volkswitt Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 anyone have experience or opinion on putting a subaru ea engine in a early (1971) bay window vw bus? i want reliability and the ability to tow a jet ski tailer at a reansable speed. the price of a suby conversion looks less than a modified vw air-cooled engine but i don't really know. tia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLCraig Posted January 15, 2006 Share Posted January 15, 2006 You might want to consider using an EJ22 instead of an EA engine. I know there would be more work involved because of the EFI but since you want to tow a jet ski too an EA maybe a bit overmatch. Also, in the comming years EJ parts will be easier to find the EA parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesbug Posted January 15, 2006 Share Posted January 15, 2006 I've got an EA-81 in a 61 split window panel bus,and it's great. Progressive weber,custom exaust,kennedy adapter,and suby dual fan radiator in the rear sucking in.Cools great and plenty of ponies for the stock tranny w/reduction boxes.Very straightforeward swap and easy to work on too. bluesbug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volkswitt Posted January 16, 2006 Author Share Posted January 16, 2006 great! got any pics? how about throttle linkage and radiator placement? it you engine just hanging off the trans like the vw or do you haxe x-member. about how much was your total cost? a lot of ?s i know tia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
putnamj Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 I have done two EA81 swaps into VW busses. One in a '71 the other in a '64. I use adapters from KEP. The EA81 block is actually lighter than a VW engine. Engine fits fine in both. Easy to put a radiator in the back. If you use the Turbo EA81 water pump and engine driven fan. I could not cool either bus with an electric fan. Another option is to put the radiator in a 'fake' spare tire in the front. The stock EA81 is about 70 hp. A mild cam will put it close to 100 hp. The engine will run all day at 5000 rpm so go with low gearing. My '64 with reduction boxes and a Weber DF carb gets 21 to 24 mpg and will easily cruise at 65 to 70 mph. This is a mildly built EA81 with a cam heads and aviation cam. Be happy to send pics. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capn_r Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 putnamj, If possible I would like to get pictures of your installation. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volkswitt Posted January 18, 2006 Author Share Posted January 18, 2006 i would love some pics! please post or pm. tia! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesbug Posted January 23, 2006 Share Posted January 23, 2006 total cost about 1200. weber hooked up to stock throttle cable.no xmember reqd. pix on some of my previous posts,feel free to paste em here. bluesbug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volkswitt Posted January 23, 2006 Author Share Posted January 23, 2006 bluesbug, i will post a pic of my 67 kombi when i can oddly enough it is corvette yellow over white! coincidence i guess. btw you panel is sweeeet.it makes me want to suberize my kombi instead of the bay westy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesbug Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 Thanks, I love the yellow/gray combo on vw busses,but my second choice was yellow/white.Looking foreward to the pix of your bus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack in Norfolk Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 are any of you guys using the "freeway flyer" tranny to stretch out the sube motor? Also, where are the pics? Thanks. -Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodsWagon Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 What's the difference between the Beetle and bus trannies? I have acess to a tranny out of a 20+ window bus with the canvas sunroof. Most of the rest of the bus is trash though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volkswitt Posted February 10, 2006 Author Share Posted February 10, 2006 What's the difference between the Beetle and bus trannies? I have acess to a tranny out of a 20+ window bus with the canvas sunroof. Most of the rest of the bus is trash though. the transmissions are different. the 67 and earlier busses have reduction boxes the beetle trannies don't. peole have swapped bus trannies into bugs and vice versa but it not a "plug in" swap. you can check THE SAMBA for more infohttp://thesamba.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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