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Steve Arndt wrote:Good idea on the shouldered bolt for the clutch pin fix. I will remember that when I get into mine.

Yeah, I figured bigger hole was easier than welding the hole up and drilling it back out. Mine wasn't warn too bad, but the old pin was getting pretty hour glass shaped.

Well the heater box and dash are all back together. The shifter and all it's linkage and bushings are mounted up and adjusted nicely. The front suspension is all back together with all new bushings from T3 as well as their sway bar setup and a pair of Bilsteins. I was planning on using the old calipers, but found the drivers side dust boot was torn and the piston would not compress. So I picked up a pair of rebuilt Girlings and on they went.



The bump stops had been cut off the rear of this Van, so I mocked up a full squat position with the old 27" BFGs I'm gonna run to see where the travel should be limited. Then I built a pair of stops to do the Job and welded them into what was left of the factory bump stops.

Good to see another of your projects, brought back memories when you were asked if you were building the exhaust. lol, keep on keeping on..

Now might be an ideal time to pull out the 2.1 digi-fant wiring harness if you haven't already.

Leatherneck wrote:Good to see another of your projects, brought back memories when you were asked if you were building the exhaust. lol, keep on keeping on..

Hey there! You found me! Yeah, the baja is on the back burner, somehow a Vanagon has taken over my spare time without my approval. It'll be neat once we can start enjoying this big blue box.



A guy can dream, right? I gave these tired old alloys some fresh paint and cleaned up the white walls on the old BFGs. These 27x8.5R14 tires are discontinued, the 215/75R15 on the ftont of the baja is probably my next size up choice. The 235/75R15s in the pic above would probably fit with the right wheels, but a bit too much rubber for my needs.

ajdenette wrote:Now might be an ideal time to pull out the 2.1 digi-fant wiring harness if you haven't already.

I still need it to power the Van into the garage. I've been a little back and forth about when to swap the Subaru engine in. I didn't originally anticipate the Van needing this much work to be ready for action. We'd hoped to have it roadworthy for a little camping before the weather turned cold and wet. Clearly it didn't happen. I suppose I could slide the Subaru in where it sits, or at least before I try and squeeze in the garage. It would make more room in the garage with one less engine on a stand .

I guess it would depend on how assembled the wasser boxer is if it dressed with exhaust and fits under the side (more clearance than the rear) if it needs work to run I wouldn't spend time to do it.

Looking good man! I look forward to future posts.

Steve Arndt wrote:Looking good man! I look forward to future posts.

Thanks man! I'm looking forward to making memories in this Van

ajdenette wrote:I guess it would depend on how assembled the wasser boxer is if it dressed with exhaust and fits under the side (more clearance than the rear) if it needs work to run I wouldn't spend time to do it.

The stock 2.1 in it is ready to go. It ran pretty good before I parked it and I found and fixed a variety of small problems with it, as well as the stock coolant pipes and heater hoses...ALL of which is getting replaced with the engine swap. Never the less, I've decided to go ahead and get the Subaru engine installed sooner rather than later. It just makes sense. I can do a quick test fit and drive the Van into the garage with the 2.1, but I expect to be doing the swap outside due to a lack of head room. I have a small concrete slab between the 2 carports that should work well for the swap. THEN pull it in for the winter and get the interior going together.

Got the axles rebuilt with new joints and some Redline CV grease. 3 small magnets mounted in stainless torque spreaders mount on the left inboard CV with a sensor mounted off the slave support bracket bolt. NorthWesty's VSS input for the ECU. Once they're in, the wheels go on, battery goes in and it should be able to move under it's own power Oh it needs a steering wheel and a drivers seat, doors and windows optional.

Sounds like a Great Plan Karl! As much fun as installing and removing engines is in the Vanagon I prefer not to do it an extra time if not necessary.

You guys make a person want to dive into one of these projects.

A Vanagon is a wonderfully useful vehicle, especially with the jump seats I can pull them out and fit quite a bit in my van I have moved a couple of times with it it can carry 7 passengers and gear for hiking, I can carry sheets of plywood or sheet rock, a few weeks ago I had a Subaru engine, engine hoist, and engine stand as well as other tools. quite a stout multi purpose vehicle.

Well, I got the rear axles in and all CV bolts torqued. New upper and lower spring seats, bump stops, shocks and bushings.



With all the interior still not inside the Van, I had to triple check all the bare wire terminals not connected to door jam switches and interior lights. Plus all the harnesses disconnected from removing the AC and rear heater controls. Once all was good and safe, I hooked up a Battery. Also using the Battery cables from the donor Subaru, spliced into the enormous factory battery cable. The original Van positive terminal was corroded half off the end of the cable so I had to cut almost 4" off to get clean strands to solder on a good ring terminal. I'm going to shorten the ground cable and do something about the rotted off battery cover





The old 2.1L fired right up and I burped the cooling system and tested all the exterior lights before we took it for a drive around the neighborhood . I'm super happy with the way it drives and the overall ride height. I think these are stock later Westy springs front/rear, should be just about right once there's a couple hundred pounds of interior and everything settles down. Heater worked great, speedo worked about 50% of the time (cable problem) and the turn signal switch is junk (horn contact was smoked, plus left turn is really intermittent). Brakes seated in good after a few "hard stops" and felt really smooth. No seat belts, no slider and missing half the windows, we took it pretty easy. I added a GoWesty shifter extender and it really makes shifting more comfortable. The power mirrors both worked. I had to tap on the driver's window motor a little to get it moving, passenger window is getting power, but not moving. Both regulators are coming out this winter and I'll run through them, possibly switch to manual regulators of these are just too far gone. Rear wiper is inop, probably doesn't have a ground right now due to wiring back there. I forgot to try out the cruise control, it's got everything in place to make it work at least. I slid both front seats in so my Wife and I could take turns driving



Back home and we test fit the Van in my small garage. It fits better than I'd hoped and I've decided to make room to put it inside for the winter to do the engine swap and finish up the interior this winter. Will be nice to work on concrete rather than crushed rock at least. Will take quite a bit of work to fit both the Baja and the Van in there, but it will be worth it I'm sure.

Got the front end all buttoned up. New speedo cable, new side and bottom baffles for the radiator. Found the low speed cooling fan resistor was bad. I rewired the 3 pin connector to use the A/C controled lower fan speed circuit in the resistor to power the fan from the temp switch on the radiator. I had to redo a few things with the lower grill and lights from the previous installer, but all seems to fit well now. Still need to replace the windshield seal also.



Also got the engine out and pulled the rear mounts and mustache bar off to mount onto the EJ25. Turns out, the side was the trick for clearance

Love your thread!