Raby CS Kit / 82 Westy- The Build

[82WestyMan]

tell you what,
I plan on going up to DC over Memorial Weekend to take a friend to see DC (she's never been) and go to Bug-Out on Sunday
Should be a good test of the engine, about 500 miles a direction.
Going up I-85 to Richmond and then up to DC on I-95 with a nice mix of terrain
I should be able to get a good read on MPG with a Westy avering 65 mph or so
So if you can wait about 20 days, I can answer your question
(in the mean time, I'm be spending my time putting my new Truck Fridge in and finishing up the hoses and sandwich adaptor for the remote oil cooler..
now that its starting to warm up here in SC, my oil temps are getting around 200 out on the interstate)
_________________
"The floggings will continue until morale improves"
"I never did give anybody hell. I just told the truth and they thought it was hell" - Harry S. Truman
82 Westfalia - w/ a Raby 'Camper Special' engine

[reluctantartist]

That sounds like a fair enough test. I look forward to seeing your results.

Have a great trip!
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1982 Westy, 1974 412 Variant... Yes, Aircooled's are great! Oh and I do have modern computer controlled vehicles too, but I just don't care about them.

[82WestyMan]

To (finally) answer the previous mileage question
Put a total 1,075 miles on the van, about a 150 of those were in and around Centreville, VA, a drive into DC to the National Mall and to the show, the rest up I-85 to I-95 and back home.
Both interstates were about the same, not a lot of flat areas, mostly long and gently rolling hills.
Set the CruiseControl to just below 65 and just cruised.
Used a total of 62.5 gallon for 1,075 miles

Comes out to about 17.2 MPG

I will say this, compared to my previous trip last summer out to Utah, I didn't 'fear' hills on the interstate like I used to.
Used to be it was question of if and when I'd have to downshift and hug the breakdown lane with one eye in the rearview mirror to avoid traffic coming up on me
This time, the speed might drop to 60 but never had to downshift for a hill once.
CHTs were usually between 355-395 (lower on the downhills, higher on the uphills)

I love this engine
_________________
"The floggings will continue until morale improves"
"I never did give anybody hell. I just told the truth and they thought it was hell" - Harry S. Truman
82 Westfalia - w/ a Raby 'Camper Special' engine

[Jake Raby]

[82WestyMan]

[quote="Jake Raby"]

[Jake Raby]

Cool..
Come when you want and keep having fun..
Did any adversaries drop by with smart ass remarks at the Bug Out?? They usually do... I take care of them when they pop up
_________________
Jake Raby
Raby Engine Development
www.rabyenginedevelopment.com
"I've never given anyone Hell, I just told them the truth and they thought it was Hell"

[D Clymer]

[airkooledchris]

wow, over 17mpg as is?

that's awesome, especially when you factor in the following:


From the initial reviews of the new 1980 VW Vanagon:
Car & Driver
City/Freeway . . . 16.4 mpg
PV4 Magazine
Average . . . 16.4 mpg
Road & Track
Average 16.5 mpg


gee, maybe you CAN improve upon 29 year old technology!
(though technically that motor is what, 36 years old?)

the difference is that with a budget rebuild I can go as lean as safely possible or as rich as a pig and see only a variation between 10-11 mpg in the city either way.

[Jake Raby]

Its all in the combo. MPG is a direct reflection of the engine's efficiency and how well the engine is applied to the application.

Thats how my Wife's 170HP daily driver gets 35 MPG..

Hell, we get 13.2 MPG on the track with our road race 914 living at 6,800-8,800 RPM.. for a 16 lap race.. Thats around a 180HP engine of only 1832ccs with stock valve sizes.
_________________
Jake Raby
Raby Engine Development
www.rabyenginedevelopment.com
"I've never given anyone Hell, I just told them the truth and they thought it was Hell"

[82WestyMan]

[82WestyMan]

[regis101]

You're doing great and thanks for the real time info.

Pleez remember that you're still driving a heavy arse Vannie.

Kick back and try for some mpg figures. Keep 'er at 60-65. Even better would be to keep it at the peak torque rpm unless that is above the speed limit. My stock 2.0 78 Bus gets the best mpg at 3200 which is also the peak torque according to available info.

Enjoy your trip
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Peace, Regis

[82WestyMan]

Thanx for the input
Unfortunately, the HP and Torque curves for the CS engine and a stock engine aren't the same
What with Jake's cam work and Len's heads, it's pretty much apples and oranges
I posted the results from my time on Jake's dyno and I can really feel how those both really start to come on about 3K clear up to when I take my foot out of it.
With the balance work that came with the Level 2 Kit, the engine now freely can rev over 5K thought I rarely ever upshift higher than 4.0-4.2K
I just checked my mileage up here and even with all the extra mountains (only southern central PA seemed kinda flat), the bit extra highway speeds and the extra load, I was getting 16.8
I am looking forward to visiting Jake's after this trip to see how it compares now the engine is will broken in
_________________
"The floggings will continue until morale improves"
"I never did give anybody hell. I just told the truth and they thought it was hell" - Harry S. Truman
82 Westfalia - w/ a Raby 'Camper Special' engine

[hdenter]

How's the engine doing? I am still up in the air about what year of westy to purchase and your results will be a major factor in my conciderations.

Thanks

Hans
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'79 triple white convertible bug
'84 sunroof vanagon
'85 weekender

[jalopyjockey]

hans....i dont run a cs kit but my build was very similar...ive been driving it for almost a year and in that time had forgotten how a stock engine felt...the other day i went and test drove a syncro and boy howdy, i walked away from the deal feeling great about my ride...that 2.1 was a big turd comparatively...but there are other things to consider...myself, im partial to aircooleds and the 'simplicity' of them...not that theyre simple at all, just less stuff to break especially if its a fed model, but in all fairness there are relatively few engine options for an aircooled van...your limited to choosing from one or two cams from each of the vendors, 94mm p/c or smaller(unless you have deep pockets for nickies), and you cant really go bigger than a 2110 er so (1700 p/c x 78 would be way cool if you can get the pvc situation under control and make the right spacers, wouldnt be too expensive either)...whereas when you have the plumbin you can put dern near anything you want back there provided it turns the right way and has enough torque.....and have cruise control, ac, power steering, etc if your into that sort stuff.......on the other other hand a splitty is only like 600 lbs er so heavier than a beetle, can use a t1(think cheap) or a t4, and is the most attractive of the vw line imo, just sacrificing some space

[82WestyMan]

Hans,
Just got in this morning from spending a couple of days up in the Sumter NF in the mtns of SC
I have about 5-6K on the new motor and it just gets better the more its broke in.
The end of June i did the ride up to upstate NY then over to ME and up to Acadia and back home. The combination of the long interstate runs and the thru the mtns and hills of VT, NH & ME really got the rings broken in well.
Over the weekend, driving thru the mtns of SC it felt great, good power and torque.
I'm still very pleased with the motor and am especially glad I spent the extra $ for the Level 2 prep, not only make putting the kit together a breeze, but the higher quality balancing lets the motor rev to 5K effortessly, though I rare take the revs that high

best $5K I ever spend on my westy... made it a real vehicle
_________________
"The floggings will continue until morale improves"
"I never did give anybody hell. I just told the truth and they thought it was hell" - Harry S. Truman
82 Westfalia - w/ a Raby 'Camper Special' engine

[hdenter]

Thanks for the update and the input. I myself am much more comfortable with the AC vw's. I just know that the AC vanagons were very under powered and the H20's were not a whole lot better. If I went with H2O, I would likely eventually go with a GoWesty or tencent upgrade. On the other hand, if Jake's kit keeps going well, I might just stay with what I know.

Thanks again

hans
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'79 triple white convertible bug
'84 sunroof vanagon
'85 weekender

[iltis74]

Been poking around a bit over on Jakes' site, and it appears the Camper Special either is or soon will be offered up in a Vanagon specific version. If this was mentioned here earlier, I've missed it. Rather good news for the community in general, and I believe we all know who to thank for being the guinea pig, though I don't suppose he minded much.

[82WestyMan]

How time flies... fast forward to 2017

I've got about 25K on the engine these days.
Those miles include many camping trips in the Southern Appalachian mountains, one trip up to Acadia NP and a couple runs the length of the Blue Ridge Parkway and a couple of runs up to Upstate NY.
Most of the time it's sat in my driveway and as long as I've had the battery charged up, it's never failed to start right up.
I've changed the oil once a year or every 2.5K, which ever came first. I've checked the valve clearance a few times but it's never really need an adjustment. With the Petronix unit in the 'dizzy, the timing has never wavered.

Last fall I retired after 22 years with BMW in SC so I thought this May I'd throw the Lab in the Westy and take another road trip, 6-8 weeks worth. I have a few more NPs I want to check off my bucket list.
The general plan is SC to Dallas, El Paso, Tucson, San Diego, LA (got a friend who works for SpaceX in Hawthorne). Then drive up Hwy 1 to the Bay Area to visit an old friend. Then I want to do Lassen and Crater Lake. After that, the plans are a little gray... perhaps up the Oregon and Washington coast to Seattle and Olympic NP, then over to Glacier, down to Rocky Mtn and stop by Denver before heading back east. Thought I might end the trip back with some BBQ starting in KC, thru St Louis and down the river to Memphis.

Right now I'm just prepping the van... doing all the major service before trip and working on a minimalist packing list. Travel light.
I'll try and keep this updated on how the engine holds up.
_________________
"The floggings will continue until morale improves"
"I never did give anybody hell. I just told the truth and they thought it was hell" - Harry S. Truman
82 Westfalia - w/ a Raby 'Camper Special' engine

[amwaj]

nice read...looking forward to the update about the road trip..
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the best way to make a small fortune in life, is to start with a big one, and become afflicted with Vanagon-itis