List of engine adapter makers with phone numbers

[mazda_6t9]

Well I put together a small list of adapter makers for the vw style tranny. We always see people asking for info so here it is. Maybe this can be a sticky and we can also let people know how the buying expierence was for you so we can make our own decision as where to buy.

I never had luck e-mailing a few of these places so I didn't leave any e-mail info. You would be better off calling and talking directly to them.



Kennedy Engineering Products (K.E.P.) (661)272-1147

This has to be the oldest and biggest company out there for these adapters(35+ years). They have 100+ adapter for vw, porsche, and chevy and pantera transaxles. They make custom double clutch setups, and make some of the best vw clutches there is. I found them very easy to talk to over the phone. Do not expect you adapter to be made quickly by them, they are very BUSY all the time. I have seen them take more than a month to make a adapter. The quality is top notch, show car quality. They have a catalog that cost a few dollars to get, but is very helpful. They could give you a new one with your $400+ adapter, but they don't.



Hecker Machine (portland Ore) (503)659-4071

This is a good company with a growing adapter list and great prices. I have personally seen the adapters from them and they are very nice. I have never talked to them before but a friend has one of thier adapters and he says they are good guys. I am not sure the turnaround time for adapters but you might call and see. You might even save a few bucks on the shipping also if you are in the portland area.




Esslinger Racing (626)444-4919

I belive these guys only make adapters for the ford I4 engines like the pinto and mustang 4 popper. If your a ford 4 cylinder lover this is the place for you. These guys got it going on when it comes to high output ford engines. You will find everything you need and then some. I highly reccomend just to check them out, they have some cool stuff. I have seen the adapters they make in my hands and they are very excellent quality. I am not sure of thier prices so give them a call if your going ford power.




Mannex Corp (portland Ore) (503) 650-1184

I just found these guys and know nothing about them. They are into sandrail parts and fabbing pieces you might need. The adapter I seen on the ad looked to be good quality. They say they have a few different engine combos. It would be nice to have some input about this place.


Outback (714) 994-5222

This place is for the scooby swapper(subaru). Another person here got a adapter from them and said they were good guys. He said the adapter was made by kennedy, but they had it very quickly compared to Kennedys month and a half wait. You might call them and see if they can get it quicker if your in a hurry. If your into subarus go check them out. I have no personal expierence with them. If I go suby motor(which I probably will someday)I will give them a call for sure.




Well this is just a short list. I wanna try and keep it to the actual makers of the adapters. This cuts out a middle man, and will keep our list shorter. I know there are a thousand retailers of these plates also but we wanna keep it simple. So if you know of anymore please list them for us. Thanks.

Please feel free to leave positive or negative comments about a company you have first hand expierence with. None of that "well my brothers cousins neighbors babysitter didn't like his adapter because it wasn't blue when he got it". Keep it simple and to the point.

Also some people are buying adapters off evil-bay. Just be very careful to make sure you get ALL the pieces. Know the pieces you will need cause if not there will be alot of problems down the road. The corvair plates I see all the time on ther are usually never complete, the complete kit has like 20 pieces that are very hard to find(not just bolts and nut either).


Good luck with your conversion!!


6t9

[RAIL9222]

I know for a fact that Mannex don't build their own adapters. They are a middle man. They used to buy from us until I found out they were taking our name off and installing theirs. Mannex is a fab shop and does good fab work but as far as adapters go, they are selling someone elses product.

[Guest]

Thank you.

[metropoj]

On the Esslinger product, the I4 kit was cheaper than KEP's the cut and quality was excellent. I was disappointed however that the cheap bastards wouldn't give me a catalog after spend 400 bucks on the kit, as it has lots of Ford info in the catalog ..... ...

Overall, they were very helpful and good to deal with, no online ordering, have to call long distance but the kits shipped very quickly, they specialize in the FOrd so they know thier stuff ....

[RAIL9222]

On the Esslinger product, the I4 kit was cheaper than KEP's the cut and quality was excellent. I was disappointed however that the cheap bastards wouldn't give me a catalog after spend 400 bucks on the kit, as it has lots of Ford info in the catalog ..... ...

Overall, they were very helpful and good to deal with, no online ordering, have to call long distance but the kits shipped very quickly, they specialize in the FOrd so they know thier stuff ....

Doing a side by side comparison, the Esslinger kit doesn't match. The main point is that they use a cast plate. Everyone else uses billet. Not that is don't work but there is a difference in strength and appearance.

[volkdent]

Can a moderator please sticky this!? This kind of information should be in the FAQ of this forum.

Jason

[Guest]

^^there is no mod here, its like a ghost town with no sheriff.


*tumbleweed rolls bye*

[metropoj]

On the Esslinger product, the I4 kit was cheaper than KEP's the cut and quality was excellent. I was disappointed however that the cheap bastards wouldn't give me a catalog after spend 400 bucks on the kit, as it has lots of Ford info in the catalog ..... ...

Overall, they were very helpful and good to deal with, no online ordering, have to call long distance but the kits shipped very quickly, they specialize in the FOrd so they know thier stuff ....

Doing a side by side comparison, the Esslinger kit doesn't match. The main point is that they use a cast plate. Everyone else uses billet. Not that is don't work but there is a difference in strength and appearance.

What do you mean it doesn't match ? You mean quality ? Hmm, mine doesn't look cast at all, looks like cut from aluminum like the others .... perhaps you are comparing an old one or perhaps I don't know the difference between cast and machined ? Either way, I'm happy ....

[RAIL9222]

On the Esslinger product, the I4 kit was cheaper than KEP's the cut and quality was excellent. I was disappointed however that the cheap bastards wouldn't give me a catalog after spend 400 bucks on the kit, as it has lots of Ford info in the catalog ..... ...

Overall, they were very helpful and good to deal with, no online ordering, have to call long distance but the kits shipped very quickly, they specialize in the FOrd so they know thier stuff ....

Doing a side by side comparison, the Esslinger kit doesn't match. The main point is that they use a cast plate. Everyone else uses billet. Not that is don't work but there is a difference in strength and appearance.

What do you mean it doesn't match ? You mean quality ? Hmm, mine doesn't look cast at all, looks like cut from aluminum like the others .... perhaps you are comparing an old one or perhaps I don't know the difference between cast and machined ? Either way, I'm happy ....

I guess you have to know what your looking at. It is hard to tell unless you do a side by side comparison. To the trained eye it is obvious what material the parts are made from as wall as the manufacturing process. I believe that machining these parts on state of the art CNC machines VS manual machines says a lot for the quality. As far as fit and function they all will work but some of us like the peace of mind that they have quality materials and superior finish.

[Guest]

the one I seen was cast also, and it was brand new two years ago. if you seen the cast unit and the machined one side by side you can tell. the cast one also seemed a little thicker than the machined ones I have seen.

I agree 100% about not sending a catalog out with a $400+ adapter.




6t9

[Drbugfixer]

If you want a FREE Esslinger catalog, All you have to do is download one
from their web site. It's in a PDF format, download it to your printer and
you are good to go.http://www.esslingeracing.com/catalog30 ... og-305.pdf

[Guest]

Hi,
Please check out my site, www.rjes.com, for info on our Subaru bellhousings. No adaptor plates or special flywheels here, just the starter, flywheel, clutch working together as Subaru intended, but joined up to any '68 --> bus transaxle. Versions are available to suit both the 'push to release' (nat asp) and 'pull to release' (turbo) Subaru clutches.
Developed over three years, because I didn't want to import an 'adaptor plate' type kit, and because I wanted an installation free of the problems with starter overload and broken studs, the belhousings are cast form 356 T6 alloy. They are intended to give as close as possible an installation to what it would be if it were a factory installation.
We also make an ever expandin range of other Subaro powered VW components. See the site for details. Thanks for your interest,

Regards,

Richard

[RyanB]

You have some really innovative stuff there Richard! Wish ya had a USA distributor cause I could sure use some of those exhaust flanges.

[metropoj]

If you want a FREE Esslinger catalog, All you have to do is download one
from their web site. It's in a PDF format, download it to your printer and
you are good to go.http://www.esslingeracing.com/catalog30 ... og-305.pdf

Well .... yeah .... true enough...... BUT, this is not the REAL catalog, the 10 dollar version. That catalog has ( apparently ) lots of tech info on the 2.3l, setting up, trade secrets, etc .... that you cannot get unless you pay additional $$ ....

[Drbugfixer]

metropoj, if you are looking some good tech info, you need to checkout this site....http://www.4m.net/index.php?
Take a look at the Mini Stock sections, These good ol' boys really know how to get some serious hp out of a carburetored Ford 2.3 using factory and aftermarket parts.