which ej20t engine to get

Hi All, so i have been spending MANY hours researching for a conversion into a 75 bus and have come to the conclusion im going to chuck a ej20t in with the subarugears box.

Now im getting confused with the amount of different ej20's floating arond on the market. So many diferent specs with diferent outputs, SOHC , DOHC bahh nightmare.

SO just curious on what other peoples opinions are on which one i should get.

i know the JDM jap ones have the most hp but are these engines good for AUS considering they have higher octane etc in jap.
or is it prob just best getting an AUS spec one. Then theres the SOHC or DOHC?

Anyone have a good idea of which engine i should be chasing down.

Also the JDM ones seam to be a fair chunk more expensive so is it really worth going down that track.

thanks in advance 🙂

i was building my engine bay around a ej20tt 206kw quad cam.
If its a every day driver, i have to say all the 20 odd vacume pressure hoses to run the twin scroll is not worth it. And over time in a confined engine bay they will prob just rub and get pin holes and motor would run like a dag.
Sohc is a better fit into the engine bay (best to get yourr hands on a short block motor) have a look at joels stuff. He has some good pointers. Dohc you gget a little more hp from, and have to widen the back of the engine bay..
But im not one to go oof as im still got a hell of a lot learning to do myself.
(2.5L n/a would have about 125kw with least mods, yet 2L forced may be worth your efforts if your hp hungry)

If it's the Kombi in your avatar I know it very well.
Really good mate of mine did the ground up on it from a burned out wreck in found in a tow truck drivers back yard.

He loves subi conversions but it would probably break his heart to know as that was one of the straightest busses in the country but you get that.


You don't have to stress much about room, the type 4 engine bays fit the DOHC engines quite neatly I'm fairly sure with no cutting.

SOHC turbo engines don't exist, only in US for a few years in the early 90s and they are very rare.

main PITA with turbo engines in Kombis is the turbo placement cos of the fuel tank but there's way around it, easiest being turbo relocation.

i started with an EJ22 and it was great but was curious about turbos so stuck an EJ20T in and it is great too but for what i use my kombi for i miss the instant torque of the N/a engine so now i like what Joel has done...EJ25 with EJ22 heads...

keeping my eyes open for the EJ25😎

Hi Joel, yep thats the one. gee you have a good eye to pick it from the advatar, thats a small pic. Someone on the kombi club put pics up and said it was sale a few years ago when i was looking around for a kombi to buy. I had been looking for a while and wasnt having much luck finding a decent one.
then i drove down from QLD to have a look at this one and knew straight away this was the one to get 🙂 like you said, incredibly straight.

I have since had a few engine issues tho and with a mate of mine spending a fortune on rebuilding his a couple of times now over the years im thinking a subaru conversion is lookin more desirable. plus cant complain about some extra power.

However i will not be chopping bits and customising stuff too much, i want it to keep as much of its original appearance as possible. Im going with the relocating the turbo rather then moving the tank 🙂
He'd be glad to know this bus is still in top condition and very well looked after 🙂 i spent 4 hours detailing it yesterday actually 🙂

nitronugget wrote:Hi Joel, yep thats the one. gee you have a good eye to pick it from the advatar, thats a small pic. Someone on the kombi club put pics up and said it was sale a few years ago when i was looking around for a kombi to buy. I had been looking for a while and wasnt having much luck finding a decent one.
then i drove down from QLD to have a look at this one and knew straight away this was the one to get 🙂 like you said, incredibly straight.

That would have been me 😉

The rims, side strips and chrome bumpers gave it away.


I hear you about the stock type 4 motors eating a hole in your wallet.
They are VWs best air cooled engine but when you have to start spending money on them it's bye bye left kidney and first born.

oh well thanks for posting this car for sale im cheering i got this one cos there were heaps at the time with fresh paint jobs that ppl were trying to sell expensive but u could see they had just painted right over rust etc. but this one.... straight as and everyone comments on it. i cant go to the servo without someone pulling me up saying how good nic its in.

yep vw engine is killing my funds... and i do alot of highway driving to work and this is costing me over $100 a week in fuel 🙁

Nitronugget have a look at the Subarugears facebook page, quite a few Kombi builds, turbo and non-turbo pictures shared there. Will give you some ideas of what/how different motors and turbo locations fit into Kombis.

nitronugget wrote:yep vw engine is killing my funds... and i do alot of highway driving to work and this is costing me over $100 a week in fuel 🙁

That's where they really shine.

Mine has triple the power of my original engine but is actually better on fuel both around town and on the motorway 🤪