Just joined the slow lane....

I have a 2.0l GE code type 4 mated to a six rib box. I removed the fuel injection due to reliability issues and replaced it with twin 40’s. I kept the hydraulic lifters and they make it super quiet. It will easily cruise at 70 and return 27 mpg loaded when sitting at 65-67 mph on the sat nav. It is possible to get what you ask for but the cost could be prohibitive. I was lucky I bought the van with the engine and box combo and rebuilt them to my spec.

 

Welcome from West Lancashire - with a bog standard 1600 tp - happy to stay at 55 to 60 slip streaming the trucks - driving the Bay is about the journey not always about the destination

 

Thanks for the varied and interesting responses. I'm all for learning from other peoples mistakes and experiences.

I suppose on reflection what I found taxing was the lack of feedback while cruising along "A" roads and M-ways. What I mean is I had no idea what revs the motor was doing, no clue what temp it was doing it's thing at, even less idea about oil pressure (well the oil idiot light never made an appearance so that was good). Was i t happy doing 55? On the odd occasion I hit 60 I was more concerned about hurting the thing because I didn't know / had no feedback regarding what is normal or expected. Clearly this will all come to me in time and some additional instrumentation.

In a world where we have more information thrown at us every second that we could possibly assimilate as simple naked apes, not knowing revs, temps etc is a bit frustrating.

As a long time motorcyclist (30 + years) I'm familiar will all sorts of engine types from single cylinder 2 and 4 strokes to twins, triples and of course four pots and my favourite engine is the boxer twin, a la BMW of course. So a VW engine is like two beemer boxers joined together and that makes me feel at home. My current beemer an R1200RT has approx 90hp,
Another thing with bikes is if you ride all year as I do you end up riding in some nasty weather. Cross winds are real fun as on a bike you tend to lean into the wind, which is fine except gusts tend to stop just as fast as they start. So if you think changing lanes in a bus is interesting because of wind from trucks etc, try it on a bike.

Now my bay is an original UK registered RHD that has had an extensive body restoration and I have the pictures to prove that. The work done on the shell appears high quality to me. I'm no expert however I've owned 4 x Mk1 Cortinas in my time and several Rovers so I had to learn to weld etc. As a restored van it's nowhere near what it was like when it started life in 1974. I'm cool with that because I'm nothing like I was in 1974 either.

Having read some other peoples experiences with their first bay windows I'm sure the things that ran through my mind as I started my first bay relationship were not the same as those others. I intend for this relationship to work in the long run. That always means give and take on both sides. Time will tell and I look forward to seeing how this journey will unfold.

My plan so far is:

• Use the van more or less as is and to learn from that.
• The Westfalia interior is nice and I like it a lot. Other than a few repairs here and there nothing else comes to mind.
• Van is going into storage soon till the spring so I'll have time to think about where to go next and so it will not distract me from working on the house.
• No radio fitted, but that doesn't bother me much. May fit a radio as my wife likes to listen. Of course a drop of Rammstein from time to time might be nice.

P.S. Ask any Land Rover owner about rubbish pattern parts. The main brand is BritPart and most Landy owners call them S**tPart.

 

Ex Landy owner and bus owner here aswell
I’d say britpart stuff is slightly better than some of the carp that is served to us bus owners☹️

What you desire is achievable
However keeping cylinder heads cool on a bus engine maintaining 70 mph for long durations is not easy especially on a type one engine
It’s it’s Achilles heel so to speak

Cylinder head temp sensors and oil temp sensors can be fitted
You may find many dubbers referring to them as worry gauges

I used to be in the fast ford world and also played in landy land

The world of vw campervan ownership does take a fair bit of attitude,approach and the way you look at things adjusting

They are really simple mechanically which is a joy compared to modern vehicles
Not many vehicles you can drop the engine with a piece of plywood and a trolley jack

Welcome to the forum

 

Hello and welcome @Lone_Wolf

I wouldn't agree they are that challenging, since fitting Koni shocks I've only once found the wind a bit challenging, possibly because a yellow weather warning was in place for the wind.

I would agree, stick to around 55 though.

 

Hello and Welcome from The Colonial Contingent

 

I have fitted a rev counter, temp and oil pressure gauges. Having cut my teeth on MGs I also like to know what's going on back there!

Temp and oil gauges are on a little dual gauge mount bolted to the bottom of the dash.

 

Welcome from sunny Sale
I have two 2L bays and regularly cruised at 70 over the 10 years I've owned them and the three or four engine rebuilds this has caused.

 

27mpg lucky you

 

Good starting list...

 

no extra gauges in mine, just the speedo and a clock (doesn't work, so it's always pimms oclock) if vw had wanted to worry the driver with silly things like engine temperature they would have fitted a gauge

type 4 with og 6 rib, yes it'll do 70 but tbh why rush? it uses loads more fuel at that speed (aerodynamics of a house brick)

my advice, spend 1 yr doing 60 and remind yourself how much money you're saving not forking out for that big motor - you may find you get to like it. bus ownership isn't about speed.

the other thing to consider, drive slower than the other traffic and you'll nearly always have a clear road ahead of you

 

I appreciate all the wisdom I've received so far and after re-reading my introductory post I realise what I said on paper wasn't quite what I had in my mind.

I've driven / ridden some very slow cars, vans and motorcycles in my driving career and pretty darn fast ones too, ZZR1100 for example. The only ones that don't feel safe are the ones where you are on their performance limit, in other words there is nothing left in reserve. That was the feeling I had when driving my VW home. No I don't want to or would expect to drive on an M-way at 70mph the whole time and I never did that in my Range Rover which was always felt happy at 60 (also has the aerodynamics of a house), but if I needed to I could draw on the power it had to spare. So I would like a bit in reserve for my VW.

I cannot be having things that don't work in a vehicle. Even if I'm not going to use the feature it has to work. Things not working properly just bug the hell out of me. And just because something is old doesn't have to mean nothing works properly.

 

What you require is perfectly doable. Just drive it for a while with existing 1600 engine, then you can decide how much extra power you need (want). If your current engine is OK then it could be the basis of a bigger engine eg 1776 or 2110cc, or if it's rubbish then you can start from scratch with type 1 or type 4 engine or Scooby doobie do

 

Better than my daily!!