TheSamba.com :: View topic - Itinerant . . . Water-Cooled?

Mon Jan 18, 2010 9:16 pm

Colin don't cross to the dark side and leave us air-cooled people. Go for an air-cooled vanagon or stay with a bus. Of course, you would not be able to get your money out of it like the bus. But all the different vanagons seem to be holding steady in their value if they are maintained so it will not necessarily drop in value. Good luck in your quest for a replacement.

Mon Jan 18, 2010 9:24 pm

If you're clientele is all air-cooled bus guys, I'd say drive that beautiful van in your avatar. No use having it if you're not going to drive it.

Mon Jan 18, 2010 9:50 pm

Your van as been DEAD reliable, and your dead lucky. You won't have as much luck with the square one, sorry. So yes, maybe you should stick to AC Bus's.

I would spend that 13K or so on a good solid American Made van :-)

Why all those questions, do you feel insecure??? Going to the dark side!

Welcome to the water world, the leaky world, the horrible one.

Look at the vanagon water cool section of the Samba, it's gonna surpass the Bus section soon :-)

The beast is water cool

Ben

Mon Jan 18, 2010 10:02 pm

Matt G wrote:
It might prove necessary to insure this one with the same generous coverage the 73 had.

I only had liability insurance. Her insurance adjuster looked at the engine bay and a quick look around the interior and just gave me the top NADA guide figure.

Matt G wrote:
No crime, unless its ultimate resting stop is a museum.

Good point. That would be a shame.
Colin
(my old totally original Vanagon at 88,000 miles)

Mon Jan 18, 2010 10:19 pm

reluctantartist wrote: Colin don't cross to the dark side and leave us air-cooled people. Go for an air-cooled vanagon or stay with a bus. Of course, you would not be able to get your money out of it like the bus. But all the different vanagons seem to be holding steady in their value if they are maintained so it will not necessarily drop in value. Good luck in your quest for a replacement.

I am loyal to all cars that I like. I will always happily provide my services and expertise to any air-cooled VW.............

........................ or water-cooled V-8 :D or VW waterboxer.
Colin
(above photo: surgery on my Lexus LS400 last month, timing belt and valve adjustment)

Mon Jan 18, 2010 11:02 pm

Ridiculous purist... sorry bro. So sorry.

Watch and learn:

Mon Jan 18, 2010 11:16 pm

ftp2leta wrote: Ridiculous purist... sorry bro. So sorry.

Watch and learn:

That picture makes me want to drop my engine just so I can clean it.

Mon Jan 18, 2010 11:25 pm

Colin, just put a Buick 3.8L V6 in it..... :wink: :wink:

Tue Jan 19, 2010 12:40 am

werksberg wrote: Colin, just put a Buick 3.8L V6 in it..... :wink: :wink:

Has anybody here actually done that? Somebody near me is selling one with a 3.8L v6 ready to drop in, he has the adapter plates and all parts for the conversion, and for pretty cheap too. How is that conversion? It might be a 4.3, or something, but it looks pretty nice.

Edit: Nevermind, it was a chevy engine.

Tue Jan 19, 2010 5:21 am

My 1st was a '70 bay and although it was dependable AFTER a complete rebuild i finally got tired of the noise nd freezing my a!! off in winter so my choice since '92 has been WBX's. Just got back from a 500mi trip and cruising along 65-70 was nice,didn't miss a beat,23mpg was o.k.too. '86 syncro.

Tue Jan 19, 2010 8:26 am

Air cooled engines leak coolant too, you just can't see it :wink:
I'm sure Colin has seen his share of AC VWs with very poor or no seals & gaskets or even tin missing and deemed A-OK by some PO and unknowing new hopeful owner. who's wondering why it chugs, smokes and pings up hills.
T-IVs can have a tendancy to drop valve seats,
H2o need semi-irregular head gasket maintenance.
and my biggest problem is everyone referring to them as Headgaskets.
they're NOT the same conventional pressed paper lasts till ya boil it over ones. They're big rubber head seals, just like a valve cover seal, they'll leak with age/time/heat/cold/chemicals and should be refreshed/replaced at an ageistic interval. even if not leaking Yes as many say they will.

Colin, that bus in your avatar is beautiful nad non less then we'd want & expect for you to own, treasure & drive. I still suspect you're gunshy about the overall safety vs the distracted american driver.. and well even Semi's aren't safe, but if changing the vehicle model eases that little what-if in the back of your head, then I'd go with a very nice & shiney vanagon with a professional suby swap, the 2.2 is sufficient, the 2.5 is where the HP should be for comfortable freeway driving.

Tue Jan 19, 2010 8:54 am

jacob. wrote: werksberg wrote: Colin, just put a Buick 3.8L V6 in it..... :wink: :wink:

Has anybody here actually done that? Somebody near me is selling one with a 3.8L v6 ready to drop in, he has the adapter plates and all parts for the conversion, and for pretty cheap too. How is that conversion? It might be a 4.3, or something, but it looks pretty nice.

Edit: Nevermind, it was a chevy engine.

Ok...but here's a photo of my new to me '73 Bay with a Buick 3.8L V6:

The front rad....

Tue Jan 19, 2010 11:36 pm

werksberg wrote: The front rad....

The radiator alone is worth the . . . blasphemy of that beast.
However, as stated elsewhere on the internet, an irregular-fire GM V6 is hell on the beautiful transaxles designed by engineers who knew better than that.

A flat 6 Porsche or Subaru with 120* firing symmetry, go for it.
Colin

Tue Jan 19, 2010 11:44 pm

danfromsyr wrote: I'd go with a very nice & shiney vanagon with a professional suby swap, the 2.2 is sufficient, the 2.5 is where the HP should be for comfortable freeway driving.

I had an excellent time on the highway with my Type 4 engine. It cruised very nicely between 72-77 mph for thousands upon thousands of miles, and it took the hills at my personally mandated 47-50 mph.

My old '89 Digifant stock waterboxer engine did not want for performance except for the lousy lousy lousy initial torque with that pathetic little clutch whenever I had to back up an incline.

When I have determined for myself how long I could make a stock waterboxer work without head leaks or blowing up connecting rod bolts, I would love to stick in a flat six. You bet.
Colin