Going To The Dark Side-A Subaru Conversion

[Silverghost500]

Thanks coqcitywesty! Here's some things I learned through my process that may help you when you get to your donor car:

-I thought I had all the nuts and bolts removed to take the dash out, but it would not budge. Discovered that under the flat trim piece at the bottom of the windshield there's 2 10mm fasteners that need to be removed.

-The metal dash bar has two vertical supports that bolt to the transmission tunnel. There's 4 bolts there, 2 12mm hex, and 2 safety bolts. I didn't have a safety bolt socket or bit, so I used vice grips to get the bolts to turn and get them out.

-Make sure both heater hoses and firewall grommets are removed before trying to wrestle with the big white heater core box.

-Don't just grab a fist full of harness and pull through the metal hole in the firewall and body work. There may be some sharp edges that could cut into your wires.

-If your donor has front collision damage you may find that the holes in the inner fenders that the harness passes through will need to be opened up. The connectors for the abs and the parts of the fuse box connectors need room to pass through.
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1986 Volkswagen Vanagon Westfalia "Von Westy"
Honda K24A converversion-Road Testing Phase
3-Speed Automatic

Von Westy YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbhyZYxJEQrUuLnMbLleeIA

[Silverghost500]

@ Captain Pike-Is that the schematic from your conversion?
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1986 Volkswagen Vanagon Westfalia "Von Westy"
Honda K24A converversion-Road Testing Phase
3-Speed Automatic

Von Westy YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbhyZYxJEQrUuLnMbLleeIA

[Captain Pike]

Its a guide to make understanding the harness easier. I took over this conversion and the harness was already there. Its was made by Autoventures.
Plug and play.
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LEARN TO SELF RESCUE
59 Panel bus, 1966 Single cab. 73' 181. 73 Westy. 91' H6 Vanagon 3.3L.
.....................All Current.......................

[Shonandb]

Not a Vanagon but nothing but smiles after all the work is done!


Link

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76 Westy with a 2.5L Subaru SOHC + Vanagon (010) Automatic Transaxle
Build & Trip Thread: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=758760
Previous 1973 Panel Bus:
Click to view image

[Jake de Villiers]

[Shonandb]

[Silverghost500]

@Shonandb-That looks and sounds great!
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1986 Volkswagen Vanagon Westfalia "Von Westy"
Honda K24A converversion-Road Testing Phase
3-Speed Automatic

Von Westy YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbhyZYxJEQrUuLnMbLleeIA

[Shonandb]

[Silverghost500]

Made some progress this week. I'm finally at a point where I'm not pulling parts off the donor. What a dirty, disgusting beast that thing has been!

Dropped off the cylinder heads to the machine shop spa and wine bar. Will find out if they're still good to be rebuilt, or turn into future door stops.

Packaged up the wiring harness & electrical components, and shipped them to Jeff @ Autoventures. I'm really looking forward to see the changes to the modified wiring harness.

I want to say thank you to all of you that I've had direct conversations with and those in the forums for talking some things through and offering advice & suggestions!

My focus over the next month will be putting together a complete drivetrain, engine and modified transmission. Then I'll focus on the van conversion specific parts.
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1986 Volkswagen Vanagon Westfalia "Von Westy"
Honda K24A converversion-Road Testing Phase
3-Speed Automatic

Von Westy YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbhyZYxJEQrUuLnMbLleeIA

[Silverghost500]

My conversion process has ground to a halt. The UPS Store that I shipped my wiring harness, ECU, transmission controller, etc. out of lost my shipment. How? They put my label on the wrong package! There's no checks & balance system that should have caught a label indicating a 35 pound package on a 1 pound envelope, or vice versa.

I've been dealing with the UPS store manager for over a week now. I've asked repeatedly for phone calls or emails to give me status updates, and I've always had to call. Today I went in person and spoke with the manager, who claims they're calling all these people, but no progress. I'm no closer to a solution than when I found out the wrong package was received.

I'm glad I took out insurance on the shipment, but dang! I really don't want to go down the road of having to find another wiring harness and all the electrical components again.
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1986 Volkswagen Vanagon Westfalia "Von Westy"
Honda K24A converversion-Road Testing Phase
3-Speed Automatic

Von Westy YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbhyZYxJEQrUuLnMbLleeIA

[vanis13]

^..man what a bummer....I wonder if with the engine issues you had with your donor if just a new donor is an easier solution. Sorry that happened to you.
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83.5 Westy with Subaru 2.5, 4 spd manual, center seat, COLD A/C on 134a!, Winter camp heated with an Espar B4 gasoline furnace

www.SuperVanagon.com - some stuff I make

[skills@eurocarsplus]

have you reached out to jeff? sometimes he has a spare harness or 3 laying around.

that is a real pain in the ass. hopefully they will find your harness or get you a refund.
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[Silverghost500]

Finally found someone who would take this stupid, cursed Subaru donor out of my basement and out of my life! From the moment this vehicle came off the trailer to become a donor, to the moment the guy pulled out of the driveway with it on a flatbed it has been one mishap and calamity after another.

I'll be starting over now.
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1986 Volkswagen Vanagon Westfalia "Von Westy"
Honda K24A converversion-Road Testing Phase
3-Speed Automatic

Von Westy YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbhyZYxJEQrUuLnMbLleeIA

[Energy Concepts]

Re Group & Re Supply !!!
Better Days Ahead !!!
JC...

Jorma Kaukonen sez:
Well now, what is going to happen now is anybody's guess
If I can't spend my time with love I guess I need a rest
Time is getting late now and the sun is getting low
My body's getting tired of carryin' this heavy load
And sunshine's waiting for me a little further down the road !!!

[dobryan]

Sounds like the poltergeist has left the house.
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Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson

MD>Canada>AK>WA>OR>CA>AZ>UT>WY>SD
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620646

Building a bus for travel in Europe (euroBus)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371

The Western Syncro build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794

[AndyBees]

My conversion is not a Subaru .......... but, I'll share a piece of my story.

I determined up front that I should be the one to "make" the wiring harness, etc., because if and when problems (and there will be) show their ugly face, I'll be the one that will have to address them.

Using the Bentley Manual for my donor vehicle, I spent a lot of time deciphering the harness (it was in a garbage bag). I also did the same with the Vanagon wiring system particularly those aspects that would be integrated with the new engine. I copied the electrical schematics for making notes, etc.

Anyway, when I finished, there were over 50 circuits from the ECU and Relays under the back seat to the Cluster and back to the engine. (I installed the Jetta TDI Cluster).

I saved all of my notes and arranged them in a Ring Binder for future use.

I'm sorry you've had such a horrible experience! As others have said, re-group and move on with your conversion.
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'84 Vanagon Tin-top, ALH TDI. 1989 Tin-top
1983 Air-cool, 225k miles, 180k miles mine. Seven trips to Alaska from 1986 thru 2003.

[Silverghost500]

Thanks for the support. It's been a disappointing experience. I still intend to perform the engine and transmission conversion. I look back on the missteps during this process and kick myself for allowing some of it to happen. But hindsight and all that.

The deal breaker has been the lost wiring harness and computer components. You would think it wouldn't be that difficult to source replacement components for a 2001 Forester 2.5 with automatic transmission, but it is. I have contacted many different resources, visited junkyard sites, Fleabay, Samba, and other entities. Components are either incompatible with what I need, damaged beyond usability, or priced to a point it'd be just as well to buy another complete donor car and start over.

If I bought another donor car I could work in the comfort of my basement and take my time out of the elements, while having my tools needed to do the job at hand. I don't want to go that route after experiencing how difficult it was to find someone who would take what was left of the original donor car.

There are some junkyards 2-3+ hours away that might have what I need, but I cannot get anyone over the phone to confirm that what I need is still on those cars and undamaged. If I went the junkyard route I'd have to figure out ways to extract what I need without damaging them in under six to eight hours. That's what concerns me. It took me three days to pull the harness and components off my original donor.

I'm sure some of you who've pulled those components yourself a few times are laughing at how much time it took me. If you have ways you get those components out quickly without damaging them I'm open to suggestions!
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1986 Volkswagen Vanagon Westfalia "Von Westy"
Honda K24A converversion-Road Testing Phase
3-Speed Automatic

Von Westy YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbhyZYxJEQrUuLnMbLleeIA

[skills@eurocarsplus]

so are you ditching the subaru all together?

depending how crispy the car is, i can harvest an engine and harness in about 3/4 of a day including clean up.

i don't bother playing nice with the dash. stuff gets cut out of the way.

i'm also surprised that you had an issue getting rid of the carcass. those "we buy junk car" guys are plentiful here, and in fact are like buzzards.

if you are staying with the conversion, let me know. i may have a hail mary for you.

one option may be a copart auction if there is one local to you
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[coqcitywesty]

[Silverghost500]

@coqcitywesty, it is a royal pain to remove them. I was a bit more careful with my original donor when removing the dash components. If I have to do it again, I won't be.

Are you and Skills going out to junkyards with battery operated sawzalls and hacking components out of the way? Do the junkyards pitch a fit when you do that?

@Skills, if you've got eyes and ears on harness components that would work with my 2001 Forester Automatic PM me. I'd be interested in hearing what you've got access to.

Yeah, you'd think with all these "We Buy Junk Car" outfits I'd almost have a bidding war on the donor carcass. Nope! Down here none of them wanted it unless the complete engine, transmission, and OEM catalytic converters were included. Then they "might" give me $150 for it.

Those places referred me to scrap yards. The only scrap yard that was somewhat interested in it would give me 8 cents per 100 pounds, and that was if those same components were included, and I had to bring it to them.

I finally found a guy who took it off for free.

Back to the wiring and computer dilemma...I've probably said this before, but after all these years and as many Subaru/Vanagon conversions done you'd think some vendors would produce a plug-n-play computer and wiring kit for bracketed year models of Subarus. Even if they used iWire or Link computers vs. OEM Subaru computers. Guess it's not enough of a market and not enough profit margins to pursue it.
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1986 Volkswagen Vanagon Westfalia "Von Westy"
Honda K24A converversion-Road Testing Phase
3-Speed Automatic

Von Westy YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbhyZYxJEQrUuLnMbLleeIA