Does anybody know of the approximate costs of DIY converting to a Subaru Engine in a 73 Bay ? I'm struggling to find any info apart from companies who do all the work for you . Is there a thread anywhere detailing the work / parts / costs involved ? Was thinking of non turbo 100 / 120 hp motor . I have to buy / build an engine at some point and am just trying to weigh up all the options. :-
So if a DIY job comes in at around 2K what is the other 3 - 4K for ? Labour ? Exchange VW motors are looking like the best part of a grand now ?
Its a lot of work cooling system oil system fuel system re wiring body work mods getting it to run right Bolting the engine in is the easy bit
I'm going down the scooby route with my bus, i already have the engine (it's in my daily driver) i'll be doing the the conversion myself and for parts i'll be using fellows speed shop, they supply all the parts needed off the shelf for 3k, i plan to buy bit's as i need them and maybe make / source some parts myself
also look up the rjes conversion kit, Ive been told its easier to fit and a better kit than the tsr ones
^^^^^ Rjes is a great source of info, based mainly around converting T25s but much of it can be read across to a T2 conversion.
i conveted mine and it cost around about 2 k to do it but i think i could of done it cheaper if i hadnt bought new water hoses bought a cheaper engine than the one i got hadnt had a custom eghaust built fitted the fuel tank with a inlet myself instead of taking it to a garage buying second hand radiator and fans if i was to do it again i think i would just buy the gear box to engine bellhouse and try and get everything else second hand
When I did mine it cost about about £1600. I used an engine from Grade A AUTOS Subaru specialists who check over the engine before they send it and send you most the parts you need drone the car, including all the loom. I first used a Kennedy adaptor plate and then changed to an RJES bell housing which I so much better as you use the Subaru starter motor and fly wheel. It also means you use the Subaru clutch which is much lighter and far better for daily driving in traffic. Things like fuel pump fuel filter and fan belt you can get from RJES to. For my rad I got an after market aluminium one and had it modified so the hoses would fit where I wanted them to. And built a scoop to go around it with two slim line fans which work via the ecu. Fellows do a very similar rad set up but they drill a massive hole in your chassis rail for the coolant pipe. On my pipe work I got some card hose fitted it where I wanted it filled with expanding foam then went to an exhaust place and they used that to bend some aluminium pipe to the same shape. It is very important to plumb the coolant system up correctly as you can get lots of problems with air locks but one it's sorted it's faultless. I also use an oil cooler with fan as a Heater which warms the van up a treat. I have found I don't drive that much faster but it's so much more drivable and fuel economy is better but you can get your foot down if you need to. When I did mine I took me all summer which was around 5 months but I think if I did it again it would only take 3 weekends. There is also lots of very good info on vwkd.com Hope that helps