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Bendejo Samba Member
Joined: March 14, 2012 Posts: 122 Location: Denver
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Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 5:25 pm Post subject: Bad Bad Leroy Brown Gets some more huevos. |
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This will be my build thread. Hopefully I can post some photos to document the process.
My wife Charla and I bought Leroy Brown in late September 2011 in non running condition for the paltry sum of $1550. Here he sits longing for attention.
A hairy trip on the tow truck and he's at his new home
Time to evict the spiders and see what I've gotten us into
Next up: bringing the 2.0 to life!
Last edited by Bendejo on Wed Mar 14, 2012 7:16 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Bendejo Samba Member
Joined: March 14, 2012 Posts: 122 Location: Denver
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Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 5:34 pm Post subject: |
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First up was figuring out where everything was supposed to go. A friend had told me about TheSamba and I dove in with the awesome search feature and started replacing all of the safety bits like fuel lines and such.
Then came tires, shocks, and CV boots to round out the rolling side. Time for a test drive to boulder.
Don't get me wrong, a lot of work went into repairs and I did start one little electrical fire with a re-man alternator having a too long stud. :lol3
Last edited by Bendejo on Wed Mar 14, 2012 7:16 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Bendejo Samba Member
Joined: March 14, 2012 Posts: 122 Location: Denver
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Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 5:49 pm Post subject: |
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After the successful trip of 60 miles to Boulder and back home the next logical step was a trip to northern New Mexico to ride at a motorcycle trials event. I didn't want to press my luck, so I had a friend haul our bikes.
No real drama to report other than a serious lack of power when loaded for camping climbing LaVeta pass at 11,000'. I almost needed second gear near the top, and I started thinking...
I love the bus and the pace change from everyday life, but with two growing boys and pulling a trailer, we would be a hazard on the road for other motorists. The camping set-up was, however, ideal.
I gave the type 4 a chance to show me what it could do in the foothills at a later trials event and was underwhelmed. Not impossible, but very slow and no doubt hard on the engine. It got us there and back (hello second gear again). Coolest set up in the paddock however, all kids flock to this camp.
Last edited by Bendejo on Wed Mar 14, 2012 7:17 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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La.2Ak. Samba Member
Joined: July 18, 2011 Posts: 93 Location: Alaska
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Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 6:05 pm Post subject: |
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Man sweet price ! Can't believe you paid so little and drove so far already.
You're correct though, It's not the right vehicle for you if you need to pull motorcycles and all .Kids growing up ...I guess I can help you out and take it off your hands
Great that you can drive it on such a long trip with no worries ! Lucky you!
Thanks for the pictures and the story |
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Bendejo Samba Member
Joined: March 14, 2012 Posts: 122 Location: Denver
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Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 6:09 pm Post subject: |
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Along comes Craigslist: WTT air cooled 2.0 for jetta engine currently in my baja.
Off to the internet for more info gathering, looking at photos and pondering the swap. Subaru is nice, but here in the Rockies, hard to find a cheap used engine. I looked at Mr. Unpopulars Ecotec thread, but was concerned with junkyard sparsity as well. I did find about a million VW jettas and golfs of various vintages, so the decision was made and I headed out to do the swap.
So long, type 4. Have fun in the baja.
Hello sexy new 2.0
Curiosity got the better of me and I had to mock it into place after stripping it down to a more manageable lump.
It sort of fit and the overall height was all right, but the coolant neck would require a serious fuel tank mod, something I'm unwilling to do.
Back to The Samba for more recon along with VWVortex and others to see if I hadn't just made a huge mistake.
Last edited by Bendejo on Wed Mar 14, 2012 7:18 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Bendejo Samba Member
Joined: March 14, 2012 Posts: 122 Location: Denver
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Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 6:21 pm Post subject: |
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Now the fun starts. I need a ton of parts for a head/ECU swap. A few hours in the junkyard and $138.00 dollars later I came home with a head, harness, airbox, intake and exhaust manifolds from a 1990 GTI.
I talked to an old school converter who told me to cut the hatch and thank him everytime I have to work on the engine. Thus, the cRaSHhole was born.
While I was in the mood for cutting shit up, I "flipped" a section of firewall for more clearance near the head. I don't know why, but I wanted to keep it there.
Last edited by Bendejo on Wed Mar 14, 2012 7:19 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Bendejo Samba Member
Joined: March 14, 2012 Posts: 122 Location: Denver
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Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 6:31 pm Post subject: |
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Winter slowed the project to a crawl. But I bought another Bently and did the wiring work. I also utilized the stock bus air filter pedestal to locate the new unit from the GTI. I'm super happy I didn't cut it off.
A short start up with no cooling plumbing hooked up, just to see if all of the used parts and my wiring skills were allright.
That was literally the first crank after assembling the engine. I still can't keep the cats from getting in my bus business.
That last one should be a video. Perhaps my wife can figure out how to fix it later.
Last edited by Bendejo on Wed Mar 14, 2012 9:21 pm; edited 3 times in total |
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Bendejo Samba Member
Joined: March 14, 2012 Posts: 122 Location: Denver
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Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 6:44 pm Post subject: |
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Now on to the cooling system. I looked around the junkyard for large vehicles with v-6 or better engines, Knowing the airflow under the bus would be somewhat less than on the nose. I found a Mitsubishi Montero with a Copper and Brass radiator with good dimensions for fitting between the frame rails. I had a radiator shop move the upper hose to the "top" of the rad and seal the cap opening. I made a bracket to carry it and mounted the fan that came with the swap parts.
Maybe an inch of ground clearance loss.
I used some super heavy hydraulic suction line (1.25"/32mm) for hose to the engine compartment, where I used two 32mm gauge adaptors. the upper adaptor has an air bleed, and the lower has the fan switch. When the temp gets to 180 degress returning to the engine, the fan turns on.
Last edited by Bendejo on Wed Mar 14, 2012 7:21 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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bugger101 Samba Member
Joined: September 04, 2010 Posts: 1559 Location: orlando
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hazetguy Samba Member
Joined: April 06, 2001 Posts: 10773 Location: iT StiNgeD iTseLf tO dEAd
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Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 6:50 pm Post subject: |
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you REALLY need to learn how to post pics.
edit: thanks! _________________ thebucket: I invested in hoodride, now DBD won't return my call?
hazetguy: invested?
thebucket: Yeah Haze, its where people put money into a company in hopes of a return on their money
Last edited by hazetguy on Thu Mar 15, 2012 9:14 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Bendejo Samba Member
Joined: March 14, 2012 Posts: 122 Location: Denver
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Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 6:51 pm Post subject: |
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Aside from bleeding the cooling system which was a small fiasco with a coolant volcano or two, this was a fairly straightforward swap. I'll be adding a heater soon. I've been driving it for the last four or five days to work and on "test" drives, and the cooling system is working perfectly. Our first trials event is in two weeks, and I hope to report on more drama free driving.
On the first test drive, I gave it about half throttle in second gear and knew I'd made the right decision. Conversion is certainly not for everyone, but for Leroy Brown, it was a match made in bus heaven.
Thanks for following along and a big thanks for TheSamba (and others) who allow the sharing of information and ideas that make things like this happen. |
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Bendejo Samba Member
Joined: March 14, 2012 Posts: 122 Location: Denver
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Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 6:55 pm Post subject: |
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hazetguy wrote: |
you REALLY need to learn how to post pics. |
Can you not see them? I can see them but there's some funky tagging around the photos. Sorry, maybe my wife can fix it when she gets home. |
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tristessa Samba Member
Joined: April 07, 2004 Posts: 3992 Location: Portland, OR
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Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 7:05 pm Post subject: Re: Bad Bad Leroy Brown Gets some more huevos. |
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Lose the [ url ] links and just stick to the [ img ] ones.
(I put spaces in the tags above to keep them from being interpreted) |
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Mr. Unpopular Samba Member
Joined: September 20, 2005 Posts: 3715 Location: Tampa Florida
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Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 7:14 pm Post subject: |
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That's a nice bus and looks like the motor fit well.
My only "regret" is I didn't put a VW water cooled motor in the bus. _________________ "In any racing engine, the nearer you are to it disintegrating, the better it's performance will be"
-Keith Duckworth, creator of the Ford/Cosworth DFV |
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Bendejo Samba Member
Joined: March 14, 2012 Posts: 122 Location: Denver
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Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 7:22 pm Post subject: Re: Bad Bad Leroy Brown Gets some more huevos. |
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tristessa wrote: |
Lose the [ url ] links and just stick to the [ img ] ones.
(I put spaces in the tags above to keep them from being interpreted) |
Is it better now?
Thanks for your help. |
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Bendejo Samba Member
Joined: March 14, 2012 Posts: 122 Location: Denver
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Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 7:28 pm Post subject: |
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Mr. Unpopular wrote: |
That's a nice bus and looks like the motor fit well.
My only "regret" is I didn't put a VW water cooled motor in the bus. |
Thanks. I followed your build and seriously considered the ecotec, but the VW swap parts landed in my lap and I'm truly a cheap bastard, I couldn't pass it up. I really like what you've done, maybe a whole new era of conversions.
I'm looking forward to seeing Raby's cooling solution, it's probably way out of my price range, but will probably be effective.
Hopefully he lets the unwashed masses see it. |
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skills@eurocarsplus Samba Peckerhead
Joined: January 01, 2007 Posts: 16803 Location: sticksville, ct.
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Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 7:45 pm Post subject: |
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looks like you went digifart for the FI. not a bad system, but it HATES vacuum leaks and tired coolant temp sensors. truly bullet proof. now, go to techtonics tuning, get a nice cam and a adjustable cam gear and play with the adjustments. i have a built 2.0 in my 86 jetta and that thing pulls like a billy goat on crack
good job! _________________
gprudenciop wrote: |
my reason for switching to subaru is my german car was turning chinese so i said fuck it and went japanese....... |
Jake Raby wrote: |
Thanks for the correction. I used to be a nice guy, then I ruined it by exposing myself to the public. |
Brian wrote: |
Also the fact that people are agreeing with Skills, it's a turn of events for samba history |
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FNGRUVN Samba Member
Joined: October 27, 2007 Posts: 2237 Location: Fort Collins, CO
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Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 9:05 pm Post subject: |
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Nice job. You don't mess around. Have you given any thought to the heater you'll use. I was thinking of using two Vanagon rear heaters if I ever did a conversion. One heater would go under the rear seat the other would go under the van/bus and plumbed into the heater duct.
For effortless coolant bleeding do a search in the Vanagon forum for the "Libby Bong". Good luck with your bus. _________________ "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote." - Benjamin Franklin |
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BusterBrown Samba Member
Joined: December 15, 2009 Posts: 1397 Location: Arizona
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Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 9:45 pm Post subject: |
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moxnix wrote: |
With all due respect to your wrenching skills Sir, I gotta say I'm really sick of all these threads about folks wrecking nice buses with all this cobbled together modern engine swap crap.
Next I suppose we'll see a swapped in V-10 Ford or Turbo Cummins to "handle the hills", no doubt ?
What the heck - why not just cut it up and mount it on an S-10 chassis- that way you can use a 350/350 combo with a Ford 9inch and a hoodscoop.... |
Then I'm guessing you wouldn't like this fella's solution to a powerplant switch in his splitty either...
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=503175
It's a big enough world for each of us to be happy in our own sandbox. _________________ 1978 Sage Green Westfalia (Happy Trails, SOLD)
1977 Transporter
Life is short. Can I have some of yours? |
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greenbus pilot Samba Member
Joined: March 14, 2008 Posts: 1285 Location: Wisconsin: Rustbelt, USA baby!!
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Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 1:34 am Post subject: |
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Damn. Its 3:30 AM, I just got home from a 12 hour shift, and I read this thread.
Cool. I need more!
Nice job with the radiator - mine works great down there also.
Subscribed! _________________ Sent from a white van down the street. |
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