this is my second baby hope you like them

Lucky man. Oettinger 6. I want that.

Welcome to the forum and that is a very nice bus you have there.

Yogie

X3

I would LOVE One of those

This is cool - never heard of them before - what's the engine ?

I believe VW did the research and prototyping but decided to not go ahead with production and sold the castings to Oettinger, essentially a 2.1 wasser with 2 extra cylinders. We used to see a block at Valla and one bus with one in it.

Nice

Thanks guys
Your nearly right vw commisioned oettinger to build the engine mine is a 3.2 low compression (150 bhpish) coupled to a 5 speed manual box which is limited slip diff and has had a taller 5th gear added by oettinger for autobahn crusing it used all the standard 2.1 dj pisons pots rods ect appart from all the 6 stuff. They also did a high compression unit (180bhpish) which was only available with a autobox and then they produced a 3.7ltr which didnt have any 2.1 engine parts in common at all everything was oettinger special.
Mine came from berlin was purchased on fleebay and duly became mine after a search for a new motor for my "16 syncro doka sadly now gone and kept this one although the crank endfloat was enough to start flycutting the engine case behind the flywheel! therefore i rebuilt the engine myself after locating a few spares in germany from the guy that bought all the factory spares.
I dont know how many there are but apparently less than 400 were made in the 80s and they cost in the region of £80,000 pounds although vw funded the development they decided not to run production although the king of spain owned one and an english viscount they were they only people carriers available with grunt! mine is one of two in the uk the other now runs a scooby engine and i love her i should probably say i did my apprenticeship at a vw main dealer but even so these are not for the faint hearted but shes wonderful to drive glad you like her

heres what she looks like on the inside

Awesome pics. Thanks for sharing them. The case and crank are just sweet. Do you have any more pics of the cylinder heads?

Absolute gold and such a unique vehicle. Thanks a bunch for the history lesson and photos !

That is stunning... Love it. Any for sale, let me know

I think i need to steal this.......(did i say that out loud??) Love it!!

Hi I am curious to why you did a tear down on this engine.....the 6cyl are known for wearing out cam shafts...actually snapping them. Have you had difficulty buying parts ? I know oettinger had some spares left over but not too much.....I understand only 180 were produced and a majority went to south africa[info from the horses mouth] we have a 3.7 with auto box and modified audi 200T clutches etc etc.The build quality is outstanding on these engines as we have experienced next to no issues...touch wood. The torque and sound throws everybody off....the 6 cylinder buzz is so porsche like. Thanks for sharing the photograph and hope you get this back in were it belongs....behind a T3 cheers steve

Well firstly its a pleasure to meet a fellow owner.
secondly "horses mouth"?
Finally shes back on the road again went on hols to france last year and it was very enjoyable returning 25mpg fully laden bikes kids etc.

Now there were so many oil leaks and the exhaust was bad and had to be removed and the studs snapped of so removal was the logical answer.
Whilst examining the crank seal oil leak it became apparent there was more to it the flywheel was flycutting the back of the case even though the
oil pressure was fine so that meant a total strip down and thats when i found no1 main was installed incorrectly from the factory the pin hadnt lined up
with the locating hole properly and this in turn meant the dowel hole in the engine case had elongated itself into an oval shape which i deemed
repairable but as a chap on ebay called kiriakos had bought all oettingers stock including cases cranks rocker covers gaskets etc a deal was done and
all the bits i required were purchase replacing all the stock items from vw.

Lets have a look at your then hows the auto box? what bhp is the 3.7? where did you get yours from? how long have you had it?

this is how she came to me cheers Dan

Hi Dan I can see why the engine was pulled down....any damage to the crankcase?..I was the Oettinger importer into Australia for many years and had the pleasure of visiting Oettinger HQ a number of times...of course the wbx6 was talked about on several occassions. To my knowledge this is the only 6 cyl in our country and is fitted to a dual cab pickup. There are several 2.5 conversions in our country also,you are right in saying expensive when these engines were new....29k aus back in the day was half the price of a top range T3 cravelle. The combo with the auto box is used to tow a rather big boat my fatehr owns, this is the sort of family jewel which I see staying with us for some time...too much history to let go . cheers steve ps any chance of sharing the contact for the rebuild parts.

Fantastic !
would yours be metallic green in colour?
and of course his ebay id number is kiriakos1511 i dont know if he has anything left now though!
Dan

Hi, and congratulations for finding one of these rare wbx6 beasts

I stumbled upon this fairly recent thread while googling, so I decided I`d register as I have had the 3.7 stroker version since December 1988. Many miles and smiles, thus, but obviously some grief, too.

As for the engine. Some 700 were made according to the German old-timer mag "Motor Klassik", but the files are not absolutely reliable because the old master, Gerhard Oettinger, sold his company in 1991 and the new owners probably assembled some more from parts in their inventory. Your T3200E/6 "N" with 140 hp (DIN) and a catalytic converter was probably the most popular because it could be used in the 4WD and manual gearbox models, and didn`t require the brake upgrade. The original version (from 1986) was the T3200E/6 "S" with 165hp (DIN) and VW`s strengthened "NL"-code slushbox (Audi 200 Turbo internals), and a stroker T3700E/6 was offered from 1987 on, 180hp (DIN) with a catalytic converter and the NL automatic. The more furious versions required Oettingers OE 4S disc-brake set (fronts vented, rears solid), suspension upgrades, and the 85 litre fuel tank (plus instruments, body cladding etc.). Oettinger had their own foundry MOTOGEMA which made the cast engine parts. The disc brake set was developed out-of-shop by specialists. I have no idea who supplied the cam- and crankshaft. I`ve got a Yahoo (Germany) group called "powerbusse" which doesn`t have much traffic anymore, but you`ll find some documents in the photo files which could be of help. Oettinger has no parts anymore for their flat six, I think I snatched the last NL transmission a few years back, but they have tried to help me several times. My total wbx6-mileage is about 240.000kms now (I still use it almost as a daily driver) so the engine is actually very good... when taken proper care of.

There have been a few problems, amazingly similar to yours. A metal part had lodged itself between the crankcase halves when being assembled at Friedrichsdorf, which unseated a crankshaft bearing. Also, the camshaft had seemingly been installed with no lubrication at all, so it wore down the instant the engine was fired up. I was alarmed to a problem when metal was found at the first oil change, but the engine actually ran well to around 140K kms when it was taken apart. A crankshaft end bearing was constructed (I have no drawings or photos, and the specialist guy isn`t around anymore to ask) because the crankshaft had developed so much play that the driveplate hit the casing. The 3.7 has longer connecting rods (from the 412 VW, I believe) the big-end screws of which had been rather adventurously machined down and were on the verge of giving up - a new set of made-to-measure race-grade connecting rods were made by CARRIILLO CAMS. I asked a few years back but they sadly didn`t keep records - excellent workmanship, any wbx6 owner probably wants a set of those (they`re pricey - but then again, so is a terminal engine blow-up). There were some other glitches with the accessories, which probably are more specific to the 3.7, e.g. a hopelessly inadequate VW fuel pump which was unable to build up enough pressure in the FI system (and since you also have the fuel filler by the right front wheel, it may leak moisture into the big 85 litre tank - if you have it - so the fuel filter will need to be replaced at times), but I won`t bore you and I am no specialist mechanic, anyway.

So why am I still smiling? The 3.7 is spot-on for the bus (mine is the heavy Carat version), mostly just burbles along at below 3.000rpm, and is properly fierce when you need to pass on a two-laner. The old four was totally overburdened even with a light load, while at about 80kph the six kicks down into 2nd into the engine`s peak torque range. I believe the 3.2 "S" had similar passing performance than an european 2.8 Ford Granada, and the 3.7 is slightly stronger still. It also uses a lot less fuel than the original 2.1 four, about 1,5-2 litres/100km in mixed daily driving - but you certainly need that 85 litre tank when pushing the bus on Autobahns (to the tune of about 300kms per tank filling). Even the "N" should be very nice, and it is probably a lot less troublesome than the tweaked versions. I`d say the whole idea with the six is to make the bus into an easy grand tourer with decent power reserve, rather than a sports car in sheep`s clothing (it is one of the priceless wbx6 moments when, on an Autobahn, the driver ahead starts to look into his rear view mirror at 160kph...). So, the wbx6 is somewhat expensive in it`s upkeep, yes, but quite rewarding - and to be honest, with the bugs worked out, less troublesome than many e.g. newer french cars.

Some photos maybe later, once I`ve figured out how to add them

You learn something new every day!! Thanks for sharing!!

That Oettinger Okrasa logo just tops it. Killer!

its a pleasure to make your aquaintance wbx6guy thats great info you must have owned one for quite some time from new?
Where are you? im in the uk. i upload to photobucket then copy and paste the IMG code at the bottom (the url) you can check on preview to see if it worked.
I feel like the luckiest vw owner in the world.

So anyway i wanted to say a massive thankyou to Scott Pitcher who i recently bought some front fogs from on this forum which have crossed the world and are now operational apart from a few minor adjustments please ignore the crack in the o/s light some oem hella stickers should cover up the repair and i might even yellow tint all the lights aswell for the" euro look" please dont ask about the butchery involved in fitting it was very upsetting however justifiable

Thanks wbx6dan, and so nice to see a wbx6 in good hands!

Yes, I`ve had mine here in Finland for a long time now. The car itself is a 1986 Caravelle Carat, the heavy (almost 2 metric tons) 6-seater. I bought it in early 1987 with the wbx6 conversion in mind and, once the paperwork was done, ferried it to Oettinger`s factory near Frankfurt/Main in late 1988 for the job. My choice was the 3.7 which has quite a lot more torque than the 3.2 "S", but as was said in this thread the 3.2 "N" is probably the easiest of the sixes to keep running long-term, and the most balanced combo. The bus gets a bit thirsty and uncomfortable at beyond 150kph, and you wouldn`t want to try out its top speed on a gusty day.

Here`s a fairly recent photo from July 2011, and an older photo of the engine. The bus was repainted in 2006 and again in August 2012 to get rid of those typical rusty seams. I`ve kept it just about original (even have a heap of the original unused Oettinger decals stored, kept it as a bit of a "Q-ship") because I`ll try to get it registered as a "historic" car in a few years time.

wow thats a good looking bus
mine is or should i say was a carat too but i have removed the interior and have stasched it in the loft as i have fitted a westfalia multivan interior as i have two young kids and we have now used her lots for weekends away when the sun eventually comes out! we took her to france to the vendee for 2 weeks last year and its such a pleasure to drive and be competitive on the road rather than holding up all the traffic and 25 mpg its all good.
i have just bought a spare ecu from a chap in finland who has a wbx6 (no engine) and is currently swapping bits, gearbox etc with another van as it was not registered there i have his email if you fancied contacting him pm me yours and we can stay in touch rather than doing our dirty washing on here.
I did have a look at the yahoo page and tried to sign in with face book but no joy could you invite me to be a member?
I also have to ask how much was it to convert?
How many other vans do you know of?

Thanks!

Seems that one has to have posted at least 5 times before being allowed to send PMs... so, this and 2 more comments and you`ll get my data + the invitation, unless you would like to contact me first?

There was/is a longer concept for a reply to your questions, a bit philosophical perhaps, but I think I`ll hone it a bit more or maybe save it for a PM.

pm sent

PM well recieved, and an invitation to the Yahoo group sent (includes my email). Still 1 forum post (after this one) short of being able to reply to PMs.

Ah, I feel a bit silly, but to fill my 5 messages I`d like to share a great 9:30 minute vid on youtube of a Claer CT3 Porsche-bus doing a hot and really textbook lap on the Nürburgring. It starts when the CT3 and the camera car (a Porsche Boxster?) leave the paddock to enter the Ring, rather loud Porsche wail, so you should perhaps adjust the volume to about 50% or less.

The bus is one of 50 so far done by Claer Auromobile GmbH of Germany with air- or liquid cooled Porsche engines. Claer also changes the current T5 radically, cuts up the body and fits a whole Porsche drivetrain, with 720hp, and their former T4 reached a top speed of over 270kph at the Nardo track some years ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQI4z1TBGY4 

ahh film porn !
I do remember an article on a t25 claer bus that was fitted out with recaro buckets seats from a few years back could this be the same one?
It handled superbly i keep thinking i should polybush my front end especially the steering rack as she wallows a little due to 1980's soft rubber.
Claer are very well respected in the porsche world and now we see why
thanks for sharing ps did my pm say .com which it should as no email yet Dan