A friend picked up a T2 in good shape for cheap. The single carb engine in it ran, but he pulled it to do a reseal.

 

He's going to be using the bus to display his skateboarding products at shows and events. This means driving the bus a fair ways loaded, which = the suck on New England roads. One option is to throw bigger jugs and pistons on the stock engine and try to squeeze a bit more out of it. The other is to EJ power the bus. I'm preferential to this, as he is because his other 2 vehicles are subarus. It looks like a subaru engine will physically fit in the bus's engine compartment, I can handle the wiring, we can machine the adapter plate. The Kennedy adapter kits look like they weld a new hub-center into the flywheel to match the subaru crank. I have a spare oil pan to shorten.

 

The radiator is another issue. Option 1 is putting it at the front like the south american T2's did with a cowling sticking out the front of the bus. This looks horrible in my opinion. Option 2 is using up some of the passenger compartment in the back and pulling cool air through the stock side vents. Option 3 is mounting it horizontally under the bus's floor, with fans.

 

I guess that bus's with A/C (a laughable option I would think) put the condenser under the floor with fans, so Option 3 might make sense.

 

I haven't run across many resources for T2's to subaru.

 

One last question is whether the added power of the EJ22 will turn the T2 into even more of a death trap. Is there ways to upgrade the brakes and handling of the bus to a safe level?

I haven't run across many resources for T2's to subaru.

 

Lots on this site about putting Subarus in the buses, this thread for instance

http://www.vwkd.co.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?t=638

 

-Kent

Where google fails the USMB members pull through!

 

Thank you.

 

We'll put the bus motor back in for now to get it street legal. I'll build the 2.5l for the swap.

I'm not sure what a T2 is (vw transporter?) but there are two yahoo lists that deal with VW trnasplants and all thier issues. i listed them on the other new thread about Vw soobie transplants.

 

nipper

It's a 71 Smooth front windshield (bay window???) bus. The T1's had a split windshield right?

Type 1's are beetles, and most Ghia's.

Type 1 were beetles and ghias

Type 2 was the Bus

Type 3 was the fastback

type 4 was that hideous thing that looked like a fastback on steroids (not in a good way) I thought. Thats why he was throwing me off. I only heard the transporters only defined by split windshield or not (like split window bugs)

 

http://www.type2.com/m-codes/t2models.html

http://www.vintagebus.com/techinfo/definitions.html

 

nipper

FYI there are some kinda unique(ugly) Type 3 Ghia's - pretty valuable.

 

The split windshield buses basically were all 6 volt and atleast most had reduction boxes on the rear axles.

 

Starting in 68 the windshield is one piece, they are 12 volt and what are often referred to as refrigerator buses or sometimes bay window buses. They look like an old refrig layed on it's back.

 

I have basically one of each here. Actually the 62 is something called a single cab pickup. 6 volt, reduction axles, 1200 cc I think(I forget). 3 tailgates - one on each side and a rear tailgate. Kinda cool and a bit rare.

 

BTW Corvair swaps with a Kennedy adapter used to be the standard. Still air cooled so that made things a bit easier.

 

Dave