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

Fri Oct 02, 2020 12:45 pm

I am going to take you up on that offer for the tech support. Have a great day

Cap10323 wrote: 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.

Thu Nov 12, 2020 4:33 pm

The day has arrived. After bidding on Copart.com and not winning, i have won an auction on my donor Subaru Tribeca. I am going to start stripping it down then see what i can sell to recoup the cost. So far i am at $1780 for the vehicle and $100 to have it dropped off at my house.

Thu Nov 12, 2020 4:50 pm

BTW it does run and drive with no engine lights on. 142k on the odometer, locally owned. Great place to start.

Thu Nov 12, 2020 7:22 pm

Nice looking donor car. The interior on these is something else.

Thu Nov 12, 2020 11:03 pm

I just spent an hour out measuring the both vehicles. I bet i can use the entire dash and front seats and they will fit with minimal issues. The purist will have a complete cow if i have a Subaru dash and seats in it. On the upside it will also help with the factory air conditioning that i wanted to use. I saw a green bus that put the Impreza dash in and it won the Good Guys car build award. What do you think?

Thu Nov 12, 2020 11:39 pm

Consider the floor/seat/wheel height ratios. Do the seat pedestals in the bus allow for comparable placements? Tiny misalignments can be adjusted for in the pivoting/sliding steering wheel, right?

I personally feel like losing the walkthrough to the dash cluster isn't worth it for a bus that will see any kind of use, like a camper. Even if it's not raining, I'll often use the slider or passenger door exit to avoid mud, puddles, other cars, etc… You could blend it to preserve the floor space, right? :twisted:

Robbie

Fri Nov 13, 2020 5:54 am

Congrats on the Tribeca. Assuming you’ll be building your own CANbus emulator or going with Subarugears?

The green bus you mention was my inspiration when I first started thinking of the Subaru swap. There’s “no” prob for fitment of the dash and you can easily modify it to maintain access to the area between the front seats. The only thing I didn’t care for about the swap was that it used TWO different chain driven drives/extenders to mate up with the original VW steering arm. Chain drives obviously are highly reliable but for me less is more especially when steering is involved. In your AWD setup will you also be adapting the r&p steering? If so, it might be a different ballgame.

For my swap I’m going to try to shoehorn the HVAC unit under the original dash and fab the connecting plastic ductwork since I’d rather cut/weld plastic vs metal. If you check out the build page pics on that green bud, its not clear if they included the HVAC unit in the end so it might be worth reaching out to them for details. You can, however, see that they completely removed the fresh air intake sheet metal to make everything fit.

Looking forward to seeing your build as it progresses.

Fri Nov 13, 2020 7:28 am

airschooled wrote: I personally feel like losing the walkthrough to the dash cluster isn't worth it for a bus that will see any kind of use, like a camper. Even if it's not raining, I'll often use the slider or passenger door exit to avoid mud, puddles, other cars, etc…

I agree.

Fri Nov 13, 2020 11:34 am

While I would be impressed with the ingenuity to make that dash fit (especially if everything ends up working), there doesn't seem, to my eye, to be anything about the dash itself that makes it super special. Seems like a dash made with a lot of plastic from a slightly higher than economy vehicle.

I know this guy, and generally feel similarly about the Jetta dash in the Split. It is cool that he made it all fit and work and look like it was supposed to be there, but I just don't like the concept much myself. Greg's work on all his projects is 100% top notch with no expense spared and I'm always impressed with his ability to fabricate as well as envision what he wants to do.

My personal preference is when old-looking parts are made to work modern components. A very simple example is utilizing the heat lever on my Bus to control the flow of heated coolant to control the temperature. Or using an old-school BN4 switch to turn on my modern Espar heater from the front.

Even though I like being able to drive my TDI Bus faster and have a few somewhat more modern conveniences, I also really like that when you're sitting there in the driver's seat, it looks and feels like the old-school stuff.

But I fully acknowledge that this is just my own preference and you should do what you want!

Fri Nov 13, 2020 2:36 pm

I don't disagree with you. I also have loved my other bus's with the levers and simple function of them. Not sure that much of the bus will be left by the time i am done. If it sucks then i will scrap it. I kept the dash and parts from the 27k mile bus. It is super super primo and would look great. I just love the challenge and the journey.

vwwestyman wrote: While I would be impressed with the ingenuity to make that dash fit (especially if everything ends up working), there doesn't seem, to my eye, to be anything about the dash itself that makes it super special. Seems like a dash made with a lot of plastic from a slightly higher than economy vehicle.

I know this guy, and generally feel similarly about the Jetta dash in the Split. It is cool that he made it all fit and work and look like it was supposed to be there, but I just don't like the concept much myself. Greg's work on all his projects is 100% top notch with no expense spared and I'm always impressed with his ability to fabricate as well as envision what he wants to do.

My personal preference is when old-looking parts are made to work modern components. A very simple example is utilizing the heat lever on my Bus to control the flow of heated coolant to control the temperature. Or using an old-school BN4 switch to turn on my modern Espar heater from the front.

Even though I like being able to drive my TDI Bus faster and have a few somewhat more modern conveniences, I also really like that when you're sitting there in the driver's seat, it looks and feels like the old-school stuff.

But I fully acknowledge that this is just my own preference and you should do what you want!

Sat Nov 21, 2020 10:22 pm

Day one of a 9 day vacation, remove motor and trans, front seats, front suspension, work on dash and wiring harness. Cant wait till Monday, my plans are to start fabricating the suspension on the new chassis. One step at a time.

Sun Nov 22, 2020 5:34 pm

https://engineswapdepot.com/?p=14853

Mon Nov 23, 2020 7:51 am

That build looks fantastic. I love the Ghia

Mon Nov 30, 2020 9:48 am

Making some progress over the weekend. I was able to put the old frame on a cart with casters. Once flipped over this will allow me to mock up the suspension better. It will take a lot of engineering to make it all work. Im excited for the challenge though. I am going to keep the tribeca around for a while to get measurements off of it.

Tue Dec 01, 2020 9:39 pm

I cant believe how much dismantling this has taken. It seems like I am getting closer but still have a couple of nights left to get rid of the donor. the rear ac unit looks like it should be able to mount in the rear with ease. still not sure if i am going to use the bus dash or the Tribeca dash. Once I get the Tribeca stripped I will see about sizing up the dashes. Here are some pictures of the progress.

Wed Dec 02, 2020 5:18 am

Nice progress! Watching the build intently.

Wed Dec 02, 2020 11:29 am

I wouldn't worry so much about opinions. The only approval you need is when its actually finished and out tearing shit up. 8)

Nobody remembers what you did from here to there, just that there is this bad ass 4x4 with a funny dash in front of them. :lol:

Keep pushing through. Do your thing, and make us jealous about your AWD.

Wed Dec 02, 2020 5:10 pm

8) pretty sweet! I'll be following this, lots of cool suspension ideas to be had here...

Thu Dec 03, 2020 11:14 pm

tonight i was able to pull the rear suspension from the Subaru. I am very happy with the ROUGH alignment of it on the VW frame. I will start by building brackets for the front two rubbered mounts points. I am using the existing rear controlling arm mounts on the VW to mount the bracket to. Once that is aligned i will build an L bracket for the rear mounts.

The suspension is in full compression position currently. I will need to build the mounts first then flip the frame over to build the shock towers. Tomorrow i need to cut out the stock tower to user for mocking up and aligning the struts. I would like to find some longer travel coilovers. Any suggestions??

What do you think about the new front (rear inverted) diff. The whole unit needs to go about 6 inches toward the front then is will sit better with the front crossmember.

Mon Jan 04, 2021 7:53 am

Good day, So with any project there are ebbs and flows. I have transitioned away from the suspension work and decided to get the body and trailer done this way only the mechanical is left. With that being said i have been fixing some of the minor issues like a banged up DS rear and small surface rust spots from paint nicks. All in all it has gone very smooth. My expectation is that i will be in paint by the end of February. Have a great day.

From banged up

to this

stripes be gone

The donor Subaru shell is off to the crusher

a nice smooth front end is on its way