Vanagon engine/exhaust swap to bay window?

[Urglegrew]

Thinking of swapping a longblock from an 81 vanagon to 77 bay window. I’ve read what needs to be switched in order to swap though from what I’m reading those swapping have a 78-79 square port exhaust/tin so they keep the bay exhaust.

If I’m swapping to a 77 and I don’t have a late bay exhaust, can I just slap the vanagon exhaust on and use all the 77 tin? Will it fit? Has anyone tried this?

[Wildthings]

You have to deal with the alternator sticking out the side of the fan shroud and then figure out how you are going to make the heat work assuming you want it to function.

[Urglegrew]

I have a full 77 tin, alternator/everything that I will swap onto the 81 longblock. I’m just curious if the exhaust from the vanagon will fit. I don’t care about the heat or anything. Other than the cooling tin/it running.
I’m guessing it’s not ganna be a big deal but I’m just curious if it’ll be a problem.

[busdaddy]

I've seen Vanagon heat exchangers on a pre 80 bus before, they sort of fit and work. But....., there's no way to hook up air flow to them, they will crack and burn out fast unless they have air moving through them constantly, even if you don't need heat.

If you are too cheap to buy a pair of 79 only heat exhangers you may be able to find J tubes (or whatever the type 4 equivalent is called) to pipe the exhaust from the head to the muffler, you'll have to do some creative modifications to the lower tins to house everything properly too.
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[aeromech]

If it worked I’d already be doing it
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[danfromsyr]

we have 2 here in our area running a vanagon T-4 in a Bay

you have to run the BAY fan and ALt arrangement.
the engine mount and fan mount studs are a size bigger so have to fiddle with those.

for the heat exchangers they both have removed the outer metal skin and let the exhaust het naturally dissipate..

you of course have to block off the heater ports on the bay fan shroud..

but you have to run a catalytic if your van is coded as a CA model.
so make sure you get all of that.

I do not know if the full CA vanagon exhaust fits ok under a bay, both in our club are in NY and just run a neat 4port header mount muffler.

can it be done, short answer is yes
should it be done.. ummm depends.
can you do it... that also depends on if the state will let you do it.
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[Wasted youth]

You might not "need" the heater in the Bay Area (I do) but you 'will need' the defroster for the windshield. Think about that.

[Randytheorgfarmer]

We do have a 75 Riviera with 2L, Vanagon heat exchangers, alternator/fan for heat I did it. Works well!

[busdaddy]

How did you fit that in there, bus cutting required?
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[bigbore]

Iam in the middle of rebuilding a 81 vanagon engine the 79 bus and the vanagon have what is called square port heads the earlier one are oval port you have to have the heater boxs to match pass that the bus ex fits and vise versa. Iam putting a new bus muffler on this vanagon because much of the spaghetti mess that is the vanagon system is not available.
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