Subaru EJ22 in the Flatback Bug...

Joel · Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 3:25 pm Post subject:

I did have all intentions of plastic welding the filler tube once I got the position right but it's just one of those low priority jobs that always gets forgotten about.
3 years later it's still working well and not leaking held by the hose and clamps Laughing

I've since found though that an EG33 has a short little stubby one
only thing is the bolt pattern is round the other way so I havent chased one up yet.

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Nepenthe88 · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 7:35 pm Post subject:

Welcome Joel! I'm surprised to see your post, TheSamba didn't send me an update email. Either way it's good to know about that filler neck.

Here in the snowy north country we only really need A/C 6 or 8 times a year so I'm not sure the expense is quite worth it... So as of TODAY I'll be doing heat but not A/C, though I debate that almost every day. I also debate whether or not to do aluminum, stainless, or flexy coolant lines and whether or not I should run them straight under the tunnel or under the heater channels. There's lots of options out there each with their own advantages / disadvantages.
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Joel · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 7:43 pm Post subject:

A/C has its benefits outside summer.
Its well into winter here now but I'm still using mine regularly as its great for keeping the windscreen clear.

One of the best things I did was duct it into the windscreen defroster system so it does the windscreen and door glass.
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Quick little bug, you got a Porsche motor in that?
1974 Germanlook 1303 2.5 Suba-Beetle

Oakley Diesel · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 7:56 pm Post subject:

Hey Joel do you have any pic's of your evaporator core & ducting? Nepenthe88 do you have your radiator enclosure finished ? I'm still looking for idea's on mine.
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72 Super EJ20 turbo install in progress!
04 Excursion 6.0 w/ Spartan tunes

Nepenthe88 · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 8:14 pm Post subject:

In order to continue eliminating copper from the harness I knew I was going to have to first pull the dash. It just so happens that I found a conversion thread with a great, detailed dash removal tutorial in the days since I last worked on the Subaru. The thread was written by ChesterKV, who documented his EJ22 -->'84 Transporter conversion. Dash removal info is on page 3, but the entire first half of the thread is VERY pertinent to any subee swap. Here's a link:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2...p;start=40

One thing I would add to his genius is the need to label early and often!! There's a lot of spaghetti under there and once the dash is gone it'll be all too easy to go cross-eyed and forget what's what. Here I am following my own advice Wink

cause like I said, it gets messy REAL quick

I found that removing the dash was time consuming but not overly difficult. Just pay attention to where it's binding, cause there's most likely a hidden screw. One helpful hint not mentioned by ChesterKV's (but mentioned by someone later on) is that the steering column is attached by a pair of bolts Just like the SuperBeetle steering column. Dropping that is required to remove the dash. I also found it necessary to remove the ash tray, since it hit the gear selector.

Now, I've chosen to save all the switches (hazards, defrost, etc) and a pair of vents in the off case I decide to use them (I think the only stock switch I have remaining is the turn signals). I also scavenged the pull out cup holders since I think they'll fit very well, and very discretely between the steel and wood parts of my dash. I mention this because there's all sorts of goodies you might want to scavenge during your project. Keep your eyes Peely!!

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Nepenthe88 · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 8:17 pm Post subject:

Nepenthe88 · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 8:22 pm Post subject:

Oakley Diesel · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 8:30 pm Post subject:

Okay, Thanks any advise I could give you, as far as radiator size is find one that is short like Joel's my radiator is 28 x 17 and the condensor is 29 x 15 that makes for pain to build the encosure. I was looking forward to seeing how you ducted the heat & A/C. I may mount my evap & heater cores behind the back seat and duct into the heater channels.
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Let my name be Feared at the gates of Hell as I exault the Savior!!
72 Super EJ20 turbo install in progress!
04 Excursion 6.0 w/ Spartan tunes

Nepenthe88 · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 8:50 pm Post subject:

Obviously in order to remove the dash, it's necessary to remove the gauge cluster. Now, because I'm planning on keeping this car in a "running / driveable" state while I pull the harness, I decided it would be a good idea to temporarily retain the gauges. Also (in my humble opinion) it MIGHT be a real slick idea to modify your bug's dash to accept the Subaru gauges and therefore might be worthwhile to keep everything intact-ish. It's been done before, I'll try and find a pic or two to show what that could look like.

Regardless, the Subaru gauges are pretty much plug and play. There's six quick clips exclusive to the cluster. What you see below is the back side of the gauge cluster (it's upside down too) and these quick clips:

All these connectors are located in the area just behind the hood release. The Black, White and Blue connectors are bound together by a larger piece of plastic and should be easy to identify-- there's no other blue quick clips. There are two additional transparent connectors in close proximity to these which will need to be un-done... The grey connector was removed from the fusebox.

Now, it gets kinda confusing in this corner since there's LOTS of stuff here. There's a couple of relays, the fusebox, the ECU (and another zinc colored box that says computer controller?), there's a handful of relays AND some additional quick clips to random stuff that will be deleted. What I wound up doing was to first unravel ALL the electrical tape so that it's possible to see what's going on and then yank out the gauge related stuff.

Once I had the gauge stuff out I quick wrapped it in blue tape just so the loose wires don't snag on anything
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Nepenthe88 · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 9:05 pm Post subject:

Nepenthe88 · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 9:11 pm Post subject:

one thing that most won't probably find is an aftermarket remote start. For obvious reasons it's not practical in a bug so out it came. You'll know it's a remote start cause it'll have been cobbed into the large colorful wires (ignition stuff) coming from the steering column:

The only benefit to it being there... maybe someone will want it, up for sale it goes!!
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Nepenthe88 · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 9:30 pm Post subject:

with the dash out of the way I was finally able to determine what the wires labeled "rigamarole" were (found in the rear light delete post image). These wires-- which were really cluttering the place up-- burrow their way thru each A-Pillar and power both front door controls (locks / windows/ mirrors). Unnecessary crap! Out it comes! Here's a quick diagram of how it was routed. The only thing that remains are the wires to the shifter:

It was right around now that I RE-Connected the gauges, negative terminal on the battery and started the car up. Still runs strong!! (the gauges are unnecessary to start the car, I just wanted to ensure the check engine light was still functioning). interestingly enough, I wound up accidentally cutting a trio of ground wires that go to the shifter and NOW the car seems only to want to start in Neutral (She's getting quirky already!!)
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Nepenthe88 · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 9:58 pm Post subject:

A/C DELETE

it was right around this point where I had to start scratching my head and wondering what to do next as I'd effectively deleted all the wires who's origin I knew to be pointless. I still had some wires scheduled for deletion but they dove into oblivion thru the firewall and couldn't get to them with the heater core / A/C unit / Fan in the way. sooooo... I guess the next step is to pull them out of the way. The boxes on the right are A/C and Fan. They're going first since it seemed easiest:

and Voila, GONE!!

the boxes are just held on the dash by a couple of screws and the wires which power them, no biggie. Only issue is the refrigerant coming in the back of the A/C box. That required a complete A/C delete including the pump, evaporator and condenser. Here's everything pulled from the car and "re-assembled". The pic is taken as if you're standing at the driver's fender looking into the engine bay. The firewall exists right where the BIG screw on connector is

one thing I didn't realize is that there's a little bit of tinted oil (to troubleshoot problems in the system) in the lines. At first I thought it was coolant (what, I'm a watercooled A/C noob)

and finally, a pic of the engine bay sans A/C pump

the entire system was a breeze to remove! the only snag i ran into was snapping off a radiator tie down bolt (rusted) and a bolt holding the line to the A/C radiator. Unfortunately I think that may have ruined the piece Crying or Very sad

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Nepenthe88 · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 10:05 pm Post subject:

and... i'm done spamming TheSamba for the night. The above was a day's worth of work (7hrs) and I wanted to get it up cause if I fall behind it's gonna be a disaster. It just takes forever to download, organize, resize and upload all these pix. Regardless...

That means I'm at a running total of 15hrs and $260. Here's a pic of all the copper I took out today. Thankfully that's a LARGE crescent wrench Very Happy

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Joel · Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2012 3:34 am Post subject:

It's like dejavu looking at all these pics.

Chesters Vanagon thread was really helpful, and another really good source I also came across when I started my conversion was this site:

http://www.weidefamily.net/vanagon/

Looks like you have been hunting around at radiator sizes.
Mine now with the EJ25 could do to be a touch bigger but it still perfectly happy in the middle of summer both in stop/start bumper to bumper and motorway traffic with A/C use

A few other rads I've found that are sized well for conversions are mk1 Golf/rabbit (think Scirroco might be similar) Peugeot 205, SW20 Mr2, early Mazda MX5, and Porsche 924/944.
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Quick little bug, you got a Porsche motor in that?
1974 Germanlook 1303 2.5 Suba-Beetle

JasonBaker · Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2012 6:06 am Post subject:

Joel, Do you have a spare tire in the car?

Nepenthe88 · Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2012 6:48 am Post subject:

Joel · Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2012 5:19 pm Post subject:

Nepenthe88 · Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2012 6:10 pm Post subject:

Apparently the Subaru dealer will ask for the VIN number of your car should you walk in and ask for parts. This is probably a fail safe for them to ensure the customer is getting the proper part for their year car. So.... I started the day by drilling off the VIN plates and putting them in a safe place (that usually means I'll lose them Very Happy

)

Ps, I still don't have a title. The PO was supposed to drop it off at my buddies garage but he seems to have disappeared and won't answer any calls...
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