I have received most of the stuff to do the conversion and will be starting this weekend.

I will start off with something simple, I have a few other things on this weekend, so I will be mounting the radiator and shroud.

The motor is a secondhand EJ22 from local '94 Subaru Liberty with 112,000 k's on the clock. I was able to get it from a wrecker for a very good price $1000 as our company bought thousands worth of panels from them each month.

It came with everything including dash loom, computer, exhaust etc.nn[ Edited on 23-7-2005 by Helbus ]

[ Edited on 23-10-2005 by Helbus ]

The rest of the modified stuff I have procured from Custom Off Road (a forum sponsor) They are pretty advanced with producing a complete kit. I have so far.
- modified wiring loom
- throttle body inverter
- exhaust system
- radiator
- shrouding kit (pretty funky unit)
- rear engine mount member
- gearbox adapter
- flywheel
- Shortened sump (a lot of work must go into these puppies)
- VSS (vehicle speed sensor)

I will be fitting the Radiator and shroud this weekend. I just have to get the cooling fan.

I will also be fitting the VSS

The components so far are well engineered and will definitley make the job a lot easier. I should have it all finished within a few weeks.

Ok today I went to a mates workshop and took out the original heater tube from under the floor, right back to the motor where the accordian tubes are. The metal tube had to be cut out.

The centre section was pretty badly rusted under the original heat blanket thing wrapped around it. There was a hole on either side you could fit your hand through, so I would be guessing I now know why the original heater wasn't real flash.

Fitted the radiator and shroud underneath and it sits down a little bit lower than the centre chassis rails. I looked all along under the bus and it is not any lower than the front beam or the rear suspension & stuff. Fitted really easily.

I will put pics up when I get a chance.

Ok today I went to a mates workshop and took out the original heater tube from under the floor, right back to the motor where the accordian tubes are. The metal tube had to be cut out.



ain't that a bitch to remove...biggest trouble for me was around the torsion bar tube...

dont forget the pics...this is a must see, from start to finish...

What made the heater tube easier to remove was the air hack saw I have. whipped that baby around the original tubes and cut the Y section above the rear torsion tube into 3 pieces and it all dropped out then, along with tons of sand????

The only problem with the motor was that the plastic covers on the cam pulleys and belt were broken on some of the edges. This was due to rough handling more than anything, I was told about this before I got it, but I was more interested in the low k's and the fact it was an Aus compliance vehicle which would mean it has been driven those k's rather than idling in Tokyo for 6 hours a day.

The only thing I didn't get was the main engine relay. Gotta get one of those.

Picked up the radiator hose yesterday. The guy freaked out when I asked for 5 metres of water suction hose for a radiator. He said, "What are you doing, putting the radiator in the back of a car?"

I sad "Nah the middle" I explained what I was doing and he was suitably impressed and wished me luck.

I am doing the conversion using Custom Off Road gear and I am going to list all of the things / items I have to purchase and do, from the nuts and bolts, to the coolant, and also how I have done any mods required.

I will be providing positive feedback to COR and it will benefit all

I will be picking up the radiator header tank and the thermo fan today. I can't get stuck into it this weekend, but my mechanic has the motor all ready with the new flywheel fitted, the VW clutch fitted and new cambelt. I also got him to remove the power steering pump off the EJ22 and fit the shorter belt.

I will get there soon.

I haven't got any pics of the radiator sitting up under the bus yed, but I have picked up the 16" thermo fan and header tank.

This setup could not possibly have any problems cooling.

The radiator and shroud setup are Custom Off Road and the radiator is as big as what you would see in any 3 litre plus large Holden or Ford.

The fan is a huuuge 16" which flows as much as three 10" fans would.

This is the header tank I got made up which will hold about 2.5 litres of water also and eliminate water locks. It looks like a spaceship and is the size of a 2litre bottle of softdrink but fatter.

The Custom Off Road cooling solution, which took 5 minutes to fit after spending about 20 minutes taking the old heater tubes out.

In the last pic you can see the front steering tie rods in the top of the picture.

The radiator cover sits higher than the original front end and the gearbox.

This picture is taken from under the back. Note: Suby motor not in yet.

I just realised you can see the diff of the EH in that last pic. The gearbox is coming out also when the conversion is done, as you can see it is leaking a bit of oil

Dead set it took 5 minutes once the heater tube was out. I already have the radiator hose. 38mm ID water suction rubber pipe.

Two wires to the plug I put on the 16" fan which sits on top and it should be pretty cool.

Took the motor and gearbox out tonight. I didi it at a mates workshop on his hoist. The hardest bit was getting the driveshafts out. I got him to leave out his 12spline bits, as I knew I would need them. They are bloody tight still, and then you have to undo 24 bolts altogether.

I took the shafts right out, because the grease was dry on the end of the first CV I undid, and yeah all four need repacking.

I did it on my own and it took about an hour and a half, including getting the box off the motor and the clutch, bellhousing and starter.

I will be getting the box looked at as it is leaking from the side seals.

1800 twin carb Motor is for sale and ready to pick up complete, see buy and sell

Okay gearbox and shafts have been dropped off and getting checked out. I hope to do the wiring this Saturday and fit new front tie rod ends while I have access to the hoist.

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I will be putting the computer, relays and wiring in the old spare wheel compartment, which has a cover over it now.

The current the fan will draw will not be an issue as the EJ22 has a higher rated alternator than the 1800 had. I would think it would be in the range of 15 or more amps.

The rear crossmember is Custom Off Road unit and I do not have pictures yet. I havent even taken a pic of the COR sump I put on the motor.

I had to cut a tack weld and tweak the clutch cable tube across to the passenger side to allow clearance for the very top bump of the fan motor.

Here is a pic of the fan on top of the radiator.

Ayyye curumba. Just got the news the 2litre box out of the bus is knackered. The pinion gear has chips in the teeth. The case threads are stripped where the clutch cable bracket bolts on, the seals, bearings and synchros are all shot too.

Gonna cost over $1000. That will be new everything.

are you gonna put a taller 4th in it at the same time for a few less revs on the freeway?

I don't think I will change the diff or top ratio. It appears to be a good combo and I am sure the torque of the EJ22 will be so good compared to the 1800 that it will be chalk and cheese anyway.

The 1800 was pulling 3000rpm at 100k's (actually I checked on speedcheck and 100 on speedo is 97kph) The 16 inch alloy rims keep it real.

The EJ 22 likes the 2L kombi gearing with 16" rims and round a 205 / 215 x 65 size tyre which gives around the same rolling diameter.

Sitting on 3000 rpm at 100 is just about spot on. We have one sitting on around 2700 at the moment and it is too high. We will be changing it back to 3000 rpm which we have found to be spot on.

Radiator questions - is the radiator mounted independently to the chasis then the shrowd mounted, or is the shroud mounted to the radiator then fitted as a single unit? Is the centre line of the radiator supported or are the mounts on the outer edges of the shroud only?

Just wondering if there is (or will be) any vertical movement of the rad, when full and hot - i cant see any centre mounts! Is the shroud steel?

The radiator screws to the shroud on the outer edges, then the fan screws to the radiator, then the underbelly cover goes on. Then the whole assembly just sits up under the bus and I used 10 self tapers to hold it on the side mount holes. You can see the self tapers on the side into the chassis in one of the pics.

It is made entirely of stainless steel so it is pretty stiff. Like a box it doesnt twist. I cannot see it being an issue with weight or falling off, unless you forgot to put more than 2 screws in it.

It is only 1.2mm stainless steel as we wanted something that would flex a little and take the force / vibrations away from the radiator.

I have almost 10 000 km on mine now and it has no issues. We have another couple running around with well over that and as yet has been no issues at all

There is no noticable deflection in the shrouds when they fill up and heat, at the temp it gets has no real bearing.

There is a small amount of vertical movemnet but since the hoses are simply rubber they move happily the small amount and thus cause no adverse stress on anything.

I am running 205/55 16 which is 634mm dia. This is very close to the 185/75 14 tyres that were 632mm dia.

The box is standard 2L as I suspected and confirmed by gearbox builder.

This tyre chart will help check sizes.

http://www.ehholden.com.au/garage/garpics/tyrechart.gif