Another transvair conversion in the make

[EvilWerks]

Howdy all,

The bus:
I have been lurking here for a while and FINALLY have something to post. I am currently working on a 74 restoration/3.1L corvair power plant conversion. The 74 was a regular passenger type that the previous owner was converting to a camper without the top. I managed to pick up the bus for $1200 and the rust issues were pretty minimal. I bought it in Richmond, VA which worked real well for me because I have a friend down there that does excellent body and paint work on many exotics. I sent him down to look at the bus and told him if he thought it was worth it and that it wouldnt be too much trouble for him to pick it up. There is always something, thought Not a big deal, but the best/worst thing I found was the patch on the drivers front wheel well on the back portion. The DAPO put a cork mat in the 5x12" hole, RTVed the hell out of it, and then sprayed it with under coating No a big deal to fix. The rest of the body work was done and now the bus is painted and ready for me to stab my engine into when I get it done.

The Engine:
I am a big believer in the corvair engine as a power plant for the bus. Ever since I found the transvair kit I have wanted to either buy or build one. I managed to score the full conversion kit and a Power Glide auto transmission for $300 off of the classifieds here. Finding a corvair engine is stupid simple and they are pretty cheap and easy to rebuild. I managed to get a case and crank for free from a friend that was already blasted, then another friend found a guy on Craigslist selling an engine, turbo setup, two 901 Porsche transmissions, and one VW tranny for $250 so of course I scooped that up (I rebuild transmissions on the side so it paid for it self). The engine was a 110hp one, but I had other plans for it. I had the case and heads bored out for VW TI 94mm p/c thus bumping the engine from a 2.7 to a 3.1L. I like the fact that part of the engine is VW as well. Since I am using the corvair auto tranny I didnt need to revers the engine rotation, but the engine I bought came with a corvair to VW tranny adapter and was set up for reverse rotation so I have the kit should I need/want it in the future in another application.
Right now I wish to just address what I am doing, but I will post opinions and facts about the corvair engine soon as I have researched and found much misinformation on the subject that I would like to dispel.

The future:
After installing the engine I have a westy camper top that we are going to install. My buddy needed a break before tackling that one, though. He said he would do it when I drive it down


I see that there is no option for me to post pics, I am assuming it is because I am a new poster. Too bad as I have some great pics How many posts do I need before I can post pics?

[Wildthings]

Everything you ever wanted to know about posting pics.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/faq.php?mode=gallery

Sounds like a fun project, look forward to the pics.

[EvilWerks]

Ah Ha! I'm on it. Thanks!

[EvilWerks]

The Bus

Some protective body spray on the bottom pieces

Some pics of the engine

[theizzardking]

to be honest i've never seen a corvair block...and man thta is seriously a block! hahaha i'm wondering now if i can run down stairs grab a hunk of metal and throw it on the cnc and make one hahha, any ways besides my ass hattery you bus is look'n sweet! really like that color!
_________________
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch.
Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote." - Benjamin Franklin
'71 westie "the wanderer"

[EvilWerks]

The corvair engine is a respectable power plant that can be rebuilt easily by people with limited skills. The top comes off, the bottom comes off, case comes apart in 2 halves and it is push rod operated. The power ratings on them is misleading, though. The 110 and 140hp ratings were gained on 92 octane gas. Also, the engines were around 9:1 CR where as the VW engine, that can burn 89 fine, is around 7.2:1. An interesting thing about the HP ratings is that the engines after 1965 (the 110 and 140) all had the same stroke and displacement, 2.7L, with the only difference being number of carbs (4x 1bbl for the 140, 2x 1bbl for the 110), and the size of the valves in the heads (just like the TIV 1.7, 1.8 and 2.0 heads).

I hear a lot of people saying that covair engines are hard to come by and that parts are rare. That is just not true. There are many places that deal in just corvairs, here are a few, there are more.
http://www.corvair.com/user-cgi/main
http://www.corvairranch.com/
http://www.larryscorvair.com/

Another false statement I hear often is that corvair engines are expensive, that is totally false. Cores are cheap and range from $25-400. It costs about $800 for all the parts to rebuild one (rough estimate, it can be less depending on what you need).

Like the 2.0 TIV, the larger valved 140hp heads a more likely to drop valve seats. This can be fixed during a rebuild, just like it is in a 2.0.

Unreliable? Well, the corvair engine has been a popular power plant for home built aircraft for a long time. Here are some pages that kick serious ass and go over not only the 3.1L conversion, but the corvairs use in the aircraft world specifically
http://home.hiwaay.net/~langford/corvair/95hp/
http://home.hiwaay.net/~langford/corvair/index.html

Now, the real argument I see being made is the Raby Camper Special vs the Transvair. In my humble opinion, this is an apples to oranges comparison. The Raby CS is a great, proven design that uses the original engine and bolts right in. I love what it is and have nothing bad to say about it.
The Transvair is unique, easy to maintain, inexpensive to do, and has more tq and power than the CS. You can inexpensively put a 110hp engine into your bus for much less than what the Raby kit costs, but it is not for everyone. I managed to buy the bus, engine, rebuild it, and punch it out to a 3.1L for less than the kit only cost for the CS. Different engine, different likes

Anything I forgot to go over?

[Randy in Maine]

You need to go here and send a PM off to Mike Hill

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_search.php?search_author=MikeHill

He is a great guy and a fine craftsman.

I am not a big fan of the corvair but he did an excellent job on his.

[EvilWerks]

Yup, its Mike Hill's fault that I couldnt let this go. I will be pretty much duplicating what he did, because it is right

[EvilWerks]

Some other things that may be of interest, I intend to keep the engine bay intact. I may put a bastard engine in the bus, but that dont mean I have to violate the body

I just heard that the 205/70-14 tires I ordered for it arrived at my friends house today. He is going to blast the wheels for me and paint them satin black. I will be able to tow it home when this is done. VA to PA will be fun with a loaf of bread behind my car.

[itlives]

That's a nice looking bus.
I bought a Crown adapter a while back and it's the only thing I have towards the swap. You gotta start somewhere.
I'm strapped for cash right now so I can't get the rest of the kit.
It looks like you know where to go for good buys. I may have to keep in contact !!

[EvilWerks]

No problem, I am glad to help anyone interested in this swap.
I was lucky in that the core engine I bought had the reverse cam and reverse dizzy gears in stalled already. However, you can buy these parts from Clarks or on Ebay from time to time.

[reluctantartist]

So how do you think it will effect the value in the long run? I have considered doing a corvair for my vanagon and would seriously look into it if it did not require body modification. I am looking at the Camper Special as a possibility too. To get over 120 lbs torque would be nice. I think the CS would make it more valuable.

Good luck
_________________
1982 Westy, 1974 412 Variant... Yes, Aircooled's are great! Oh and I do have modern computer controlled vehicles too, but I just don't care about them.

[EvilWerks]

Well, I must first say that I could care less about the value of my bus to the market. The only value I care about is the value of my bus to me

That being said, if you are trying to sell your bus to purists then the CS is the way to go. I dont know if you will get your money back on the conversion when you sell the bus, though.

[raygreenwood]

Evilwerks...well said actually!
Personally, I think the Corvair engine is much to heavy for what you can to get out of it. But the fact that its aircooled and in certain key ways...simpler to rebuild...and can get you 110 HP and should be a fun interesting build.....might appeal to some people. I think you presented that opinion well.

On the other hand...and I know this engine is not really for a bus....but 100HP is actually pretty easy to get from 1.7 type 4. Stock on the 411/412 and 914 was 80-82.
100 in a 1.7 or a 1.8 is not too hard. The HP to weight ratio is excellent. The difficulty and cost of Raby's camper special is making 110 to 120 with a 2.0 in the right powerband to push all that weight....in a more reliable manner than the factory did. It does not cost that much to do...yourself. But then again...he does have the best warrnty in the business and thats what you pay for. Nic pics! Ray

[EvilWerks]

Too heavy? A little over 200# aint too heavy IMHO. You cant beat the extra torque and HP either. Where did you hear that they were so heavy?

Also, they were used in many truck and van applications and with the right cam you get gobs of tq and HP at the right power bands You got to build the engine to your specs.

[raygreenwood]

I actually thought they were heavier than that....with all of the cooling sytem etc on them. Nice to know!

Yeah...had buddy in school who had an old corvair engined van. It was a lot of fun. To bad he was too stoned all teh time to properly care for it. Ray

[skills@eurocarsplus]

good deal! can't wait to see the progress of your project! looks like you have all your ducks in a row, so it should go pretty good for you. everyone gets all weird about engine swaps, but if i were to do it (and someday, hope to) i would go with a 16V or a 1.8T swap. the brazilian buses have a bell housing you can swap over so there is no need for a adapter. i like you have done a lot of homework on this and it seems to me that you can get more power and reliability for real world use (as in 2009 highway speeds etc) don't get me wrong, i have no problem chugging along with my bus, but have POD (power on demand) would be nice, well better than POL (power (h)our later)

[greenbus pilot]

Nice job so far, EvilWorks! I cannot wait to see the end result- I'm sure it will look plenty nice!
The Corvair sure is a blast from the past- years ago, my uncle was the Corvair King around my home town- he had quite literally dozens and dozens of them, and a nice little repair business on the side. Funny how I used to see a Corvair in the past, which reminded me of him, but now, not so many. What happened to them? I cannot remember the last one I saw, outside of a car show.
Well, at least YOU got the right idea. Please keep us informed!
BTW - A guy at work "supposedly" has a turbo Corvair wasting away in his garage, probably never see the light of day again anytime soon!
So thats one.......
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Sent from a white van down the street.

[reluctantartist]

What modifications are needed for the shifter and mounting the engine and transmission?
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1982 Westy, 1974 412 Variant... Yes, Aircooled's are great! Oh and I do have modern computer controlled vehicles too, but I just don't care about them.

[i_am_cool_fred]

i keep seeing all this talk about reverse cams. question is can you get a reverse cam in various power bans...such as the beefier cam you mentioned earlier to power the trucks and vans. i love the idea of this, and have even looked at a turbo corvair motor. i never knew you could run 94's on one, i'll have to do read up on that link. the main question i have though is the reverse cam?

also, do they sell aftermarket cooling systems like the dtm shroud for the t1 or the porsche style for the t1/t2-4?

i'm just not really a big fan of the stock corvair cooling, i know it gets the job done but the way that belt goes around just looks cheesy to me
_________________
proud owner of a defunct 1979 sunroof kombi


Brian Denning, as seen on Gearz TV