Subaru Conversion and Rebuild of a 1984 Blue Westy

conrad1468 · Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2015 12:51 pm Post subject:

Amazing job!! I just went thru the whole thread.

It gives me motivation to work on my 84 Westy. Smile

Sorry about the trans.
_________________
Fresh Air VW Car Club
New Pittsburgh, PA Car Club. 100% free!!!
club website link
http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/FreshAirVWCarClub/info
thesamba link
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=363031
Official website
http://www.freshaircarclub.com/
Look us up on Facebook, too

BlueNorthWesty · Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2015 4:31 pm Post subject:

BlueNorthWesty · Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2015 8:50 am Post subject:

BlueNorthWesty · Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2015 1:43 pm Post subject:

With the van temporarily out of commission I though I'd get to the wiring. The Subaru conversion needs some mods to the wiring to make things look right.

I noticed right away that the battery light was staying on and I checked the circuit and the alternator was charging so I was stumped until kalispell365 told me that for Westfalias the blue alt wire goes to the battery check circuit and also to the fridge relay. The draw is too much and the light stays on.

The fix is to remove the blue wire to the fridge from the circuit and plug it in somewhere else where there is power on ignition.

The wire coming from the alternator is not on the fuse panel so it's a little hard to locate, but it's one of the only ones under the dash that is blue. It helps to trace from the pair of wires running behind the accelerator pedal. This blue wire gets clipped as close to the connector containing the alt wire as possible then like magic the batter light goes out when the vehicle starts.

Here are the wires going to the fridge circuit. You can get to these by pulling up the carpet behind the gas pedal.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

The mess of wire at the fuse panel.

This is the connector and the wire to clip. Put a female connector on the loose wire and plug it into a spare spade on the fuse block.

_________________
1984 Medium Blue Vanagon Westfalia 2WD w/ rebuilt Auto, Peloquin differential, 3.27 R&P gears, 2002 Subaru 2.5L engine, Girling G60 front brake upgrade, PS, power mirrors

Build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=610481&highlight=

BlueNorthWesty · Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2015 1:52 pm Post subject:

Taking the transmission out the second time is about half the fun. It's tougher to do with the engine in so I made up a support to be able to bring it done on my floor jack.

Ready for pickup.
I should have it back in a week or two.
I have the 3.27 ring and pinion gears coming from RMW so I can get it all done at the same time. Should be sweet.

_________________
1984 Medium Blue Vanagon Westfalia 2WD w/ rebuilt Auto, Peloquin differential, 3.27 R&P gears, 2002 Subaru 2.5L engine, Girling G60 front brake upgrade, PS, power mirrors

Build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=610481&highlight=

BlueNorthWesty · Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2015 8:38 pm Post subject:

With the van immobile for a while I started on the underside recoating. I'm using 2 coats POR-15 gloss black with rust prep and doing my best to remove all rust and undercoat first. It's a tough and dirty job and I ended up at the optometrist to have bits of metal removed from my eyes. I'm so glad to have this part done. I'm going to finish with spray-on rubberized undercoat for extra protection. What could possibly go wrong with that?

Before:

Stripped, prepped and ready for undercoat:

Two coats of POR-15:

_________________
1984 Medium Blue Vanagon Westfalia 2WD w/ rebuilt Auto, Peloquin differential, 3.27 R&P gears, 2002 Subaru 2.5L engine, Girling G60 front brake upgrade, PS, power mirrors

Build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=610481&highlight=

BlueNorthWesty · Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2015 3:53 pm Post subject:

I finished undercoating the floorboards today. I'm glad to have that behind me. The best part was reinstalling the transmission cooler and the propane tank. Things are starting to come together.

Transmission cooler before:

After:

Propane tank before:

After:

_________________
1984 Medium Blue Vanagon Westfalia 2WD w/ rebuilt Auto, Peloquin differential, 3.27 R&P gears, 2002 Subaru 2.5L engine, Girling G60 front brake upgrade, PS, power mirrors

Build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=610481&highlight=

BlueNorthWesty · Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2015 2:51 pm Post subject:

I got the transmission back from the shop on Thursday. It got fully rebuilt and now has the Peloquin's differential and 3.27 ring/pinion which is supposed to be a better match for the Subaru engine.

They did a nice job on the outside too:

It's much harder to install the transmission with the engine. Much harder. Anyway it's in now and feels tight and new and engages exactly the way you would want.
_________________
1984 Medium Blue Vanagon Westfalia 2WD w/ rebuilt Auto, Peloquin differential, 3.27 R&P gears, 2002 Subaru 2.5L engine, Girling G60 front brake upgrade, PS, power mirrors

Build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=610481&highlight=

BlueNorthWesty · Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2015 3:08 pm Post subject:

I ran the van for a while, checked for leaks, checked levels again and made sure the cooling system was doing it's thing.

The only thing left to do was take it on a road test. I did a short one to the car wash and then took my daughter out of town for the first highway trip. It went super smooth. We went toward the mountains and then headed north to Cochrane. There is a big hill on the way back to Calgary and I wanted to see how it would perform. I was able to do 100 up the hill with the pedal to the floor. It's not as powerful as I expected but still fast enough. I'm glad I went with the bigger Subaru motor!

We stopped along the way at an old farm and of course I got a few shots of the van. I need to get going on the body next.

Link

_________________
1984 Medium Blue Vanagon Westfalia 2WD w/ rebuilt Auto, Peloquin differential, 3.27 R&P gears, 2002 Subaru 2.5L engine, Girling G60 front brake upgrade, PS, power mirrors

Build thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=610481&highlight=

luVWagn · Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2015 3:27 pm Post subject:

fantastic progress, you must be chuffed to bits.
My suby 2.5 in a westy would allow for good power up large hills in 4th, but down-shifting to 3rd wasn't out of the question in order to give it a bit more oomph.
_________________
'91 Syncro 16 Reimo Hightop Conversion, eTDI

wesitarz · Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2015 6:47 pm Post subject:

what octane are you running? I have found 89 to be the best. I use NGK V-power gap 0.044

Jake de Villiers · Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 10:50 am Post subject:

That exhaust is way too loud for me - I wouldn't make it into Vancouver with that thing thumping away.

A hundred miles an hour uphill? With your daughter in the van?
_________________
'84 Vanagon GL 1.9 WBX
'86 Westy Weekender Poptop/2.5 Subaru/5 Speed Posi/Audi Front Brakes/16 x 7 Mercedes Wheels - answers to 'Dixie'
@jakedevilliersmusic1
http://sites.google.com/site/subyjake/mydixiedarlin%27
www.crescentbeachguitar.com
www.thebassspa.com

pbrown · Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 11:05 am Post subject:

dawerks · Samba Member Joined: September 15, 2010 Posts: 2349

Nice build up!

Where did you send in the transmission? My automatic won't shift UP from 1st. The Vanagon runs perfect but won't get past 35Km/hr Smile

_________________
"There is only one sin; disconnection from self."

pioneer1 · Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 11:18 am Post subject:

POR 15 is a great product if used properly. You may be fine with what you did to the undercarriage but don't be surprised if the coating fails because you used it over existing paint-not a bare metal. From the web page... "CAN I APPLY POR-15 OVER OTHER PAINTS?
Yes, but you will lose the important benefits of POR-15. You must remember that ordinary paints are weakened by exposure to moisture. POR-15 can't stop rust if it isn't in direct contact with the base metal."
_________________
"Always waiting for tomorrow ruined everything"

'85 Porsche 911 Targa

'76 Westfalia project

BlueNorthWesty · Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 11:30 am Post subject:

BlueNorthWesty · Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 11:34 am Post subject:

BlueNorthWesty · Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 11:39 am Post subject:

BlueNorthWesty · Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 11:42 am Post subject:

Jake de Villiers · Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 1:52 pm Post subject:


Hello! Log in or Register \| Help \| Donate \| Buy Shirts	See all banner ads \| Advertise on TheSamba.com

Subaru Conversion and Rebuild of a 1984 Blue Westy
Page: Previous 1, 2, 3 ... 6, 7, 8 ... 11, 12, 13 Next Jump to:

	Forum Index -> Vanagon	All times are Mountain Standard Time/Pacific Daylight Savings Time Page: Previous 1, 2, 3 ... 6, 7, 8 ... 11, 12, 13 Next Jump to:
Page 7 of 13