i`ve either got to put it in mid engine & use the subaru box with the fwd locked or send subarugears the best part of £2000 for the reverse ring,pinion,spool & flanges but i dont care what anybody says,a 40 year old gearbox thats designed to run an aircooled bus has no place being fitted to a scooby.a vw g`box is for life not just for the first time you try to rinse a focus st off the lights
I think that as time goes on and the availability of good quality replacement air-cooled engines dwindles, one may eventually be faced with the choice of having an expensive re-build of my old (reconditioned ) engine or go for a Subaru. Difficult choice but when that day comes I will be weighing up the pro's and cons more seriously. For now I want to keep my type4 engine running as long as possible and here that lovely VW air-cooled sound. Speed in such an unwieldy vehicle isn't my priority, although reliability would be and hill climbing power a persuader too.
I'm with Baysearcher on this one. All of the above are reasons I decided to let the experts do it. Also, added to the list is the fact that I don't have the money spare for an expensive divorce. (you think I'm kidding - my wife agreed to the cost of the conversion because she said if I DIY'd it, she'd divorce me)
We had a look round the Fellows stand at Stanford Hall last sunday & the vans looked great, sooo very tempting too, maybe a conversion for Gusbus at some point in the future Moons have you any pics of your conversion please?
If mine ever goes bang it ll be a scooby, though Mrs Pony has just catorgoricly told me as I write this "No s+@?ing way". When I get a Syncro it ll be the way to go as I ll be mud plugging in it. She says that's OK.
I am with you. I only went for the Bay because I can work on the engine myself. Its simple and has that lovely noise I have been familiar with my whole driving life. My mate is not a vw fan as such he does not care about the classic aspect of his T25 its just a better more responsive engine than the old diesel he has in there now.
I'll take some new ones on the weekend - that was my van on the Fellowes stand - the white one with no interior looking distinctly low rent compared to the three stunning splitties and full resto blue bay. Nothing like watching people invariably shaking their heads at a vehicle you've sold a kidney to pay for thus far - just as well the priority now, as Sir Rick of Roo rightly says, is to use it not stare at it....
I saw yours at Fellows last week then I think. They'd just put the re-painted roof back on it? What you doing with the interior?
Ah yes - I was the idiot that spent a good while lying under your bus then. Must go like a bleedin rocket with nowt in there. Anyway, slightly off the engine issue but the heater box is a bit basic. Looks like it can be piped up to re-circulate air from inside the van as the inlets seem open to the atmosphere under there 0- a pipe from the walkthrough vents would do the trick. No head shaking from me. My shopping list is - a rust free Aussie import, Red 9 fromt end and a scoobie conversion - I dont want much!!!
Loving some of the replies. I'm fascinated at one reply about their 1600 being dangerous because its so slow. I've never worked out or understood why people but these buses and then hope for super powers in the engine department. To me my bus represents a backward step and taking it easy on the journey. As for the conversions I don't like them. Well that's a lie. They sound great and if fitted properly look amazing but I've seen one or two home jobs that look awful. Why do people not tidy up the engine bay while it is all out?? As a prospective customer if I needed to buy a bus with one fitted I simply wouldn't buy it. I like the clattering sound of the VW engine. And this is were I feel some people may get their hands slapped when it comes to selling time.
We'll only get our "hands slapped" if we expect it to add value. I'm fairly certain it won't. It may lose a percentage of potential air-cooled buyers but it'll open it up to a whole new market as well. Think about it: the people who spend an absolute fortune on new Danbury's primarily do so because air-cooled doesn't interest them or they're not confident maintaining them... Also, there are no mods made to the bus that aren't easily reversible at a later stage. Personally I can't wait to cruise easily at proper motorway speeds and not end up in second or third on the North Devon hills.
Is anyone else on here running a Cologne 2.3? as i could do with some info about the coolant pipework, i didnt take enough pics prior to removal
i personally would not have a scooby in my van for nostalgic and sentimental reasons only . When i bought my first bay in 78 i found the sound of the engine reassuring , i had previously only owned a Austin and a ford Cortina , they were unreliable , the vw was not ( it was only 7 years old and unfettled by a spaceman with a spanner btw ) the fact i could and did drive thousands of miles in her and felt quite secure in the knowledge she would get me there was a relief . i now own a 72 late crossover which i am slowly but surely returning to og condition , slowly i hasten to add , and i want that reassuring phut phut of the aircooled type 1 to be the noise i can hear from behind as i scoot along some dark county road late at night with the mrs and Will asleep beside me , just sentiment really . Love scoobys though , especially in a splitty
I have inherited a wrx lump too now! But I am unsure what I am going to do with it yet! Might just end up taking the heads off and weighing it in!
Yep - I took Zed's advice and got it two pac'ed after unsuccessfully waiting months for a dry spell so I could use Toplac on it. The interior is in my dining room at the moment - will give it a spruce and put new headlining in and it should be good to go I hope. Regarding the engine, my older brother recounted a story from when my dad had this van first time round - "It couldn't pull a stick out of a pigs arse" - he was Irish bless him and had a turn of phrase that was apt. That was 1978.
The court judgement basically frowned on my attempt this time to be honest, and the RSPCA man was not impressed....
