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Sun Apr 13, 2008 11:29 am

Here's a link to a Porsche site. Is this right? Did Porsche really assemble this vanagon, or is this just a conversion?

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?t=403620

Moderator edit: Here are additional links...
http://www.porsche-blog.nl/2009/05/04/uitgelicht-porsche-volkswagen-b32/
http://www.porscheforum.nl/viewtopic.php?p=514724
http://www.vanagonblog.com/2008/10/b32-volkswagen-vanagon_6299.html

Sun Apr 13, 2008 11:51 am

I'm not taking away from the potential coolness of the possibility of a factory Porsche built van but seriously can nobody spell Westfalia correctly? What about Syncro? How many vans have you seen for sale on the classifieds listed - "clean 86 Westphalia"? Or "89 Synchro in excellent shape"? These guys are excused because they're Porshuh guys but anybody who owns a Westy or Syncro (or especially a Syncro Westy) should be able to spell the two correctly. Its in big letters all over your van! There I said it and I feel better. :D

Sun Apr 13, 2008 12:00 pm

I remember reading about this.

I don't know the exact story. But it's known as the porsche B32. Google it, you'll get some info.

http://www.ottawa-vdubbing.com/forums/phpBB2/viewt...a6cda61d35
http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?3365820
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/04/15/did-you-know-porsche-built-a-vw-t3-vanagon-based-b32/

I am not sure if it was a real project, or just for internal use. (I read as support vehicles for Paris Dakar Porsche main vehicles.)

JP

Sun Apr 13, 2008 12:10 pm

Its a Porsche B32. Yes they made them. You can tell them from a conversion by the extra side air vents. What I want to know is did they modify the porsche engine? Jake Rabey seems to keep stating that a porsche vanagon conversion is bad, but if porsche did it with carrera engine, it can't be too bad. It is something I keep dreaming about for my vanagon. Here is a link to a discussion on the B32 with a pict of the manual:
http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?3365820

Sun Apr 13, 2008 12:13 pm

What's funnier is that the Porshuh guys call it a Westphalia and it isn't even a Westy. It is a really cool van though!

Sun Apr 13, 2008 12:17 pm

Some info here:
http://www.wbx6.com/pagina4.html

From the Oettinger WBX6 cyl page.
Note :
The WBX6 has nothing to do with porsche 6 cilinder engines.
However, Porsche also build 9 busses, the famous Porsche B32..
They had a porsche interior and the porsche badges on it. In fact these cars were on paper not even volkswagens but Porsches.
Then there was also the German company Claer who build 46 6 cilinder T3’s with porsche engines. Claer is still in business doing T4 and T5 porsche conversions, off course with the engine in the back...

Sun Apr 13, 2008 1:55 pm

i found this bit of info *****From: [email protected] (PLAlbrecht)
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.metalworking
Subject: Re: Conclusion: VW bus
Date: 10 Sep 1998 02:21:43 GMT

>I thought the last of the "bay-window" buses had Porche engines
>(at least, that's what VW's literature said). That would have
>been in the late '70s, just before the Vanagon came out.

Porsche DID help with the design of the engines but they were built entirely by
VW. My old department at Porsche had a few contracts for the water-cooled VW
bus engines.

There was a few Porsche-built all-wheel-drive Vanagons or whatever they were
called, about 1985ish, with 3.2 liter Carrera engines in them. They were built
as toys for Porsche management.

Pete

Sun Apr 13, 2008 2:36 pm

Anyone have a link for Claer the VW van converter?

Sun Apr 13, 2008 2:50 pm

keithwwalker wrote: Anyone have a link for Claer the VW van converter?

Claer:
http://www.phoenixds.at/bartl/t3/claer/claer1.htm
http://www.claer-automobile.de/startseiten/T-3-main.htm

For ref:
http://www.porscheplayground.com/
http://www.autoweibel.ch/de/specialcars/galerie/Porsche_Carrera_Bus/index.php

JP

Sun Apr 13, 2008 3:03 pm

So, this may be one? It doesn't have the lower vents though.

I can't tell what it says on the back "Transporter" or "Volkswagen". Maybe it's a fake.

Sun Apr 13, 2008 3:24 pm

here is a link with pics

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?3365820

Sun Apr 13, 2008 3:31 pm

Van-go108 wrote: So, this may be one? It doesn't have the lower vents though.

I can't tell what it says on the back "Transporter" or "Volkswagen". Maybe it's a fake.

This is quite a known van but not a B32. The back door is custom (from a caddy IIRC).
There are many porsche engined vanagons (some by Claer, many home made). but apparently only 5 were made by Porsche themselves. and were considered as Porsches, not VWs. They had porsche engine, emblems, etc. I think they had a Bus logo instead of transporter at the back.
They have grills on the 2 sides at the rear, low, just below the air intakes.

In the US, MSDS did a kit to mount the 3.2 engine.
http://msdsinc.com/vanagon_ecs.htm

A great ref here:
http://www.motor-klassik.de/auto_U_technik/fahrberichte/hxcms_article_501030_14702.hbs
Some pics. It has not leather seats and VW emblems...
translated here: (crappy trans at best...)
http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F...p;ie=UTF-8
JP

Sun Apr 13, 2008 5:16 pm

So does anyone know if it is a regular 3.2 porsche engine or did they have to modify it to handle the weight of the vanagon....I am thinking about the torque needed on the low end.

Sun Apr 13, 2008 5:31 pm

We saw two of them last year at the Tuning Treffen at Hockenheim in Germany. Very cool ,all leather dash with a standard 911 dash layout , Captains chairs in the back,even a standard Maroon porsche owners manual pictures and a "B32 " imprint on the cover.
A very very cool piece. owned by guys who know what they are,and are not afraid to take them out on the track and play with them.

Tue Apr 15, 2008 11:12 pm

Wow, what a bus!

Not necessarily cost effective given all the other options, but an unbeleivable collectors version of the T3.

Glad I was sitting down when I saw it. :D

Thu Sep 25, 2008 6:55 pm

Hey everyone here is your chance to own a real B32. They have one for sale in Switzerland at this site:

http://www.oldtimergalerie.ch/images/auction/porscheb32.htm

Now this would be the Vanagon I truly lust for ...of course with a westy package. 8)

Still I wonder if it is a regular carrera engine or it was modified for the Vanagon.

Enjoy

Thu Sep 25, 2008 7:49 pm

reluctantartist wrote: Its a Porsche B32. Yes they made them. You can tell them from a conversion by the extra side air vents. What I want to know is did they modify the porsche engine? Jake Rabey seems to keep stating that a porsche vanagon conversion is bad, but if porsche did it with carrera engine, it can't be too bad. It is something I keep dreaming about for my vanagon. Here is a link to a discussion on the B32 with a pict of the manual:
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1337654

I think if Porsche is converting the vanagon, I wouldn't worry to much about how well it was done.
People have been sticking 911 engines in vanagons for years,
You can buy a kit: http://www.msdsinc.com/vanagon_ecs.htm
And you have to cut and Squeeze to get that engine in, and once you get it in you have to fab a higher engine cover because it sticks out the top a wee bit, so if you have a Westy forget the rear bed:
here's one that was done well:
http://pagetuner.com/vanagon/

Thu Sep 25, 2008 8:46 pm

You can get rear bed hinges that move the whole bed up a couple of inches, build the entire rear area up to match and then use the extra little cubby space for storage. Fairly common with TDI engines in the 15° install.

Andrew

Thu Sep 25, 2008 9:50 pm

reluctantartist wrote: Hey everyone here is your chance to own a real B32. They have one for sale in Switzerland at this site:
http://www.oldtimergalerie.ch/images/auction/porscheb32.htm
Now this would be the Vanagon I truly lust for ...of course with a westy package. 8)
Still I wonder if it is a regular carrera engine or it was modified for the Vanagon.
Enjoy

I wonder if they are available with Synchro AWD or with the Westphalia camping package? :twisted:

Fri Sep 26, 2008 4:28 am

I read recntly that those "PORCH" people now have control stock in VW,wonder what twist to vw happens now..........