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MikeHill
Samba Member
Joined: August 12, 2005
Posts: 271
Location: Plymouth, MA
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 Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 10:51 am Post subject: 3 year project bus - corvair engine pictures |
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For those that are interested, here are some pictures of the engine conversion. Bill Cline (VW Bus Heaven) and I did the install in about 4 days. I know it's not stock VW, but it was an interesting swap and it's still air cooled. When it came down to deciding what engine to use I decided that a six cylinder engine not breathing hard and putting out 110hp, was better than a 4 cylinder engine that was really working and putting out less than 70hp.
With the extra displacement I couldn't resist the 2.7 emblem for the engine door. I used a Corvair dual exhaust setup with MagnaFlow mufflers.
The rear motor hanger was fabricated from a vanagon bar with the stock Corvair engine mount welded to it. The engine tin was fabbed from aluminum and cut to use a stock VW foam engine seal.
To the bottom right of the alternator you can see where Bill Cline fabricated copper tubing to run to the remote oil filter. The stock Corvair filter hangs off the rear of the engine and the engine door wouldn't have closed.
With the new motor mounts the engine hangs lower than the stock motor.
Here you can see the hot air exhausts from the engine on either side of the oil pan. With the motor running these blow hot air out like a hair dryer. I tried hooking up the stock Corvair heating into the stock VW plumbing, but the smell of oil was too unpleasant. Be happy you have VW "fresh air" heat. I don't use my bus in the winter so it doesn't matter to me.
A key part needed for this conversion are adapter plates to bolt the VW CV to the Corvair transaxle. Clark's Corvair provided these.
The transmission hanger was another key piece from Clark's. It bolts to the front of the PowerGlide Transmission and bolts to the VW frame with a VW front transmission mount from a 67.
Finally I used a stock Corvair dashboard mounted shifter to fit a slightly modified VW dash. I cut up a glove compartment door to create a single slot for the shifter. I moved the fresh air vent lever under the dash.
There you have it. The conversion parts to mate VW to Corvair cost around $300. Clark's may or may not have any more of the conversion kits still available, but I've seen used kits advertised on ebay. The engine rebuild was pricey but I have a completely new engine. The two speed powerglide is bullet proof. It motor fits the engine compartment like it belongs there. The engine sounds like a small block V8 when it idles. It's all good.....
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77 bus, 2.7 liter Corvair/PowerGlide
Last edited by MikeHill on Sat Jun 23, 2007 2:56 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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barrysmith
Samba Member
Joined: July 14, 2006
Posts: 258
Location: wilburton oklahoma
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| Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 1:00 pm Post subject: |
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| That bus kicks ass Mike,but is it not a different one from the one in your avitar?Great color and the inside looks swank yet functional....great job! |
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barrysmith
Samba Member
Joined: July 14, 2006
Posts: 258
Location: wilburton oklahoma
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| Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 1:15 pm Post subject: |
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never mind,I found the other thread  awesome job! |
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MikeHill
Samba Member
Joined: August 12, 2005
Posts: 271
Location: Plymouth, MA
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| Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 2:20 pm Post subject: |
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Just for the heck of it I checked the specs of the 110 hp Corvair against Jake Raby's Camper Special, which was also a swap I had considered. The Corvair puts out 110hp @ 4400 rpm to the Camper Special's 98hp at about the same rpm. The torque of the Covair is 160 foot lbs @ 2600 rpm vs 128 foot lbs for the Camper Special. If Jake was closer to the NorthEast I might have gone with a Camper Special, but I'm pleased with the performance of the Corvair PowerGlide combo. It's really well matched for the bus.
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77 bus, 2.7 liter Corvair/PowerGlide
Last edited by MikeHill on Sun Jul 22, 2007 10:01 am; edited 2 times in total |
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VWGirl
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Joined: June 03, 2003
Posts: 2462
Location: Powder Springs, GA
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| Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 2:57 pm Post subject: |
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You mean Jake Raby?
I've thought of doing the corvair conversion myself since I have access to all the corvair parts I could ever need... but decided to stick strictly vw since the parts seem more readily available... of course I had wanted to use the Quad carb set up out of our corsa   that and the crazy bent belt and the backwards rotation of the engine steered me away... perhaps I'll put that set up in a dune buggy?
Anyhow, looks great!
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Without love in the dream it will never come true |
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GusC2it
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Joined: June 23, 2005
Posts: 1376
Location: Orlando, Florida, USA
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| Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 3:24 pm Post subject: |
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Nice job! And good for you for using the Corvair tranny, thou I would prefer a 4 speed. I modified a Corsa turbo engine that put out gobs of power and put it in my custom Ghia conv. Wow! It had an old swing axel so I could swap the ring gear. I'd like a corvair in my bus cept its hard to find parts now. Where did you find new pistons and cyls The crank and rods can be regound but where did you get the bearings. The heads are problematic also. Have you read "How to Hotrod Your Corvair Engine"?
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75 type 2 http://gusc1.tripod.com/1975vwtype2
Old vices have now been upgraded to bad habits.
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streamr
Samba Member
Joined: February 26, 2007
Posts: 555
Location: Southwest FL
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| Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 3:35 pm Post subject: |
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Two words... Holy Crap!
Incredible job, inside and out. |
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MikeHill
Samba Member
Joined: August 12, 2005
Posts: 271
Location: Plymouth, MA
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| Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 3:50 pm Post subject: |
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| GusC2it wrote: |
| I'd like a corvair in my bus cept its hard to find parts now. Where did you find new pistons and cyls The crank and rods can be regound but where did you get the bearings. The heads are problematic also. |
Clark's Corvair in Western MA has everything either new or used. There were millions of the Corvairs produced and there wasn't anything I couldn't find at Clarks. GM was smart in that they used stuff they already had on the shelf when they built the Corvair. More of an issue might be finding someone who knows how to work on the Corvair engine. There seems to be a tight Corvair community here in the Northeast so that doesn't seem to be a problem here.
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77 bus, 2.7 liter Corvair/PowerGlide |
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Bleyseng
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Joined: July 03, 2005
Posts: 4752
Location: Seattle
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| Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 4:51 pm Post subject: |
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whats your mpg?
I had a 2.4L 130hp 911 engine laying around but decided to stay with the VW as I need heat and kept it simple with the Ljet.
95hp is all I need to bomb around I decided as I have the 914 to go fast in.
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70 Ghia Black convert-9/69 build date-stock w/133k 1600 SP-barn find now with a rebuilt tranny and engine
77 Westy 2.0L w/Ljet, Camper Special engine-95hp and with LSD!(sold)
76 Porsche 914 2.1L L20c, 120hp Djet (sold)
87 Syncro Westy Titan Red 2.1L 2 knob 100k miles |
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MikeHill
Samba Member
Joined: August 12, 2005
Posts: 271
Location: Plymouth, MA
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| Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 5:25 pm Post subject: |
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| Bleyseng wrote: |
| whats your mpg? |
The motor has about 3500 miles since the rebuild. Best mpg to date is 18.5 but it seems to be steadily getting better now that the it's getting broken in. My problem is that it's tough to keep my foot off the gas....
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77 bus, 2.7 liter Corvair/PowerGlide |
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Hippie
Samba Tinner
Joined: August 16, 2004
Posts: 1781
Location: Iowa: The Mud State
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| Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2007 7:23 pm Post subject: |
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Glorious! 
Rob
Last edited by Hippie on Fri Dec 21, 2007 6:18 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Jake Raby
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Joined: August 23, 2003
Posts: 7433
Location: Aircooled Heaven USA
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| Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 5:20 am Post subject: |
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Looks great!
At least you kept it air cooled!
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Jake Raby
Raby Engine Development
www.rabyenginedevelopment.com
"I've never given anyone Hell, I just told them the truth and they thought it was Hell" |
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JMazier
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Joined: February 20, 2006
Posts: 900
Location: In my garage, Georgetown, Ontario, Canada...
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| Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 6:18 am Post subject: |
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I really like it! It looks to be a very professional installation. I do however have a few questions;
- Any concerns with the decrease in clearance? How much did you lose?
- I noticed that the tail pipes come out the back vs. the sides, concerns re fumes being sucked in?
- Not sure if anybody can answer this question or not however I am curious to know which install is the simplest, a Porsche 6 cyl or a Corvair 6 cyl?
Really nice bus! I am jealous!
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Jérôme
’79 Cali Westy 2.0 F.I.
'74 Honda CB 350 Four
'78 Honda CB 750 K
'12 Golf GTI
'11 Ural Patrol |
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MikeHill
Samba Member
Joined: August 12, 2005
Posts: 271
Location: Plymouth, MA
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| Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 9:57 am Post subject: |
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| CJMazier wrote: |
I really like it! It looks to be a very professional installation. I do however have a few questions;
Any concerns with the decrease in clearance? How much did you lose?! |
It might be 2 inches lower, but the 16" wheels bring it up a little. I still have more clearance than in my Jeep cherokee.
| CJMazier wrote: |
I noticed that the tail pipes come out the back vs. the sides, concerns re fumes being sucked in??! |
I have all new seals in the bus all around, but to be honest I never thought about fumes. I'll drive fast...
| CJMazier wrote: |
| Not sure if anybody can answer this question or not however I am curious to know which install is the simplest, a Porsche 6 cyl or a Corvair 6 cyl? |
The Corvair fit the space without modifcation (i.e. stock rear deck height).
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77 bus, 2.7 liter Corvair/PowerGlide |
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GusC2it
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Joined: June 23, 2005
Posts: 1376
Location: Orlando, Florida, USA
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mark_j_quinn
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Joined: July 14, 2006
Posts: 7
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| Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2007 12:17 pm Post subject: VW Logo |
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Where did you find the VW Logo to fit in the dash?
Mark |
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i_am_cool_fred
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Joined: June 26, 2004
Posts: 1743
Location: Benton, AR
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| Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2007 12:22 pm Post subject: |
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i absolutely love it. i know where a 69 is sitting with the corvair motor already in it and i think i might just have to buy it now. very beautiful indeed.
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proud owner of a defunct 1979 sunroof kombi
Brian Denning, as seen on Gearz TV |
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pyrOman
Fire Master
Joined: July 21, 2003
Posts: 12408
Location: Over 2002 posts deleted!
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| Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2007 9:54 am Post subject: |
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| MikeHill wrote: |
| My problem is that it's tough to keep my foot off the gas.... |
That has always been a human problem!
Though I wouldn't do it myself, yours is definitely a first class conversion right there! 
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Some people are so busy being clever they don't have time enough to be wise. |
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mattcuddy
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Joined: October 22, 2003
Posts: 2036
Location: Philly, PA
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| Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2007 10:28 am Post subject: |
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Thats a clean conversion. Nice job.
| JMazier wrote: |
| - I noticed that the tail pipes come out the back vs. the sides, concerns re fumes being sucked in? |
Looks like the tail pipes are just bolt on with those u-bolt exhaust dealies. Easy enough to get some tailpipes on there that curve out and under the corners of the bus. |
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nebe
Samba Member
Joined: October 08, 2007
Posts: 450
Location: Rhode Island
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| Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2007 11:51 am Post subject: |
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| beautiful bus. I think i saw your bus at nauset beach one day a few years ago.. I reember because I had just sold my bus and seeing yours was like seeing an old girlfriend. i got a little emotional |
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