I got kind of wild and crazy one day, and decided I needed to turbo charge my Vanagon WBX! Look out Arlo Guthrie! The engine has Boston Eng stage III big valve heads and cam with higher Exh lift and 1.25 ratio rockers. Sent the rods and cyls to Boston Bob to hone cyls and fine tune the rods with his secret tricks...Other than that, its just a basic wasserleaker. I tapped into the oil press switch by the crank pulley for oil feed and into the filler tube for the oil drain. Running it at only 5psi boost.
Since all this was done, the old Subaru turbo unit took to blowing smoke like a James Bond mobile and as of Aug 06, I am installing an Audi S4 left side turbo on my baby...Got given the turbo by Chris Blakely, of rally racing fame, and it is all in the works...Similar setup to the old one which works slicker that snake snot...Seems to add about 30 to 40 HP at 5 lbs boost without any fuel management issues (so far)...so we will see how the S4 unit works down the road...
wellll...Going back to the old Subie style turbo...The Audi setup didn't work well...and on we go as time permits...
Nov 07..Got a rebuilt mid 80's Subaru turbo installed and she works reasonably well...Not much ooomph under 2500 rpm and with the taller gears in the tranny, I tend to want to lug it...Driven a bit harder, it is fine. O2 indicator says all in the fuel system is pretty normal. We will see.
Got tired of the turbo/wbx engine..Not happy with the fuel management or my ability to make it work right...so pulled it and sold it
***Sept 08..I have decided to install a Zetec conversion (Ford Focus motor) from http://bostig.com
A NA 2.0L 130 HP I4 motor..Modern OBDII eng management.. Sweet little motor designed by Cosworth as a 2.0 T and readily available used with low miles.. Mine has 30 K on it and cost $600 dressed.
Will put a turbo on it when Bostig gets them dialed in and are happy with the system..should be ready in summer '09
Its a good fit in the van..Has about the stock 8" ground clearance. Fits under the deck lid..about as few cooling hoses as a 57 Chev and a real head gasket...Simple quiet exhaust system. The kit comes with everything but the engine itself and the air box...It comes with hoses, clamps, fasteners, computer, wiring harness, adaptor plate, mounts, wire ties.. you name it.. I mean complete. I am in it under $5K for the whole setup...sweet little runner and gets 20MPG to boot. Jim & Brady of Bostig got their "stuff: together on these kits with their development group method of R&D.
See pics of the install and finished here http://picasaweb.google.com/data/feed/base/user/Darylspics/albumid/5276545914027043377?alt=rss&kind=photo&hl=en_US
E mail at daryl@aatransaxle.com with any questions.