Reasons to use non VW engines

The choice to select auto power plant, over the coriginal type, should not be taken lightly. It is not as simple as: "I WANT TO SAVE SOME MONEY" If this was my reason then I would not have started the project. My choice of an alternative to VW power results from:

Desire for a newer technology,
Belief that there is an alternative solution to Porsche and Corvair
Exercising the experimental desires of the individual,
Belief that by reducing maintenance costs, the likelihood of completing a more thorough maintenance programme is probable, thus improving the inherent reliability,
Belief that there is an engine that does not have to be molly coddled to keep it alive whilst in operation,
A more fuel efficient engine for the power obtained is out there enabling more driving hours, or more speed, for the same operating cost.

Why have a non vw engine conversion?

because "I WANT TO SAVE SOME MONEY" simple, & I did & I have. CT & I worked out that once we got to about 100+hp @ the wheels with our VW engines, it was costing $100 for about 1 hp @ the wheels extra. thats when I decided to put the brakes on the vw engine.

i sold my vw engine , did my conversion & made $3200 profit.

Even if I take into account the wrx engine rebuild later on, I still made $900.

So yes, I did my conversion to save some money, & I was building my own vw engines so was spending half of what most guys spend.

regards


Jak

This is and old door opening to new comments

Jakos project deffently shows u that u can do it on a very small budget.....subie conversion! with plenty hps on tap

What would it cost for somone who does not work on their car for whatever reason to have a non VW engine transplanted?
$8000, $10000?
Following Joels thread on his Subi conversion there is a far amount of custom tinkering involved with the swap. The labour cost would be quite high if paying a pro workshop to carry out the work.
To spend $10000 on a $3000 Beetle would probably seem outrageous for most in this position?

It makes total sense if you have the skill or the desire and access to tools to do the conversion. A better engine makes total sense. For the rest of us it is just a dream.
I would use a non Vw engine in a heartbeat.

To pay a shop to build and install a 200HP VW motor into your car would be very expensive and probably quite unreliable too.

I did it to learn about modern engines and EFI, and I did that. I also did it as a cheaper alternative to trying to get more power from a VW motor (like Jak, I had a ~100HP VW motor already and getting more power was costly). I also wanted something reliable and nice to drive, the V6 is that. I was sick of fiddling with the webers on the 1916 whenever they got a bit of dirt in the idle jets or didn't want to work for some other odd reason.

I was actually planning on building my own twin supercharged type 4 motor for my Baja. I had two type 4 motors stripped down and ready to go. But then I priced VW stuff. To rebuild the type 4 to stock was going to cost more than the V6 conversion.

Regardless of engine, it was still born a vw, and nuffin will ever change that. Soif it keeps the V8 egotistic macho boys at bay and the teenie bopper in his 90's body kited lancer or excel in the dust then you get every salute and pat on the back from me

as already said its a much cheaper alternative if you can do it yourself

as soon as i sell my 1776 even buying a second engine ill probably still be infront

excluding the cost of the second engine my entire conversion on the road and engineered cost less than a stock 1600 rebuild

and if i had of modified the sump and loom myself theres nearly another $900 i could have saved, but i still wouldnt go that way for the sake of saving $900, it was so worth it

Pros:
the engines are everywhere, every wrecker in aus would almost have an EJ of some description
its fit with no body mods other than the valance being made removable
its nearly triple the power of a 1600
gets better fuel economy
is 100x smoother
and will have 2-3x the lifespan of a vw engine
and that sexy note

con:
had to cut the front for a radiator but i've done it in a manner that will take me about half an hour with a welder to reverse
...that is all....

theres another downside joel...i had reason to come down to murwillumbah today and to make the drive home interesting i went home via chillingham and numinbah valley. I'm sure you know the road from chillingham up to the border gate and you know it was raining today...heheh...in second going up the steep part just to take it easy in the rain but the boost kept braking traction if i eased the foot too far down....bugga! my old 1800 engine didn't have that problem!

I just thought it would be a good discussion point.

I believe the engine wins the race, not the car body. So If a Subaru engined VW can beat a Ricer or Commondore at the drags, then it is a Subaru win. There are some perspectives that have to be kept.

Yep i sold my old subi powered bay to help with the deposit on the house,
really miss the smooth power on tap, so im about to do something the purists will hate! and convert el concreto our single cab split to ej22 power.
thinking rad in the tresure chest with most of the air coming from the orig double skinned roof air intakes.
once again any mod i do could be undone in a weekend.

for some of us peter it is not a race...in my case its getting the maximum enjoyment out of my kombi. I'm not a drag racer...never hard on the clutch but just enjoy all the benefits of a kombi camper which is far from slow

Oh I totally understand that it is not a race. I was just letting people know my opinion on race win brand feelings.

I still remember the sweet 1800 we had in the bus when it was running clean and pure, and at 100kph it had an almost hypnotic sound that you had to relax and enjoy.

What sort of economy can you expect from a subi in a bus Hellbus? Mitchell

Economy is around 11litre/100km around town and 10l/100km country. Not much more economy fuel wise than the well tuned 1800.

i would say Mick's conversion cost a heap more than the $8-10k to get it looking half as good as a well dressed simple VW motor.......................so perhaps it's a false economy if you want to keep your engine bay looking showy/neat?

Jak.........would that be the going rate for coversion for us other Tom, Dick and Harry's..........or was it another
"contact" thing to be so cheap?

i also think in the case of a breakdown/fault, it takes professional diagnosis to even find out what's gone wrong..........i know a new coil for the missus impreza was $400, so spares aren't that cheap

comparing apples for apples..........a NEW VW engine v EJ crate motor complete would be interesting (with out the HP factoring involved)

i don't care either way and am lucky enough to use both set ups..........that's when the subie powered one isn't playing up at least

I'm not against changing the vee dub donk change out, what ever makes u happy. but i will say coming from a investment/collector point of veiw ( family has 6 GT falcons) if you have something special/rare i would personally not make massive changes like that.

I think it's a pitty people put money in aircooled engines when there are great modern engines lying in the scrapyard.
And their only "drawback" is their different cooling system.

But, to each their own, everybody should enjoy this hobby to their own likings.

I guess things like superbugs are very unloved at the moment so mixing brands doesn't matter so much.
In years to come when they become rare they may be restored to there former glory.

But fitting a subie to a splitty !

surely even a std vw engine is enough to push a splitty ute , they weigh nothing.

So which companies in which states do professional EJ22 Conversions ?

Thanks

Custom Vee Dub in QLD do a drive in drive out EJ22 conversion for busses, including all engineering and legal paperwork.

http://www.customveedub.com.au/ 

im guessing westside do bugs as they did micks bug

i forgot to add another of the main reasons i converted was i wanted to get away from carbys and setup A/C

by the time i got EFI installed and tuned on a vw engine it would be more than what ive spent on the subi conversion
and it would still only be an old vw engine with vw tendencies at the end of the day

and mounting a compressor on a vw engine espeically one with twin weber or a supercharger was just going to be a nightmare

Here may be another reason.
2335 klms Central Coast to Brissy and back. 1550kgs + loaded to the roof lining.(probably over 2000kgs with all of us in it also)

9.9Litres/100klms with 200 horsepower.

Oh and no downshifting for overtaking lanes!

I'm never selling it.

Brendan

my engine has 2457cc, 165hp stock and is lazy as all get out. It cost $4k 6 years back with ECU from a wrecker. You can't build a proper type4 with oversize pots for that money. I know coz I looked into it. So for me, like a lot of you guys, it was $$$. I still like aircooled motors. They have real advantages, but like most of you have said, real performance aircoolers cost real performance money and need real performance servicing. I don't have the time for that, so I'll stick with the suby. I have dreams of working it and that, coz I reckon it has a safe NA 300hp in it with the right cams, head work, pistons/rods and ITBs. But in reality, the engine will probably outlast me as is.

BTW, I think there is a huge difference between converting cars and buses. Cars it's about $$$, buses it's about power to weight. The only way to get a bus to reliably go hard IMHO is to put a non-VW motor in it. They just weigh so much that an aircooled 4 can't really get them moving, that's before you start adding aircon, proper alternator and wack a decent trailer on the back. If I ever buy a bay (which I'd love but the missus hates) it will get a large capacity watercooled motor. Why muck around afterall.