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has anyone done it???


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Well i got an offer to buy a 74 VW Super Beetle today and im thinking about getting it, but i was thinking how hard would it be to make an EA82T fit and work in the VW Platform, would it be feasible, what are the pros and cons? ER27? EJ20T? i wanna make something thats not like everything else :P

 

Let me know what you think :wave: :brolleye:

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I have done an EA82 conversion on a Super beetle.

 

To make a long story short, I don't reccomend it.

 

First, the engine is too damn wide. You are going to have to cut out all the rear bumper supporting stuff. All of it. You are going to have to cut a hole in the firewall for the disty. Basically, everything is going to be carved out of the back of thae car. Also, it's pretty much impossible to get the engine in there with the rear apron intact. I ended up cutting that off too, and just bolting on a new one. There is no support for the rear apron and half of each fender as we speak, for right now, anyway.

 

The engine is pretty easy to wire up, so that's a plus. Even the spfi is easy, as the whole harness comes out of the donor car in one piece.

 

The other MAJOR problem is that the Kennedy adapter for the EA82 has NO provisions for setting timing. No hole in adapter to see flywheel, and the replacement flywheel has no timing marks. So timing belt replacement becomes VERY interesting, and timing is now set by ear. But let me tell you something. That bug HAULS rump roast! It's great!

 

Kennedy recommends the EA81, hands down. It fits, it's easy to hook up, easy to work on, can make decent power, and there are no timing belts.

 

The EJ series engine fits in there like a glove. I had to cut off a lip on the rear apron to get it to go in. I had to cut a hole in the firewall to be able to fit the intake hose on, although, if you feel like fabbing a place for the alternator to go, you could probably turn the intake around and mount it backward. The EJ's are a b$@%& to wire up, you NEED the FSM for the car you are working on. This, BTW, is the only engine that comes with a wiring diagram from Kennedy, cuz it's hard. The directions are geared more for putting the engine in a vanagon, but they are still helpful. I also took quite a bit out of the oil pan, for ground clearance, so if you are making a Cal looker out of it, keep this in mind. I don't know where you would put a turbo, but there is enough room in various places nearby, so don't consider it an impossibility.

 

The radiator HAS TO GO UP FRONT, PERIOD! You can put it in other places, but up front is the only place that has enough airflow, and we all know how sensitive subies are to overheating.

 

Finally, you have to include a way to preload the engine to the frame i.e. a rear engine mount, hooked to the body. The flexiblity of the bugs rear end will result in damaging wheel hop, no matter the engine, if drivin spiritedly. This can be as simple as a piece of square tubing, padded, against the oil pan, with thick threaded rod hooked to the body and run through each end of the tubing. You just need to tighten the tubing against the engine, and add another 1/4 inch of tightening, and that's it.

 

Do a search for Gene Berg enterprises. They have the highest quality engine mounting systems availible for VW's, and the drag racers use a lot of berg parts with sucess. They are also designed to be streetable, which is what we want.

 

If anyone has any questions, emaill me at camshaftprelube@yahoo.com.

 

Eric

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