| Author |
Message |
70baja
Samba Member
Joined: March 15, 2014
Posts: 3
Location: nj
|
 Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2014 2:51 pm Post subject: motor swap!! |
 |
|
| hi all, i purchased my first bug and am excited to finally own one, however i believe the motor blew on me the other night and i am now looking into doing a subaru motor swap. i was wondering if anyone on here could give me some pointers on where to start, what motor would be best for the swap etc. any imput is appreciated! thanks! |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
ron169
Samba Member
Joined: January 18, 2012
Posts: 86
Location: MIAMI FL
|
| Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2014 8:52 pm Post subject: |
|
|
you'll get lots of willing people to help there's a gentlemen called Joel his thread to me was useful i still haven't finished mine. just to let you know its seems like a simple thing to do but it can get a little costly also all depends on what you want to do with you bug blah blah blah ... the easiest motor to swap in are the ej22 sohc and you got yourself about 130 hp you could run a stock trans with that if you don't beat on it much you could get a Subaru trans if you got the cash and if go with a suby trans might as well go with a bigger motor .. there's a lot of info .. also would be good if we knew what exactly you wanted to achieve with you bug ?
joels build
http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=77027
oto's build
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=313100&highlight=
best thing i can tell you is read them and see how you want to go about it
another site for subaru swaps
http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewforum.php?f=19&sid=609b38f518470c6f4622132845338d2f
best of luck on your build
Last edited by ron169 on Mon Jun 16, 2014 9:47 pm; edited 1 time in total |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Danwvw
Samba Member
Joined: July 31, 2012
Posts: 8895
Location: Oregon Coast
|
| Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2014 9:11 pm Post subject: |
|
|
It's a really big deal to put a Subaru motor into a bug! Way too much work! If you have got to have something different put in a 356/912 engine or build a nice Type 1 stroker engine! What happened to your VW motor? What year is it?
_________________
1960 Beetle And 1679cc DP W-100 & Dual Zeniths! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
andrewvwclassic
Samba Member
Joined: January 25, 2012
Posts: 928
Location: los angeles
|
| Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2014 11:00 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| I cant beleive you would come to a vw site for a chevy crossover build topic. what are you thinking.lol |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
allsidius
Samba Member
Joined: February 02, 2010
Posts: 1481
Location: Norway
|
| Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 1:24 am Post subject: Re: motor swap!! |
|
|
| 70baja wrote: |
| hi all, i purchased my first bug and am excited to finally own one, however i believe the motor blew on me the other night and i am now looking into doing a subaru motor swap. i was wondering if anyone on here could give me some pointers on where to start, what motor would be best for the swap etc. any imput is appreciated! thanks! |
First of all, set aside 2 years garage time and 10 k $, because that is what will be the minimum cost for such a conversion. Unless you own a 1000 sq ft garage, count in 2 years hire as well. Even though you can get the donor engine for a couple of k (You are not contemplating using a run down, 200 k mile POS for this I guess), the specialist machining, all the parts, specialist computer assistance etc will make the bills pile up. Joels thread is great and probably the best reference out there, but it is a few years old, so the prices have gone up. I also suspect that he did not start from scratch as a mechanic. Since you are not sure if the motor is blown, I deduce that you do not have 30 years of garage experience, and wil need lots of specialist help.
Get a rebulit VW engine. Porsche engines are way too expensive, and are not any more a realistic option for a VW today. A much more powerful VW based engine can be built or bought new for half the money you have to shell out for a half decent 912 engine with unknown mileage. As I said, get a simple longblock if you need, get the car running and learn the mechanics before you think about heavy duty conversions like these.
_________________
1973 1303S w sunroof Click to view image
1978 1303 convertible (sold)Click to view image
1966 1300 RIPClick to view image
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
gt1953
Samba Member
Joined: May 08, 2002
Posts: 13947
Location: White Mountains Arizona
|
| Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 7:09 am Post subject: |
|
|
With a properly build VW engine, it is reliable as the Suby engine. Glad you have deep pockets.
_________________
Volkswagen: We tune what we drive.
Numbers Matching VW's are getting harder to find. Source out the most Stock vehicle and keep that way. You will be glad you did.
72 type 1
72 Squareback
({59 Euro bug, 62, 63, 67, 68, 69, 73 type ones 68 & 69 type two, 68 Ghia all sold}) |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Anthonyisawsome
Samba Member
Joined: February 28, 2013
Posts: 373
|
| Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 11:57 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Hahaha im sorry but reading all these bs comments make me laugh. When I was about 15 I started my first stock 1600 rebuild right about the time I finished that I started my suby swap. I was 17 (im 18 now) when I started my conversion. I had no prior wiring experience but I did have some mechanical. I did my own wiring all by myself but with the help of joel and some research on the internet. I am almost done with my swap. Guess how much I have into it??? Guess, how about 450$$$ yea that's right. Got a free donor car and got a good deal on the adapter plate. Lets just say I got a donor car for 1000 which is easy!! Then add that to lets say 500$$ for other stuff that I bought. AS of right now the swap is done and drivable. Lets add a 500 more for other shit. So for 2,000 you are able to do a suby swap if you are hands on. If you pay people to do it for you, you better have deep pockets lol. I cheaped out on some stuff but it seems to be working so far, I would budget about 4,000 to do a swap to be safe. So for a 18 year old working out of a one car garage with about 6 years mechanical experience I think that's pretty good. Don't let people discourage you, do what you want. Subaru's have run for 300,000 miles while a vw is lucky to make it 100,000. I have no problem with vw motors I just wanted something with more power and less maintenance.
_________________
I have learned so much, but yet I still don't know anything because knowing what you don't know is showing you how much you haven't learned.
1973 Subaru powered supabeetle
(o\ l /o) 1964 Baja bug roller |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
ron169
Samba Member
Joined: January 18, 2012
Posts: 86
Location: MIAMI FL
|
| Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2014 12:05 am Post subject: |
|
|
^^^^^^ for my conversion i found a ej20t with 48k miles on it for $800 with the ecu and motor harness from a shop .. the adaptor from outfront motor sports for 450 . some turbo twiste for 300 bucks new tires and topline maxx struts 400 . front disc for 300 again you will need to get some small nicknacks here and there's, like a radiator set up some lines but its all easy 4000 is about right on a swap
Last edited by ron169 on Wed Jun 18, 2014 12:08 am; edited 2 times in total |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Anthonyisawsome
Samba Member
Joined: February 28, 2013
Posts: 373
|
| Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2014 12:05 am Post subject: |
|
|
For a donor car I would go for something obd1 so 1994 and older. I used a mazda Miata radiator. Ran two 5/16 fuel lines. Your going to need a truss bar for the extra weight which isn't much. Wiring is going to be your biggest obstacle but you can have that sent out and done for you. Gonna need a fly and adapter plate. Need to run coolant lines. Probably gonna have to fab your intake unless you want to cut out your firewall. Need exhaust and shortened oil pan deepening how low your car is haha. Cant think of anything else off the top of my head.
_________________
I have learned so much, but yet I still don't know anything because knowing what you don't know is showing you how much you haven't learned.
1973 Subaru powered supabeetle
(o\ l /o) 1964 Baja bug roller |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Anthonyisawsome
Samba Member
Joined: February 28, 2013
Posts: 373
|
| Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2014 12:08 am Post subject: |
|
|
| ron169 wrote: |
| ^^^^^^ for my conversion i found a ej20t with 48k miles on it for $800 with the ecu and motor harness from a shop .. the adaptor from outfront motor sports for 450 . some turbo twiste for 300 bucks new tires and topline maxx struts 400 . front disc for 300 again you will need to get some small nicknacks here and there's, like a radiator set up some lines but its all easy 4000 is about right on a swap |
I also thought about doing what you did and buying the motor, harness and possibly adapter plate combo. I see a lot of those on craigslist taken out of rails and stuff.
_________________
I have learned so much, but yet I still don't know anything because knowing what you don't know is showing you how much you haven't learned.
1973 Subaru powered supabeetle
(o\ l /o) 1964 Baja bug roller |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
ron169
Samba Member
Joined: January 18, 2012
Posts: 86
Location: MIAMI FL
|
| Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2014 12:11 am Post subject: |
|
|
| i managed to buy mine imported with low miles i originally started looking for a sohc but all the threads lead to them going turbo so i just saved myself the time . there are 2.2 going for 500-600 bucks here with the ecu and harness |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Anthonyisawsome
Samba Member
Joined: February 28, 2013
Posts: 373
|
| Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2014 12:48 am Post subject: |
|
|
Damn that's a really good deal! I used what I was given so no turbo for me ...stock ej22. Well no turbo for now 
_________________
I have learned so much, but yet I still don't know anything because knowing what you don't know is showing you how much you haven't learned.
1973 Subaru powered supabeetle
(o\ l /o) 1964 Baja bug roller |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Joel
Samba Member
Joined: September 04, 2006
Posts: 11099
Location: NSW Australia
|
| Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2014 1:50 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Anthonyisawsome wrote: |
| Hahaha im sorry but reading all these bs comments make me laugh. |
But but they read it on the internet it must be true.
| allsidius wrote: |
| Joels thread is great and probably the best reference out there, but it is a few years old, so the prices have gone up. I also suspect that he did not start from scratch as a mechanic. |
I did work for years at a VW garage but most of what I know is just self taught, never done any mechanical courses or anything, I went into the conversion totally blindfolded which was the main reason I made the thread so people could see what was involved and that it didnt cost much or need lots of skills.
I couldnt find much info on the net about conversions back then.
_________________
Quick little bug, you got a Porsche motor in that?
1974 Germanlook 1303 2.5 Suba-Beetle |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Rome
Samba Member
Joined: June 02, 2004
Posts: 10539
Location: Pearl River, NY
|
| Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2014 2:57 pm Post subject: |
|
|
This past Sunday at the Litchfield Bug-In VW meet in CT, I saw an old friend who just finished a Subi conversion in his '62 Beetle. Don's built and driven several hi-po VW type 1 engines already. I saw Don last summer when he first mentioned his conversion, and I was quite surprised when he mentioned that the Subi engine he chose fits into the VW engine bay without any metal/body cutting at all. When I saw the finished conversion on Sunday I checked the perimeter of the engine, and he was right! About a pinky-width of clearance at the narrowest points. Don used a non-turbo 4-cyl. engine originally rated at about 140hp. I'm not familiar with the Subi engine designations...
Said the engine had well over 150,000 miles and only cost him $500 from the junkyard. He fabricated his own header, and a mega-flow type of stainless steel muffler with a right side exit. I saw that he cut down the intake pipe from the throttle body (sits on top of the engine) so that it would fit under the engine lid. Don used the Simple Digital Systems fuel injection system.
He installed a radiator (Mazda?) horizontally above the transmission, cutting the body's rear luggage area floor to gain installation height, and building a heat box for the inside. Don put in a wide aluminum air deflector (like a small snow plow blade) to direct air upwards into the radiator bottom. The deflector is shaped like a "J" and does not hang down beyond the rear suspension.
Don had a stronger VW transmission built by Rancho. So how did it go? Said if he punches the gas in 2nd gear, the car goes sideways! Tremendous bottom-end torque. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
