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cecil Samba Member
Joined: February 23, 2005 Posts: 461 Location: Stockton, CA
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Posted: Fri May 27, 2016 5:18 pm Post subject: Subie in a Thing |
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Any pictures and stories about putting a Subaru engine in a Thing. And what is the deal with 2.2 vs 2.5. Seems the 2.2 is the engine of choice. Started putting an 1800 SOHC in a Ghia but sold the car before it was finished. _________________ I may not be that funny or athletic or good looking or smart or talented....I forgot where I was going with this
I have this wierd desease called "must tear everything up and put it back together when there's nothing wrong with it...Itus." |
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GI Joe Samba Member
Joined: April 28, 2005 Posts: 2012 Location: Athens, TN
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Wildthings Samba Member
Joined: March 13, 2005 Posts: 50350
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Posted: Fri May 27, 2016 7:07 pm Post subject: Re: Subie in a Thing |
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The 2.2 was pretty dependable and was the engine with Carb approval for use in a Vanagon, thus its popularity with the VW crowd. They were a dime a dozen around here at the time I swapped one into my Vanagon, at the time our local yard had twenty Subarus with 2.2 engines for me to choose from. I actually got two good engines for only $300 with them doing the engine pulls and then they delivered one of the cars to my house so I could pull the wiring harness and anything else I needed at my leisure. One thing that I like about the 2.2 is that it is a non interference engine so fewer worries if I space changing out changing the timing belt. |
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cecil Samba Member
Joined: February 23, 2005 Posts: 461 Location: Stockton, CA
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Posted: Sun May 29, 2016 7:23 pm Post subject: Re: Subie in a Thing |
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Non interference does it for me _________________ I may not be that funny or athletic or good looking or smart or talented....I forgot where I was going with this
I have this wierd desease called "must tear everything up and put it back together when there's nothing wrong with it...Itus." |
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GI Joe Samba Member
Joined: April 28, 2005 Posts: 2012 Location: Athens, TN
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Mark Lewalski Samba Member
Joined: June 19, 2010 Posts: 406 Location: Safety Harbor, FL (Tampa Bay)
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Posted: Tue May 31, 2016 9:07 am Post subject: Re: Subie in a Thing |
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So not a Subie engine in a Thing but when I used to live in Germany and attended some VW Kubel-Klub of Deutschland http://www.kuebel-klub.de/content.php events, one of the members had put a water cooled Transporter (Vanagon) engine in his car.
They ran the coolant pipes along the inside of the car, one alongside the driver to the radiator, one alongside the passenger to the engine. The radiator was mounted in the front of the trunk and louvers were cut into the front apron.
I remember them saying that they had to cut some clearance space in the engine compartment and do away with the sealed area. Since the engine is water cooled, the sealed area wasn't necessary.
Of course it was heavier and the owner said the cooling pipes in the passenger area heated up pretty good but during the winter months, that was considered a benefit.
So, not a Subie engine, but same scenario to my thinking.
If you know any Deutsch, you may be able to contact the Klub and pass on this info with your questions. I bet if you sent an email in English, you would still get an answer. Those folks have known each other for years and will probably recall this conversion.
Thanks,
Mark _________________ '89 Vanagon GL Wolfsburg "Bluestar" (given to and owned by my son now)
'87 Vanagon Weekender
'74 Thing |
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joosty_chin Samba Member
Joined: August 21, 2007 Posts: 213
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Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2016 1:26 pm Post subject: Re: Subie in a Thing |
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I'm working on putting a 2.0 turbo engine in a 73 thing. It will be a bus trans mated to a V7 JDM engine with functional AVCS. Still need to purchase the mating kit and oil pan from out front, and then can't decide if I'll go with their exhaust/header set up or how I will do that. Trying to get the pan, trailing arms, and suspension how I want it before tackling the wiring aspect of everything as I have a full harness and ECU for said engine. Long project but hope to have a finished product sooner than my ole lady belives I will;) |
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Ratt Samba Member
Joined: April 15, 2003 Posts: 753 Location: Puyallup, Wa
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Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2016 8:53 pm Post subject: Re: Subie in a Thing |
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Ive been working on it. Im stalled right now due to moving and having to repair my house
I am running a 2.5l out of a 2002 forrester. Mated to a flipped 5spd box using the Subarugears kit. http://www.subarugears.com/
I opted for a lower gear ratio with 930 CVs. If you check my gallery there are a few photos there.
With the Subaru set-up you will need a body lift, or a lot of body cutting. With the 3" body lift, I had to cut out the sheet metal that sealed the tins to the body, or else it would sit on the heads.
Honestly not a bad conversion. There are some groups on facebook for Subaru powered VWs. Hopefully after the first of the year, ill be able to get back to work on my Thing. |
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Ark Samba Member
Joined: August 23, 2006 Posts: 64 Location: Salt Lake City, UT
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Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2016 10:21 am Post subject: Re: Subie in a Thing |
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Ratt, what's your plan for the radiator? Do you think you'll be able to keep the thing stock-ish looking? |
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mondshine Samba Member
Joined: October 27, 2006 Posts: 2769 Location: The World's Motor Capital
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Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2016 11:47 am Post subject: Re: Subie in a Thing |
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I always supposed it would go something like this:
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Ark Samba Member
Joined: August 23, 2006 Posts: 64 Location: Salt Lake City, UT
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Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2016 2:57 pm Post subject: Re: Subie in a Thing |
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I always thought this would be a decent stealth location.
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Ratt Samba Member
Joined: April 15, 2003 Posts: 753 Location: Puyallup, Wa
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Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2016 8:19 pm Post subject: Re: Subie in a Thing |
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The twin radiators is a cool choice for a street ride. I'm going more aggressive with the body lift and lifted suspension. I am going to use the radiator and grill from a MK1 Jetta. Trim down a bit and cut the nose (it's a rusty bondo piece anyways). |
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Ark Samba Member
Joined: August 23, 2006 Posts: 64 Location: Salt Lake City, UT
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Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2017 3:40 pm Post subject: Re: Subie in a Thing |
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Kind of an old topic but I found these pictures recently of a thing with what appears to be some kind of front radiator. Unfortunately they didn't have any shots of the trunk so no idea how everything was hooked up. Pretty impressively stealth though.
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GI Joe Samba Member
Joined: April 28, 2005 Posts: 2012 Location: Athens, TN
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Ark Samba Member
Joined: August 23, 2006 Posts: 64 Location: Salt Lake City, UT
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Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2017 10:01 am Post subject: Re: Subie in a Thing |
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Hey GI Joe
I found it on the below link and a couple other sites. I ended up finding some additional pictures beyond what just this site has but not sure where they came from now. Good thing I saved them before I left whatever site I was on! I uploaded most of what I have to TheSamba now so if this link ever disappears they'll still be around. So, check out my gallery for some additional shots
Like I said before though, I unfortunately haven't found any pics with the front trunk open. I can guess how they did it but still would have loved to see exactly how the trunk with the radiator is laid out.
If anyone happens to find a pic of this Thing with the trunk open, please post up!
http://www.carscoops.com/2016/08/this-yellow-rx-7-rotary-powered-vw.html |
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Ark Samba Member
Joined: August 23, 2006 Posts: 64 Location: Salt Lake City, UT
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Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2017 12:31 pm Post subject: Re: Subie in a Thing |
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I found a few more pictures on a different site. This one shows the radiator inside the front trunk space
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911pickup Samba Member
Joined: March 06, 2004 Posts: 625 Location: Near Goats on the Roof
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Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2017 5:25 pm Post subject: Re: Subie in a Thing |
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So where does the hot air coming through the rad go? |
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[email protected] Samba Member
Joined: December 16, 2016 Posts: 4 Location: palm springs,ca
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Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2017 9:06 pm Post subject: Re: Subie in a Thing |
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May be air exits thru small black hood scoop? |
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GI Joe Samba Member
Joined: April 28, 2005 Posts: 2012 Location: Athens, TN
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Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2017 10:11 pm Post subject: Re: Subie in a Thing |
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911pickup wrote: |
So where does the hot air coming through the rad go? |
This was my thought as well.....?? If that scoop is the only outlet, then that would be one Hot ride! That small silver panel looks like it “could” be an air vent that could open into the cabin for heat, but aside from the intake/exhaust tubes from the gas heater, I see No other way for heated air to escape.
Lifting that filler panel in the gas tank hole, and closing it around the radiator would be the way to go, and have the heated air be forced down and out the bottom.
Who knows what the builder was thinkin.(?) _________________ '74 Thing, "Our Thing"....
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4...p;start=60
'71 Beetle RPU
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8080337#8080337
www.NLEOMF.com
Respect, Honor, Remember |
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It's a play thing Samba Member
Joined: November 19, 2009 Posts: 575 Location: Dayton, Nevada
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Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2017 4:27 pm Post subject: Re: Subie in a Thing |
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My plan is to install the radiator behind the rear seat with a pair of fans. _________________ It's not the size of your shop, it's what comes out of it that counts.
I've been playing with my thing ever since I got it... |
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