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Wed Oct 23, 2002 7:56 pm

I understand that some countries used type 1 engines into the type four bus years. I want to do this. I know it will take special engine tin to fit. Does anyone know where to obtain this tin? Any other problems or suggestions you might have about the transplant?

Thu Oct 24, 2002 10:01 am

Hey wmoore34. I just did a 'similar' conversion in my 1973 Transporter. I replaced the 1700cc flat engine with a 1600cc upright. The conversion went very smoothly and I am very happy with the results. The only problems was the throttle cable and the engine tin.

The longest stock bus throttle cable available is for the 68-71 model years and it is about 5 inches too short to use with the conversion. Luckily, custom length throttle cables exist for custom work like on sandrails. You can buy them from any major Volkswagen mail order company or you could just try and make your own cable.

The engine tin was a little more work. You are right- in South America, South Africa, and Great Britain (maybe all of Europe?) Type four buses did have type 1 engines at least for some years and they did have special engine tin. If you can get your hands on this kind of tin get it! It would probably be cheaper then the other option which is to buy a one piece fibre glass "tin" insert ($150 US) from the following link-

http://www.creativecarcraft.com/notforbug.htm

Or of course you can try to custom manufacture your own engine tin. I attemped to do this but I would rather spend the money on the fibre glass insert then risk my engine. I manufactured the tin out of a modified rear skirt from a 1970 bus (you could use 1968-1971). I cut the skirt down so it conformed to the shape of the engine. It worked well but the problem was sealing the rest of the engine around the back and around the sides- do make these sections yourself you would have to custom fabricate them. I could never get anything to fit very well so that is why I opted for the fibreglass insert.

Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions about the conversion.

Thu Oct 24, 2002 1:15 pm

I got lucky and located tin for a type4 bus with a type1 in it from Germany where they still use them. Maybe if you look into some sort of classifieds in germany you can find the tin. I did the same conversion in a 77 bus. If you have a later than 75 bus then you may have cut the input shaft a little shorter (about 3/8th inch) so the type1 will fit. Chris had a earlier tranny so he probably didn't need to cut it any? What year is your bus "wmoore"? You'll need to reconfigure the rear hanger bar mount to the engine. I used a bus conversion plate for a bug motor, bent it in half and used the original moustache bar, but drilled holes into it to mount to the conversion bracket. Hard to explain. Pictures would do better but I have none. Good Luck, did the same conversion as well and had no regrets, although I hated to cut that input shaft on the tranny. -Mark.

Thu Oct 24, 2002 3:53 pm

Coming from the UK I can assure you that all our buses up to 72,and a high proportion from 72-79 all had T1 motors,however due to our climate,the front and rear tin pieces you need are in short supply in the UK,what about the new buses built in Mex,aren't they all T1 powered,surely the parts are available new?

Thu Oct 24, 2002 7:14 pm

Hey 60freak you are right I did not have to cut the input shaft on my bus. That part of the conversion was perfectly smooth just as simple as bolting the engine on. I forgot to mention the rear mount. I drove the bus for about a month without a mount and had major performance issues. I am not positive that the issues were related totally to my lack of a mount putting the mount in did make a significant difference. I used the exact same method for creating a mount that 60freak did.

One thing I might mention is that the conversion is not a bad idea. When I was getting things together to do mine a lot of people thought I was crazy to down size my power plant but I do not regret doing the conversion at all. There are defiantely certain financial and maitanance based benefits to doing the conversion and I never find that I am excessively under powered.

Fri Oct 25, 2002 2:12 pm

yeah, people said the same thing when I did it to mine. But I LOVED it, and would never changed it back to the type4. bus on!

Thu Oct 31, 2002 10:04 pm

i have a spare 1600 in the garage and i would like to put it into my 73 bus sitting in my drive way. do you think i would have to make any modifications to the trans shaft. if not i get on it so i can drive to work this weekend and worry about rebuilding of finding another 1700. thanks talipp. info so far has me leaning towards putting in the 1600 thanks again.