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VW Bay Window Bus - Subaru Powered


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We are also thinking about swapping in a Porsche 901 rear suspesnion (which will blow the $3,500 number I listed above).

 

 

Considering the forte of Benton, I can see a real justification for air cooled. If you guy's are considering the 901 rear suspension, maybe a Porsche 6 would fit into your market a little better?

 

 

And Ron, here's a better Subie engine option:

 

 

Definitely. I think there may be a minor budgetary misalignment, though!

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Hope everyone had a great Turkey Day.

 

Finished up the alternator adjuster...

 

AltAdjuster_zpscfa4e452.jpg

 

Pretty well have the engine tin wrapped up. Just needs some fasteners, a little filing here and there, and some paint. I've left about a 1/4" gap all around the engine and transaxle...

 

LeftTin_zpsd0af6cdd.jpg

 

RightTin_zps7d5a0d00.jpg

 

TinComplete_zps2064ac6c.jpg

 

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I had a gauge panel laser cut from 1/4" aluminum...


 


GaugePanel_zpsa626c94e.jpg


 


Painted it with Harley-Davidson "Texture Black". It's a nice finish that has a very fine 'sanded' texture to it. It's fairly tough and easy to apply. Then I dropped in a suite of Speedhut's. The GPS Speedo/Tachometer is 4.5" and the rest are 3.375". Illumination is red, face and needle...


 

SpeedhutGauges_zpsd96d5254.jpg
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How did I miss this? 

In South America the bays were available with the early 4 cylinder diesel from the Rabbit.

They had a coolant piping kit and radiator that went underneath. Very sanitary and very German-Engineered! I thought some had what looked like a spare tire up front, but it reality it was a radiator under a cover!

I had a chance at a 78 from Ray Andersen but never got back in time to pull it out of the weeds. Got the 66 Split and the 60 Corvair though!

The Bay's Bigger Transaxle makes for many nice swapping possibilities. 

 

The Suzuki Vans and Nissan Vanette / Urvan have extensive 'flat' radiators under the passengers feet with electric fans on them---owing to the fact that the engine is under/behind the front seat. Oil coolers, A/C all that doubled up side to side or up front.

 

Don't forget A/C!

Edited by Tony D
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We just picked up a '62 single cab pickup as a shop truck.  We have looked a the Subie swap but we can do a 180hp Type 4 and 5 speed for about $3500 all in.  That's plenty for a drum braked bus chassis.  You have to do a lot of work to the brakes and suspension to run 300hp in this chassis.

Try running the 1/4 with a center spindle that you can rock up and down 1"... 15.50 baby, just always be turning sliiiightly left, and then after getting into third, sliiiiightly right (or vice versa if you're in the other lane!)

 

Advice: Put the 67 MC in there, a Deer jumped down in front of me in Carbon Canyon, and I lost my brakes completely when I hammered the pedal and blew the rear cups out! Carbon Canyon on a 62 Bus using only the E-Brake is 'interesting'! More than 98mph in the 1/4!

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Merry Christmas!

Finished up the driver side exhaust. Well, a beta version anyway. The mufflers I picked up are Walker Quiet Flow's and advertised as factory replacement with nearly factory sound levels. I'm not convinced enough to invest a large amount of time into a nice exhaust system, so I cobbled up something for testing purposes. Hopefully I'll have time this weekend to build the passenger side so I can call the exhaust 'done'.

 

LeftExhaustA_zpsf068b1ba.jpg

 

LeftExhaustB_zps4d3f63a8.jpg

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FanMountD_zps98dabcb1.jpg

I've got a few questions... What sort of foam are you using to seal the fan shroud to the rad? What software did you use to design the laser cut pieces? I've been using Adobe Illustrator to make some vector images for a laser engraver, would this format also work for your laser, and if so is it for hire?

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I just put an condensor from a commercial van in the back of the Suzuki where the spare tire would normally be... the thing was LPG in Japan, and they took all that stuff out so I couldn't even hang my spare back there. So I put this big honking AC Condenser back there, with it's OEM fan hooked to the original Suzuki Condensor Relay. That lasted about three cycles and the relay burned up, so put the relay from the Comm Van in place of the Suzuki relay and ran on like that. Even at idle sitting still in full sun that thing pumps COLD!

 

I'm determined now more than ever to get some condensers and put them in my 66 with one of those VW Conversions. Big honking Condensers under the van with the fan blowing down, like all these FC Style Vans out of Japan. The Suzuki mounted the intercooler under the sliding door on the right side, and the condenser on the left side basically angling from the unitbody 'frame' upwards to the rocker panel and a rock screen on it. Added 2 7 1/2 foot hoses with proper fittings on each end to adapt the Suzuki stuff to the Toyota Coaster stuff and away it went. LOT more freon (yes, R12!) in the system now, the compressor still cycles even with the doors and sunroof open.

 

Ready for this---Costs:

Toyota Coaster / Nissan Urvan / Toyota Hiace A/C Condenser with fan and fittings:     2700 Pesos

Extension Hoses:                                                                                                              740 Pesos

Labor and R12 Charging:                                                                                               1900 Pesos

Tinting all windows with double-black limo-tint including the windshield top and bottom: 1800 Pesos

 

Right now, my exchange rate is 44.12 Philippine Pesos per US $, I sat and watched these guys the guys do it all and the only thing I have reservations about is the window tint. If it bubbles Ill take it to Manila and have them do it where the company cars are done with 3M...they do the WHOLE windshield so well it looks like factory tinting, and then I can have them stripe the top and bottom as well. 

 

Tomorrow, detailing. I have to bring it in at 7AM and they will strip the interior out, wash everything individually, clean the interior, and then reassemble. Thus far, I have been very happy paying what I've paid for the results I've gotten. 

 

I'm going to have to take measurements on the turbocharger/intercooler piping.... I do not like the look of the Suzuki crush-bend tubing and extended rubber molded hoses hacked when it was converted. I think some mandrel bends and short silicone hump hoses will make for something much better and get the factory blowoff silenced back down again...

Edited by Tony D
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I've got a few questions... What sort of foam are you using to seal the fan shroud to the rad? What software did you use to design the laser cut pieces? I've been using Adobe Illustrator to make some vector images for a laser engraver, would this format also work for your laser, and if so is it for hire?

 

It's something we've stocked at the shop for 20+ years. I couldn't tell you the brand, but it's a low density open cell foam with an industrial adhesive. If you need a sample I can send you some.

 

I use http://marks-brothers.com/ for my laser cutting. They're about 20 minutes from me and on my way home from work. I've toured the shop a couple of times and had many things burned there. They are top notch to deal with and have the best pricing I've found in the Portland area. They also have a tube laser, which is rare around these parts.

 

I'm sure they would arrange shipping in the U.S. but that would probably blow the cost savings of using them. You'd probably be better off finding a local shop.

 

I'm using AutoCAD and just send in clean DWG's. I 'hear' most shops can make use of vector graphics, but I'd have to ask if Mark Brothers can.

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Tony,

 

     If I can't get this radiator arrangement to work satisfactory, plan B is to belly mount. But my concern is still the same as I mentioned in post #16... we have wet roads more often than we have dry roads. We get tons of muddy oily road grime kicked up for more than half the year (and I average about 25K miles per year). I don't really want to crawl under the bus two or three times a year to wash out a radiator. How do you reduce the 'sludge' to an acceptable level with belly mounting?

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My dad just sent me this link, the "early conversions" (retrofits) used a front mounted spare tire looking thing to house a neat radiator...and the standard water piping to get it back to front.

 

This link has a photo of the CURRENT PRODUCTION BAY-WINDOW....

 

Alas, government regulation kills another perfectly good vehicle. It truly was "Das Völkswagen"!

 

http://editorial.autos.msn.com/blogs/post--volkswagen-bus-production-makes-final-stop-in-brazil#scpshrjmd

 

As to sludge and road grime...think about this: mud flaps (the Suzuki comes with them!) and how grimy does the center of the chassis actually get? Some flaps on the front to manage front wheel throw-off and you will quickly see not very much makes it to the center of the van. Rocker Panels? Sure! But with flaps even they stay pretty clean.

 

If you find another Type IV engined bus, with that bitchin' engine access cover out back...weld it in the center of the floor over your radiator and a couple of twists...access from the top to service the top-mounted fan without dropping the radiator, access a radiator cap or bleed point...or simply hose off the radiator.

 

A stone guard properly louvred should keep anything getting up to stick on the bottom....and with a properly sealed fan shroud, would likely keep it pressurised somewhat to help with dust when it was dry as well....

Edited by Tony D
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I saw some guys that put radiators over the transmission...but that just didn't look feasible to service. You don't need the air channel, and you will be putting a universal heater/defroster in there anyway (you weren't going to keep stainless steel exhaust heat exchangers for that, were you?) so that's even higher up you can tuck it amidships.

 

I haven't really looked in a while, but you might try something behind the front axle... But it would have to be custom to fit. I think the one you showed behind the engine in Post #16 would fit there, and that would simplify high point fabrication somewhat. A scoop directing air from under the front bumper to a radiator ducted properly shouldn't be that difficult to do... I don't know if you have the stock undercover still in place or not, having it would make duct channel fab simple sheet metal brake work and tin snip trimming. Painted black on the inlet, I doubt anybody would notice a 4" wide intake under the bumper. Heck, you could make an air dam up front as well...

 

I can see the ultimate ending of this project now:

 

post-380-0-22028300-1388255676_thumb.jpg

Edited by Tony D
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A stone guard properly louvred should keep anything getting up to stick on the bottom....and with a properly sealed fan shroud, would likely keep it pressurised somewhat to help with dust when it was dry as well....

That's what I was going to suggest, beat me to the punch Tony!

 

I found this after about 30 seconds on Google:

 

http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/275088.jpg

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