basically we used it for a bit, then it started playing up and getting a little bit difficult to deal with, and the clutch started slipping. so i lefft it in matataks back yard and sort of forgot about it for prolly around 2 or 3 months now
so now that ive got the motivation back, and some money, and the withdrawal symptoms of not having a subaru in my posession ive decided to convert my buggy to an EJ16 MPFI powerplant
The origional motor was a VW 1600 of the early 60's vintage,but it sported dual port super flow heads, a small stroker kit and a 12 volt generator system, max power was about 45 HP (a little bit more then stock)
The gearbox is a swing axel variety, with hardened keys and a few other minor adjustments to make it stronger ....good ol 4 on the floor
since ive had it ive raised it by adjusting the torsion bars, so the ass end sits a bit higher then it did, burnd out a clutch, screwed up the carby, over heated it when brenny v's brother broke the fan belt and kept driving it, and hit many trees
The plans are, and ive collected basically all of the parts now, just waiting for delivery of the adaptor kit and custom flywheel, and trying to sort out the wiring harness
the engine that i will be using is an EJ16 MPFI, out of a 1997 Impreza sports wagon, has a whisker under 70 kw, and plenty of torque. it has basically twice the power the current VW motor has:P. to make it fit though without loosing clearance i need to either chop the sump and bring it a lot higher, or make a dry sump and scavenger pump setup...i dunno which is cheaper yet ill decide during the week..it wont stop me getting it driving,,, just cant go off flat roads or sand caus the sump will collect everything in its way
and a custom exhaust thats tight and nimble, maybe use the factory manifold, chopped up to sit much higher, and invert it so it comes out the front of the motor(back of buggy) and smash a cannon or something on it
ive purchased a standard friction plate for the clutch, and had the pressure plate upped a little bit to cope with the extra torque. i didnt want to put in a 4 puk ceramic racing clutch just yet untill i know what the gearbox can handle and what it cant handle.
ive mounted the radiator, was not easy finding a spot for it, as it kind of gets in the way doesnt matter where its put, but ive settled for a spot directly behind the seats, in front of the gearbox, so the water pipes are still as low as i can get them before i need to get a booster water pump.
next thing i did was extra supporting of the gearbox mounts, and installed and strenghtened a performance buggy g'box bracing kit, including all new polyurethane bushings and all that crap. i needed to do a lot of strengthening to this because the motor in this setup will not have an engine cross member,,,the engine basically bolts to the box and hangs there...just like the VW motor, if it presents as a problem then i will think about adding an engine x member in the future to support it a bit more
started redoing the entire electrical system, and it will include many more lights, a stereo, and some tail/clearance lights for night time driving, and a couple of guages, as the new motor will need to have temp and oil lights etc etc so it can be monitored.
thats basically it for the moment, only just started the conversion so ill keep posting updates as it all happens, im hoping to have it up and running by next weekend, but thats provided i can get the wiring sorted and the adaptor kit gets here on time.
should be a whole lot of fun when its done, as it was a bag load already with the VW motor in it. looking foreward to it
heres just some of the photos i got recently of it after it got a lick of paint as well, just for your vieweing pleasure
dave
the old motor comming off
...prolly caus it doesnt have an 02 sensor yet and runs a bit rich
