Aircooled VW Splitscreen Bus to Subaru conversion

Which 2.5 lt NA engine is most reliable and will give the most torque.
As well as being heavier than a legacy , my bus has all the aero dynamics of a brick . The engine is now in the rear all two wheel drive . All to much when you add four or five people and some luggage .I just want to comfortably cruise at 120kph and not have to change underwear when I turn on to a steep hill.

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Hi Colm . Bit frustrated at the moment . Cant see any of my post replies or pics. Must the be checked first by modifier before they appear. Sorry for my ignorance.

Hi Keiran yes I validated your posts there
not sure why that happened :ponder2:
Let me know if happens again

Have to say that bus is beautiful
lovely colour combo
very very nice :wazzup::thumbsup:
 
Id think Fellows Speed Shop would know what to upgrade with
did they suggest upgrading to a 2.5 ?
id say best route would be get them to suggest what the best conversion / upgrade is as they are doing this regularly and would advise what way to go
The standard of work in that bus looks excellent so they clearly know there stuff :dontknow:
 
Thanks Colm. I contacted Fellows in UK and they told me that I cannot go turbo because it would twist the chassis. Petrol tank would need to be moved all lots of strenghtening of the chassie. Too much work.

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Amazing looks bus and the attention to detail in the engine bay is class . I don't think you will notice a huge differance in the ej25 over the ej20 especially for the money it will cost to get it to the same level .

What did fellows say was the Best route to go .
 
Hi Sub .
Bottom line . Turbo out of the question . Will twist chassis . Petrol tank would need to be moved and chassis rails reinforced. Too much work "expense".
First must verify that I do not have any issue with current engine.
If not he said to try the 2000 to 2004 2.5lt engine if I really feel the need to. He said I will get enough torque for what I require but the problem is that the NA EJ20 is much more bullets proof than the equivalent NA EJ25 from the same period.
I enquired about the later version of tbe 2.5 NA engine but it is more expensive not just because of less millage but also the Canbus ECU is more difficult to sort plus I will need to by an Emulator to make it work properly as well as sort the loom.
I am not ruling out the later Canbus controled 2.5s yet but from a pure economic perspective I might be better off putting in the cheapest 2.5 and hope that I get a good one . If not I will still have my current engine to put back in.
They will sourse one in the UK for me but they will not give any guarantee due to the problems they have had with that engine.
I have a few things to think about. Any
Ideas on which is the moat powerfull and reliable of the later 2.5 NA engines.

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Sub
Much of that engine detailing I will be able to swap on to the 2.5 engine

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Hi spud
I think if it was me I would go and test drive the two engines in same type vehicle say Impreza/ legacy to see do notice big difference in torque in the two n/a engines as I don’t think if you done all this work would be that much different as the very tidy engine you have against a gamble of a 2.5. maybe someone here has had both engine types that you are after and might be able to give there view on the matter I know prezmico 007 has one 2.5 n/a I am sure or see can you find them on done deal and compare the two engines with a drive
 
Hi Gary
Thats the everyday driving difference between the two engines I need. If you were in the bus with me you would see what I mean. I'm not after much more torque but the bus is just a bit under powered. Thanks for the advice.
Kieran

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Hi, cool bus - lots of attention to detail (love it).

2.5 NA is one option and maybe spend a few bob on "building" that motor to be more reliable before it goes in...

or... Here's another idea...

Do put in a 2.0 Turbo... BUT...

Get a Forester engine and setup (170bhp)...
> get a water-to-air intercooler from a Legacy (as much easier to find a place in the bus conversion for that, as do not need usual intercooler airflow for it to work).
> AND... get it mapped... with a de-tuned map to save the chassis and strengthening work usually required.
(e.g. 0.2bar boost in 1st gear, 0.3 in 2nd, 0.5 in gears 3-5 -- with a really smooth boost curve that comes in gradually).

Gives you best of both worlds - better economy than 2.5 and much better reliability... but more power than you have now, without endangering the chassis, or the currently fitted gearbox.
 
well spud i have to say the interior and exterior is beautiful what a machine ,just a side note have you considered the 3.0 flat six legacy
engine that would give you enough power and torque im not sure of fitment but if it fits the legacy i don't see why it shouldn't fit your split screen . ill pm you a phone number of a really nice guy who puts subaru engines into vw beetles very knowledgeable guy he will burn the ears off you , also the 3,0 flat six can be mapped as a famous mapper a lot of us use here informed me also as was already stated
if turbo was an option you can have your map tailored to suit you , also you really should stiffen up the chassis as it was only designed to take 40 ish horsepower a simple ladder 60x60x5 mm box frame could be fabricated up and galvanised with a few mounting lugs to bolt on to the existing chassis ill rute out that chaps ph tomorrow im a bit too drunk ill probably give you the wrong number ,,,keep us posted dude
 
Hi GTTJohn/Keadeen
It did cross my mind about the 3LT NA engine but I forgot to mention it to to Fellows guy yesterday. Will ask them if it is a reasonably easy swap with my current set up. Is the 3 liter a fairly problem free engine . Have not read up about it.
Waiting and rebuilding a 2.5 NA is also an option because my 2 liter is fine for 95% of what I ask it to do. It is a very easy job to dropout current engine and put in the 2.5 . I can then see if it improves the torque and have it rebuilt over time when I can afford to throw a few bob at it.
P.S. Thanks to all you guys for your suggestions and the kind words about the bus
 
We are all petrol head nerds Keadeen and I am also prone to sinking the Beamish followed by anything red and wet in a bottle. Send on the number when you get a chance
 
0879598313 barry is his name very very reasonable on prices ,from what I know about the 3.0 on English websites they don't give much if any trouble and they are n/a. I can't remember the figures exactly but I think they are about 250hp and a good bit of torque ,should have you doing donuts ????
 
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