1981 Aircooled Westy to Subaru EJ25 Conversion

[pionte]

Lake Garda ! wow that was a serious destination for your first camping trip in the van, so spooky that you found the parking ticket ! I believe these vans have a way of finding their way home or to the people that should have them ..

My particular van, I bought with a friend 5 yeas ago, she sadly passed away and the van was sold a year later , it resurfaced on a Facebook page late last year and I bought it back, requiring a total rebuild and new engine, hence the subaru 2.5 that is now fitted, The engine pulls like a steam train ! I can just stick it in 5th and use the torque , I think it could easily pull a sixth gear !

Have you had any issues ? is there anything that you would have done differently in hindsight ?

Martin.

[Domino]

Very good build and lots of helpful stuff , thanks for pointing me in this direction , you may end up getting asked a few question now though lol

[Dollytony]

No worries.

[eddbmxdude]

I know this is a bit of a thread resurrection but is there any chance of uploading these photos somewhere where they can be seen again?
My brother and I are off to pick up a donor 2.5 Legacy today and seeing photos of a conversion would be invaluable. Especially of the cooling system. Luckily we have a late watercooled van, so it's not going to be ask much work as yours but the cooling system and how the Scoob system plumbs into the van seems to be the part of the conversion I can find least about online.

Cheers,
Edd

[slowcoach]

I'd just get the joining pieces from rjes, they fit and work nenewing your rad and long water pipes is a sound addition to any new engine. Give him a call anyway, he'll give you the info you need for parts. Reverse the subaru coolant manifold for a much simplified engine bay too!

[Dollytony]

Hi Edd,

I will try to fix the photos over the next few days.

Cheers

Tony

[multisi]

Go to RJES site click conversion details which has lots of the info you need .

[Dollytony]

All my photos reinstated using the ~original fix for the photobucket links, not sure how long this fix will work for.

[eddbmxdude]

I've read the RJES site back to front, upside down and inside out. It's a little dated though.

Tony, massive thank you! As they say, a picture tells a thousand words.

Edd

[bennwedge]

Great thread! This is exactly what im going to do very soon. ive bought the doner legacy which is an auto. just a couple of questions

Did you have to buy a subaru flywheel to replace the auto version if so was it or second hand £500 for a new one sends shockwaves and its cheaper for me to buy another engine with it already on then at least i have a load of spares aswell.

im going to convert the loom myself , what was the solution to resetting the ecu back to manual mode?

are you running a standard dk box? how have you found it now youve been for a good run? whats it reving at at 80mph?

thanks

ben

[Dollytony]

Great thread! This is exactly what im going to do very soon. ive bought the doner legacy which is an auto. just a couple of questions

Did you have to buy a subaru flywheel to replace the auto version if so was it or second hand £500 for a new one sends shockwaves and its cheaper for me to buy another engine with it already on then at least i have a load of spares aswell.

im going to convert the loom myself , what was the solution to resetting the ecu back to manual mode?

are you running a standard dk box? how have you found it now youve been for a good run? whats it reving at at 80mph?

thanks

ben

Hi Ben,

I got the manual flywheel from RJES with the rest of the conversion kit, can't remember how much it was but no way near £500.

SyncroAndy on this forum did my loom for me, best to ask him about the fix, I think in the thread it says about grounding the VSS wire, I can't remember if this solved it or whether something else had to be done. I think the loom conversion was around £300 but well worth the money.

Yes I have the DK box, 70mph is just over 3000rpm, but I do have 17 wheels with 225/55/17 tyres. You need to make sure your DK box is in good condition, mine only lasted about 6-8000 miles before a bearing went, I didn't realise how noisy my box was until I refitted it after is was rebuilt by Cogbox, now it is really quiet. I think gunning it off the line kills the box, so I treat it a little bit more gently as £800 rebuild cost hurts a bit.

Good luck with the conversion, well worth it.

Cheers

Tony

[bennwedge]

thanks for the reply Tony, youve put my mind at rest. ive now got to make the decision of which t25 i put it in. my panel van or sinka hmmmmmm

[syncroandy]

Hi Ben, re. Subaru wiring on auto vs manual, it depends on the model year. On some cars, an auto-specific ECU is used with a completely different pinout and wiring. On others (eg. 99>) the ECU's are basically the same pinout with only minor wiring differences around the starter solenoid and neutral position switch. If you decide not to tackle the conversion yourself I have availability around the end of May.

[slowcoach]

Yes I have the DK box, 70mph is just over 3000rpm, but I do have 17 wheels with 225/55/17 tyres.



Tony

DK is an air-cooled box? Mine is an 8E code (5 speed), and definitely runs a fair bit more than 3k at 70. Not that I drive it that fast. My tyres are bigger than yours too. Never read up on gearboxes so might take a look!

[Dollytony]

With the DK gearbox & the wheels I have 70MPH is about 3500rpm, that is actual speed according to my satnav.
Check out RJES website ref gearbox ratios, I think the DK is quite good even though only a 4 speed.