Hey all,

A mate is trying to go me one better on my EJ20 and has bought himself a 6cyl ER27 subaru motor for his dualcab bay. Unfortunately he has purchased only the engine, so has no ECU and only part of the loom (cut in the usual spot). I believe the engine came out in the subaru XT6 in the late 80s, though i dont think it came out in any australian vehicles -did it???.
Now we aren't too sure if we should go for an aftermarket computer or try to find another complete 1/2 cut with loom, ECU etc. If anyone knows of a reasonably priced complete cut, an available loom and control system, or of someone who has used this engine in a conversion before, Mark and I would hugely appreciate some advice.

We are also after copies of service manuals and wiring diagrams to suit the engine.

should be pretty awesome when we finally get her goin

Kombicol

I'm of the opinion that if you buy an engine that's not in a running half cut, your asking for trouble. Especially if the motor is that old.

I reckon he should sell it, and then buy an EJ33 front cut. They do seem a little expensive at the moment though.

yeah i kinda agree, i think his purchase was quite impetuous, but that is Mark. the EG33 is not a bad option at all. the cuts go for around 3-4k at the moment.
he may have to consider other options as i dont know how else we can get this thing to go.
Have only seen one EG33 used in a conversion so far and that was on the web in a vanagon in the states. talk about full engine bay! be cool to be the first person to put one in a bay-or buggy or baja!

too big to be legal in a buggy / baja, otherwise I might have went for that option. Good broad torque band.

And since they went to chain drive for the cams they made the engine quite short. Not much longer than the 4 cyl motors.


Reversing the intake may be more of a challenge though.

Again i think it is reversible, but not an issue for the dual cab as the tank is in a different spot.

Col

Try Noztune in Syd for parts or other stuff for the 6, might have some. or Brookvale Spares as they use this in their conversions I think.

that engine is from the old vortex xt (or similar) I'm not sure it they were ever sold in Australia but they were popular in the states. The main reason that they never come complete is that the ecu is in the back of the car (under the seat) so even a half cut is no help just search around for some cheap managment and slap it together...i think there's a microtech in this weeks trading post that would fit the bill $800 ish.

I would just be looking for an MTX8 Microtech, theres not a lot involved in wiring it up.
I think they are only $1200 new, and expect you could get a second hand one for about $800 or less if you're Lucky.

run it on LPG, then all he needs is an ignition only computer.

Tell your mate to forget the EG27...Based on the old 1800 engine. The engines no good compared to the later EJ25....It has less power/torque, weighs more and is getting VERY old....(read: hard to get parts). The EJ30(?) or EJ33 is a far better option...Though the SVX engine may be too long for the engine bay! I have just finished stuffing an EJ33 into a Vanagon and it is VERY tight fit. The current model H6 is only about 40mm longer than the EJ25 and produces about 165hp, whereas the EJ33 make over 240HP & 300Nm!

yes humpty is right. unless you're on an extremely tight budget or can get the er27 for free, an ej25 would be a better option, even then, you can pick up a a jap-spec ej25 very cheap, as they're in abundance in Nippon and aren't a high performance engine (ie; less demand for use in engine conversions o/s). I'd go for the single overhead cam jap spec model (165hp and nice low-down torque). Pick as late model as possible (= very low km's) and just as cheap. The H6 is a very compact engine, though i've read that one small problem is that it sounds too quiet & clinical ie; doesn;t have that traditional flat 4 thump-thump sound, however, the aftermarket exhaust you put on it would probably rectify that. Humpty, i tink u'll find though that it has around closer to 220 hp in jap-spec. Humpty, how do you think the 5 speed will hold-up under the ej33, just depends on your driving style suppose? Are you going to use something like a 3.875 r&p ratio? This taller gearing would help with all that extra torque and you will be able to fly on the freeway.

[Edited on 5-10-2003 by kombi kountry]

Cheers for your advice guys, humpty i would love to see the caravelle when it is done. I hope you will post lots of pics. Gee i thought 2800 is cheap for a svx cut F+*#!!


Mark has already bought his ER27 engine, it wasn't free but it was pretty cheap~700
and an adaptor and flywheel -not so cheap -(which incidently wont fit the EJ or EG motors), so he has a tough decision: throw good money after bad, or stop stuffin round and go EG33.
I know would do, i reckon the er27 will cost him more in the long run.

col

Kombicol....I reckon your right about the cost in the long run. And the adaptors available on the current market are made for the EJ/EG based engines only as for as I know, though KEP in the US do make one, the cost to get it here would be a killer! Shermann in QLD use to make one but the quality is a little lacking!

You can get the EG30 engine on special order through most importers but I persanlly don't think it's worth the hassle...Tell you mate to sell the ER27 and get a good low k EJ25. The later ECU is a little fussy about emission gear but it's nothing to much to sort out. That said you could alwys go aftermarket ECU.

Kombi Kountry....Kool tag! To start I'm gonna run the factory ratio's. As my bus was a turbo diesel it came with the same final drive & ratio's as the WBX 2.1. Can't remember what they are off hand!