joining the darkside....correction Joined

after much umming and arring i think ive finnaly come around

a local is is parting out a GX Liberty and i can get all the parts i need from it for a very good price

aside from the obvious parts like engine, loom, and ECU what other parts should i be grabbing
i notice most get the dash cluster and Ignition barrel

also being an old nannas car its auto im guessing this makes no differnce as the flywheel is getting replaced??
is there anything differnt about the ECU or engine cos of this?

😉

This is a growing trend... I remember 6 years ago I couldn't find any information about doing a coversion. Life is certainly easier these days I'd suggest...

youll love the dark side.😂😂

aside from the cookies they have??

ground clearance is another of my main concerns
i know the shortend sump scene is improving all the time but with the downward facing exhaust ports etc and how low my bug is im just wondering how bad its gonna be

at present my stock vw sump plate is about 130mm off the black stuff and i know EJs sit lower than a vw motor

Joel wrote:aside from the cookies they have??

ground clearance is another of my main concerns
i know the shortend sump scene is improving all the time but with the downward facing exhaust ports etc and how low my bug is im just wondering how bad its gonna be

at present my stock vw sump plate is about 130mm off the black stuff and i know EJs sit lower than a vw motor

stock sumps are cheap🤪🤪 just dont boost on uneven roads , I have hit mine three times chaning into second on boost 🤪 not leaking yet and it hits hard🤪 my sump is 120mm off the road

Ian , Its a GX liberty EJ22 unless its had a turbo conversion 🙂

seagull

Are you gunna put the supercharger on it?

You could also grab the fuel pump if you wanted to make a surge pot or modify your tank to use the suby in tank pump.

Flicking through my conversion diary might give you some ideas. I really should update it 🙂 ;
http://www.offroadvw.net/bajawes/linktoV6.htm

no turbo....yet
presently just a nanna spec auto EJ22

Wes, i have got a spare SC14 blower under the house but i'd rather turbo it

ive already got an 8mm main fuel line i ran for my old turbo setup but i left the original 6mm as the return but im betting that would need replacing with bigger
a simple surge tank like you run would do the job

Joel wrote:no turbo....yet
presently just a nanna spec auto EJ22

Wes, i have got a spare SC14 blower under the house

Well put a Turbo on it , Dont cut your car up if its not Turbo🤪🤪
I dont think your joining the darkside. I think your just lerking in the shadows🤪🤪

Ah stop it Ian, the dark side is anything that isn't purist pansy pants VW aircooled, and you will love it Joel. The EJ22 is 145hp DEAD STOCK. By the time you get an exhaust and an aftermarket filter on it, it'll be 150hp. That's around 50 more than you already have and much smoother. The yanks are fitting EJ22s to home built planes over EA82Ts. The Ej22 is smoother, more reliable and has more power.

No problems being auto as you say you'll be replacing the flywheel, not much different with the wiring, the all the auto wires to the auto simply get chopped out, and just need to bridge a few wires. If you want to retrofit the dash cluster and ignition barrel by all means, but not totally necessary, it would be wise though to have a temp gauage and engine light.

what year Joel? Some you need the barrel ignition etc for anti theft, lock etc - immobilisers if there is one.

there is a guy up queensland way to send the loom too, really good price, you'll get it back as plug n play with instructions.

pete wood wrote:..... the dark side is anything that isn't purist pansy pants VW aircooled

Is that so?

pete wood wrote:..... pansy pants VW aircooled

This guy hasn't been in the right aircooled vw's.

Hi Joel

The EJ22 is a good choice, not too much cutting needed. The SC12 or 14 would just fit so nice on there, you already have correct drive for it, just grab an intercooler from a WRX and of you go.

You might be able to use the radiator from this car as well.

The right air cooled VWs? Is that the type that cost thousands to build and need regular pampering?

Steve

1303Steve wrote:The right air cooled VWs? Is that the type that cost thousands to build and need regular pampering?

Steve

Sometimes thats true, but I LOVE a fast air cooled flat four.

Hi Matt

Its like hitting your head against a brick wall, it feels good when you stop.

Steve

I just fished a EJ 22 turbo motor for my mate. Its going to be a wild ride , mostly side ways I am thinking as I aso had a LSD fitted 🙂

1303Steve wrote:Hi Matt

Its like hitting your head against a brick wall, it feels good when you stop.

Steve

😂

joel, good write up here of EJ22 into beetle

http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=35720

You putting this in your current car Joel?

cheers for the link Rob,

Mick, yep its going in my Lbug
i seem to be in the same boat as you were now
i have a 4500km old 1776 i now have to sell and the half dozen or so 1600s under the house should help boost this project financially abit

i've wanted to do this conversion for a good 10 or so years now since i saw the first one done back in the 90s
i just didnt have the heart to cut up my Lbug cos its never been pranged, rusted or bogged and was completley original and every mod ive done can be easily reversed

but ive come to realise its only sheet metal that can be replaced
a good mate of mine is one of the most talented body blokes ive ever met, ive watched him do some extraordiary work on some splitties hes doing up at the moment including replacing the entire bottom 8" of one them

the reason i bought my old black rotary beetle was to do an easy swap to EJ power as it was already cut up and BJ/IRS but i rarely drive one toy VW let alone 2

i havent fully committed myself yet but the with the more and more people that do this conversion the easier its becoming which is making the decision easier

is everyone running the stock cat?
or can it be done away with cos its in such an old vehicle?

im guessing the ECU wont be happy with out it without some bypass for the sensor

you don't wanna know what i bought...

you do make a good point Jak

i turned down a 96 WRX as my daily driver cos i was worried i'd write myself off being a Larry lead foot with that much power

but a bug with that sorta balls would be a blast
i'm sure you know your self everyone if you pass someone in a bug thats it they just have to pass you back no matter what it takes.....
would be fun to really mess with the STI and skyline boy racers
at present i keep hold them thro the windeys but once u get on the straights they leave me for dead

Ian keeps teasing me with his sleeper clown bug and the thought of turboing a EJ22 might be a happy compromise
a bloke on volkswap has taken an EJ20T block and fitted SOHC heads as it fits better and he claims better bottom end

will wait and see as im just in negotiations with the owner of the liberty at the moment but if it falls thro i may be on the hunt for WRX half cut

what about an STI half cut?

i wanna drive my bug not fly it 😂

Just hand your licence in now Mick 😂

i know 🤪

it was a matter of a later model, price seemed good, didnt really want STI - though 1303 Steve has a brand new STI - might find out its got no bottom end, but you buy from a wrecker and you may get a wreck.

Mick058 wrote:i know 🤪

it was a matter of a later model, price seemed good, didnt really want STI - though 1303 Steve has a brand new STI - might find out its got no bottom end, but you buy from a wrecker and you may get a wreck.

?

Joel wrote:i wanna drive my bug not fly it 😂

come on Joel use the force🤪🤪
The forced induction🤪🤪

Hi

Yeah, you can not use a lot of boost and never put you foot down.

Steve

1303Steve wrote:

Mick058 wrote:i know 🤪

it was a matter of a later model, price seemed good, didnt really want STI - though 1303 Steve has a brand new STI - might find out its got no bottom end, but you buy from a wrecker and you may get a wreck.

?

didn't you buy yours new Steve?

i was referring to my bottom end and buying from a wrecker.

Mick , what turbo is fitted to this motor ?



PS : wheely bars will be needed 🙂

Mick058 wrote:

1303Steve wrote:

Mick058 wrote:i know 🤪

it was a matter of a later model, price seemed good, didnt really want STI - though 1303 Steve has a brand new STI - might find out its got no bottom end, but you buy from a wrecker and you may get a wreck.

?

didn't you buy yours new Steve?



Steve

i was referring to my bottom end and buying from a wrecker.

Hi

No I bought it 2nd hand, but it had only done 13,000 ks. Looks like our motors will be similar spec to start off with.

Steve

ok so this is actually now happenign

i was lucky enough to not only get to hear my new engine running but also to have a drive of the liberty its coming from

i can now see why so many subis on the road, they are just such a nice car to drive and this one is so plush inside and has all the bells and whistles
will be a shame to see it parted out but its had someone jump on the roof and bonnet leaving to much body work to fix cheaply and my dub wants a new engine

so now brains trust be prepared for the bombardment of questions im sure im gonna have

Hi Joel

I drove drive a Liberty the other week, after your drive I guess you can now get a idea how one will go in lightweight bug.

Steve

yeh i loved the 98 liberty i had EJ22 - they handle so well and are so comfy.

Welcome Joel!

right pat.... what are u fresh out of the samba 🙄

did i say an EJ22 was a powerhouse...No
all i said was theyre a nice smooth refined engine
a vw engine that "smokes" a subaru and we're talking EJ20T here would also need tearing down every 20k and doesnt drive well on the streets

ive spent the last 15 years with vw engines in my bugs all im after now is an engine that looks after itself, will last forever just with routine servicing and run smoother than a vw is capable off without having half the national debt spent on it

thanks for the welcome mick, but kinda not new to this seen, had a rotary bug that was gonna be swapped to subaru but to many projects just meant it was never gonna get finished

So Pat what do you drive a Corrolla or an Excel
🤪😂🤪
stix with it Joel

I've deleted Pat's post because he's clearly a tool that should stay out of this sub-forum.

cheers Wes, i was biting my tounge as to what i really wanted to say but i know theres always someone who joins up just to do abit of trolling

Sooks🤪

Joel, have done the same, put a 12a in a 68 5years ago. Looking forward to the suby power and efi.

Rota was carbie.

I am sure you will be more than happy with the EJ 22 into an L Bug. The power Output and curve is very nice to drive.

The guys at Custom Vee Dub are fitting an Ej 22 into my 75 L Bug for me. The EJ fits without having to do any modifications to the transmission at all. In my engine bay they removed all the old engine sealing sheet metal which made it a much nicer fit and made it all look factory as there was not cut outs left, just nice neat factory edges.

I also opted to get a removable rear apron added so that if I ever need to get it out later I could do so without damaging the paint.

The radiator from the subie fits into the front and the factory fans where retained. I opted here to have the water piper run through the heater channels because I wanted it to all look factory and not like an add on with piper underneath. The Air/Con lines run through the tunnel.

Anyway it is a great engine and the result is much nice than a VW for both fuel economy and reliability.

so are you back in OZ then Brad? There are going to be a lot of Subaru powerd bugs getting around soon 🙂
Warwick 2010, the year of the Subaru lol
Stephen

Hi Joel

When you do the cut out for the radiator it will make it much easier to fit the rack & pinion.

Steve

cheers Steve, i remembered you saying you did that with the yellow bug
makes me feel abit better about all the cutting in the front 😂

thanks for those pics Brad, that answered one question for me
i was looking at the lib radiator thinking its probably to wide to fit the Lbug wheel well but it looks like a nice fit in yours
plus im also running A/C as well with the condensor mounted in front

im not sure if you have come up with any ideas for the evap setup yet but i was thinking of going with one from this mob

they make a smaller model as this one is designed for big station wagons

the good part is the units have a heater core built in as well.
i was planning on fitting in behind the Lbug dash and ducting some face vents as well as the original defrost



my old rota bug had one of those fibreglass sherman valances, it made life so much easier so im planning on getting another

Joel wrote:cheers Steve, i remembered you saying you did that with the yellow bug
makes me feel abit better about all the cutting in the front 😂

thanks for those pics Brad, that answered one question for me
i was looking at the lib radiator thinking its probably to wide to fit the Lbug wheel well but it looks like a nice fit in yours
plus im also running A/C as well with the condensor mounted in front

im not sure if you have come up with any ideas for the evap setup yet but i was thinking of going with one from this mob

they make a smaller model as this one is designed for big station wagons

the good part is the units have a heater core built in as well.
i was planning on fitting in behind the Lbug dash and ducting some face vents as well as the original defrost



my old rota bug had one of those fibreglass sherman valances, it made life so much easier so im planning on getting another

like these
http://www.iceac.com/vw_prod.html

http://vintageair.com/

http://www.streetrodgarage.com/vwcompleteackits-1.aspx

ok so what is everyone doing for engine cradles?
surely not all going unsupported

i plan on fitting one of craigy's kafer bars if he's still doing them but am thinking a rear hanger bar of some sort to

theres enough ancor points under an EJ block to mount something

Joel wrote:my old rota bug had one of those fibreglass sherman valances, it made life so much easier so im planning on getting another

Pictures....??? sounds interesting...

Hi Joel

The only thing to hang the Subi mounts off is the bumper area, not a very strong area.

I think I saw on German Look a mounting that tied further into the inner guard area and came down to meet the Subaru mount.

Steve

thanks Steve, i couldnt see the point in using the original subi engine mounts as there only 5mm away from the gearbox cradel so picking them up especially if i have a kafer bar seems pointless

colonel mustard wrote:

Joel wrote:my old rota bug had one of those fibreglass sherman valances, it made life so much easier so im planning on getting another

Pictures....??? sounds interesting...

nothing interesting about it i assure u

same as on Brads Oranges Lbug above

drinking woodstock while spraypainting..., no wonder my paintjobs turn out so well

Do they look stock??? I'm guessing you can make them bolt on.... Mine is munted completely after my car was rear'd so this would be a great thing to have. otherwise I have to find a donor car for a new one, as im told the aftermarket metal ones suck. so the fibreglass ones suck..... mainly how well do they line up??? I dont really care too much about having a metal piece there, mainly because no one checks if thats metal or not...

How much are these roughly.... sounds like a good idea to me... Do they come in both styles??

well the one on my black bug was fitted to it when the rotary conversion was done in 1987 and was still in pefect shape

theyre just moulded off the stock late model EFI cat style valances which have the big bulge

replacement stock ones are thinner yes but they arent that bad, there not gonna crumple if u breathe on them
u can make the metal ones bolt on as well instead of welding on

Where can i get a metal one that is already off the car?? Im thinking bolt on would be a good idea, but I have heard that alot of them just don't line up...

Hi Joel

I found some pictures of what a guy in Ireland used for EJ mounts, he's running a Porsche box so he has no bell housing mounts.

Steve

On my L bug I just removed the original valance and reused it. I just drilled out all the spot welds and it came off. I even did it after the car was painted and didn't wreck anything. Then I just bolted it back on.

On Brads Gecko we never had engine mounts fitted on the engine it's self and just rely'd on the standard vw system , although the gecko did have rear frame horn supports , which with your kafer bar is going to be more than strong enough

yea i thought that may be the case cheers Andrew

Steve thats an interesting method, simple but effective

i may do something similar to my black bug
granted a rotary is lighter than an EJ but all it had for 13 years was a berg style front mount and the forks beefed up with sqaure box section

Hi Joel

This the Irish guys site where got the pictures from of the EJ mounts. http://www.veewrx.com/

Steve

Hi Steve, thanks for the link
just had a quick squiz

geez the purists would kick and scream at the one

solid rust free 54 Oval body hacked up to fit on an Lbug floorpan with strut front end and carved up to house an EJ20T
will be an awesome bug when finished

Hi Joel

No worries, looks like anything without rust would be rare in Ireland.

Struts and Subi motor, that's my kind of car.

Steve