Club 80-90 Forums

I've got a 1981 Aircooled van. The engine is officially toast! i've been reading about engine conversions for a while, just wondering who's done an conversion to an Aircooled van to make it watercooled. I'm thinking of putting a Subaru Legacy engine in with a RJES conversation. I've had a bit of a thought and raised a few issues that i need answering.

I would like replace the front lower panel for one from a watercooled, fit a radiator and coolant hoses in the same places as a watercooled van and finally FIT A PROPER HEATER! is this possible? is there anything i should be aware of when doing all of this?

Contact this guy he has done his own conversion.
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may be an idea to get a scrap watercooled van to transfer front to back pipes rad (brackets are all there) heater matix blower etc or......
fix your motor sell your van and buy a watercooled van to convert.

I'm just in the process of doing this now. The bodyshells are basically the same - just a few fittings missing where the watercooled bits bolt to (holes are there though).
So far I've done:
Dash removed to fit watercooled heater unit - identical bolt pattern to Aircooled heater.Water pipes fit through the original air duct.
All Aircooled ducting and heater cables removed from underneath (need to drop fuel tank)
Front panel has had a hole cut in it to match a wc van.
Top radiator mount from a wc van has been bolted into place - needs to be cut off from a wc van and removed from the heater box panelling by drilling out the spot welds (took me 5mins!). You can drill a couple of holes through the heater ducting once the dash and heater are removed - I've made some photos of my upgrade but are too busy working on it at the moment to post anything.
Lower mounts bolt on to existing holes (holes only, no captive nuts unfortunately)
Rad and twin speed fan (smaller diameter than single speed) sourced from a wc van
Syncro plastic waterpipes sourced - you will need to enlarge the holes in the chassis for the plastic pipes to fit through. They are larger diameter than the early steel water pipes used. Syncro pipes are a better option for using with a Subaru unit - slightly different location of the ends in the engine bay compared with a 2wd.

I cannot see any major obstacles ahead - I've spent a year sourcing parts and staring at the underside of the bus. I'd say if your van is sound, keep it and just source the bits you need to upgrade. Compared with modifying a bug, bay or split to water-cooled it is a dream - VW have made all the factory fit conversion parts for you!

I'm using all RJES components to help fit a 2005 2.5L Forester turbo motor. Quality is second to none. He has seen my bus wiring and junction box so should be able to modify your loom for you to fit directly.

Good luck.

so i take it, its worth finding a watercooled one being broken up and buying as much of the coolant system and heater system as possible.

high_tower wrote:so i take it, its worth finding a watercooled one being broken up and buying as much of the coolant system and heater system as possible.

Sounds to me a lot of hassle - why not look for a replacement Aircooled engine? In reading other posts, there's always coolant leaks, heads going, air locks etc etc. Just remember how lucky we a/c van owners are - no anti-freeze worries tonight in the sub-zeros.