1974 Camper engine conversion! ABA 2.0

[Ericfb]

5 rib. '74 is a real oddball year for a bunch of things.

[vwwestyman]

Guessing your one-pin sensor is the oil pressure sensor?

Some years had the sensor on the oil filter flange. There are two or three plugs on the flange, so do some research on which one to use.

Then if you block the heater outlet, the engine should snug up to the firewall ok.

Not sure what to say about the breather interfering.
_________________
Dave Cook

President, Wild Westerner Club

1978 Champagne Edition Westy, repowered to '97 Jetta TDI
1973 Wild Westerner
My Thing

[Sloride]

Yeah that`s right there is the oil pressure sensor back there as well. I just moved mine to the oil filer flange.

The five rib I think is the same length as a 3 rib.

Are you sure the aba intake is going to clear...

I thought it was a lot higher than the 1.8 I have and that is why the vanagon and other water cooled swaps use the 1.8 head and intake on the 2.0 litre bottom end.

I cut an access hatch for my 72 and that allowed me to relocate one of the engine compartment cover support bars to clear the throttle linkage.

My bus is home now if you need to come look at it.

Craig
_________________
1972 Westfalia - 1.8 VW in-line h2o conversion
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Link to the engine swap:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=565304&highlight=

1964 Ruby Red Beetle

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=705757&highlight=ruby+red

[Ericfb]

Thanks Craig, I wont bug you just yet, but i'll probably take you up on that offer in the near future after I run into more issues.

And I am not sure of anything haha. Up until yesterday I was under the impression that it would clear. This has somewhat proven to be untrue, or at least unconfirmed. maybe once it's in place it'll clear by a mm or so.

Not sure what i'm going to do about that sensor though. Did you T yours in next to the high pressure sensor on the oil filter housing? I'm seriously considering cutting up/ adding recesses to my firewall to allow space for the coolant flange. Or possibly removing the firewall all together. The '67 bus that ICON fitted with an aba doesn't have one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mr5Z1ymbajY

Skip to 7:27 for engine bay footage.

[Sloride]

Yes it's in the oil filter mount. I'm pretty sure I drilled and tapped the blank hole for it. I might have a picture of it in my thread.

I'm not sure if I'd run it without the firewall. I've seen firewalls cut and notched. Ive also seen a fuel tank notched in a split with a tdi to make room.

Keep at it. One step forward two back is how it goes when working on a swap.

I saw that icon swap. It's clean.

C
_________________
1972 Westfalia - 1.8 VW in-line h2o conversion
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Link to the engine swap:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=565304&highlight=

1964 Ruby Red Beetle

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=705757&highlight=ruby+red

[KrisBalfe]

You can see the modification I did to get the coolant flange to clear, had to modify the fire wall for the coolant temp sensor too. The trans hanger will need to be removed to do this, but rumor has it that it is best to eliminate this mount because of harmonic resonance.
Considering a 50* install on my '74 westy to bypass these issues.
The firewall is pretty close to the tank you won't gain much removing it.
Also switched my coolant flange to a jetta 2.0 2002 for a bit more clearance.
FAS used to have some 90* coolant flanges on their site as seen in this gallery... maybe they still make them?
http://www.foreignautosupply.com/photo-galleries/fastt-photo-gallery/

[Ericfb]

Didn't really make any progress today mechanically, but I have a much better idea of how I plan to move forward. I lowered the back of the trans 1-1/4", removed the firewalls and it slid right in. I was a little worried shifting might be off but I ran it thought the gears and nothing seems to bind from the change in angle. Right now everything is just propped up on stands to take measurements. The firewall will be going back in after I make a few notches to allow for coolant flange, ?, etc.. Don't much like the idea of having all that fire water so close to the engine without a barrier.

A few pics of my dirty engine bay to show clearances.

[vwwestyman]

I'm jealous that your oil filler is on that end of the engine! Mine is under the deck. I've got another valve cover and visions of welding up something to relocate the filler. Just no time for such a project.

Luckily the TDI has a long oil change interval with synthetic oil, and there is a (somewhat inconvenient) filler down on the Mexican oil pan.
_________________
Dave Cook

President, Wild Westerner Club

1978 Champagne Edition Westy, repowered to '97 Jetta TDI
1973 Wild Westerner
My Thing

[Sloride]

That looks pretty good. Keep at it. I don't think dropping the trans and motor, if properly supported, will matter.
_________________
1972 Westfalia - 1.8 VW in-line h2o conversion
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Link to the engine swap:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=565304&highlight=

1964 Ruby Red Beetle

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=705757&highlight=ruby+red

[tristessa]

[KrisBalfe]

Oh man I thought I was pretty close to bay window specs with my bus. If it will slide in just by dropping 1.5" that really gives me hope for the '74. Strong work👍

[Ericfb]

Work was slow last week and the boss was away golfing Friday so I fabbed up a bracket to lower the trans and got some new, longer m10 bolts. Somehow I managed to lose one bolt so I was unable to fully install it. So far with 3 bolts loosely in place it looks promising. Pics once it's installed.

Made some progress on the harness tonight. I think i'm done "trimming the fat". All that really means though is that i'm really nervous to hook it all up and have it not work. Feeling confident but slightly anxious if i'm honest.

I was also able to get my solution of a fuel return line fitted. It's controversial but it'll work and it's what i'm going with for now. One thing I learned is that welding thin metal is practically impossible with flux cored wire. Not enough heat and it doesn't weld, too much heat and it blows straight through the pipe... This was my 3rd attempt. It's ugly but it passed my wet test so I shot it with primer and called it a night.

[Sloride]

Looking good. The harness cleaned up well.

You really need to have the argon gas when welding thin metal. I bought a small tank for my welder and would never turn back.

Keep plugging away at in - pun intended.
_________________
1972 Westfalia - 1.8 VW in-line h2o conversion
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Link to the engine swap:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=565304&highlight=

1964 Ruby Red Beetle

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=705757&highlight=ruby+red

[KrisBalfe]

https://youtu.be/UumULX3dyP0
You'll be happy with the effort, so far I have just driven through the neighborhood as I still have some things to dial in, but damn this engine is sweet.

[Ericfb]

Time for an update:

I haven't been posting much, but I have been working! Even though it takes a bit of time to make these posts I know it will be a useful reference tool for me in the future. And if it helps anyone else, even better.

On to the update!

Radiator:

I got my rad mounted on some angles (same you would use for a garage door). Its not very expensive, galvanized, and pre-drilled. I went with a rad out of a '93-'95 Passat. I forget the model but it does matter. The fully loaded Passat has a larger core than say a base model. I don't remember the dimensions exactly but i'm pretty sure the core is about 15"x29".

Fans:

After a lot of internal debate I said F-It and got the Flex-A-Lite 430. Dual 12" fans with a shroud, a rubber gasket and a variable speed module. Expensive but good value when you consider all that it comes with. I really dig the variable speed control, fans come on at 60% and ramp up as needed.

I left the angles a little longer on the leading end of a rad so I can play around with angles for airflow, quick and easy. Currently mounted flush. I want to put a scoop on it first. I also got some aluminum screening I'm going to secure over the fans (pusher) to keep rock and squirrels from getting trapped.

Fuel tank/ trans cross member cutting/ trans lowering mount/ fuel pump:

The picture below isn't the final product but it gives you an idea of where I was going. I eventually notched out the cross member itself to clear my coolant sensor plug and made the hole in the picture larger to clear the coolant flange body. After what felt like 16 test fits I was happy and called it good enough. The lower body of the flange cleared the mount but the upper part was about 1mm from the tank. A 32oz hammer and a block of wood made short work of that. The flange landed right between two folds in the tank so it was very easy to tap it in about a half inch. Light taps working back and forth. Now I have tones of space and to the untrained eye it looks pretty good. Very happy with how it turned out considering for a moment I thought I was going to have to remove and have my tank notched.

Fuel pump is out of a early 80's Vanagon. Can't remember the year, 81 maybe. I don't imagine it matters.

It's old news but it hasn't been pictured yet in this thread: My trans mount! Not much to say about it, simply an extension built off the original. Only thing worth mentioning is the two chunks of pipe the upper bolts go through to prevent crushing as they are tightened. (Can be seen a couple pics below).

Flange:

Flange is out of a '00 beetle. Cut off the spout that goes to the coolant bottle, plugged it with a bolt and JB weld. Drilled a hold in the flat spot on top and installed a new fitting.

Last test fit, everything clears. Gave the engine a good shake only supported by the trans mounts and nothing rubbed. Also, this pic gives you another angle of my trans support.

Now I can get to work on:

Rad plumbing/ coolant bottle locate
Fuel filter locate and mount
Engine mount!
Exhaust
Wire rad fans
Hooking up my harness...
Other.

Cheers!

[KrisBalfe]

Excellent

[Sloride]

Any updates Eric?
_________________
1972 Westfalia - 1.8 VW in-line h2o conversion
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Link to the engine swap:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=565304&highlight=

1964 Ruby Red Beetle

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=705757&highlight=ruby+red

[Ericfb]

I have abandoned the project...


Kidding!

My daughter was sick, then I caught it. So I haven't had much wrench time in the last two weeks. All that to say I'm a little bummed about not being able to reach my mid-July goal of having it running. New goal will be for our August camping trip.

Today I finished the engine mounts. There was a lot of trial and error and wasted metal but I think my final solution should stand the test of time. My new favorite metal store is Metal Supermarket. Their scraps room to be exact. Suuuper cheap and lots of selection if you don't need anything more than 4 feet and you can cut it yourself.

Now I just need to get it painted. With all this humidity I have parts rusting on the work bench in the garage!

Rounded up a few other items I was lacking:
- Throttle cable
- Flex coolant hoses - Dayco 81061
- Muffler - Walker 17914
- Auto Meter 2391 (Triple gauge - Oil press with electric sender, coolant temp, V)

Up next is to get the cooling system in order. Then exhaust. Then electrical.

[KrisBalfe]

Maybe we should have a specific inline 4 swap thread?
For now though I'll just hijack this one.
Planned on putting an aba in my westy, but I
Happened on an almost free 1992 1.8L and couldn't say
No. Does anyone have a diagram of how they did the wire
Harness/relays and fuses on theirs?

[Sloride]

Eric everything always takes longer than you plan especially when you throw work and family in the mix. Hope you are feeling better.

Kris I don't have any diagrams. Just used the two bentleys and matched everything up. You can see where I located the relays, coil etc in my swap thread.

Craig
_________________
1972 Westfalia - 1.8 VW in-line h2o conversion
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Link to the engine swap:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=565304&highlight=

1964 Ruby Red Beetle

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=705757&highlight=ruby+red