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skills@eurocarsplus
Samba Peckerhead
Joined: January 01, 2007
Posts: 16879
Location: sticksville, ct.
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 Posted: Sat Oct 12, 2019 11:22 am Post subject: it's a fokker..subaru swap gone bad |
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it's with a heavy heart I get involved with this. member fokker100 reached out to me a while back about a conversion from 'subiswaps' that went horribly wrong. it's a long story, and if fokker100 want's to post it i'm sure he will.
I feel horrible not only for fokker100, but the others out there that got taken for a ride. I really hate not knowing what was done, let alone to what level it was done to. I am going to do my best and recycle what I can....I have no idea of the quality of the engine....although I see some red flags at a quick glance. the worse part for me is trying to even come close to an estimate to put this back to a "proper" swap...or a swap I am use to doing. I hate going in blind...and hate the fact that I have no idea what the total amount of hours will be.
the workmanship is awful, pure and simple. the lack of attention to detail is mind blowing. as I dig deeper, I will post photos of the sheer butchery that has taken place.
the bus is question is a gorgeous 76 survivor. has had some paint work in the nose, but the rest of the bus is just amazing
and here is some of the hackery
essentially a new a/c system open to atmosphere....which is no Bueno
questionable throttle linkage
an epic mess of o2 wiring
engine isn't even close to setting level. this is a HUGE issue for a lot of reasons. one being the Subaru 5 speed lacks lubrication to 5th seeing the ring gear is casting gear oil the wrong way
the cooling system works like shit as installed. I will be doing a totally different set up. that said, none of this stuff is supported, just bouncing around
air bleed solenoid just zip tied. the polished manifold had the mounting bosses shaved off 
fantastic work on this mess...PVC as a shift bushing
rats nest of wires, some bare. note the clutch tube "extension". what the installer did was weld this pipe on to the OE tube. the other end of the tube is WELDED to the trans....I have to cut all of this to remove the trans.
when I get deeper, I can take a better photo of the other end. it is the jankiest setup I have ever seen. how it works is beyond my comprehension
you can kind of see the other end of that rusty tube welded to the trans mount. couldn't get a good pic yet
under the dash is another mess
under the rear seat is a mess too. power wires bare, not connected to anything at all.
so, the plan is to kind of remove all of it and see what I can do from there. in all honesty I will have a hard time trusting anything that has been done.
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| gprudenciop wrote: |
my reason for switching to subaru is my german car was turning chinese so i said fuck it and went japanese....... |
| Jake Raby wrote: |
| Thanks for the correction. I used to be a nice guy, then I ruined it by exposing myself to the public. |
| Brian wrote: |
| Also the fact that people are agreeing with Skills, it's a turn of events for samba history |
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Vee Dub Nut
Samba Member
Joined: April 25, 2004
Posts: 1184
Location: Dallas, GA
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| Posted: Sat Oct 12, 2019 3:04 pm Post subject: Re: it's a fokker..subaru swap gone bad |
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Oooof... 
Its in good hands now. Looking forward to seeing you clean this one up. Thats a NICE looking Bus.
I've had some folks contact me as well with problems with their subiswaps Buses. That guy screwed a lot of people  What a mess.
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panel
Samba Member
Joined: December 02, 2001
Posts: 1091
Location: Victoria B.C. Canada
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| Posted: Sat Oct 12, 2019 6:43 pm Post subject: Re: it's a fokker..subaru swap gone bad |
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Did this thing actually drive to your shop or towed in ?
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My '65-Subaru EJ20 Turbo conversion |
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skills@eurocarsplus
Samba Peckerhead
Joined: January 01, 2007
Posts: 16879
Location: sticksville, ct.
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| Posted: Sat Oct 12, 2019 7:42 pm Post subject: Re: it's a fokker..subaru swap gone bad |
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| Vee Dub Nut wrote: |
Oooof...
Its in good hands now. Looking forward to seeing you clean this one up. Thats a NICE looking Bus.... What a mess. |
thanks. it's going to be a lot of work as I can't use 3/4 of the stuff on the bus. I have had it about a month, month and change at this point so I could get parts ordered, modified etc. I didn't want to start on it until I had some components here. I will grab more photos of the bus. it's in amazing shape
| panel wrote: |
| Did this thing actually drive to your shop or towed in ? |
it went from Quebec to San Diego for the attempted conversion. he then had it shipped by car hauler to me. I blew it down the road about 1/2-3/4 of a mile to see what I had to work with
it ran well, shifted well. brakes are on the floor and trips the brake warning light. the cooling system is a mess as is the overall install. every time you shift it sounds like (and feels like) nails on a chalkboard which is most likely due to the crazy PVC 'shift bushings'
it's crazy to me that someone could charge what they charged and give this back as acceptable. actually, fokker100 had to take it back after a long, long time with the help of a private investigator. there are many that want to hang the guy that did the install by the balls and use him as a piñata until he rains money. I have a bad feeling that he'll be going to jail over this
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| gprudenciop wrote: |
my reason for switching to subaru is my german car was turning chinese so i said fuck it and went japanese....... |
| Jake Raby wrote: |
| Thanks for the correction. I used to be a nice guy, then I ruined it by exposing myself to the public. |
| Brian wrote: |
| Also the fact that people are agreeing with Skills, it's a turn of events for samba history |
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aeromech
Samba Member
Joined: January 24, 2006
Posts: 16970
Location: San Diego, California
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| Posted: Sat Oct 12, 2019 10:07 pm Post subject: Re: it's a fokker..subaru swap gone bad |
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El Cajon. Not San Diego. I live in San Diego. El Cajon is 15 miles east.
That said, drugs have become a real problem in Southern California. I’m sure it’s not the mechanics fault. He didn’t mean to rip this guy off and do poor work. Actually, it’s a societal issue. The mechanic needs us to pay for his rehab and I’m sure in the end everyone will go find a tree to huge and it will all be good.
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skills@eurocarsplus
Samba Peckerhead
Joined: January 01, 2007
Posts: 16879
Location: sticksville, ct.
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| Posted: Sat Oct 12, 2019 11:09 pm Post subject: Re: it's a fokker..subaru swap gone bad |
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| aeromech wrote: |
| El Cajon. Not San Diego.. |
word on the street is he was in SD, not arguing with you, cuz I don't know. everyone on a Subaru group that was robbed by him was saying SD, but he moved shop a few times.
he also (again, word on the street) became hooked on some bad shit. in my mind...you just don't try shit like that even recreationally. it's a sad downward spiral for sure.
he had the world by the balls as he tried to sell a bunch of stuff...he was doing ok until his downfall. bit off more than he could chew. that's why I have a bit of a waiting list I guess....either wait for me or move on. it's not arrogance...it's the reality of not taking on stuff I know I can't get done in a reasonable amount of time.
I do my best to keep in contact with clients. it's 2:08am here as I type this. instead of being in bed and giving my wife a mustache ride I am out in the shop finishing up a couple things and getting ready to plunge into the abyss of fokker's bus.
so many of these 'rock star' look at me types are always posting crap about vacations, trips or other useless shit on their IG/FB feeds and not getting shit they committed to done. am I the idiot for not doing more of that? dunno...but I can go to bed with a clear conscience
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| gprudenciop wrote: |
my reason for switching to subaru is my german car was turning chinese so i said fuck it and went japanese....... |
| Jake Raby wrote: |
| Thanks for the correction. I used to be a nice guy, then I ruined it by exposing myself to the public. |
| Brian wrote: |
| Also the fact that people are agreeing with Skills, it's a turn of events for samba history |
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MorkC68
Samba Member
Joined: December 23, 2015
Posts: 610
Location: Nottingham, England
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| Posted: Sun Oct 13, 2019 1:00 am Post subject: Re: it's a fokker..subaru swap gone bad |
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We had a tv show here in the UK, Goblin Works Garage who had a 68 bus featured.
Subiswaps did the conversion, they had issues with coolant leaks, backfiring motor, the motor locked up and damaged the cylinder heads.
Didn’t give you confidence in the swap 
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fokker100
Samba Member
Joined: February 13, 2006
Posts: 149
Location: North of the border
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| Posted: Sun Oct 13, 2019 7:03 am Post subject: Re: it's a fokker..subaru swap gone bad |
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It took 21 months to finally get the bus back.
When the troubles appeared a few months after Subiswaps took delivery of the bus, I felt so naïve shipping one of the most important object I own, without getting into a deep analysis of the company, how stupid I have been.
I went through a lot of stress, and hopelessness.
And yet, I feel lucky to have the chance to get it back and this is all because of my private investigator that has been really patient with communicating with David. I could not recall the number of times that we would set up a date to pick it up and then it was cancelled due to millions of reasons.
Living far, my PI was the only way to have a chance to get it. Of course, for David he has been introduced as a friend ready to pick it up, and eventually this stratagem worked.
Still, with this kind of conversion « process », I had no confidence in the product and just wanted to make sure it was safe to put my family in the bus.
And knowing all the glitches reported by Don, I feel blessed to have met Don 🙏, but if I have done my homework 2 years ago, I would have known him sooner and sent the bus to him.
I consider this sad part behind and look forward.
I know the bus is in good hands now and I can anticipate a beautiful season next year, for real this time 😊
And what I really like with Don, besides he is gifted with this kind of conversion, is that the man spends some time to communicate with you, explains the process and takes a lot of photos, that is awesome.
Thank you Don, have fun with the mess! (I almost lost my sense of irony with this story) |
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rugblaster
Samba Member
Joined: March 31, 2016
Posts: 1171
Location: San Angelo, Texas
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| Posted: Sun Oct 13, 2019 8:15 am Post subject: Re: it's a fokker..subaru swap gone bad |
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This all reminds me of when I was working on cars professionally. We had a customer that bought a really nice Porsche 914 from one of my co-workers. It was disassembled at the time, but a really nice specimen of the breed. This guys plan was to put a Mazda rotary engine in it via a kit to do so. Our boy worked as a lab technician at a USDA facility and would report back to us on a regular basis , lab coat and all, for 2 years as to the progress of his venture.
The dealership I worked at was a Mazda dealer too, and I had personally lost control of at least one Cosmo out in the middle of an intersection, in a cloud of tire smoke, while doing a PDI. So I though this would be a fun guided missile in a 914.
Finally, the day came when lab guy showed up with his car............I have rarely seen such a cobbled up mess. I felt sorry for lab guy and the car. I was so let down, and knew at that point some people don't look at things like this through the same prism as I would.
I'm sure, with the fullness of time (and money) this too shall pass.
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cmonSTART
Samba Member
Joined: July 15, 2014
Posts: 1915
Location: NH
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| Posted: Sun Oct 13, 2019 8:58 am Post subject: Re: it's a fokker..subaru swap gone bad |
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Sorry for your troubles, fokker.
If it were a backyard conversion I would understand some of the slop, but this seems a bit much. You can't take people's money for work like this. Those PVC bushings are just silly.
In my unrelated industry I have to constantly drum this type of thing into our guys' heads - jobs need to be completed neatly and professionally - every time. You can't make things up and wing it, and just because it wouldn't bother you in your home you can't take customer's money for hackery.
Shame about the guy's spiral if it's true.
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'78 Bus 2.0FI
de K1IGS |
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wcfvw69 
Samba Purist
Joined: June 10, 2004
Posts: 13389
Location: Arizona
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| Posted: Sun Oct 13, 2019 11:20 am Post subject: Re: it's a fokker..subaru swap gone bad |
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Looking forward to watching Don do his magic on this beautiful bus. Sadly, how many hours will be spent deconstructing that hackery?
It's really sad that people can steal money from people doing this kind of terrible work. But as the owner stated, he's on the home stretch now that Don has his hand on it.
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Decades of VW and VW parts restoration experience.
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Last edited by wcfvw69 on Sun Oct 13, 2019 4:48 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Zed999
Samba Member
Joined: March 04, 2018
Posts: 1248
Location: UK
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| Posted: Sun Oct 13, 2019 11:42 am Post subject: Re: it's a fokker..subaru swap gone bad |
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| Good on you Skills for taking it on. Putting right other peoples botches are the worst jobs because they make you kind of angry while you're doing it. |
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airschooled
Air-Schooled
Joined: April 04, 2012
Posts: 12722
Location: on a bike ride somewhere
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| Posted: Sun Oct 13, 2019 2:34 pm Post subject: Re: it's a fokker..subaru swap gone bad |
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You had me at "PVC"…… I skip town for five months, Gary takes on a personal project, and the whole Good City's reputation goes down the drain… 
Can we start a "Wall of Shame" thread of shit people actually paid money for? I wouldn't wanna hijack this one, because we need good examples of good work too.
Robbie
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Abscate
Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2014
Posts: 22668
Location: NYC/Upstate/ROW
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| Posted: Sun Oct 13, 2019 3:58 pm Post subject: Re: it's a fokker..subaru swap gone bad |
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All of us are 3-5 days from opioid addiction given a few relatively simple chain of events. Glad you are getting the Bus inDons hands.
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skills@eurocarsplus
Samba Peckerhead
Joined: January 01, 2007
Posts: 16879
Location: sticksville, ct.
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| Posted: Sun Oct 13, 2019 5:40 pm Post subject: Re: it's a fokker..subaru swap gone bad |
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holy shit...
when I do my swaps, the engine is out and on the ground in 30-40 mins...why? because I made it that way.
i'm an hour in, and not close to pulling the engine yet. not only are there different sized hardware than normal, but the wiring....holy shit. sad thing is there is no need...Subaru literally has 3-4 (depending on the donor) main bulkhead connectors to pull the engine...very clean, very brilliant. he has integrated all sorts of other shit into the factory harness that should be separate.
on top of that:
missing the flywheel cover
(also missing the top access rubber cover for torque converter bolts. sure fire way to have stuff fall into the bellhousing)
coolant hoses chafing on stuff
got washers? I do...
missing bell housing bolts? why not? and, the connectors in the pic should be on a bracket, not rubbing the bellhousing
this is my favorite...full lines rubbing on the head
air cleaner mount? naa bro...hose clamps and send it
and...this is the inside of the intake tube. the clean line is a finger swipe by yours truly. the rest is fine dirt/dust that got past the air fliter
I don't think this engine was rebuilt. no way. look where the spray paint ends and the corrosion begins
and the exhaust valves...no way was this rebuilt...
other side
no self respecting builder would use an oil pump that looked like it came out of the Atlantic
this is how low the engine was hanging. you'll see when i'm done where it should be
holy shit....this is going to take a while i hope to have the intake off and engine out for tomorrow, but really not sure at this point. he has done so much crap i have to be 100% sure i don't cut something important. as it is, i may have to send the harness back to Jeff Robenolt for a re-work. i have worked with him to make a easily laid out harness. this turkey took all of our work and put an evil spin on it
_________________
| gprudenciop wrote: |
my reason for switching to subaru is my german car was turning chinese so i said fuck it and went japanese....... |
| Jake Raby wrote: |
| Thanks for the correction. I used to be a nice guy, then I ruined it by exposing myself to the public. |
| Brian wrote: |
| Also the fact that people are agreeing with Skills, it's a turn of events for samba history |
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honestcharlie56
Samba Member
Joined: September 24, 2017
Posts: 87
Location: Houston, Tx
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| Posted: Sun Oct 13, 2019 6:11 pm Post subject: Re: it's a fokker..subaru swap gone bad |
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wow.............
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aeromech
Samba Member
Joined: January 24, 2006
Posts: 16970
Location: San Diego, California
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| Posted: Sun Oct 13, 2019 6:18 pm Post subject: Re: it's a fokker..subaru swap gone bad |
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Yeah but having a Subaru powered VW is so king
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Lead Mechanic: San Diego Air and Space Museum
Licensed Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic
Licensed Pilot (Single engine Land)
Boeing 727,737-200-300-400,757,767
Airbus A319,320,321
DC9/MD80
BAe146
Fokker F28/F100
VW type 1 1962,63,65,69,72
VW Type 2 1971 (3 ea.) 1978, 1969
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skills@eurocarsplus
Samba Peckerhead
Joined: January 01, 2007
Posts: 16879
Location: sticksville, ct.
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| Posted: Sun Oct 13, 2019 6:44 pm Post subject: Re: it's a fokker..subaru swap gone bad |
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| aeromech wrote: |
| Yeah but having a Subaru powered VW is so king |
when it's not hacked and functions properly it is...ask anyone who had me do the swap.
what are you doing up so late? isn't time for you to drop your teeth in some polydent and put on a fresh pair of depends before jumping into bed? 
_________________
| gprudenciop wrote: |
my reason for switching to subaru is my german car was turning chinese so i said fuck it and went japanese....... |
| Jake Raby wrote: |
| Thanks for the correction. I used to be a nice guy, then I ruined it by exposing myself to the public. |
| Brian wrote: |
| Also the fact that people are agreeing with Skills, it's a turn of events for samba history |
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aeromech
Samba Member
Joined: January 24, 2006
Posts: 16970
Location: San Diego, California
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| Posted: Sun Oct 13, 2019 6:46 pm Post subject: Re: it's a fokker..subaru swap gone bad |
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Well fuck you too
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Lead Mechanic: San Diego Air and Space Museum
Licensed Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic
Licensed Pilot (Single engine Land)
Boeing 727,737-200-300-400,757,767
Airbus A319,320,321
DC9/MD80
BAe146
Fokker F28/F100
VW type 1 1962,63,65,69,72
VW Type 2 1971 (3 ea.) 1978, 1969
VW Jetta
VW Passat
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panel
Samba Member
Joined: December 02, 2001
Posts: 1091
Location: Victoria B.C. Canada
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| Posted: Sun Oct 13, 2019 7:03 pm Post subject: Re: it's a fokker..subaru swap gone bad |
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Just curious of the heim joint ? What part are we looking at there ?
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