Club 80-90 Forums

hi ya all,
ive got a 1600 Aircooled t25 and was wondering apart from the 2000 what other Aircooled engines can be fitted??

can the engines from a bay window of t3 fastback/square/notch or even a bug be fitted??

i dont know if this has been asked before as i cant find any info on the wiki

just thinking if i dont sell my camper them i will start to modify it

any info or links would be great

cheers david aka vwmorty

any type four engine will go.
ie late bay or squre/ notch back
or early wedge

A beetle engine can be fitted to a T25 (I've done it myself) but the problem is top clearance. In my case it was a crewcab so there wasn't a problem but in a van/bus you'd need to add some kind of box to the top of the engine bay cover as the fan housing will poke through into the van.

From memory (and I did this in the early 90s), I had to get an engine carrier from another VW van (Frank Grote at 'Frank's Bus Parts' will know which one it was), fabricate surrounding tinware from sheet aluminium and fit the longest throttle cable they do to get it to work. A change of flywheel was also needed. Nice thing about doing this is bug engine parts are cheaper and you can go down the 'big bore' route as I did. That crewcab used to virtually pull wheelies - it really did shift - due in part to a revised cam and a better carb.

jason k wrote:any type four engine will go. ie late bay or squre/ notch back

Type 4 engine - notchback??????

The VW Type 4 ie. the 411/412 fastback/variant 1700cc/1800cc (1968-75) never had a saloon (notchback) version. The Type 3 which preceded it had all 3 body styles.

Most Aircooled engines other than the 2.0l CU engine will be underpowered. Even the 70bhp CU powered T25s struggle on hills.

i knew what i meant anyway!!!!

I put a 1.7 (411/914) engine in the back of my old green monster" went well, but it was an empty van... the 1600 CT was dead...

It isnt a straight swap though... much harder than using the 2L CU that VW put in....
I fabricated up a lot of tinware to get the engine tin to meet the body to seal off the hot air.. did a good job though... then the engine mounting bar ... the type4 one has soft engine mounts and the T25 mount wont fit (tinware different) so I have to make a second brace that bolted to the top of the gearbox (like a bay window one) to stop the engine rocking too much..

Find a good 2L CU with all its tin etc.. and fit that...unless you like hard work..

Dont bother with a beetle/Bay 1600 engine it wont be any better than what you have got and a lot of hassle to fit..