TheSamba.com :: View topic - 1976 Bus Powered by EZ36 Subaru Motor and 6 Speed Trans

Mon Aug 31, 2020 7:24 am

Thank you

TomWesty wrote: scirocco_crazy wrote: I agree and have done great trips with my other builds. I guess i am a project addict. I dont mind the time and money and adventure of doing a hard project. Check out the 78 bus with the Acura motor thread. It was tough but the journey was so much fun.

danfromsyr wrote: you can do this amply with a stock bus. many have for decades.
just saying. :wink:

scirocco_crazy wrote: Granted my intentions are not to make a hard core off road machine. I would like the ability to do some trail driving and loose gravel traversing with confidence.
I’ve always enjoyed and marveled at the ingenuity in your builds.

Mon Aug 31, 2020 9:38 am

Cool, I hope it works well. Syncro front sub frames assemblies are drying up out there with all the westy conversions going on. Hopefully the suby front end is stout enough.

Mon Aug 31, 2020 10:25 am

With a weight of 4245lbs (Tribeca) curb weight i figure it should hold up well. I like the idea of something that has been engineered with the ability to do what i want my bus to do. Light off road. Plus the aftermarket world has tons of parts for Subaru's. I was looking at big break kits and suspension upgrades like poly bushings ect..
alaskadan wrote: Cool, I hope it works well. Syncro front sub frames assemblies are drying up out there with all the westy conversions going on. Hopefully the suby front end is stout enough.

Mon Aug 31, 2020 10:29 am

with the weight of a trailer and full camping gear, brakes like this will help.

Mon Aug 31, 2020 11:02 am

I received the sample of what i am making the poptop camper shell out of and the interior cabinets out of. A 4x8 sheet of this only 22lbs. Its is designed for boat application so using it to build the roof top panels will be great to resist the weather. The cool part is you simply fiberglass the edges to finish it off. This will help keep the weight down and keep the center of gravity low. I am also planning on ordering another fuel cell like it did on the black bus build. I will have 20 gallons of fuel and it will mount on the bottom of the chassis.

Mon Aug 31, 2020 12:38 pm

scirocco_crazy wrote: Some of my inspiration has come from vehicle like this. Granted my intentions are not to make a hard core off road machine. I would like the ability to do some trail driving and loose gravel traversing with confidence.

If this is the inspiration, I'd go with just cutting the bottom out of a bus (not yours because that's just too clean to cut up) , and dropping it on a 4WD Jeep frame.

I'd go with the 4.0 liter inline 6, keep it front engine and have that inline drop right between the front seats.

Very similar to this:

http://offroadvwbus.blogspot.com/2010/09/the-beginning-of-project.html

4.0 jeep is bulletproof, plenty of power to move it around, maybe keep it on 31s or 32s to keep the proportions nice, nothing crazy. I think the guy above used 35s. Solid front and rear axles on a simple suspension, etc.

Most replacement parts for the driveline would be off the shelf too.

I love your approach and if your knowledge is in Subi, then I can see doing it that way. My knowledge lies more in Jeep.

Good luck and have fun!
Hobo

Sun Sep 06, 2020 9:49 pm

That thing is pretty crazy, i am going for a bit better ride quality than that one.

HoboBus wrote: scirocco_crazy wrote: Some of my inspiration has come from vehicle like this. Granted my intentions are not to make a hard core off road machine. I would like the ability to do some trail driving and loose gravel traversing with confidence.

If this is the inspiration, I'd go with just cutting the bottom out of a bus (not yours because that's just too clean to cut up) , and dropping it on a 4WD Jeep frame.

I'd go with the 4.0 liter inline 6, keep it front engine and have that inline drop right between the front seats.

Very similar to this:

http://offroadvwbus.blogspot.com/2010/09/the-beginning-of-project.html

4.0 jeep is bulletproof, plenty of power to move it around, maybe keep it on 31s or 32s to keep the proportions nice, nothing crazy. I think the guy above used 35s. Solid front and rear axles on a simple suspension, etc.

Most replacement parts for the driveline would be off the shelf too.

I love your approach and if your knowledge is in Subi, then I can see doing it that way. My knowledge lies more in Jeep.

Good luck and have fun!
Hobo

Sun Sep 06, 2020 9:51 pm

I have started parting out the yellow bus. If you need anything for your builds please let me know.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2411362

Sun Sep 27, 2020 1:25 pm

scirocco_crazy wrote: I have started parting out the yellow bus. If you need anything for your builds please let me know.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2411362
Wow. That yellow bus looked pretty nice. What was wrong with it?

Sun Sep 27, 2020 1:52 pm

or you can do like a good friend who got one of these for serious off road camping and did a Chevy 350 conversion to it. You might be able to bolt a bus to it for some serious camping. Buses have a problem when they get water into the torsion tubes. The moisture never leaves unless they are taken apart and dried out.

Wed Sep 30, 2020 5:35 pm

It was hit on the passenger side and flipped it on the drivers side. The hit was bad enough that the frame was racked. to far to bring back

nemobuscaptain wrote: scirocco_crazy wrote: I have started parting out the yellow bus. If you need anything for your builds please let me know.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2411362
Wow. That yellow bus looked pretty nice. What was wrong with it?

Wed Sep 30, 2020 6:37 pm

I have stripped the yellow bus down to the frame and it is prepped to mock up the AWD drivetrain. Next i am still trying to find a donor Tribeca... Just cant find the right one yet.

Thu Oct 01, 2020 7:02 pm

whats specific about the tribeca?

Thu Oct 01, 2020 7:23 pm

The Tribeca has a similar weight and width to the Westy. The suspension is perfect because its modular. Meaning the front and rear suspension is built on a sub carriage. This feature is great because it will allow the parts to be easily removed if damaged with stock parts. All the other Subbys are to light weight for what i am building. Also the Tribeca in the later trim came with the 3.6R motor also. This will allow me to go anywhere while pulling a nice sized trailer.

alaskadan wrote: whats specific about the tribeca?

Thu Oct 01, 2020 7:34 pm

alaskadan wrote: whats specific about the tribeca?

Check out how both front and rear sub carriage bolt to the frame with 4 bolts each.

Thu Oct 01, 2020 10:55 pm

As a Baywindow owner, and a Subaru mechanic, I can safely say... You're a madman.

I love it.

Although, clue me in on the reasoning for using a Tribeca drivetrain. Not that I nescissarily think the Tribeca is a bad car (albeit an ugly one). If I were attempting something like this I'd probably go for "SF" chassis Forester suspension.

You know, an SF chassis Forester, and a Baywindow are less than an inch difference in width. In fact, the suspension is nearly identical in width, I measured it all once for a laugh. Although I suppose a Tribeca is only like 6" wider, so *shrug*

I take it you'll be using the EZ30, but what will you do for a transmission? The 5EAT? I'm not sure how that'd be done.

This is probably going to be one of my most closely followed Samba threads ever.

Fri Oct 02, 2020 6:21 am

Crown Point, New Mexico?

Fri Oct 02, 2020 7:55 am

Hi Cap10323, i will be using the EZ36 mated to a TY758 trans. The clutch is going to have to come from overseas because we never were offered the larger clutch and flywheel here in the states(out of a 3.0 manual legacy GT). I also like the fact that the trans shifting is cable driven. This way i am not limited by trying to use something from the stock bus. so the width of a bay window bus is 67.7" and the tribeca will be at 74.02". With the right wheel and tire package it should be just a bit wider. My plan although willing to be changed is to use the extra width of the tribeca suspension to help with a more stable base. I always have a fear of being top heavy at highway speeds. Plus it might look a bit cool having the wheels out just a smidge. One last thing, i would love to use the 5EAT but there isnt a ring and pinion reversing kit for that trans. Its also a lot longer and would push the engine to far back. For now it looks like the TY758 is the way to go. 6 speed with decent strength. Just as long as i dont thrash on it.

Cap10323 wrote: As a Baywindow owner, and a Subaru mechanic, I can safely say... You're a madman.

I love it.

Although, clue me in on the reasoning for using a Tribeca drivetrain. Not that I nescissarily think the Tribeca is a bad car (albeit an ugly one). If I were attempting something like this I'd probably go for "SF" chassis Forester suspension.

You know, an SF chassis Forester, and a Baywindow are less than an inch difference in width. In fact, the suspension is nearly identical in width, I measured it all once for a laugh. Although I suppose a Tribeca is only like 6" wider, so *shrug*

I take it you'll be using the EZ30, but what will you do for a transmission? The 5EAT? I'm not sure how that'd be done.

This is probably going to be one of my most closely followed Samba threads ever.

Fri Oct 02, 2020 7:57 am

Indiana, i wish New Mexico. I love the food in the SW

jtauxe wrote: Crown Point, New Mexico?

Fri Oct 02, 2020 9:28 am

scirocco_crazy wrote: Hi Cap10323, i will be using the EZ36 mated to a TY758 trans. The clutch is going to have to come from overseas because we never were offered the larger clutch and flywheel here in the states(out of a 3.0 manual legacy GT). I also like the fact that the trans shifting is cable driven. This way i am not limited by trying to use something from the stock bus. so the width of a bay window bus is 67.7" and the tribeca will be at 74.02". With the right wheel and tire package it should be just a bit wider. My plan although willing to be changed is to use the extra width of the tribeca suspension to help with a more stable base. I always have a fear of being top heavy at highway speeds. Plus it might look a bit cool having the wheels out just a smidge. One last thing, i would love to use the 5EAT but there isnt a ring and pinion reversing kit for that trans. Its also a lot longer and would push the engine to far back. For now it looks like the TY758 is the way to go. 6 speed with decent strength. Just as long as i dont thrash on it.

TY758 should be able to take the power of a N/A EZ30 without issue, even if you thrash it pretty hard. The STI guys shove pretty big power through those and they seem to hold up okay.

The wider suspension makes sense, plus the added benefit of the Tribeca being nearly 1500lbs heavier than the Forester means that the suspension is more robust, and can be further reinforced and upgraded to carry additional weight. (Tribeca uses the double a-arm rear, and upgraded front design)

I know first hand that the SF suspension is pretty flimsy, and the weight of an SF plus spirited driving is more than enough to blow shocks, bend control arms, etc.

Again. Looking forward to watching this build take shape. Let me know if you have any Subaru questions. I've done a lot of work on these cars, and might be able to give advice.