Club 80-90 Forums

I've been having a really helpful conversation with Simon toomanytoys (T3evolution) about a rebuild of a 2.1 DJ. He has come back with some very frank and helpful comments about our decision to stick with WBX - something that seems a lot more straightforward if you live in the USA or Germany. One of the points he makes is that however good a rebuild it is, keeping it standard still means bolting on a 30 year old (and not very sophisticated) induction system - and whatever is the weakest point is what is going to fail.

Silverbullet and other cogniscenti talk about Megasqirt and other modern (and no doubt even more expensive) alternatives but I know that some have reverted to carb setups e.g. using Pierbergs on 2.1 DJ engines. I know I need to pay for a quality rebuild and don't mind doing so - but funds aren't limitless.

I happen to have a couple of quite new DRLA 36s in the loft with a hex bar linkage and this You Tube set me thinking... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDbbkE0BA4U" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Is it anyone on here? As far as I can see it looks very simple without even the idle stabilisation stuff that you get on a 2.0l air-cooled T25. I really like the idea of simplicity - especially when abroad and needing to fix stuff. If the dissy is an 009 I don't fancy that but presumably you could use a 2.1 DJ vacuum advance / retard dissy. You presumably would need to tap the manifolds for brake servo and difflock vacuum activation anyway so this wouldn't be too much more.

I remember talking to Neil (axeman) when he showed me the Volvo conversion in his DOKA and we agreed that simplicity with one power cable coming into the engine bay has a lot to be said for it.

I'd be really interested to learn what people think about this as we are wanting to get a reliable new WBX sorted in 2015.

Thanks,

Pete

I don't think I replied to a couple of bits...

Forget the 009.. waste of space..

There is a better option that I am working on..

I have a pair of 40's sitting in a box that ought to be dusted off.. LOL...

The trick is.. in the detail.. not using cheapo components and setting it up properly..

Downs side to 36's/40's........ you may not be able to resist the power and induction note.. until you stop for fuel...

And getting the gasses out is pretty important.. so a nice zorst should be part of the plan.. (also being worked on..)

"Ooh, the injection's not the latest tech - so I'll shove a pair of carbs on instead..." <scratches head>

Even old K-Jetronic mechanical injection is much higher-tech than a pair of carbs, even if it might not be fault-code-a-go-go. The kind of era of injection on the DJ is actually very simple and reliable - all you need is to wrap your head around what it gets told and what it does with it.

I thought long and hard about twin carbs but I decided against it.........I really enjoy the peaceful ride and being able to talk at a normal volume to whoever is sat in the back, the induction roar is something that I enjoy to listen to on other peoples vans, as after a couple of hours of shouting at the person sat next to you it gets rather irritating...........all the bits for the injection system are easily available and are still comparatively cheap.....my advice would be to keep it as it or invest in ear plugs to remind you of quiter times and lockets for your horse throat.

I fitted a pair of kadrons to my split, improved economy but ruined the journey.....this I didn't realise until I drove my t25 on a regular basis.

this is (as ever) my own experience and in no way infers I have any idea what im on about

mark

Thanks to Simon, Adrian and Mark for the comments.

Being an old air-cooled man I guess that I have an idealised view of carbs! And I luurve that induction roar! My last air-cooled T25 (2.0 CU) had a pair of DRLAs which both improved performance and didn't hurt economy when properly choked and jetted. Our Syncro does get used abroad a lot and simplicity is important if anything goes pear shaped.

I do however need to get my head around even simple FI systems like the DJ because I know they should be more efficient. I also should have mentioned that I also have a complete DJ loom in the loft as well!

Ultimately however what we are after is a reliable power plant that replicates (or slightly betters e.g.through balancing etc) what VW produced originally. 2016 is my 60th and we are going to have a month away in Spain and Portugal so it would be good to have the mechanicals sorted by then.

I am still interested to learn a bit more about the 2.1 DJs that run Pierbergs...