Vanagon engine in Baja?

[its gunna b bad]

Alright, I havent heard anything on putting a vanagon engine into a baja. I hear tons about a bus transaxle into one and it makes sense because of strength and gearing, but why not use the more powerful engine that is already mated to it? So lets hear some of the pros and cons of this and just discuss some hardships one would come across doing this type of conversion. Air cooled or water cooled, carburetted or fuel injected. Another pro I can think of is that if you get a LP front end car then you could have IRS after the swap. For clarification it would be the type 2 vanagon.
The chain is cut, GO!

[surewriting]

Those motors are a huge pain in the ass to work on, and possible fitment issues might limit it (although since its a baja I guess you could just cut any sheet metal that was in the way), along with mounting up a radiator.

It doesnt seem like a very powerful upgrade to be honest. Id steer clear of it, as there are plenty of other, cheaper, easier to work on water-cooled motors out there.

[its gunna b bad]

[TrikeKid]

Those are a type 4 engine. Do some searching about type-4 swaps and you'll find more info. Cooling is the biggest thing, I know the only aftermarket fan shroud to swap into a bug is around $700, don't know what the stock stuff looks like or if it could be f'd with enough to work in a baja since I haven't played with a T4.
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'74 Baja - The Snowagen
'88 Suzuki Samurai - The endless project

That'll buff out... with a sawzall.

[dixon_cass]

them motors are ugly anyway i dont know from experience but i haver also heard they are a pain in the but to work on. why not just got full on modern and put a ecotec motor in it or somthing like that. you would never be able to beat the reliability and you get 147hp right out of the box. it only weighs 60 pounds more than a vw motor to.
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My build thread:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5224965#5224965

IRS, Kingpin, 2 seat, hot rod pinto powered sand rail.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=882925383&ref=ts

[its gunna b bad]

I had this plan to kill multiple birds with 1 stone.
So far its just the shroud that is stumping me..Im thinking between the type 4 shroud and the type 1 shroud I will be able to make one. If not then it will be a big costly mistake.
Anybody want to tell me if this seems like a good idea to buy? Hes not very descriptive...
http://kpr.craigslist.org/pts/2266966450.html
He told me he has 3 good blocks, 9 carbs, 7 dizzys. And just said I should get out there and take a look because theres too much stuff to list so im thinking I should take the drive. Im really regretting getting rid of all my SBC stuff, just sold a tranny/tran case today, still have 1 more tranny left then pretty much all my big chevy parts are gone.

[Mal evolent]

"vanagon engine" is an undefined state; there were three:

aircooled type 4
wasserboxer
diesel

the aircooled engine block weighs 44 pounds more, the engine hanging off the transaxle thing no longer works. you have to brace the rear of the engine to the roll cage, adding even more weight. the cooling air intake is at crankshaft height, which will be a problem in sand and dust and mud and leaves and...

the watercooled engine has all of the above problems except the air intake, weighs even more and has head gasket issues. the Yugo of VWs

the diesel is dynamically challenged.

if you are going to be a bear, be a grizzly. swap in a Ford four or an ecotech.
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73 Beetle Baja, Ghia front brakes, Type 3 rear brakes, 2220 ( 94 X 80 ), Weber Progressive, Bosch SVDA, '97 Mustang seats

Baja Bugs for Volkswagen Virgins: Index

[veeweeman]

The Vanagon water boxer engines would only last about 35-60k miles before blowing a head gasket...I have read a lot about owners complaining how their van sits in the repair shop more then their own garage...if it were me and I had the money I would install a modern TDI turbo diesel...the Golf, producing 236 foot-pounds of torque at 1,750 rpm and 140 horsepower. Fuel consumption is 30 mpg city and 41 mpg highway...now how can you argue with those numbers?

I will also point out that I personally have seen these motors safely hit 300hp with a bigger turbo and a new chip putting almost 600 foot pounds of torque to the wheels...and you can also get free fuel by making it a Vegi-Baja

VeeWee

[volks kidS]

my baja has a 1.9Lwater boxer in it no issues with it, soon going to stick a 2.1 Lin it for fun, it takes the car anywhere we want to go and is reliable, we even hooked up a heater core so we can have heat from it.
great moters imo.

i dont have any photos of the motor right now but this is in quite a few feet of water.( no its not touching bottom)

[euromog]

Total mis information! My Syncro has over 200K on it and the head gaskets were replaced at 90K. Big problems have been people not changing the coolant every two years and using the wrong coolant. Duh! Type 1 engines need a valve job every 45K miles! All engines have their quirks but the WBX is a far better engine than most give credit for. With mods and a turbo it can make over 300HP and not over heat. In stock form and in a Vanagon Westy it is underpowered but in a Baja it would work great. I am thinking about putting one in my Thing. Just by putting dual webers and a equal length header you can add 20HP to a stock WBX.

[drmiller100]

vanagon guys all put subaru engines in their vans.

what does that tell u.

[volks kidS]

[XLR8]

[its gunna b bad]

Thats why you switch it to upright cooling..

[joescoolcustoms]

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5195949&highlight=#5195949

It is a consideration of value, not total cost. The type IV engine is soo much better if you drive your VW more than a 1/4 mile at a time. They are no harder to work on than any other VW AC engine. The upright conversions are the better choice for the type IV in a beetle. The exhaust needs to be a true 4 into 1 header and not the 2-2-1 exhaust. The cheap exhaust really hurts the type IV engine.

If all the decissions are based on a budget issue, stay type I, even if you install a bus IRS gear box.
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Bad News Racing 2018 NORRA 1000 3rd in Class
Best Day Ever Racing 2022 NORRA 1000 2nd in Class and first All Female team to complete the race

Everyone is gifted. Some just do not open the package.

Looks like it was painted with a live chicken,polished with a brick and buffed with a pine cone

[chuckput]

I have decided to go the Type 4 engine route for my Baja Bug project because I got a very good deal on a Porsche 914 engine (still a VW Type 4). I will be converting to an upright cooling system (either DTM or a FAT Porsche style). I already have a 091 bus transaxle. My question is this: The engine did not come with a flywheel. What flywheel should I use? One from a 914 or one from a bus? The transmission already has a Hi-Torque starter which is a stand alone starter (no bushing shaft to the bell housing).

[Jim.Fernish]

I would suggest the type 4 flywheel as clutch parts and fitting it to the 091 trans will be much easier. The following is link to my engine.

http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=122048&p=906039#p906039

[shred625]

They are great motors especially if you are going to go big and really good looking but will take a little coin.


http://www.fatperformance.com/type4.htm
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“It takes a big man to cry, but it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man.”
~ Jack Handey

[jsturtlebuggy]

Type IV engine are a great engine even in stock sizes.
Problem with a air cooled Vanagon engine is breather tower is case in and more difficult to convert to upright.
I have ran type IV engine in different buggies and a Baja since the middle 1970s and with the stock fan on crankshaft setup with no problems. From the factory they make a screen for the fan intake that keeps crap out. And since it has crank seals at both ends nothing gets into crankcase.
Finding and exhaust system now is not cheap. I still have my FourTuned off road exhaust on the engine.
They are not cheap to build. GOOD cylinder heads are not cheap.
I switch to a Subaru because to me it made more sense to me in the long run for the power I wanted.
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Joseph
Fair Oaks/Orangevale, CA
Elrod Motorsports
Motion Tire Motorsports
Having fun with Dune Buggies since 1970
Into Volkswagens since 1960

[72Pstroke]

I've been lurking for a while and was actually going to post this same question this morning.
I grew up driving bajas all through high school and beyond. Over the years, I tried lots of different engine combos in my cars. Started with a 1641, needed more power, went to a 1968cc. It ran great, had lots of power, but long term durability was an issue. Broke 1 crank in two, rebuilt it, ran for a year or so and split the case at number 3.
I finally went to a stock 110hp Corvair. No more durability issues, lots of power.
I tell you all that to say this: Here are the things I am looking at for my current baja engine swap.
Durabilityand longevity- Stock stuff rules.
Water cooled- That way I can add some real heat and defrost to the car. Winters are pretty long, and I want to drive this thing year around.
Trouble free- Have you ever tried to keep a Weber from icing up on the back of a baja?
I am thinking about the 2.1 Wasserboxer. No expensive adapter to buy, plenty of power for me, no ground clearance issues, doesn't hang out the back of the car a long ways, stock, and fuel injected.
I realize the wassserboxer may have some head gasket issues, but so do the Subies.
Comments or arguements?
Tim