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renaissanceman132
Samba Member
Joined: June 20, 2012
Posts: 6
Location: San Luis Obispo, CA
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 Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2015 9:48 am Post subject: Corvair Thermostat in a 2.0 AC Vanagon |
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So I've seen reference to people mentioning that it is possible, provided you do some modifications. I didn't find anyone showing that it can be done, so I decided to design and do it myself. The machining went pretty fast once I had the pieces designed.
All the parts assemble and provide correct amount of travel to the original thermostat. Neither the Corvair thermostat, nor any Volkswagen parts, required any modifications.
The majority of the machining involved making two adapters out of 5/8 brass hex stock for either end, then also drilling a brass hex bolt to function as the cable nut did on the original VW design.
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chompy
Samba Member
Joined: August 12, 2014
Posts: 400
Location: Cascade Locks
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| Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2015 10:15 am Post subject: Re: Corvair Thermostat in a 2.0 AC Vanagon |
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Wow, that is plain awesome, good job! What temp does the corvair thermostat open?
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'81 Westfalia Subaru EJ22
Manual Transmission |
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Wildthings
Samba Member
Joined: March 13, 2005
Posts: 50338
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| Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2015 10:26 am Post subject: Re: Corvair Thermostat in a 2.0 AC Vanagon |
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| You do realize that both new OEM and rebuilt OEM thermostats are available these days. Admittedly they do cost more than the Covair thermostats. |
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renaissanceman132
Samba Member
Joined: June 20, 2012
Posts: 6
Location: San Luis Obispo, CA
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| Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2015 10:38 am Post subject: Re: Corvair Thermostat in a 2.0 AC Vanagon |
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| Wildthings wrote: |
| You do realize that both new OEM and rebuilt OEM thermostats are available these days. Admittedly they do cost more than the Covair thermostats. |
Yes I am WELL AWARE of this. I went the route of the Corvair one because:
1) They are more readily available
2) They cost less
3) Sometimes I do things just to prove they can be done. It was a fun small project amidst the sludge of the "big project". |
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renaissanceman132
Samba Member
Joined: June 20, 2012
Posts: 6
Location: San Luis Obispo, CA
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| Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2015 10:44 am Post subject: Re: Corvair Thermostat in a 2.0 AC Vanagon |
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| chompy wrote: |
| Wow, that is plain awesome, good job! What temp does the corvair thermostat open? |
about the same as needed for the FI engines. 90~95Cish... |
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Wildthings
Samba Member
Joined: March 13, 2005
Posts: 50338
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| Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2015 12:09 pm Post subject: Re: Corvair Thermostat in a 2.0 AC Vanagon |
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| renaissanceman132 wrote: |
| Wildthings wrote: |
| You do realize that both new OEM and rebuilt OEM thermostats are available these days. Admittedly they do cost more than the Covair thermostats. |
Yes I am WELL AWARE of this. I went the route of the Corvair one because:
1) They are more readily available
2) They cost less
3) Sometimes I do things just to prove they can be done. It was a fun small project amidst the sludge of the "big project". |
No problem with what you did, just don't want someone else paying for a third party to do this for them thus end up spending way more than what a stock thermostat would have cost. |
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RaraBlacksheep
Samba Member
Joined: May 09, 2014
Posts: 191
Location: Portland
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| Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2015 2:17 pm Post subject: Re: Corvair Thermostat in a 2.0 AC Vanagon |
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Awesome! That went pretty smoothly it seems.
| Wildthings wrote: |
| You do realize that both new OEM and rebuilt OEM thermostats are available these days. Admittedly they do cost more than the Covair thermostats. |
For now, they do. OEM parts and rebuildable cores will dry up sooner or later! I'm all for exploration, especially with the AC vans who are apparently the red-headed step children of the Vanagon world...
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'82 Westy - Shark Weak |
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VWinVT
Samba Member
Joined: April 21, 2013
Posts: 1541
Location: North East Kingdom
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| Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2015 5:25 pm Post subject: Re: Corvair Thermostat in a 2.0 AC Vanagon |
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I agree that the aircooled Vanagons are, well, not well respected. Anyway, I know that the corvair engines were swapped into busses back in the day. I know they have much more HP than the type 4 motor. Anyone running a Corvair motor in their vanagon? Is this still a viable engine swap?
_________________
1981 Westfalia with a 2001 Cabrio ABA
Small wheel turns by the firing rod,
Big wheel turns by the grace of God.
Every time that wheel turns 'round,
You're bound to cover just a little more ground. |
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Wildthings
Samba Member
Joined: March 13, 2005
Posts: 50338
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| Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2015 6:27 pm Post subject: Re: Corvair Thermostat in a 2.0 AC Vanagon |
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| VWinVT wrote: |
| I agree that the aircooled Vanagons are, well, not well respected. Anyway, I know that the corvair engines were swapped into busses back in the day. I know they have much more HP than the type 4 motor. Anyone running a Corvair motor in their vanagon? Is this still a viable engine swap? |
I think it is a decent swap assuming you can find a good Corvair engine or at least a good core. |
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VWinVT
Samba Member
Joined: April 21, 2013
Posts: 1541
Location: North East Kingdom
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| Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2015 6:26 am Post subject: Re: Corvair Thermostat in a 2.0 AC Vanagon |
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It seems that the easiest way to swap in a Corvair engine is to also use the transmission, as the Corvair motor spins 'backwards'. It is a direct bolt in, just some minor engine bay trimming. An aircooled motor in my van with 80, 95, 110, or 140 HP would be....wait for it, wait for it.....moving!
_________________
1981 Westfalia with a 2001 Cabrio ABA
Small wheel turns by the firing rod,
Big wheel turns by the grace of God.
Every time that wheel turns 'round,
You're bound to cover just a little more ground. |
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alaskadan
Samba Member
Joined: January 09, 2013
Posts: 1857
Location: anchor pt. alaska
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| Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2015 10:49 am Post subject: Re: Corvair Thermostat in a 2.0 AC Vanagon |
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| While more powerful its old technology. We had/have many corvairs in the family. I saw a corvair engine hanging in a bay window years ago, and i mean hanging. It hung down alot. I still have a 63 spyder convertible and after having put a suby in my syncro ive dreamt of a suby turbo in the vair. Heh heh heh. Parts are out there for the corvair, Clarks corvair or corvair underground should you go for it. I'd convert an aircooled to water with a suby if i wanted more reliability and performance. Especially since the aircooled vanagon platform readily accepts the radiator. |
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jismay
Samba Member
Joined: February 02, 2010
Posts: 219
Location: Norco, CA
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| Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2015 11:01 am Post subject: Re: Corvair Thermostat in a 2.0 AC Vanagon |
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| VWinVT wrote: |
| It seems that the easiest way to swap in a Corvair engine is to also use the transmission, as the Corvair motor spins 'backwards'. It is a direct bolt in, just some minor engine bay trimming. An aircooled motor in my van with 80, 95, 110, or 140 HP would be....wait for it, wait for it.....moving! |
Reverse rotation cams for the corvair are readily available, and allow a standard VW drivetrain to be retained.
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1970 Squareback with 1915cc dual 40idf
1979 Beetle Convertible
1980 Vanagon Westfalia
1989 VW Cabriolet |
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OLD VW NUT
Samba Member
Joined: February 23, 2011
Posts: 2776
Location: High Desert of Washington 98823
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| Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2015 11:33 am Post subject: Re: Corvair Thermostat in a 2.0 AC Vanagon |
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| jismay wrote: |
| VWinVT wrote: |
| It seems that the easiest way to swap in a Corvair engine is to also use the transmission, as the Corvair motor spins 'backwards'. It is a direct bolt in, just some minor engine bay trimming. An aircooled motor in my van with 80, 95, 110, or 140 HP would be....wait for it, wait for it.....moving! |
Reverse rotation cams for the corvair are readily available, and allow a standard VW drivetrain to be retained. |
From Crown or Kennedy Engineering - can't remember off hand which one - Crown I think. Reversing the engine rotation is pretty simple once you get an alternator. The distributor gear on the camshaft keeps the original rotation but the end gear on the dist is replaced to mesh with the new cam gear.
I researched this years ago for a friend who was considering the swap but wasn't sure which way he wanted to go. He ended up transplanting the entire running gear instead. 110hp motor with a tough 4sp trans? Whats not to like over the rather anemic 70 SP motor? If he had owned a 67 or older he could have simply flipped the ring gear and bought an engine adapter & flywheel/clutch assembly from Crown. One of the easiest swap there is IMO.
_________________
71 Ghia Coupe - stock body - no rust! Powered by a 2110 W/Dual HPMX 44's - Rancho Pro Street Transaxle - A/C by Gilmore
Other car - 2013 VW Golf TDI |
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chompy
Samba Member
Joined: August 12, 2014
Posts: 400
Location: Cascade Locks
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| Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2015 4:03 pm Post subject: Re: Corvair Thermostat in a 2.0 AC Vanagon |
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Sold some air conditioner parts to a guy in California(he's a samba member) who threw a corvair engine in a vanagon. He said there was only minor cutting to the tin and there was a ton more power. Definitely doable and cheaper than most conversions.
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'81 Westfalia Subaru EJ22
Manual Transmission |
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VWinVT
Samba Member
Joined: April 21, 2013
Posts: 1541
Location: North East Kingdom
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| Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2015 4:21 pm Post subject: Re: Corvair Thermostat in a 2.0 AC Vanagon |
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The more I think about this.option, the more I like it. I sent email to Clarks corvairs in Ma. I may call tomorrow and ask more questions. Simple swap. Simple engine mechanicals. Low price. Good parts availability. Good power. What's not to like. Just need to track down a good 110 corvair motor.
_________________
1981 Westfalia with a 2001 Cabrio ABA
Small wheel turns by the firing rod,
Big wheel turns by the grace of God.
Every time that wheel turns 'round,
You're bound to cover just a little more ground. |
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| Back to top |
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alaskadan
Samba Member
Joined: January 09, 2013
Posts: 1857
Location: anchor pt. alaska
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| Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2015 8:24 pm Post subject: Re: Corvair Thermostat in a 2.0 AC Vanagon |
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| Well at least get a 140hp. Pull the heads and have em reworked cause they like to drop vavle seats. Oh then theres 4 carbs to fiddle with. Get the 150hp instead, 1 carb and a turbo. |
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VWinVT
Samba Member
Joined: April 21, 2013
Posts: 1541
Location: North East Kingdom
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| Posted: Fri Nov 27, 2015 7:24 am Post subject: Re: Corvair Thermostat in a 2.0 AC Vanagon |
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| alaskadan wrote: |
| Well at least get a 140hp. Pull the heads and have em reworked cause they like to drop vavle seats. Oh then theres 4 carbs to fiddle with. Get the 150hp instead, 1 carb and a turbo. |
You seem to not be a fan of the Corvair motor. Is there something about these motors that that a part time shade tree (like me!!) would not know about? I know carbs CAN be a bit fiddly, but once adjusted they are reliable.
I have some water cooling items collected, but the amount of work to harvest a Subi. And install is huge compared to a Corvair install for basically the same HP. Am I missing something?
_________________
1981 Westfalia with a 2001 Cabrio ABA
Small wheel turns by the firing rod,
Big wheel turns by the grace of God.
Every time that wheel turns 'round,
You're bound to cover just a little more ground. |
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| Back to top |
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alaskadan
Samba Member
Joined: January 09, 2013
Posts: 1857
Location: anchor pt. alaska
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| Posted: Fri Nov 27, 2015 7:47 am Post subject: Re: Corvair Thermostat in a 2.0 AC Vanagon |
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| No not at all. They are just the same era technology. And need babysitting. Dad restored a monza 2 door for mom with a 110 in it and that was her daily driver for ten years or so. Good engine. Though as a kid i dont know how many times he had to do anything major on it. I drove it as a teenager and it pulled well. Good low end grunt. They sound killer, always remember the sound of a corvair coming up the drive. Kind of a lateral move was my thinking though. I wonder about getting heat hooked up. I havent been following corvair stuff for some time but iirc there had been some fuel injection stuff going on with them? Maybe that has progressed further. The turbos are fun when they work. |
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alaskadan
Samba Member
Joined: January 09, 2013
Posts: 1857
Location: anchor pt. alaska
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| Posted: Fri Nov 27, 2015 7:52 am Post subject: Re: Corvair Thermostat in a 2.0 AC Vanagon |
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| No not at all. They are just the same era technology. And need babysitting. Dad restored a monza 2 door for mom with a 110 in it and that was her daily driver for ten years or so. Good engine. Though as a kid i dont know how many times he had to do anything major on it. I drove it as a teenager and it pulled well. Good low end grunt. They sound killer, always remember the sound of a corvair coming up the drive. Kind of a lateral move was my thinking though. I wonder about getting heat hooked up. I havent been following corvair stuff for some time but iirc there had been some fuel injection stuff going on with them? Maybe that has progressed further. The turbos are fun when they work. |
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