I’m thinking of moving to the dark side

ok so I am in need of more power for my van as my daughter is now growing and wants us to buy a eriba or similar the 1600 sp type 1 engine in Bert won’t do the job, so it’s 1776cc type 1 1800cc type 4 or scooby. I have most of the parts to build the 1776 and also the 1800 type 4 but I’m wondering if in the long run I would be better selling what I have and going for the maybe more reliable engine. So that I can work out the costs what engine am I looking for as there are lots of Subaru engines and variants out there and info or advice from people that have done it themselves as I think that’s what I will do rather than a walk-in walk out (or rather drive in/out) experience.

 

Thank god... thought you meant T5/6

 

Subaru engines to look at for the easier conversions (simpler wiring) are most pre 2006 ish, With a non canbus wiring system. Choices are generally 2.0 and 2.5, and ...3.0 H6 can be fitted with a bit more work.

Have a look in the modified section, there’s quite a few that have been done, an excellent thread by @pkrboo shows a lot of what to expect.

 

For @pkrboo for a scooby conversion. He fitted one for me. It transforms the bus. In my eyes anyway. I had a type 4 in mine .but I'm more than happy with the 2.0 scooby lump .

 

@pkrboo do any of the scoot engines fit ie Impreza,forester,and so on auto manual what year ?

 

Its the great pity that your choice in modern engines is either the harder to get spares T4 or the suitable but ageing Subaru.

I would go for the slight T1 upgrade because you can get 100% brand new parts for many different sizes. And if you pay the price a 100% brand new one arrives two days after you ordered it for less cost than a well done Subaru conversion.

Avoid filling the Eriba with junk and just go more slowly..

 

Remember that if you have a Scooby conversion, age related MOT exemption is null and void and you revert to annual tests for ever. Not sure about the Tax though.

 

Yes impreza, forester, legacy manual or auto not an issue. Ej20 engine is basically the same across the range. Up to 2002 for legacy and impreza and some up to 2005 for a forester. Basically non canbus for an easier swap.



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I used to tow a light 1950s caravan with my 1776cc engine no problems.

 

That's news to me, and I imagine many.

Where and when did that come in to force?

 

I have an mot done every year anyway makes no sense to me not to not sure if the engine will have to do emissions though which may make a difference

 

It's an interpretation thing, an engine mod means you can't have zero mot however it says if it's a like for like swap and will improve economy or words to that effect then its ok. So fat four replacing a flat four and it's more economical then you're probs ok. (I still get mine mot'd)

I don't really want to get involved in it tbh.

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No, it goes on the vehicle not the date, however a scooby engine will fly through an mot emissions test. Mine is about 0.6% Co (I'll find my paperwork for the last test

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If you had met my wife you would know your last line made me laugh out loud.

 

Ohhhhh - that load or old arse!

Academic if like most of us you MOT it yearly anyway.

But let's play the scenario out.

Person A get's their bus MOT'd yearly, and one year the MOT inspector, who has detail knowledge of the mark, realises it's different engine.......and Oh My God, compels then to...er.....come back and have it MOT's yearly.

Person B never get's their bus MOT'd - so no one inspects it and declares a different engine (its merely a number on the V5)....er.....so they don't go for the MOT they never had anyway.

Its a non event.

Where is mateyboy that literally spoofed his pants over this last year or the year before....can't remember who it was that was dying for complete strangers to get Q plates on their buses and have them MOT'd.

Will wait this one out.

 

I'm the last person to condone the merits of officialdom, but I wouldn't say it's a non event, I'd suggest doubling the BHP and adding water cooled ancillaries and hopefully upgraded brakes would constitute a substantial change that could, if you are so inclined, entangled you in a web of insurance, DVLA and DVSA contradictions and inconsistencies.

 

I know that mate regarding officaldom, you are a maverick to mine eye!

My insurance company is well aware of the engine change and consequence increase in power - just as they are for my mini Cooper (was 170bhp, is now 300 bhp) as I list the the modifications. The DVLA don't have a way of recording car specifications, so aren't concerned other than the engine serial number. The DVSA use MOT to monitor changes and application.

All modified cars are covered if declared properly to the insurers and can pass road worthiness standards in an MOT or by roadside inspection, should you have one.

Personally, having 'enjoyed' a 1.6 Type 1 for nearly 2 months, concluded that that engine makes these vans a safety liability - you are forced to wrestle with articulated lorries in the slow lane, most motorway slip roads are a bloody nightmare and simple things like gradual hills and pulling away from busy roundabouts can be heart in mouth moments.

Subaru engines make these vans safer - most of us with one, after the initial joy of being able to do 90 mph very quickly settle in to the far simpler knowledge that I won't have a train of hacked off cars up my arse on gentle hills, won't get literally stuck in the outside lane of dual carriageways (for having the audacity to pull out for a lorry that was entering the highway who then kindly stuck his arse at 60mph and kept me out there) and I can comfortably negotiate roundabouts without being a liability.

The world should literally thank us for making a safer place. Thank you Subaru.

 

Can you tell that to the bloke near us that tears past our house in his blue Impreza?!

I totally get the reasoning of doing a conversion, it's one of the reasons I wanted to try out the 1.4 water-cooled polo engine that one of my Brazzers has, even that modest increase in power is a world away from stock air cooled, but was merely pointing out there are things to consider.