bright paint jobs, big loud exhausts. Are these still classics? Probably not. But the owners have the money and that's what they wanted so good luck to them. But stock classics will always be the best.
When I got Harvey, he had a bone stock 1600 with stock exhaust, ignition & carb. In an (ultimately successful) attempt to cure an intermittent misfire I swapped pretty much every bolt-on item on the engine: new plugs, HT leads & dizzy cap, Optical trigger/CDI ignition; fitted pair of 36IDFs & a stainless 4-1 merged header/silencer combo (keeping the HXs & full heating). As a side effect of all this (apart from the fact that the engine no longer misfires!!) I have noticed a small but noticeable improvement in pulling power. There are some inclined stretches of road that I travel relatively often, where I've been able to compare the before & after performance and there is definitely an improvement. P.
I also have a 1600TP and daydream about a bit more power - again not for top speed but for acceleration and to go uphill quicker. However, as some above have suggested its really a case of some machining and some big pistons, the 1.6 is simply too small! This means spending some decent money even if you do a lot of the actual build yourself. I'd love to buy a new ready machined case and build a large displacement torque monster with remote cooler and filtration that would deliver good power all day long. However, the reality of life prevents me spending this sort of money for now. So I reckon the best course of action is service it well, maintain it proactively, and then drive it like a 1970's delivery driver.... Maintaining it well gives me the faith to keep my right foot flat to the floor to extract that last pony going up hill (still not quick, but amazing how much it slows down even if you ease off a tiny bit!). No gauges to make me scared! Every pound I'd have spent on twin carbs, nice exhaust etc can go in the pot for the future motor build. When it gives up from this sort of treatment, then hopefully there will be enough in the pot for a bigger engine!
@orangefeeling I tend to agree... I wouldn't say the improvement I've seen would be worth the cost of the parts I fitted, except that they cost me nothing as they all came from the parts stash I've accumulated over the last 20 years of VW ownership My point was that if one must go down the route of bolt-on performance, the some improvement is possible. Personally, my next step will be an upgrade to 1641cc, a mildly torquie cam and some head porting/valve un-shrouding...again all with parts I already have, though I will have to shell out a few ££££s for new piston rings, cam/crank bearings & a gasket set!! No rush on that though...having far too much fun driving & camping! P.
You won't find a more torquey cam than the ones VW fitted IMO. The torquey cams for sale compare themselves with other of the manufacturers cams, not the VW one. And 1641? Why bother? Spend the money on a bigger crank instead to avoid machining and get a serious increase in size.
Z...I just have the 1641 Bs & Ps to hand, so I won't be spending any ££s. I may also skip the cam change, which would save splitting the case....and yes, I'm already thinking (longer term) of a long stroke crank. The trouble is, as soon as I go down that route I'd probably feel I had to get a new 8 dowel flywheel and get it, the crank, clutch & pulley all dynamically balanced, which all bumps the ££££s up... The bottom line is that I have good oil pressure & the end float is well within tolerance, so I have no pressing reason to split the case at this point, but I have (slightly) low compression on pot 3, so a top end rebuild is probably in order in the near-ish future, so the 87mm Bs&Ps would be no-cost (inc machining cost) upgrade, even if not much of an performance upgrade! They would, however open the door to 1855cc at some future point. TBH...of all the possible upgrades (free) I could do, I reckon I'd get most out of a port-polishing & valve un-shrouding job on the heads...
I was in a service station in France a couple of days ago and heard an English couple saying they liked old VW vans like mine. Then I heard him say 'You know it's got a Subaru engine?' Too late I wondered how he knew and went to ask just as they were pulling out the car park.
