Bostig conversion still relevant in 2021 (2022...) ?

[tomtom50]

[kourt]

Howdy,

One of the selling points for me with the Bostig conversion was how cheap the engines were and how easy they are to remove and install. These two factors are still relevant in 2022, and are what make the Bostig system valuable above other conversions--the risk of expense and time in the event of catastrophic failure is mitigated by the choice of engine.

My junkyard in southeast Austin always has at least five 00-04 Focus cars sitting around with usable engines. Those engines will have 80k to 150k miles on them and will sell for $200 without accessories according to their price list.

I got mine down in Lockhart (one hour south of Austin) back in 2013 from a junkyard that had a small warehouse full of Zetecs already pulled from the cars. They all had problems, and mine had been in a front end collision, as evidenced by power steering pulley damage. I was able to swap some parts around in the junkyard and come out with a good 2001 Ford Focus engine with 30k miles for $300.

I've put 100,000 miles on that engine in eight years. Most of the miles have been 75 MPH freeway miles at 5200 RPM, or lots of climbing in the mountain west.

I don't really worry about this engine because I know I can find a replacement easily and I can get the engine and cradle assembly out in about two hours. In other words, a blown engine would cost me about $250 and about six hours of my own labor. Not bad.

I can't think of any other conversion that has such a low time/expense risk profile. Certainly not Subaru or any of the VW inline conversions--their engines alone are in the thousands, and removing/installing them is harder due to engine bay crowding. The Bostig system mitigates risk of future repair far better than any other conversion. That conclusion is based on engine prices and engine swap procedures.

I just got a new tune for my Bostig. My decision to go with this conversion was validated by the experience of working with Jim on the tune over a period of ten days--getting the new tune file from Jim, flashing it onto the ECU, test driving with datalogging, sending the results back to Jim, and waiting for the next tune file. I'm getting value in 2022 well beyond my purchase in 2013.

kourt

[TopBud]

Although I had a bad 1st engine, I tried to trouble shoot and solve the issue when I should have just swapped the engine. This engine has been trouble free. There are lots of detects available. Some in cars and some not. I find it’s pretty easy to swap out the engines and just replace.
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86 bostig SYNCRO
66 convertible Karmann Ghia

[tomtom50]

[skills@eurocarsplus]

[danfromsyr]

15-20 yr donors are in the twilight years of availability.
when it's 20-25 they're gone..
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[tomtom50]

[quote="skills@eurocarsplus"]

[skills@eurocarsplus]

[tomtom50]

[skills@eurocarsplus]

[kourt]

It is worth mentioning that my Bostig conversion does not deliver a significant driving performance advantage over the original Vanagon engine. It's reliable, but not that much more powerful. I think this is obvious from the conversation, but I wanted to clear the air.

kourt

[tomtom50]

[skills@eurocarsplus]

these vans need torque, not horsepower.

by that graph, the 2.1 makes 70 some odd hp, but 105 ftlbs torque, proving that they were going after as much torque as possible.

look at some of the land yachts of the 70's... 180 horse but 300 fit lbs of torque which they needed to pull all that fake wood and brocade textiles around town

that said, the zetec is a lot of work for 14 more ftlbs of torque over the stock engine. Kourt's comments support that. but, if you're looking for stock(ish) performance out of a swap i suppose it would work out just fine.

the subaru 2.2 is ok, but no powerhouse either. the 2.5's are 165 horse 166 tq
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[tomtom50]

[Parkker]

Did a Bostig conversion on Syncro Vanagon awhile back, like 2007-2009, around there. I think maybe it was RCG6 IIRC.
The kit is decent and works though I would of course like a bit more power since it is on a heavier Syncro/Adventurewagon high top conversion. The engine runs smoothly but I always feel like it is being given the torture test, even though I rarely drive above 60, the engine gets a pretty hard workout, so I always wonder if it's going to hold up but it has done alright so far with about 10k miles and most people seem to have decent luck with this conversion.
The main thing that bugs me about it is the fact that Bostig has released many upgrades to certain parts of the kit, now included in the standard package. Unfortunately, early adopters who put a lot of trust in this company are penalized by being stuck with earlier generation inferior components. To be fair I think Bostig should sell upgrade parts like this to early adopters for cost, not at the rather high prices they ask for if you want to upgrade an earlier kit you are now stuck with. In other words, you would benefit greatly by not extending your trust to a burgeoning company and let others do so early on, they get penalized and the hold-offs are rewarded.

[tomtom50]

[tomtom50]

Is Zetec a good match for Vanagon?

In the graph red is Zetec torque, Green Zetec power, gold wasserboxer torque and blue WBX power. These are taken with a chassis dyno on Vanagons with the 2.1 waterboxer and the Bostig conversion, this is torque and power at Vanagon wheels after driveline losses. Taking off from a start Zetec torque is modestly higher, starting on a hill in first should be modestly easier but similar.

The flat Zetec torque curve makes shifting less demanding, it will just keep pulling where the waterboxer falls off around 4000 rpm. In engine speak a flat torque curve means a wide power band and good driveability. It is what engine designers aim for.

The big difference would be felt at freeway speeds and climbing grades (3250 rpm@60 mph and 3800rpm@70 in 4th). Torque is falling off rapidly with the waterboxer and downshifting is not an option, you won't get more power.

With a Zetec you have more torque at 60 and a lot more torque at 70 compared to WBX. Unlike WBX downshifting is an option, you can pull in 3rd from 60 (4700 rpm) to 74 (5800 rpm) all in the power band and well below redline. The 3rd gear pull from 60 to 75 is something completely out of the capability of a stock 2.1 and matches up nicely with where I miss power the most in real world use, along with realistic usability of 3rd up grades without needing to be too fussy on the shifts.

More power is always nice, but based on the torque/HP curve the Zetec is a solid upgrade from stock and well suited to Vanagon needs.

[skills@eurocarsplus]

i would suggest you drive one of each before spending a dime

if you want to play games, a set of reground torque cams are cheap money for the subaru.

i mean honestly, you sound like you've already convinced yourself what way you want to go. who are you trying to convince? us or yourself?
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[Schnippzle]

[tomtom50]