Volkswagen Camper/Van

Adrian_Thompson wrote: ... But understand that the Engineers were stunningly creative in their design of the front crush structure. They ingeniously used the actual occupants as part of the crush structure to save damage from the front wheels back in a front end collision. They knew that there would come a time when no more T1 or T2's were being built, but we keep on popping out disposable humans.

THAT is a riot!

My love for VW buses runs very, very deep, but it WAS impacted when I realized I was the hood ornament.

It's hard to look at oncoming traffic with any degree of sanity when you realize that you are completely in front of the front axle, and there is nothing more than a piece of sheet metal between you and eternity.

I'm not sure if this is helping or hurting me considering selling my 1971 westfalia.

FYI: I just read in Sports & Exotic Car That two similar 21 window 1964 Deluxe Station Wagons in restored #2 condition sold for around $126,500 each!!! While a restored #2+ 1951 XK120 only brought $74,800!

Now sounds like a world beater time to sell VW buses!

Ok thank for all ur guy's help. I think I'm going to go with 2 50Wh solar panels that will power the lights and mini fridge, and B20 (or a higher blend) of biodiesel for the engine. What do u guys think of this?

Should be quite attainable. Here's the easy option for solar, everything in one package:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B8L6EFA/

In reply to SVreX: I won't, can't argue your point in a utopian world. However I don't and I doubt you do either, live in that utopian world!

I loved living where I live for years. I'm on a winding two-lane state numbered road fairly near the local big city. But in the last few years that has wonderful life has changed!

Some idiots in local governments have decided to prove HOW GREEN WE ARE!! Bottom line, the winding two lane roads leading to where I have lived for years are now subject to many bicycle races, Iron Man, Tri and Bi events at least every warm month of the year.

Those of us who actually live/have lived here before and after they got these brilliant ideas ARE PRETTY MUCH TRAPPED IN OUR HOME PROPERTIES FOR MANY SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS OF THE ENJOYABLE MONTHS!!! BECAUSE THESE WONDERFUL STATE AND US HIGHWAYS ARE OFTEN BLOCKED OFF FOR EVENTS CONTESTED BY PEOPLE FROM SEVERAL STATES AROUND!!! Go to the nearby Kroger, Walmart, etc, parking lots on many if not most temperate weekends and their lots are full of SUVS, PICKUPS, & EVEN VOLTS with out of state, out of county license plates but THEY ALL HAVE EMPTY BIKE RACKS!! THERE IS NOTHING GREEN ABOUT TRAVELING TO OTHER STATES, COUNTIES, AND CITIES TO RIDE YOUR BICYCLE IN YOUR "MANLY MANLY" LYCRO SPANDEX OUTFITS, WHICH USUALLY ARE WAY TOO SMALL FOR THE WEARER. AND DRIVING THERE IN YOUR SUV, PICKUP, OR EVEN VOLT!!

Wait for it, it gets worse. Since our beautiful roads are so desirable for races etc., tons of people feel they need to practice on these roads on non-event weekends. AT LEAST ONCE OR MORE EACH SUMMER MONTH I HAVE TRIED TO DO NORMAL THINGS LIKE DRIVE MY SPORTS CAR OR GO TO THE GROCERY AND FOUND HUNDREDS, NOT TENS, HUNDREDS OF BIKERS, RIDING THE PROPOSED COURSE FOR ONE OF THEIR UPCOMING EVENTS! THEY MANAGE TO GO BOTH WAYS, JUST AS IF THEY WERE IN A RACE. WHICH MEANS WE WHO LIVE HERE ALMOST HAVE NOWHERE TO TRAVEL ON THE ROAD WE, NOT THEY PAY, TAXES ON FOR SEVERAL ADDITIONAL WEEKENDS A YEAR!!

When I was on the National Ski Patrol we typically 2/12 to 3 good and usually safe winter seasons out of every 4. The other winter to winter and one half had many more injuries, incidents, crazy skiing, etc. We called it the WINTER OLYMPICS EFFECT. People thought that because they bought the same skis, parkas, whatever they could ski as well as world champions. Now in much of the country we suffer the same effect every year. PEOPLE THINK BECAUSE THEY WEAR THOSE DREADFUL LYCRA SPANDEX OUTFITS, THEY ARE IN THE TOUR DE FRANCE.

In reply to Rupert:

What did I say that had anything to do with a Utopian world?

And what do Spandex pants have to do with VW buses?

Or was that an April Fool's post??

In reply to SVreX: Yes, I agree. The April Fools joke is, bicycles are more green.

In reply to Rupert:

So, in a Utopian world, you'd like to see a fool like me in Spandex pants driving a VW bus in April?

In reply to SVreX: I don't generally really care what you drive or wear, more fool you. Although some/perhaps most people I see in lycra spandex do look pretty gross!

Just don't drive tens or hundreds of miles in your VW bus, Volt, or whatever with a bike rack, then clog up the highways that we pay taxes for with your unlicensed untaxed bicycles and then tell me your bicycle is green.

Your bicycle is only green if that is the color it is painted.

In reply to Rupert:

My daily driver is a 7.3L diesel. I've put 480,000 miles on it. Care to roll coal??

I DO have a green bike. Actually, it's almost 2 bikes. A 43 year old Schwinn single speed tandem- complete with banana seats. I'm the original owner.

1 part tree hugger, 1 part redneck.

But you ought to see me in Spandex!

Ok, I have 2 last questions what kind of trannies fit in the VW T2 bus and how hard would it be to do and engine swap and swap in the BMW N57 Diesel engine compared to the normal Subaru ones most people do? (I have no experience with engine swaps and I am not a mechanic).

Thanks for all of your guy's help!!

In reply to ToxicTurtl3:

I love your interest in creative swaps, etc.

But start with something simple if you have limited experience.

The Subaru swap is well documented, and not crazy difficult.

I don't know much about BMW engines, but I do know it won't be anywhere near as easy.

The Subaru engine is a boxer engine. It is wide, short and low- here's a picture:

The BMW engine is a straight 6- long, tall, and narrow. Like this:

The T2 engine compartment is wide, short, and low (this is an AWD version):

With enough fabrication skills, you can make ANYTHING fit.

But the easy button would be the Subaru.

Actually, the easy button would be to first buy a car and begin doing maintenance on it to learn the basics. Look for a decent low cost T2 with a blown engine, and swap a VW engine in to learn the basics. THEN consider an engine swap from a different manufacturer.

In reply to ToxicTurtl3:

Why do you want the BMW N57? Do you have one laying around? Have you seen it successfully done? Can you get one for free?

If we knew the reason you like that motor, we might be able to give you better advice.

I pick the BMW N57 engine because I like BMW engines and it is diesel so I could convert it to bio-diesel. Can u tell me the model of engine that Subaru one u posted is so I can do some research on it? Also just for future reference, what kind of transmission fits in it? Eventually I also wanna upgrade it to a 5 or 6 speed transmission.

In reply to SVreX:

Ok I found a conversion kit with a Subaru Boxer Engine that is diesel. Unfortunately it doesn't have the same same as the one u posted a picture of above. Here is a link to the kit that I found.

http://www.boxeer.com/ee20_vw_conversion

In reply to ToxicTurtl3:

The beauty of the Subaru swap is that you don't need to swap the trans. Adapter plates are available.

I don't actually know which Subaru motor I posted. It's a boxer configuration. They basically all are shaped like that, including the 4 cylinders like the 2.0T and the 6 cylinders like the EG33.

Let me try it this way...

On a scale of 1-25 ranking difficulty, I would rank the following automotive efforts as follows:

• Change oil/ Tuneup Difficulty 1

• Brake job/ Alignment Difficulty 2

• Motor swap (equal to original) Difficulty 5

• Install a full turbo setup (purchased parts) Difficulty 5

• Installing a turbo setup with fabricated parts Difficulty 10

• Motor rebuild/ valve job/ porting & polish heads Difficulty 12

• Installing a well documented motor swap Difficulty 12

• Installing an oddball motor swap Difficulty 17

• Building an electric car Difficulty 22

• Building a complete car from scratch Difficulty 25

You are saying your skill level is at level 1. I am suggesting you start learning level 2, and move up to level 5 soon.

The Subaru swap in a car like that would be a level 10 or 12.

The BMW swap would be 17 or 20.

You've gotta walk before you can run. I applaud your desires, but you are not ready. If you jump into something like that, you will waste your money. It will sit forever as an unfinished project and frustrate you.

Good luck!

In reply to ToxicTurtl3:

Those Subaru diesels you posted are similar in layout to the one I posted.

They are also VERY expensive. Euro spec only.

Those diesel kits will add $6-8000 to the cost of a gasoline Subaru swapped T2.

You can build a nice one for $8-10,000. If you go diesel, it will be $15-20,000.

SVreX wrote: You can build a nice one for $8-10,000. If you go diesel, it will be $15-20,000.

I realized that when I couldn't find much on the Diesel engine swap. I want to do diesel because I want the bus to be as Eco-friendly as possible and I wanna use bio-diesel as stated in earlier posts. That should help justify some of the price, and ya I really just want to be Eco-friendly and have a more powerful and more reliable engine than the stock VW Bus engine.

I've had over 30 air cooled VW's. They are dead nuts reliable. I'd be REALLY surprised if any BMW engine could be anywhere near as reliable.

I think you would surprised at just how much power an air cooled VW can make:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oreWR4u7t04

I'm all about cool and interesting swaps, and I'd love to see it happen. I just don't think you realize what you are getting into.

If green is your goal, you can now buy a clean 2nd generation Prius for $6-8000. It would be incredibly reliable, and very, very green.

Not too powerful, but an excellent car to learn on, with technology that would give you hands on experience which could easily lead to the ability to build a cooler hybrid or electric vehicle later.

For $2-3000 you can buy one that has issues that you can repair yourself.

A clean non-running rolling shell of a T2 could cost you $8000 or more.

In reply to SVreX:

I found one on Craigslist in my area for $2500. It definantly needs work but the guy says it runs

http://spokane.craigslist.org/cto/4946114783.html

There is the link for it. Hopefully I can get lucky enough to find one like this when I have money to blow on a project cat :P

In reply to ToxicTurtl3:

I was referring to a clean one. That one has quite a bit of bondo/ rust.

There are always bargains out there.

In reply to ToxicTurtl3:

One more thing on biodiesel...

I drive a diesel that is well suited for biodiesel (Ford 7.3L). I have a cousin who has been making biodiesel for decades, so I have a source that could teach me.

I don't run biodiesel. It basically comes down to the inconvenience.

It takes time and energy to make your own biodiesel. The feedstock is becoming rarer and more expensive. If you don't have a source for feedstock (used oil), it may be hard to find one. If you are going to buy it (and not make your own), it is hard to find, and expensive. Additionally, it is challenging to make a high quality version, and some engines, filters, etc. don't respond well to biodiesel and it's inherent contaminants (not sure about the BMW).

If you want to try biodiesel, I would not build a car for it. I would start by buying a car that is well suited for it (older Mercedes, VW TDI, Chevy 6.2L for example). Try it first, and see if it works for you. You may find it to be wonderful, or you may find it to be a big pain.

I don't know anyone who ever built a car from the ground up for the purpose of running biodiesel. It's too easy to buy an inexpensive car already suitable for it.

It doesn't make sense to build a difficult and expensive car to try a fuel that you don't know anything about.