Aircooled Vanagon Conversion

[wolfej1]

If anyone has done a Aircooled Vanagon to Subaru conversion would you mind posting your story?

I have a nice clean 82 Westy and am considering it......but would like to hear from any folks who have actually done it.

thanks

[danfromsyr]

I converted my 1980 aircooled to a Turbo Diesel.

all depends on your level of mechanical/electrical/custom expertise..

you will need a H2o donor van for items like the front to back coolant lines, heater core (depending on your climate) radiator and fan including fan wiring (it'll modular come out of the donor harness)

in the back the aircooled FI removes modular as well, and leaves you with the few key wires for basic operation.

mouting and installing the suby into a AC van would be quite similiar to into a H2o van.

you should drop the tank (R&R it wile you're there) but you can slip the steel water lines over it if you have patience. I cut my H2o lines in half to make them easier to handle (back 1/2 was rusted anyways)

[MarkWard]

Most shops won't want to touch it if it has a problem. You will need both VW and Subaru skills. I would say if you do the conversion yourself by the time it is running down the road you will have those skills. I would stick to VW myself. We had a 80 camper with a 3.0 porsche 911 engine and 5 speed. The conversion was done by Callaway in CT. Now theres a conversion. It would mop up a 6 cylinder bmw, but you could drive your grandma to the dr. in it. Since it was aircooled no plumbing to deal with. It was a head turner.

[joetiger]

[Basilbomb]

You read so much of H20 van conversions but not air ones. I want to hear more of porsche conversions. Are there kits out there? Info?

[mightyart]

[M_atthewanderson]

[Basilbomb]

I dream of this stuff because it sounds like a fun and funky project (like that beetle with the rocket engine in it), and yet I love the character of the AC vanagons. I mean, people can complain about their shortcomings, but there really is nothing like them out there. An AC engine in a beetle, even those tin tubs called busses, makes sense -you aren't surprised when one goes rattling past. But in a hulk like a vanagon? It's a chimera; part minivan, part bus, old world blending with the new. Why try and create a one-off when the engineers already did it for us? If you want a better designed rig, buy one. If you want a freak of the design and engineering wold, get an '80-83 vanagon. Because of his I can totally see them being collector items, if for no other reason than they show the sudden evolution in Volkswagens.

[Randy in Maine]

May be more practical to go here and do a camper special with a couple of mods.....

http://www.aircooledtechnology.com/vw_camperspecial.htm