Pokevan no more! Swapping a '93 Subaru 2.2L into an '80 van

[danfromsyr]

while I'm not a fan of a rear radiator. it's always good to see some take their own paths.. I'd say it's not always good to rely on the cooling fans to be running all the time.. but they do when the AC is on on any car already.



I'd suggest you add some triangle gussets to these brackets to prevent them from breaking at the welds. the radiator is fairly heavy and roads are most often not smooth. a section of washboard will tear that and drop the radiator on the ground.

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[weswsimpson]

[quote="danfromsyr"]while I'm not a fan of a rear radiator. it's always good to see some take their own paths.. I'd say it's not always good to rely on the cooling fans to be running all the time.. but they do when the AC is on on any car already.



I'd suggest you add some triangle gussets to these brackets to prevent them from breaking at the welds. the radiator is fairly heavy and roads are most often not smooth. a section of washboard will tear that and drop the radiator on the ground.

[/quote

There are some things that I plan to make more permanent in the future... My initial goal was to get it up and running and to test the concept. The radiator brackets are beefier than they look, but I don't disagree with you either. I'd like to add some gussettes, replace self tapping screws with riv-nuts and bolts, clean up the wiring....

[ALstew]

Small car was probably doing a conversion for a CA van. In order to get the CARB placard from Kennedy, you have to buy their whole kit. Then they part out what they don't need/want.

Amazing work! And I am about to tackle a 94' 2.2 into an 85' so thank you for all the documentation and pictures!

[weswsimpson]

Just a comment on why I chose to do a rear radiator... My van was air cooled. It didn't have the radiator up front originally for me to use like you water boxer guys have. So by putting the radiator in the back, I was able to reduce cost and complexity. I'm not suggesting it's the best location... Just that it seems to work as a low-cost option for those of us who have air cooled vans.

[Samaleshi]

I love this build! Let us know how the rear mount works out.
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Yeah, well, like, that’s just your opinion..., man

1987 Vanagon CoastMountain Hightop
1991 Jeep Comanche 4x4
1999 Jeep Cherokee 4x4

[Driver4r]

My only question is airflow through the radiator in a working condition.

Whats the warmest climate you've driven it in, and was it getting enough airflow to stay cool?
Where its at, wouldn't you just be pulling hot air through the radiator.?

[Stuartzickefoose]

Just a thought...the engine support bar can go in backwards and leaves it off by an inch. Just found that out on my 80, during my engine rebuild. Fun times! I almost drilled it but it was angled wrong too. If yours is easy to remove and hold the engine up with a jack in place, I’d suggest flipping it next time your fiddling around. See what happens!
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Stuart Zickefoose

2011 Jetta Sportwagen TDi 6 speed manual

206-841-7324
[email protected]

[weswsimpson]

[weswsimpson]

[veloandy]

Nice work! Love the simplicity!

One thing I wish I knew about my 1981 aircooled->Subaru conversion: The factory hot power to the engine bay wasn't fused on mine (I just assumed that the power wire went through the fuse panel somehow).

My O2 sensor wiring insulation melted/shorted out on my exhaust on a road trip and melted a ton of wires. The only symptom was it was running a little rough. When I got home the engine kept running when I turned the key off. I busted out my OBDII dongle & saw I was throwing a ton of codes...then I noticed melted insulation dripping off my wiring harness It's a freaking miracle I made it home and the van didn't burst into flames.

Moral of the story: A big ass, inline fuse on the hot power to your main relay is a good idea (I think I'm running like a 40A, so it shouldn't blow with any kind of sane load on it, and I carry spare fuses in case it does)

Nice work!!!

[vannin]

Great read any updates on how the rear radiator performs?
Thanks