VW Bus Chassis Prep - Busaru Engine Conversion Part 4

[@dillonvought5463]

Just a thought on the fuel pump. People are running these with a post fuel filter, I think that is how they are supposed to be run in the normal application as well. If you use a prefuel filter it may not give the pump enough gas and will limit it's life. The packaging even recommends using a in tank pump to give it 4-6PSI, but the gravity of our tanks probably takes care of that.

[@Busaru]

Hey Dillon, good suggestions. I'd say that if you have a brand new tank then you'd be okay running without a pre filter. I bet my pump wouldn't last a day without one though. Lots of rust dust in the tank and I'm about to swap out my second pre filter in about 1000 miles. I've run these pumps for years with pre filters on Vanagons as well but as they say - your mileage may vary.

[@dinodavidgamer29]

I live in Seattle, but the couple local shops doing conversions almost exclusively do vanagon and mine is a 1977 Campmobile. You seem to have figure out everything and have done many of these. Have a recommendation on where to go in WA or OR to get my Bay Window engine swap done? No, I don't have the confidence to do this myself, even with your excellent video series. Thanks.

[@Busaru]

Hey Brian, I have only done 2 Bay swaps, and tons of Vanagons (they're simple). The problem with the Bus is that there isn't really a successful formula for every circumstance. There isn't a "kit" so to speak, and that's probably why shops are shying away from stepping into a conversion process. Cooling is the biggest issue and its all still experimental. My busses work fantastic around town, but on long mountain passes here in CO, they start to heat up a little hotter than I like. I'm just now starting to troubleshoot this and am hoping to dial it in soon, but that's just one example of these conversions being "experimental". I don't have any experience with shops in the northwest unfortunately. Your best bet is to try and talk with your local shops and see if they can work with you on a reasonable price for a fun "experimental" project. Just know that no one has this totally figured out yet. Good luck with the process and keep us informed on how it goes!

[@EricFB]

First of all thanks for documenting this so well! I'm not doing a subaru swap but everything else is completely relevant. One question, where does your fuel return line go? I was originally thinking of teeing it back into the filler neck somewhere but I see you have it going back under the tank? Cheers

[@Busaru]

+Eric B Thanks! On non-FI busses you can tee into the filler neck which is what I do most often.

[@chaileeportraits]

How does it work front engine on the rear ..

[@forthwithtx5852]

Great series. Just started thinking about doing this very thing. I have a question: can any Subaru 4-cylinder engine fit? Like a turbo motor? Or are there limitations to which will fit?

[@Busaru]

I would stick with non-turbo models (EJ20, EJ22, EJ25), just because there would be a decent amount of fabrication work needed due to the clearances at the rear of the engine to fit the turbo. I have an EJ22 Turbo engine I was hoping to put into something but decided that it wouldn't be a good fit for a Bus, but it'll fit into a Vanagon perfectly fine. Let me know if you have any more questions.

[@forthwithtx5852]

Thanks. Though I am curious what mods would be needed. Do you mean thinning out the sheet metal in that area and, perhaps, substituting a beef up of some sort? Not beyond my abilities. Or would it require extending the bodywork out? Sorry to trouble you with these questions. I'm sure the answers are out there if I took the time to look.

[@Busaru]

Forthwith Tx The rear transmission crossmember interferes massively with the output of the turbo. If you are okay with trying to relocate the turbo that would be your best bet. I'm not a huge fan of cutting up the chassis in non-reversable ways (a cooling tin fin being an exception). Keep the questions coming! And by the way - I am planning to put together an article series to compliment the video series. This will be very similar to my SubaruVanagon article series on Boxerswaps.com.

[@thefilthygringo9228]

Love it! What is the cost?

[@Busaru]

Thanks Chris! If DIY its pretty reasonable at $3-6K depending on your engine choice and parts used.

[@dinodavidgamer29]

If I drove it out to CO on a vacation next year, could you do the swap?

[@Busaru]

Durango is a good destination spot, we'd need to coordinate and make sure to have all the parts gathered. By that time things will definitely be completely dialed in.

[@paulv8453]

Hello, this is really something I'd do on my own but have been wanting to do it for some time. Do you know of any places in or near Texas that can do it? Thank you.

[@Busaru]

I don't know of any commercial shop doing this in the US unfortunately. I do it for customers but I'm an extremely small shop in a mountain town :)

[@russeltustin9623]

What size are those genral grabber tires?

[@Busaru]

General Grabber AT2 Size: 205/75R15SL I LOVE these tires and put them on just about everything I own. They rub a little at full lock on the front but I'm planning on cutting the rusted out body mounts and replacing with substantial steel to make way for some even bigger tires eventually.

[@thefilthygringo9228]

Do you have a website with option lists?

[@Busaru]

My website is Busaru.com or Boxerswaps.com but I don't have a list for the Bus yet. Are you looking to do this DIY or have us/someone else do the swap?

[@thefilthygringo9228]

Where are you located?

[@Busaru]

We're in Durango, CO. Email me if you'd like to talk further about it - [e-mail]

[@SPACEFACE70]

That is horrible lol. But modification is what it is. I think i would leave the sponge frame section in.

[@Busaru]

I toiled over the decision to cut for quite some time. I ultimately decided that if one ever wants to go back to air-cooled (heaven forbid!) they could simply weld the fin back in. It isn't structural so I don't see much problem in that. Anyway - thanks for the comments!

[@ianlund]

The frame vin in on that piece you cut out! :0