Rebuild Vs Engine Swap ?

[herman_t25]

Hi all,

so wanted so advise or opinions on what I should do with my engine. I currently have the 1.9L WBX in my van but as its coming up to its 39th birthday its pretty tired overall. its low mileage which is part of the issue as its not been used much.

The plan this winter is to drop the engine out as there's a big list of jobs I need to do which will be easier with the engine out, welding etc etc. Question is while its out I'm torn between swapped it for something else or getting it rebuilt? I seem to have pro's and cons for both options but ultimately what we want is a van that can cover longer distances. have a few European trips we want to do next year and currently this isn't an option. 

-I'm not sure how more 'reliable' another option will be? was thinking the Scooby route I'd like to stick to petrol 
-anyone had their WBX rebuilt ? what's a rough idea of pricing and end result? 

thanks

[shepster]

I know lads who have done both Subaru and Golf GTi conversions with great success, price depends on how much you can do yourself but at least 3k as a minimum I'd say.

As for a wbx rebuild, it isn't cheap to have done correctly and there are various people out there that offer a service but the only one I would go with is Andy Simpson off this forum.

[JeffRoo]

One thing to consider is historical vehicle status. If you change the engine to another type you ‘may’ not be able to get historical (classic) status.  From gov.com on what’s an acceptable substantial change is (point to note: historical status exempts you from ulez charges, definitely in London. Check rules for other areas). 

secondly, you mention you have a 1.9, so guessing it is not injection and has a carb. If that’s the case you will also need to change the fuel tank as the outlet is too small and needs to be bigger. At least that’s what I was told by coast vw who do engine conversions. Last thing to think about is the donor engine, it will be 2nd hand and how good will it be? Again coast vw can source and fit a Scooby engine but they only check and recon the top end if needed. They gave me a rough guide of turnkey to scooby engine of about 5k, that was in 2017. Pretty sure it can be done cheaper. 
I went for a turnkey replacement 1.9dg via thevwenginecompany they also fitted a new clutch and stainless steel water pipes for me. As it was turnkey they offered 2 yr unlimited warranty. Suffice to say, never needed the warranty and I’m very pleased with it. Furthest we have travelled is from Somerset to outer Hebrides and back. Yes it has broken down a couple of times over the years, but it was due to bad ignition leads and me putting the fuel filter the wrong way round, who knew! Never had a problem with the engine. Is it slow? Cruises at 65 indicated speed no problems, but for us the journey is part of the holiday and starts as soon as we leave, rather than rushing to get somewhere before the holiday starts. 
Ultimately it’s a personal choice, and I’m sure others will agree and disagree… I’m just giving you my thought process on the same issue I had 5 years ago
hope that helps.

[herman_t25]

One thing to consider is historical vehicle status. If you change the engine to another type you ‘may’ not be able to get historical (classic) status.  From gov.com on what’s an acceptable substantial change is (point to note: historical status exempts you from ulez charges, definitely in London. Check rules for other areas). 

secondly, you mention you have a 1.9, so guessing it is not injection and has a carb. If that’s the case you will also need to change the fuel tank as the outlet is too small and needs to be bigger. At least that’s what I was told by coast vw who do engine conversions. Last thing to think about is the donor engine, it will be 2nd hand and how good will it be? Again coast vw can source and fit a Scooby engine but they only check and recon the top end if needed. They gave me a rough guide of turnkey to scooby engine of about 5k, that was in 2017. Pretty sure it can be done cheaper. 
I went for a turnkey replacement 1.9dg via thevwenginecompany they also fitted a new clutch and stainless steel water pipes for me. As it was turnkey they offered 2 yr unlimited warranty. Suffice to say, never needed the warranty and I’m very pleased with it. Furthest we have travelled is from Somerset to outer Hebrides and back. Yes it has broken down a couple of times over the years, but it was due to bad ignition leads and me putting the fuel filter the wrong way round, who knew! Never had a problem with the engine. Is it slow? Cruises at 65 indicated speed no problems, but for us the journey is part of the holiday and starts as soon as we leave, rather than rushing to get somewhere before the holiday starts. 
Ultimately it’s a personal choice, and I’m sure others will agree and disagree… I’m just giving you my thought process on the same issue I had 5 years ago
hope that helps.

Thanks that's a real help! Yes its a Carb. I'll have a look at them might be an option. I'm okay with breakdowns as it happens in any car but trying to be as reliable as I can. Speed isn't really an issue either. 

cheers