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Sun Feb 27, 2011 3:11 am

Whats the best watercooled engine conversion, or should i say easiest?

Sun Feb 27, 2011 3:32 am

uh oh mob rage in 3........2........1

To answer the question what do u want from it?
if you want easy stay VW powered.

Rotary and Subaru conversions are the most common the old carbed ea81 or ea82 subis are easy to fit but for what you're getting with them be better off staying vw power.

Sun Feb 27, 2011 8:23 am

I've done alot of reading on this matter, and asked alot of people experienced in engine swaps (not just VW swaps) and if you want easy, fast, reliable, and easy to fix WHEN (not if) things break or wear out..... STAY VW!!!! Yes swaps are cool and attract alot of attention at car shows, but dollar for dollar, the ACVW engine is still the best way to go. Oh, and you already have one!!!! If its worn, rebuild it. If its damaged replace it. But in my biased opinon... Keep your boxer!

-Nick-

Sun Feb 27, 2011 8:42 am

V8 SWAP! MUAHAHAHAHAHA!

oh wait, easiest...

Sun Feb 27, 2011 8:48 am

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Sun Feb 27, 2011 8:52 am

Joel wrote: uh oh mob rage in 3........2........1.

Sun Feb 27, 2011 9:22 am

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Sun Feb 27, 2011 9:32 am

They made twenty million of the shitboxes... stick what ya want in there,its your car.Saw a nice conversion of a baywindow bus,toyota 20R...it all fit under the sheet metal,cept the radiator which was mounted on the front.On bugs they tend to hang out the back like a turd unless you get all nutty going mid engine.Biggest problem isnt mechanical,its following through and completing the engine swap.lotta cats cut them up and loose interest.

Sun Feb 27, 2011 9:51 am

ok ok ok yes i know keep it vw but it's my past experience with aircooleds that makes me want to go watercooled, bit of go and not always sitting on the side of the road waiting for recovery.
It's a 1200 unit i have now single port oh and siezed solid, rebuild??????? was thinking rebuild to a 1300 twin port????

Sun Feb 27, 2011 12:45 pm

nbuscemi wrote: but dollar for dollar, the ACVW engine is still the best way to go.
-Nick-

Sorry Nick but that statements false unless you're a cheque book racer.

My subi conversion cost me less than the rebuild of a standard 1600 vw motor yet I've ended up with a fuel injected 150hp engine that will last for 300k, gets 35mpg and only costs $500 to replace from any junkyard should anything happen to it.
It isn;t a lumpy highmaintaince cantankerous thing to drive like a hot vw motor either, just smooth like any other modern car.

As I said in the first post If your looking for cheap and easy stay VW, but for people who want good value, cheap, reliable HP but don't mind a bit of work then the Subaru boxer becomes a good option.

As much as I love it I dont like seeing them in early cars and I hate when people hack up cars to do bastardised ugly half assed conversions, thats what gives conversions a bad name.

No one can even pick mine till the engine lids open.

Johnnyboy, I wasn't trying to poopoo your idea, just saying it's not an easy option, getting a cooling system that works well in all conditions takes a fair bit of thought and care but the results are well worth while.
I know my bug will still be on the road when all the whingey purists have run out of quality engine parts :lol:

Sun Feb 27, 2011 1:31 pm

I spent a lot of time researching the topic. I think rotaries are the "easiest", they require no clearancing of the engine bay. SOHC suby motors only require a little clearancing, while the DOHC motors require lots. I think which one you want to swap depends on which motor your more comfortable, some people like the suby motors, some people like the rotaries. They're both going to present the same problems.

Sun Feb 27, 2011 2:30 pm

I'm going 13bt next year a 200hp motor for 1200 bucks in way cheaper than building a aircooled to make that power and thats just the stock for the 13bt able to get in the 400hp area

Sun Feb 27, 2011 2:42 pm

Joel wrote: nbuscemi wrote: but dollar for dollar, the ACVW engine is still the best way to go.
-Nick-

Sorry Nick but that statements false unless you're a cheque book racer.

My subi conversion cost me less than the rebuild of a standard 1600 vw motor yet I've ended up with a fuel injected 150hp engine that will last for 300k, gets 35mpg and only costs $500 to replace from any junkyard should anything happen to it.
It isn;t a lumpy highmaintaince cantankerous thing to drive like a hot vw motor either, just smooth like any other modern car.

As I said in the first post If your looking for cheap and easy stay VW, but for people who want good value, cheap, reliable HP but don't mind a bit of work then the Subaru boxer becomes a good option.

As much as I love it I dont like seeing them in early cars and I hate when people hack up cars to do bastardised ugly half assed conversions, thats what gives conversions a bad name.

No one can even pick mine till the engine lids open.

Johnnyboy, I wasn't trying to poopoo your idea, just saying it's not an easy option, getting a cooling system that works well in all conditions takes a fair bit of thought and care but the results are well worth while.
I know my bug will still be on the road when all the whingey purists have run out of quality engine parts :lol:

Well the OP did mention "Easiest"... which lends me to believe he is not interested in going the whole nine-yards on a proper swap. I don't understand why someone would buy an aircooled car just to convert it to water cooled..... go buy a MK2 GTi and through a 1.8T in it, now thats a swap that makes sense! Me, personally... not a big fan of VW cars becuase of thier looks, but for the motor they came with! Volkswagen is really the only car maker that had sucess with aircooled engines! Ferry Porsche designed the damn thing himself... throughing a Jap made engine in your VW seems to spit on the heritege (sp) that Volkswagens such a great car. Just my $.02

-Nick-

Sun Feb 27, 2011 5:45 pm

If you take your time and use the right parts you will end up with an air cooled engine that will last a long time. If you want the water pumper then go for it. However, you have a great resource in this site to keep the original engine going for a long time.

Sun Feb 27, 2011 7:28 pm

nbuscemi wrote:
Well the OP did mention "Easiest"... which lends me to believe he is not interested in going the whole nine-yards on a proper swap. I don't understand why someone would buy an aircooled car just to convert it to water cooled..... go buy a MK2 GTi and through a 1.8T in it, now thats a swap that makes sense! Me, personally... not a big fan of VW cars becuase of thier looks, but for the motor they came with! Volkswagen is really the only car maker that had sucess with aircooled engines! Ferry Porsche designed the damn thing himself... throughing a Jap made engine in your VW seems to spit on the heritege (sp) that Volkswagens such a great car. Just my $.02

-Nick-

Different strokes for different folks.

There are people out there with limited mechanical abilities so the simplicity of the aircooled vw engine suits their needs.

But then there are also many others who want a classic car for the car not the engine.
Not some common as arseholes car like a watercooled mk2 GTI but has the performance, economy and lifespan of a modern car.

Thats were engine conversions shine, ask the 1000s of members on VWKD, aussieveedubbers, shoptalk forums etc that enjoy using their vw daily with no hassles because of the swap.

I do anywhere from 30 to 50k a year between my cars and like to use my vw as much as possible but its not viable to have to rebuild a vw engine every few years with inferior quality parts cos thats all thats availble.

I kept my bugs VW powered for 15 years, but after 6 vw engines I just wanna enjoy daily driving my bug with no fuss now, and I got that.

Mon Feb 28, 2011 12:01 am

Different strokes for different folks.

There are people out there with limited mechanical abilities so the simplicity of the aircooled vw engine suits their needs.

But then there are also many others who want a classic car for the car not the engine.
Not some common as arseholes car like a watercooled mk2 GTI but has the performance, economy and lifespan of a modern car.

Thats were engine conversions shine, ask the 1000s of members on VWKD, aussieveedubbers, shoptalk forums etc that enjoy using their vw daily with no hassles because of the swap.

I do anywhere from 30 to 50k a year between my cars and like to use my vw as much as possible but its not viable to have to rebuild a vw engine every few years with inferior quality parts cos thats all thats availble.

I kept my bugs VW powered for 15 years, but after 6 vw engines I just wanna enjoy daily driving my bug with no fuss now, and I got that.

Yep you've hit my point there joel i dont want to be rebuilding every few years, i loved my type 3 but was constantly off the road for repairs.
Love the look of bugs and the community that comes with it, so keep the looks (even if i'm considering volksrodding it) just IMPROVE the drive ability. Plus it's an interesting engineering challenge. Scooby it is.

Mon Feb 28, 2011 1:06 am

There's a wealth of info out there from people that have already been through the conversion and tried stuff out like the classic failed radiator in the back idea.

You'll get alot more love with dedicated watercooled engine conversion forums

http://www.vwkd.com/bb/

http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewforum.php?fid=59

http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewforum.php?f=19&sid=d3121d32b26a1bddd64caf3415decc50

Mon Feb 28, 2011 12:30 pm

I have perhaps the only Beetle (1970) with a Saab (Ford) V4 motor. I also have a radiator in the back which isn't working well enough so this spring we are going to move it to the spare tire bay in the front. Since there is already a heater core up front we will have the added benefit of real good heat when its needed. I need to find a good idea of air intakes for the front to feed that radiator (with an electric fan as well).
Anyone know of any good looking mods on other VWs for air intakes?

Mon Feb 28, 2011 2:03 pm

Interesting topic. I always thought conversions ended up being big ass motors hanging out cut up backs. Didn't know I could get cheap Subaru engines that fit, delivered performance and reliability, and gave the fuel efficiency I was looking for.
The Samba's funny. It's always after I drop a couple thousand dollars do I start seeing the answers to questions I ask that I want to see.

Mon Feb 28, 2011 3:42 pm

BigAlVB wrote: I need to find a good idea of air intakes for the front to feed that radiator (with an electric fan as well).
Anyone know of any good looking mods on other VWs for air intakes?

Heres what I put in my 70 beetle.
Aluminium mesh glued in behind.
Once a bumper is on it doesn't stand out that much.

If you paint it the colour of the car it's almost an invisible install.

These are about the only pics I have without my Kamei spoiler on.