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Fri Dec 14, 2007 8:38 am

Bostig wrote:
"was surprised in 04 when I saw how stagnant the conversion landscape was, and even now we still have competitors getting away with just laughingly untrue statements that vanagon guys accept, that would never fly in any other aftermarket segment... simply because they don't know(either the customers or the competitors ha). The scare tactic is a powerful way to win votes/hearts. "

Please enlighten me. I like the Bostig conversion, so I'm not against you, just would like some "scare tactics" revealed. I'm unaware of any conversion being bashed, or the Coke vs Pepsi war. I think all conversions are well accepted, some have been disapointed expecting breath taking results, but these are unrealistic with a brick.

Fri Dec 14, 2007 8:45 am

Quote: I think it is kickass when vendors post in here.

Exactly... it says a whole lot more than what he typed...I'm very impressed.

A electronic tranny setup...even more impressed!

Fri Dec 14, 2007 9:13 am

Wellington wrote: Bostig wrote:
"was surprised in 04 when I saw how stagnant the conversion landscape was, and even now we still have competitors getting away with just laughingly untrue statements that vanagon guys accept, that would never fly in any other aftermarket segment... simply because they don't know(either the customers or the competitors ha). The scare tactic is a powerful way to win votes/hearts. "

Please enlighten me. I like the Bostig conversion, so I'm not against you, just would like some "scare tactics" revealed. I'm unaware of any conversion being bashed, or the Coke vs Pepsi war. I think all conversions are well accepted, some have been disapointed expecting breath taking results, but these are unrealistic with a brick.

East Coast Vanagon
http://eastcoastvanagon.net/faq.cfm

Don't know if this counts but they definitely makes reference to the guys at Bostig. The interesting thing is they're going to start offering an ecotec conversion, which to me seems inspired by the route the guys at Bostig took.

I couldn't be happier. I through in the towel on a subie conversion to see what happens with bostig 2.0 and the ecotec.

Jim, you better hurry with bostig 2.0. You don't want to end up with the "Osbourne Effect" now that you've let the cat out of the bag.

Fri Dec 14, 2007 9:28 am

funagon wrote: Jim,

The last time I checked, engine conversions in CA could be approved by a bar referee if all of conversion engine's emission equipment is swapped over and everything is hooked up just so. Therefore, I'm guessing that a California owner could take a Bostig conversion to a BAR referee and possibly get a BAR approval sticker, if all of the original zetec emissions equipment is in place. Right? Or is the zetec transmission somehow considered part of the emissions system?

I suppose that, even if an individual can get a pass from a BAR ref, that's not a good business plan for Bostig to sell to CA consumers, eh? I'm glad you're still trying to crack the "Golden State." There's a lot of Vanagons in them thar hills!

The letter of the law still makes it technically impossible for the BAR to give the thumbs up to an OBDII conversion without the tranny. As you point out, it isn't really good enough to say to our customers "yeah go ahead, you might make it through"... so currently the only sure way is to be in the right "zone" or another state ha.

We should start a registration proxy for CA customers and handle reg and insurance for their vans ha.

Jim Akiba

Fri Dec 14, 2007 9:30 am

Jim:

Can you post a list of Ford cars that have the Zetec engine that you are using? It is only the Escort? What years are best? How many miles is too many on a donor car?

I have no idea what to look for if I am going to find my own engine with your core program.

Thanks!

Fri Dec 14, 2007 9:32 am

remraf wrote: Wellington wrote:
Please enlighten me. I like the Bostig conversion, so I'm not against you, just would like some "scare tactics" revealed. I'm unaware of any conversion being bashed, or the Coke vs Pepsi war. I think all conversions are well accepted, some have been disapointed expecting breath taking results, but these are unrealistic with a brick.

East Coast Vanagon
http://eastcoastvanagon.net/faq.cfm

Don't know if this counts but they definitely makes reference to the guys at Bostig. The interesting thing is they're going to start offering an ecotec conversion, which to me seems inspired by the route the guys at Bostig took.

Jim, you better hurry with bostig 2.0. You don't want to end up with the "Osbourne Effect" now that you've let the cat out of the bag.

Nice one, if you don't read that page, and either laugh your ass off or your sensibilities aren't offended, let me know, and I'll explain it line by line. This is a great example of what I'm talking about.

Jim Akiba

Fri Dec 14, 2007 9:34 am

Quote: Please enlighten me. I like the Bostig conversion, so I'm not against you, just would like some "scare tactics" revealed. I'm unaware of any conversion being bashed, or the Coke vs Pepsi war.

From Gowesty "Scare Tactics"

Quote: Yea, right. Now, keep in mind, we at GoWesty have done SIX turbo-diesel in-line four cylinder engines in Vanagons, all of which accept for one was ALREADY set up from the factory with that type of power-plant. One of our top technicians, Randall, put a TDI in his 1986 Vanagon Syncro. He has been working on that for the last three years, and still the bugs are not all worked out (thank goodness those hours were off the clock!).

And, what about those in-line 4-cylinder gasoline "Jetta" engine conversions? Well, we have converted two back to waterboxer so far... So, believe me when I speak from EXPERIENCE. They are neither simple to install, are not trouble-free, nor are they “turn-key”. If you have the time, tools, talent, and experience, and simply must have a diesel, go for it. But don’t come cry’n to us when the thing-a-ma-jig won’t fit into the what-ja-ma-call-it that keeps rattling off!

I think there are even more posts out there bashing Tiicos and how many posts are there here Engine 1 vs Engine 2 vs Engine 3?

I welcome Bostig posting here....I just looked at their website, it alone is an I.T. Wonder...... there is a lot of code and detail in it,(congrads on writing all that code) then I looked at the features and tech. specs they provided ...I'll say it again I'm very impressed

I have no dog in this , I run a ABA set-up and it was lot of work getting there and I try to pimp the ABA BUT my hat is off to Bostig's work I see the work and passion in their work...<tips hat to the Bostig guys :) >

Fri Dec 14, 2007 9:35 am

Thank you, I've been enlightened.

Fri Dec 14, 2007 9:37 am

jkeller wrote: Jim:

Can you post a list of Ford cars that have the Zetec engine that you are using? It is only the Escort? What years are best? How many miles is too many on a donor car?

I have no idea what to look for if I am going to find my own engine with your core program.

Thanks!

If you join the Core, you get call sheets for the 4 parts you need to get yourself. How to find them, what specs, what to ask on the phone when you call the yards etc. We wrote down all the same procedures that we use for sourcing the engines for turnkeys for the Core guys.. so you don't need to worry about it, that work is done for you.

As to the other question of which cars have em...

They were put into the:
Focus
Escape
Contour & Mystique
Escort
Mondeo

We only use the ones from the focus(series 3 "blacktop" 2.0L zetecs)

As to how many miles are too many? We currently have 10k as our "cutoff" of the 38 turnkeys we've sold, the engines have all been under 10k, and average a price of $450 delivered to our door. We've also picked up 5 line pulls, and zero mileage engines for the same money and same sources.. sometimes you get lucky.

Jim Akiba

Fri Dec 14, 2007 10:00 am

remraf wrote:
Jim, you better hurry with bostig 2.0. You don't want to end up with the "Osbourne Effect" now that you've let the cat out of the bag.

Not really worried about it. We are so much further ahead in development(as you notice working on the v2.0 release) and honestly anyone crazy enough to try and compete since there is no money in it is welcome to... Brady and I work for room and board, and it's never been about the money, I would have stayed in cushy corporate land if I had wanted the money.

We wouldn't have had the perseverance to build a 10x12 room with homemade bunk beds to live in at the back of our last shop to live illegally for a full year to save money for development... ha I challenge anyone else to shack up with your buddy and business partner for a year and not kill each other... and we both had more dates living in "the box" than some of our buddies that live in normal places. We should use that for marketing "it helps to live in a box to think outside of one" or "nothing aids thinking outside of the box more than living in one" ha

Pulled it off too, saved over $12k that year, and we didn't get caught... had to wake up early every morning and shuffle the cars around, make footprints in the snow etc to make it appear that we came in super early. One of these days we're going to go back and tell those guys on camera for their reactions ha

Jim Akiba

Fri Dec 14, 2007 10:07 am

kayakwesty wrote:

I welcome Bostig posting here....I just looked at their website, it alone is an I.T. Wonder...... there is a lot of code and detail in it,(congrads on writing all that code) then I looked at the features and tech. specs they provided ...I'll say it again I'm very impressed

I have no dog in this , I run a ABA set-up and it was lot of work getting there and I try to pimp the ABA BUT my hat is off to Bostig's work I see the work and passion in their work...<tips hat to the Bostig guys :) >

Thanks for the flattery.. it's hardly an IT wonder... but I'm working on that bit. I'm putting work in into that side as well(you're only as strong as your weakest link), and hopefully for 2.0 our support backend will be finished. I'm building a system so that once a month(or some other custom interval) the customer is sent an email, an SMS, or called by an IVR telephony application, they punch in their current mileage and they are automatically sent maintenance updates based on their current miles.. so if it's time to change your spark plugs etc, you are either notified via the method of your choice, of if selected you are billed and the parts and install instructions automatically get sent from us as well. Should be a cool simple way to stay on top of everything for everyone.

We have gotten so much use for our use of our open source VOIP pbx, that I want to maintain and improve that side of things as well, and this is the next level. Currently if you call the shop, and press 1 to talk to someone, it goes into a hunt group and rings the shop, and our cellphones until someone picks up. We pickup almost 100% of the time, and I have the logs to prove it :)

In may when we go on walkabout(and close the shop for the month) we'll be renting a sat phone, if a customer need us, we'll be available even out of cell range.

Jim Akiba

Fri Dec 14, 2007 11:05 am

bostig wrote: We have gotten so much use for our use of our open source VOIP pbx
Jim Akiba
off topic but if any geeks are in the house hes talking bout
www.asterisk.org
and any uber geeks this is asterisk done right http://freeswitch.org/

Fri Dec 14, 2007 11:18 am

Quote: "nothing aids thinking outside of the box more than living in one"

You should have added, "or driving one".

It's a good tag line nonetheless, considering how popular that "out-of-the-box" phrase is of late. You ought to use it before it gets used up.

Good on you guys for what you're doing and I admire your approach. I'm in a similar boat as I work to make the wbx more the engine VW should have shipped. No money, no sales to speak of, it's all out of my meager pockets (or plastic!). At least I have an actual house next to my shop! And no electric bills (all solar here)!

Anyway, labors of love, they make life worth living. Keep on....

Fri Dec 14, 2007 12:54 pm

Living in a box is great for thinking outside of the box, about a box.

Fri Dec 14, 2007 1:08 pm

beatrich wrote: Living in a box is great for thinking outside of the box, about a box.

and getting some box.....

Sat Dec 15, 2007 3:12 am

I passsed on that one, chester. But I'm glad someone said it.

Sat Dec 15, 2007 9:17 am

bostig wrote: remraf wrote:
Jim, you better hurry with bostig 2.0. You don't want to end up with the "Osbourne Effect" now that you've let the cat out of the bag.

Not really worried about it. We are so much further ahead in development(as you notice working on the v2.0 release) and honestly anyone crazy enough to try and compete since there is no money in it is welcome to... Brady and I work for room and board, and it's never been about the money, I would have stayed in cushy corporate land if I had wanted the money.

We wouldn't have had the perseverance to build a 10x12 room with homemade bunk beds to live in at the back of our last shop to live illegally for a full year to save money for development... ha I challenge anyone else to shack up with your buddy and business partner for a year and not kill each other... and we both had more dates living in "the box" than some of our buddies that live in normal places. We should use that for marketing "it helps to live in a box to think outside of one" or "nothing aids thinking outside of the box more than living in one" ha

Pulled it off too, saved over $12k that year, and we didn't get caught... had to wake up early every morning and shuffle the cars around, make footprints in the snow etc to make it appear that we came in super early. One of these days we're going to go back and tell those guys on camera for their reactions ha

Jim Akiba

The "Osbourne Effect" wasn't a competition issue. They had a well received initial product and announced a newer version of it that they had trouble bringing to market quickly. Everyone waited for the new product and sales for the existing product dried up. They went out of business. I was just hurrying you up for my own selfish reasons anyway.

I think it is great that y'all are so dedicated. As a potential customer I'm not sure how I feel about you not being in it for the money. If you can't earn a living doing it and need to support yourself (injuries, family emergencies, etc.) what does it mean for the long term viability of bostig. Frankly, I'd really like it if y'all earned a good living doing it, I know you'll stay interested and focused. I'm not trying to sound like a hard core capitalist here but if you were to burn out (not saying you will) what would happen to all the info for the people that purchased your kit. That is one aspect of the subie conversion that is a big plus. For the most part it is almost an open source project. Your not tied to the fortunes of a vendor for info.

I really like what you're doing. I'm selling the legacy I bought for a 2.2 swap. The money is almost together but now I gotta wait for 2.0. Will we get more info before the month long break in may???? Can someone buy a core package and add the turbo kit later??

Sun Dec 16, 2007 2:54 am

Anyone know if Lake Arrowhead is a zone 3 area. I have a friend that lives out there. I also have a friend who lives in Colorado. Desperate to get a good motor in Ca like a 3.3 or 2.5 subi or the zetec. That's not to say that the 2.2 isn't a good motor it's just if I am going to spend big money on a new engine I would like to get as much bang for my buck as possible. =P~

Sun Dec 16, 2007 9:56 am

While I probably will not convert one, I'm impressed with the Zetech engine. owning an Escort I can defiantly say it is a durable and easy to work on engine. I inhereted this car from my father, it had 98K on it at the time. It has stood up to the Tucson heat for 3 years, and the Flagstaff snow for two. My oldest son has put around another 50K on it. It runs and runs (a side benefit in Tucson, nobody will steal it).

We did end up putting a new radiator on it, as it developed a small leak, a new starter and a new alternator. All the parts where virtually free when compared to Vanagon parts prices. The parts are truly available everywhere. The engine would be a durable, cheap and reliable engine in the Van.

While I can lay no claim to any experience in parts with the Subie, I was constantly amazed what we paid for Isuzu parts. When weighed, they clocked in at near gold prices per pound. You do not want to buy, nor do you want to install a starter motor on an Isuzu Trooper. The Japanese seem to follow the French when it comes to part pricing. Give the origional product away, we will eat you in parts.

Sun Dec 16, 2007 10:10 am

And, my '02 Zetec sits outside and starts reliably in Montana.