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Sat Apr 27, 2013 4:49 pm

Well I got the car for $1200. It runs really well for 219,xxx and besides body damage would be a reliable working car lol

unfortunately I have other plans for it :twisted:

Its an EJ251 and is clean as far as outside and the oil/transmission/differential fluids. Belts are good and new wires and plugs. All I need really is the swap plate kit and EJ22 heads from a pick-n-pull and Im good to take the motor out :)

I'm going to drive it to work for a couple weeks to get a feel for the engine and maybe get a diagnosis kit and use my laptop to read any possible errors.

also it has brand new tires that are perfect for the bug so looks like Im getting new wheels ;)

Sun Apr 28, 2013 3:49 am

BrettBrokaw wrote: All I need really is the swap plate kit and EJ22 heads from a pick-n-pull and Im good to take the motor out

Honestly you are better off making it fit as is, swapping to phase1 heads will mean you will need a phase1 intake manifold (2000 onwards is different design and doesnt fit) which uses different sensors and would need the right ECU and loom.

A lot of extra work and parts chasing up.

Sun Apr 28, 2013 10:13 am

yeah I suppose. I was going to go to the local pick-n-pull cause they have a big inventory of older Subaru legacys, but it would be more work :/

It will be a good month before I can get the engine portion going because I need to save more money lol
But Ill start pulling everything out besides that soon and start the conversion :)

is it possible to use the disc brakes off the Subaru and convert the bug?
I know there are kits for doing so but if I can, then it would be nice as I have the parts to do so lol

Mon Apr 29, 2013 6:19 am

BrettBrokaw wrote: is it possible to use the disc brakes off the Subaru and convert the bug?
I know there are kits for doing so but if I can, then it would be nice as I have the parts to do so lol

You have enough on your plate at the moment with the suby conversion. The disc brake kits are 100% bolt on. I'd spend the money instead on a kit.

Mon Apr 29, 2013 2:10 pm

BrettBrokaw wrote:
is it possible to use the disc brakes off the Subaru and convert the bug?
I know there are kits for doing so but if I can, then it would be nice as I have the parts to do so lol

It could be done, a guy in the UK is trying it at the moment but if you couldnt do all the machining needed yourself for free it wouldn't be viable, a bolt on kit would be cheaper, easier and work much better.

the brakes would be very skittish remember they are designed for an AWD car with ABS that has most of the weight over the front brakes instead of the rear so would need a proportioning valve to balance it out properly.

Also you wouldnt have an ebrake if you used the rears.
The guy in the UK is actually using 2 calipers, 2nd one for the handbrake, which is just over complicating things.

Mon Apr 29, 2013 5:06 pm

I see....lol
well I thought I would ask because the kits run $630 and if I could save a little money it would be nice.

Is there a diagram on the wire harness and what goes where?
I planned on labeling as I took it off and read the Haynes manual on the wiring.
It would be easier to have a laid out diagram of the wiring as compared to the technical version (I can read it but its just not people friendly).

Mon Apr 29, 2013 5:12 pm

oh, also I've been trying to find a cheap but reliable adapter plate. The best I could find was this:
http://www.mooreparts.com/store/product/896/Sub-Eng-Adpt-2.2-2.5-To-002-8%22/

Its $475 and everything else I found was around $520 :/

Tue Apr 30, 2013 2:12 pm

$45 isn't much in the scale of things when doing a conversion,
I'd just grab a Kennedy kit, tried and tested they fit and work well.

I cheaped out an adapter kit in the beginning and ended up having to buy a more expensive one in the end anyway.

Tue Apr 30, 2013 6:09 pm

yeah I was looking at that one in particular.

Are there any polyurethane tranny mounts that are specifically for the 73 super?
all I can find are ones for beetles up to 72 :/
Would these work still? http://www.jbugs.com/product/9540.html

Tue Apr 30, 2013 7:52 pm

You would have to replace the engine cradle over to the older style one to use those mounts. Also don't forget you have to move the tranny forward if you want to keep the timing covers inside the body.

Wed May 01, 2013 1:31 am

They don't make the 73+ rear mounts in urethane because they and the cradle are a really shitty design and the best thing to do is swap to the pre 73 cradle and banana mounts.

And for the front mount you can use this

http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=C12-6519-60

Oakley Diesel wrote: Also don't forget you have to move the tranny forward if you want to keep the timing covers inside the body.

You only need to worry about that with DOHC engines, the SOHC fit under the bodywork fine with the trans in the stock position.

Wed May 01, 2013 5:33 pm

Alright well I guess for now I'll sadly stick with rubber mounts (aside from the front mount (Thank you by the way.).)

Any suggestions on what else to look for? I'm making a list of things and totaling the amount. So far I got about $700 of parts I would need but I know that is not everything.

For the cooling system can you use the radiator, pipes, reserve tank, etc. on the Subaru? I know I can get better parts down the road but I want to get everything set up at first so it runs.

Thank you guys for all the help. I know I could figure things out but it's nice to get opinions on what might work better or what not to do lol

Wed May 01, 2013 11:53 pm

It's always easier (and cheaper) to learn from other peoples mistakes and wins.

there are plenty of the early cradles in the classifieds for under $10 if you want to run Urethane banana mounts.
Its a good idea to do this anyway, its bolt on and the early style are stronger with urethane mounts readily available.

You can use the Subi Rad but they are fairly big and only just fit in the spare wheel well of a Super Beetle.

Look around on ebay, craigslist etc see what used rads you can pick up cheap, I bought a Mazda 323 one for $20 that I used for a few years till I bought an Alfa rad which fit even better again.

Thu May 02, 2013 5:15 pm

I found this one on here: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1413466

But I also looked around and there are several older model beetles in the local pick-n-pulls I can get it from :)

Basically I just need a more compact rad that can handle that size of an engine?
I was looking at crossflow aluminum rads.
I also found those 323 rads: http://www.andysautosport.com/mazda/1986_1989_323/performance/radiator/radiators/silla/

Thu May 02, 2013 6:40 pm

What happened to: I have a relative who can get me the Subaru engine for little to no cost so I was wondering what else I needed besides the motor? Where now you are willing to pay over $1G for one with over 200k miles? Gets expense having to rebuild first before even getting to the install part.

Thu May 02, 2013 7:22 pm

That plan fell through. His coworker said that he might be able to get a hold of an engine for me but it didn't come to pass. I could get the metal parts like the case, cylinders, pistons, cams, etc.

Like Joel said, it would be cheaper and time efficient to just get a donor car for this project since I need more than just an engine

Thu May 02, 2013 8:11 pm

BrettBrokaw wrote:
Basically I just need a more compact rad that can handle that size of an engine?
I was looking at crossflow aluminum rads.
I also found those 323 rads: http://www.andysautosport.com/mazda/1986_1989_323/performance/radiator/radiators/silla/

That 86-89 radiator was the same one I used.
But it was very tall and took up a lot of trunk space.

I replaced it with an Alfa 33 radiator which is half the size physically but double row.
It's handled 3 Aussie summers (105-110f) with the added heatload of an A/C condenser in front of it so far with ease.

Fri May 03, 2013 5:54 pm

well I see what you mean lol
Ill have to look around for something about that size. I wonder if my Civic has a smaller rad like that?

I might just browse around the local pick-n-pull for something good while I get that cradle for the tranny.

Im going to order parts this weekend and finally see some progress with this thing lol

Fri May 03, 2013 7:50 pm

Most Hondas have tall and narrow rads rather than short and wide.

Jeep Cherokee have a very short one but its extremely wide.

Few others I know of that fit well are mk1/mk2 Golf (rabbit) Scirocco, Toyota MR2, Peugeot 205 etc.

Sat May 04, 2013 5:29 pm

damn lol
well I measured about 30" at the very front of the trunk so somewhere about there is how wide I'd try to go for.

I prepped the Beetle today. Removed carpet and seats and anything in the way. Dashboard is almost off just the speedo cables.

Here is the cradle that was on the car:

Also my lovely mounts lol:

Also what would be the best method for removing the crescent vent foam?