Club 80-90 Forums

probably obvious but i'll ask. apart from removing waterpipes etc. from a watercooled bus what else(if anything) needs to be consider if fitting an Aircooled engine where once hung a water cooled lump?

tinware fitting for the Aircooled, the engine bay maybe slightly different in watercooled I don't know, only those who work on both would notice

if you keep the watercooled gearbox and linkages it should be fairly straightforward but if you go for a/c box then mount and linkages to sort out again slight differences in the shell

but why ?

have a plan in my mind to build a hot type 4 engine and whack it into a panel van or my camper(Aircooled). not many good early panel vans left so maybe be easier to find good later watercooled van. i'm aware my question bucks the trend of the usual 'what can i replace my Aircooled engine with?'

cheers kev

you need to cut some metal from the engine bay , cold air duct and the bulkhead is different ,bulkhead will need to be modded if your going to fit t25 petrol engine.
obviously radiator mounts needed, but most holes in place for diesel pre 82 vans.
heaterbox is early specific , you will need one from an early diesel , if you want a heater that is!
that means dash, fuel tank ,grill , spare wheel carrier all need to be removed.
new dash with temp gauge ect
if your running an early 1.6 petrol you may need to fit a servo to the brakes, another gearbox(ratios useless)
lots to do!

easier to buy a late van , ideally go for post 86

i have seen a few bodge conversions, none that would justify doing it and none that i would recomend anyone to buy!

Cheers billy, however i think you have misunderstood my post i was asking about fitting an Aircooled engine into a later watercooled van, not a watercooled into an early van(why i here you ask).

was asking what i would have to change on the watercooled van to fit an Aircooled engine?