VW Bus with swapped engine, Whats your input?

[Nick.Martir]

Whats your view on buying a bus with a swapped engine. ( not a Subaru, but a Ford 2.8 v6) I want to get into my first bus project, nothing too serious though. Just looking for something that runs well and i can take to the beach and maybe camp out of. The bus I'm looking at is a 74 with a ford swap, for $3800. The price is right up my ally and the body looks in decent shape with a safari high top on it.

Just want to see what some VW enthusiast think about having a factory body with a ford engine. Will i be mocked by VW owners? will it even be worth it?

Thanks in advance for anyone who provides input or feedback.
-Nick.

[danfromsyr]

while over the decades many have been done..
and I've been involved in building one at one time.

the old Pushrod V6 didn't like the RPMs of the stock gearing.
they generate alot of power especially with the lower gearing of the stock transaxle.
but they also are fairly inefficient and generate alot of heat..

so unless it's already well sorted out.. I'd be very leary.

might want to take this conversation over to the BAY BUS FORUM for better answers.. and put on your flame suit before entering.
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[pyrOman]

[TDCTDI]

What sort of mechanical ability do you have? You're not likely to find a mechanic willing to deal with a bastardized bus & if you do, you're not likely to get any sort of warranty. A VW mechanic will always blame the Ford components, a Ford mechanic will always blame the VW components, & both of them will blame the person that cobbled it all together.
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Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

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[oprn]

I would start by looking at the outside. If it looks stock it might be worth considering. If it looks like something that was magnetized and collected a lot of random junky bits that stuck then you might be better off starting with something else.

The Ford 2.8 ltr was a German built engine if I recall - I wonder if you can even get bits and pieces for them anymore?

[Zundfolge1432]

Yep ford stuff is pretty hard to locate.

[oprn]

[skills@eurocarsplus]

[oprn]

[ZENVWDRIVER]

you couldn't give me that thing with a Ford engine in it... the stock type 4 pancake engine was bad enough - the price is very reasonable, i'd say, but save your money.
I think, you'd be better off with a splitty bus that needs everything and slowly put it back on the road, if you are able - save some more cash, if you must.
We have a few busses, for the fun of it, but if you are a serious traveler, get a Ford with a Ford engine in it.
Our serious traveling-machine is a 2002 Ford E-150, purchased in 2005 wit V6, cruise, tilt, automatic with overdrive, wonderful a/c and real heat - it'll cruise at 80 all day long and still get 22 mpg.
Nice thing 'bout our WestFORDia is the VW splitty jalousie windows and VW Westy, Vanagon interior.
Granted - it's not a cool VW bus, but it is super reliable, super comfortable and has a/c to keep you cool

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[chazz79]

It’s a mixed bag. I had a Ford 2.3 in mine and it caused a few stupid issues when showing. My bus had a non-vw engine and was categorized with dune buggies/altered vehicles. I swapped to a vanagon engine to get those show organizers off my butt. It really wasn’t fair to show my bus in a category and get unearned trophies.
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[hitest]

Are you part VW mechanic and part Ford mechanic?

Because no VW shop will help you and a Ford mechanic will charge you for every minute it takes them to LEARN what is what.

Building a car to satisfy show organizers is the first clinically-recognized sign of dementia.
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[Helfen]

[Sharp64]

I think I know the baywindow that you’re looking at. It’s been for sale for a long time. At least a year or more. From my understanding the people that that owned it built it for their disabled son and wanted more “power and reliability” than they felt the VW engine would afford them. I don’t have an opinion on the price other than I would imagine they are very negotiable considering the length of time it’s been for sale.

To anyone concerned about emissions, Florida did away with vehicle inspections in the late 70’s/early 80’s. No one here cares. They don’t even inspect them upon purchase unless they come from out of state and even then it’s just to verify the title matches the pan. They don’t even check the body vin. Very lax here.
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“...some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.” - Michael Caine