TheSamba.com :: View topic - Something Truly Idiotic: Subaru install!!!

Sat Aug 06, 2011 12:18 pm

chris is an artist

Sat Aug 06, 2011 1:36 pm

insyncro wrote: RMW, Benny and others are working on or have completed this conversion.
Not much has been documented as I can tell.

Tristar Eric's is the only completed VanagonSTI I have seen on the internets.

Sat Aug 06, 2011 9:05 pm

This guy did it back in '05
http://www.vwrx.com/index.php?pg=projects

Sun Aug 07, 2011 1:03 am

loogy wrote: Combine that with a flourishing small business, a young family and other things and well, this project is on the eternal back burner.

I know what you mean, i have the same problems :-S

On the other hand, think what a great way it is to show your expertice when this project is finished :wink:
Put this project on your customer "to-do" list and work on it like it's an other man's project !!

I would love to see it finished !!

Sun Aug 07, 2011 4:44 pm

Area51 wrote: loogy wrote: Combine that with a flourishing small business, a young family and other things and well, this project is on the eternal back burner.

I know what you mean, i have the same problems :-S

On the other hand, think what a great way it is to show your expertice when this project is finished :wink:
Put this project on your customer "to-do" list and work on it like it's an other man's project !!

I would love to see it finished !!
Agree.

Make it a priority.

Also, I thinned my herd. Less projects mean more time for other stuff.

I have only a few projects and the all drive now.

So it is now to prioritizing the this and that stuff and doing it one a time.

Seriously, we stopped most customer work on the weekends now.

We too have a small youngish family and I did things to be sure the cash flow works well.

Now I can concentrate on our house and our fun and everything is now at our new house with the big garage.

You just need to work towards a goal, rather than letting everything else be more important.

It can be done, it just took a few years.....now the benefits start.

Sun Aug 07, 2011 7:42 pm

loogy wrote:
Building the header:

/P1010001-vi.jpg[/img]

Damn, I never know where or when the light bulb is going to go on. I'm assuming those two extra holes tangent to the ID are for swarf release.

As always, the devil is in the details.

Thanks!

Richie

Mon Aug 08, 2011 7:04 am

Thanks for the support and encouragement, guys! Summer plans are pretty well set, but maybe I can put some time in on it this Winter. We'll have to see.

RicoS wrote:
Building the header:

Damn, I never know where or when the light bulb is going to go on. I'm assuming those two extra holes tangent to the ID are for swarf release.

As always, the devil is in the details.

Thanks!

Richie

Yes, exactly! The teeth on the hole saw are fairly shallow and tend to load up when going deep into thicker material. The extra holes help expel the swarf (metal shavings, for those who may not know).

Mon Aug 08, 2011 7:25 am

That's a great tip!

Fri Feb 07, 2014 12:47 pm

Just an update - I have Chris' beautiful and complete conversion setup (other than an adapter plate or bellhousing) and am looking to sell - will post a classified ad soon.

Fri Mar 14, 2014 10:53 pm

greggearhead wrote: Just an update - I have Chris' beautiful and complete conversion setup (other than an adapter plate or bellhousing) and am looking to sell - will post a classified ad soon.

Why didn't he finish the conversion ?

Sat Mar 15, 2014 6:55 am

Keith wrote: greggearhead wrote: Just an update - I have Chris' beautiful and complete conversion setup (other than an adapter plate or bellhousing) and am looking to sell - will post a classified ad soon.

Why didn't he finish the conversion ?

Honestly, the biggest two reasons that I could not see this project through to the end are the neighbor issues and the resulting move to a new location as well as this: http://www.t3technique.com/

The move took a bunch of wind out of my sails on all of my projects at the same time that the business really started to take off. As anyone who runs a small business can tell you, the amount of time that is put into making it successful is often times staggering. This really limits the amount of time that can be spent on personal projects, especially when time with my family comes before any of my own priorities.

Gregg has now passed the project on to someone else and I really hope that they see it through. I would love to see that thing on the street!

Sat Mar 15, 2014 6:57 am

Neighbor issues ? That sucks.

How much did you section from the oil pan ? Was the baffle touched? Did you have to shorten the pickup tube ? Was the stock dipstick still used ? Any issues with less oil capacity ?

Sat Mar 15, 2014 7:11 am

Keith wrote:

How much did you section from the oil pan ? Was the baffle touched? Did you have to shorten the pickup tube ? Was the stock dipstick still used ? Any issues with less oil capacity ?

Man, I did that seven years ago, so I really can't remember for sure. I think that I pulled 1½" out of the pan, but that's just a guess. You could probably compare my photos with some measurements off a stock pan to determine for sure.

The stock baffle was left in place and the pick-up tube was shortened according to the amount that was removed from the pan. The plan was to use the stock dipstick, but I was going to wait until the engine was filled with oil to do any modifications.

As for any issues with less oil capacity, the plan was to over-fill the pan just slightly and try to find that happy medium between a higher than normal oil level in the engine and having enough oil capacity. I never got to that point though.

To be honest, I think that what I did will work fine, but given the opportunity to do it again, I would strongly consider welding up a new pan that extended outward to maintain oil capacity. Even just adding "wings" to the stock shortened pan would helpful. Anything to ensure that the pick-up never sucked air.

Sat Mar 15, 2014 7:41 am

That engine in the original vehicle was really impressive to drive.

Swapping to a van shows how to make it really complex and needs many custom parts.
There are a few driving around, but most prefer simplicity and since we are still awaiting a production run of parts to allow for the reversed Subaru 5 speed, I feel sorry for any VW trans that gets mated to this engine.

Chris's work was truly inspirational :wink:
I hope the next owner follows in his footsteps.

Sat Mar 15, 2014 8:13 pm

Quote: I feel sorry for any VW trans that gets mated to this engine.

Exactly why the second time around I used the Porsche G50 trans. The original WRX van I built dyno'd at 275hp to the wheels. It ate 2 transaxles.

Sun Mar 16, 2014 1:11 am

Tristar Eric wrote: Quote: I feel sorry for any VW trans that gets mated to this engine.

Exactly why the second time around I used the Porsche G50 trans. The original WRX van I built dyno'd at 275hp to the wheels. It ate 2 transaxles.

:wink: