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  View original topic: 1984 vanagon engine
mrjim362 Sun Aug 31, 2008 1:06 pm

I need some serious help ,
my daughter is going to collage (on a scoolarship) but Im poor i work at a junk yard.. so i got a dune buggy for 200 bucks !
thought i would build her a car to keep up with her rich friends..to reward her. i can handle the body and frame work (you don't whant to see it its the worst) but it need a engine and trans .i also got a 84 vanagon engine runs for 500.i can make it fit and i savedall the wiring ..i like the fuel injection system ..can i some how get a ecu to make it work when im done. has any one tried this or can provide links ..i like to make it work rather then air cooled

tencentlife Mon Sep 01, 2008 11:13 am

Go to www.shoptalkforums.com and the Wasserboxer/Oxyboxer forum there. You should be able to learn some things and ask about how others have done this. The wbx is pretty popular for buggies and even some street beetles and racers. Good luck!

mrjim362 Mon Sep 01, 2008 1:35 pm

I got a lot of info of the site and I saved it to favorites ...
But not what im looking for my concern is this do i need to wire my car exactly like the van or can uses the same sensors make a new hanness and possibly a new programble ecu so as i learn (and poss add a turbo) i can re programe the engine been serching for weeks and cant find details on how to rewire the car to this engine to make it run..
Thanks..
P.s.i'm hopping someone who has done it to give me some guidance of where to start ... :roll: :roll:

tencentlife Mon Sep 01, 2008 8:18 pm

It's an engine. Feed it air, fuel, spark and it'll run. Get the exhaust out in a tolerable fashion and your neighbors won't want to shoot you (at least not because of the daughter's buggy, anyway).

It sounds like you know enough about what's involved to jump right in. No one could possibly talk you thru it, though; you'll need the Bentley for the wiring diagram, sources for parts and connectors, an old wiring harness to scavenge the special connectors would be a very wise thing to strip out of another car. But in the end, it comes down to my first sentence above. It's a gasoline-fueled piston engine. They all work exactly the same.

If you want to experiment with programmable FI, Megasquirt is the do-it-yourselfer's dream, an open-source system where you can build your own ECU from a kit (or buy prebuilt, it's still pretty cheap), locate and connect your own sensors (it will take just about any combination of inputs and controls you can imagine), tune with a PC. It's a whole new world to learn about, with a steep learning curve, but you asked for it! The fuel injection forum at STF is one of the most active sites where this is discussed regarding installation on flat four VW's, air and water cooled.

Start here:
http://www.diyautotune.com/

As far as what needs to come from the car: fuel supply, power and ground, a way to work the throttle, and a way to make the engine turn over. Same for every car ever made. If you're going to relocate a particular engine in a particular car, that's all that has to happen.



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