Just thought it would be good to find out where people are/were at when they went with a Non-VW motor.

Just a request...I'd ask people to vote ONLY if they are CURRENTLY CONVERTING TO NON-VW POWER, or have CONVERTED TO NON-VW POWER AT SOMETIME IN THE PAST (this includes people who have owned converted vehicles)

I ask this so we can get a real idea from people who've have experienced the difference. No offence to everyone else dreaming of a conversion, but it will help you to see the real figures too.

Here we go...

Why did you convert?

I changed to a Scooby EJ33 {EG33 - ed}. Better looking 6 cylinder than the Holdens. Nice torque extremely smooth and great fit, all around much better than the 4 cylinder.

Why did I change? The Caravelle engine is pretty weak at best when it is full of people and gear. The scooby is a good fit, power all the way through the revs and so quiet when cruising you can hear each other speak.

{off topic comments deleted by admin, and moved to a seperate topic}

[ Edited on 2-11-2005 by Baja Wes ]

I did it because it was cheap, reliable, more power, more refined, more efficient, sounds cool.

I chose the V6 for something different, and for the challenge of doing a converion no-one had done before. Same reason I am currently doing climate control instead of simply air-con.

[ Edited on 1-11-2005 by Baja Wes ]

I started reading the conversion forums just a few weeks before my 1600cc type 1 lost all its oil in one day and killed it. Bought an EJ20 TT with the adaptor kit included in the U.S. and put a 1300cc type 1 in to get around for a few months.
What a difference when going from an old 1300cc to an EJ20TT
Still working on some small things but that's to be expected when putting in an engine from a different car.

I wanted reliable power and to keep the boxer configuration. An engine came along cheap and I jumped in!

Rich

The last engine that I built was a 2275cc with 117hp@ the wheels, it had all the gear but still standard 040 heads. I was going spend $2000 for some CNC heads from the States when I mentioned the subaru idea to Matt & Pauly, .........5 days later 3 ej20T engines were delivered to our doorsteps..............
The rest is very fast history.
No turning back now.
regards
Jak

I decided to convert because of the cost of a well built Type 4 and not a lot of hp vs a basic EJ20T. I wanted something that'll REALLY move my Ghia, and something that'll stand out too.

So far I havn't really had any terible experiances with the trusty ol' Type 1. I'm just trying to build an updated version of an old Ghia. Brakes, power, and looks... Germanlook.

[ Edited on November 01, 2005 by Mikey ]

Had thought about it for years...then when prompted by Jak, it took 10 seconds to decide.

I also liked the challenge of doing it all ourselves, when there was no one really in Sydney to copy off!

Matt

Cost effective,more hps with great torque.I made my decision years ago after building a T4(never again$$$$) Ill still like seeing a good T4 fat motor just not the cost.As far iam concern the subie boxer motor is the future for reliability with hps to burn.JVLRacing:thumb

I looked closely at doing an early 1800cc Turbo years ago, but could not get hold of an engine and it all seemed a little daunting,so I went the HI-PO VW route...never again.I had nothing but trouble with it initially and soon worked out that no VW engine was ever going to come close to the power, reliability and cost I was after.
Then Jak,Matt and myself made the decision and all of a sudden I was swiping my card for 3 x EJ20T's.....thanks Matt and Jak, racked up some points on the card too!
Now I cant wait to get mine rego'd so I can have some fun.....legally.


Cheers Paul

[ Edited on 2-11-2005 by 1303 ]

boost is so cool.....................

i had finished my spankers 1776 which put out about 100bhp - it was a nice engine which I planned to turbo - I started to price up turbo parts and all of a sudden the penny dropped. that afternoon i put the engine up for sale and bought a WRX Ej20 T with 30000 miles on it for half the price I sold the a/c for.
100 bhp for £3k
250 bhp for £1.5k with all the extras its a crazy world!!