Club 80-90 Forums

I get 16 to 18 with my DF just knocking about here and there, but we can run down the motorway at 60/65 and she can return 26MPG all on a Campershack blos system

Is that a true 26 mpg not "lpg equivalent" mpg?

Ich fahre einen Bulli. Ich hilfe mir selbst...meistens!

We have owned several 1.9wbx campers over the years.
On a typical run consisting motorway, A and B roads and cruising at 55 to 60 mph, 26 to 28 mpg was normal.
Our current Devon pop-top has a 2.5 quad cam subaru and a DT gearbox (tallest standard ratios)
We still drive at the same pace and get 28 to 29 mpg.
Driven gently it feels strangely vw like and has a slight scooby thud to the exhaust note.
Keep your foot pressed to the floor and it takes off, hits 70 in third gear before grabbing fourth!

Love a subaru next time better start saving my pennies. Can a novice work on the engine ?

The EJ series is now a classic engine, the last have quite complex electronics so iirc you are looking at pre 2003 to avoid CANBUS but I could be wrong on that. The EJ22 that I removed from my bus was circa 1990 Was I the first person to un-Subaru a T3?

So you are replacing an old engine with a slightly less old engine. Yes you gain in torque but only get a few more mpg by the looks of it. You also have to deal with a whole other parts system and questionable availability of some things (or at a premuim cost) Unless you are doing 10's of 1000 miles per year its just an exercise in spending money for the technically challenged.

Break down in a T3 with a WBX, JX, AAZ (or any other VW engine) in Europe and at least you have a fighting chance of being fixed by the village mechanic.

Can a novice work on the engine ?

I depends on what you mean by novice, if you have worked on cars before, can read a manual and follow the instruction, I don't see why not?
With the exhaust removed the front of the engine is very accessible (cambelt, water pump, oil pump)
Pick a donor with OBD11 and diagnostics are as straight forward as any other modern car.
I would also agree with most of what Silverbullet has just said, you could argue the pros and cons of wbx v Subaru all day long and still have to agree to disagree!
If you are going to pay someone else to do the work its never cheap and probably best to keep it standard.

Don't get me wrong, the torque and power of the EJ22 in that tintop was what sold it to me after viewing some truly dreadful vans... but when it started to play up, there still weren't that many conversions out there and I had definitely had enough of it by then.

The hands-on types will think nothing of getting stuck in, but you do have to be sure of your abilities if you weren't wrapped in greasy overalls from birth

If someone with your experience has ditched the Subaru then it's probably not for me. I'm gonna take me time before I get my next van to make sure I get it right.

The architecture of the engine is reasonably sound* (a closed deck block is capable of restraining 1200hp) but any wiring or sensor faults will drive you round the bend. The price of Subaru spares make VW Classic parts look cheap.

*no engine is perfect

silverbullet wrote: (a closed deck block is capable of restraining 1200hp)

1200hp - bet that shifted!

It is/was in a stripped out Impreza drag racer

Ich fahre einen Bulli. Ich hilfe mir selbst...meistens!

I would be checking the existing motor out before making any expensive decisions. Vac advance system, as mentioned above, plus carb performance (an exhaust gas analyser is useful here), a compression test and a crank endfloat test, oh and a tappet check too. Once all is confirmed as correct, you should see better mpg. Then consider an LPG conversion.
Oh, tyre pressures can make quite a difference too.

Ian Hulley wrote: but then again I like sleeping in mine not laying under it.

Love that expression

DentedDevon wrote:We have owned several 1.9wbx campers over the years.
On a typical run consisting motorway, A and B roads and cruising at 55 to 60 mph, 26 to 28 mpg was normal.
Our current Devon pop-top has a 2.5 quad cam subaru and a DT gearbox (tallest standard ratios)
We still drive at the same pace and get 28 to 29 mpg.
Driven gently it feels strangely vw like and has a slight scooby thud to the exhaust note.
Keep your foot pressed to the floor and it takes off, hits 70 in third gear before grabbing fourth!

What happened with your V8 3.9 litre Rover engine project? That looked awesome in the back of your tin top.

As I mentioned at the end of my V8 project thread, I really ran out of resources for the project, time cash and inspiration.
I've kept in touch with James who bought it. He fitted the centre windows I had for it and installed his own camping interior. He has redone the interior again this year with a full width bed.
Mechanically all is well and has remained unchanged.
I'm hoping to catch up with James and the van at camper jam.

Get your existing engine checked out and sorted and then go LPG unless your engine turns out to on its last legs LPG will save you money in the long run and can always be used on any future petrol engine upgrade.