Bay Window Camper - 1975 - engine fire - go electric?

[MikeVdP]

We have a 1975 VW camper van - type II.

With 126,000 miles on the original engine we had an engine fire. The engine is gone -- melted, but the rest of the vehicle is in good condition. There was virtually no entry of the fire into the cabin. The foam mattress has to be tossed, but that's about it.

My long-time, trusted mechanic says engines are just about not available and parts are hard to get. Something about Brazilian manufacturing having been shut down for going two years.

So, put an electric engine in it?

We are in California, so this is one of the last vehicles which does not get smogged, so it can take any engine setup.

Other ideas?

We welcome all thoughts.

[airschooled]

What are your current and long term plans for the car? Is insurance covering the transplant?

Robbie
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[MikeVdP]

No insurance on this. This would still be an occasional camping vehicle, no a "daily-driver."

[crownline]

Depends on how far your going to drive to go camping. You can also put a trailer hitch on and buy a diesel generator to tow for longer trips. Me personally stay air cooled.
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1972 Bus 1700 cc Single Carb. But not a progressive.
Barelymuvin
Wish I still had the ones I got rid of.

"It"s got some dings and dents and neither of us is going to SEMA."(Update, I went to SEMA in 2019 but the Bus stayed home)
[url=http://www.vw-mplate.com/mplate-8446.png]Click to view image[/URL]

[SGKent]

[richparker]

Is a ‘75 smog exempt in California? If so, I say a T1 big bore stoker. If that’s not your bag drop the $25k on a Subie transplant.
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’71 Westy build
Adventure thread
’65 Deluxe Build
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[SGKent]

[MikeVdP]

Here are some photos...

If you search Michael Von der Porten on YouTube, you'll find a video.

[richparker]

[SGKent]

have you priced the body work, paint, electrical yet? how much is it, and if you can afford it, how long do you have to find a complete replacement engine etc..
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“Most people don’t know what they’re doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” - George Carlin

[mikedjames]

A lot would depend on if the engine case got damaged in the fire, and what else burned. Under the mess may still be salvageable parts.


Its going to be expensive, especially if you hand the job over to a garage, and take advice from people who dont want to do a time consuming job, but want you to spend lots of cash with them.

As a DIY project, nothing stops you from eventually fitting another identical T4 engine into that bus. Parts are still out there, expensive maybe, rare maybe, but there are buses rotting into the ground with engines in them .
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Ancient vehicles and vessels

1974 VW T2 : Devon Eurovette camper with 1641 DP T1 engine, Progressive carb, full flow oil cooler, EDIS crank timed ignition.
Engine 1: 40k miles (rocker shaft clip fell off), Engine 2: 30k miles (rebuild, dropped valve). Engine 3: a JK Preservation Parts "new" engine, aluminium case: 26k miles: new top end.
Gearbox rebuild 2021 by Bears.

1979 Westerly GK24 24 foot racer/cruiser yacht Forethought of Gosport.
1973 wooden Pacer sailing dinghy

[SGKent]

[danfromsyr]

[skills@eurocarsplus]

tough call...

at this stage in my life i'd be inclined to let it go.

i suppose you have to ask yourself about long term goals.

lets say you just want to paint the ass end from the rear 1/4's back. that's an ez 5-7k alone.

every bit of rubber in the rear is toast, or i should say i wouldn't trust it. from the torsion bar back needs a rebuild...all rubbers/brake hoses/brakes etc.

easiest and cheapest would be a new engine and have the trans gone thru. even that is going to be 10-15k

convert to electric? 30k+ easy. diy probably cheaper. one wrong move and your dead if you touch the orange wires in their no no place.

put it on ebay. let 2 fools fight for it and go buy a 18-20k replacement bus? dunno. only you can answer what your long term thinking is.

i think it can be saved, no doubt. but at what cost.
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[TDCTDI]

Go electric, as in buy another car. Hell, a second hand Tesla would be cheaper than fucking with that.
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Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

[busboy25]

Does making it electric violate California smog laws? It won't fail emissions test but it would fail because it no longer has the OE emission equipment.

But I feel like you first need to figure out if you can recover the vehicle minus the powertrain, this is more than a little fire that melted the mattress a bit.
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76 Bay - 2056 Type four

[airschooled]

[SGKent]