Alternative power-plants and transplants (GTi, Porsche, Subaru, Audi, diesel etc). Discussion and Q&A last answered over 2 years ago.
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asahartz wrote:
My eventual choke solution is a bit bizzarre though it works after a fashion. The longest bike cable I could get reaches from the engine to the cupboard under the sink, where I have a strange fabricated link bracket to join it to an old car choke cable which is mounted under the seat! A stiff pull but it does the job.
go to a lawnmower repair place, they have the choke/throttle cable on a roll and will put any nipple you like on the end
Asaharts, just checked the thread and see your back!, the van i mentioned in my previous post now sits on our drive, not sure what adapter is used, but looks quite a tidy cast aluminium part, that along with the overall condition of the van clinched the deal, as i had priced the parts from kennedys, which was out of my reach! Anyway, i see you have modified your water pump, a job i need to look into, i take it you are running a remote electric water pump now, any problems with that? Did you source the alternator mount, as this is another thing i need to change. At present the water pump / alternator set up is hanging out the back of the van, very nice!!
I have looked at turning the gearbox mount on the chassis round and shortening the gear linkage a similar amount to move the whole lot into the van more, looks like i will save nearly 2 inches out back, but the drive shafts will obviously be slightly out of square, any views on this.
The van also has an lpg kit fitted, another reason to buy it, but its got the biggest tank i have ever seen inside the van, this is another job i need to look into, find a smaller tank and build a rock and roll bed over it.
Mine is running a 4 speed and some large rear tyres, the previous owner put the tyres on to raise the gearing, any ideas on prices to rebuild a box to suit, as i would like to see the van lowered on similar size tyres front and back.
My adapter is formed & welded steel; very heavy-duty! very neat though. The clutch release arm is welded through this- the clutch plate seems to be a rover type with a spigot adapter welded in.
The water pump came with the pulley flange cut off; it looks as though a bolt has been inserted to stop it turning. I haven't had that part off. So the electric pump does the job. It has an electronic thermostatic controller which has a sensor inserted into the thermostat housing. No problems, though it doesn't look very powerful - replacements are very pricey!
The alternator bracket came into the deal. It's a custom fabrication by the looks of of it, but it's strong & neat. Obviously there's not much that can be done to move it further back; it has to align with the crank pulley, but by keeping it low, it means that the sticky-out bits are at the same level, so just the bit behind the bumper sticks out. The bumper mounts are extended by about 3" anyway, with the bumper ends angled in. A towing bracket provides the strength.
I understand from the V8 forum that the later Efi engines are shorter, with no need for the dizzy drive on the front cover. My early P6 is shorter than the Sd1 but only due to the water pump design. I suspect some clever work with the Efi cover could squeeze one into a stock engine bay.
I'm not sure about the effects of having the driveshafts horizontally shifted; they're designed to shift vertically anyway, and with a CV joint on each end they will still work. I suppose the worst case would be accelerated CV wear.
I guess that putting the gas tank into the bed base is a good idea, though i like that space available when I'm camping. I don't have LPG but I wondered about using twin underfloor torpedoes like some 4x4s have?
The van that my conversion came from was running large 4x4 wheels & raised suspension - mine's on standard wheels (which make the engine performance even more surprising to the unsuspecting car driver!) and lowered springs - perhaps too low at the back; there's not much clearance, and the spring coils are pretty close.
I haven't had a 'box priced specifically, but from Aidan's website I gather it would be in the region of £750. That's cash I don't have at present - as I drive my Minis every day and the camper once in a while, the Minis take precedence. Maybe a couple of years into the future...
