I've owned a 61 VW bus for 10 years now. I have to agree that maintenance is a constant thing on old VW's. But at least it is easily done. I am currently in the process of putting a rebuilt engine in my VW and also putting a good used engine in my 79 TD. The VW engine was out in 35 minutes working alone. The 5 Cyl diesel.... not that easy. At least the Mercedes engine almost never needs to come out, compared to the VW, which comes out every other year on average.

Bottom line is that I love both cars, and would not get rid of either one.

Denis

Sixto
91 300SE
87 300SDL
83 300SD

That answers a question that has been in the back of my mind for 25 years: Why does a Subaru look like a front engined watercooled VW?

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

How to keep your Volkswagen alive for the complete idiot and a $19.00 tool set from Grand Auto were all I needed to extend the life of my '59 VW back in the late 60's. I remember commuting from Chico State to Reno and I'd pat the little guy on the "dashboard" when we'd make it over Donner Summit -7200 feet, 'cause it was all downhill from there to town.

No gas gauge but I had the coolest 8 track. Could drop the 36 horse engine on my belly in about 45 minutes with two (trusty) roomates lifting the back end up and over. Numerous burnt valves, broken fan belts, worn clutches, sheared pulleys plus dozens of valve adjustments and oil changes. Maybe it was the 36 horse engine but it was the simplest thing I've ever worked on.

Even if I could find two guys to lift the 300D up and over I don't think I wanna try dropping the 5 cylinder turbo on by belly!. There's no comparison between the VW and a MB 123 but, as someone said, it brings back the memories.

WOW!!!!!!!!! You mean there is a kit to put a Subaru into a Beetle?!?!?!!?!

I tried to search KEP and came up dry. Anyone have any URL's for info on this conversion???????

WOW!!!!!!! This is the necessary ingredient to make a decent bug!

Thanks,

Absolutely Larry, I will find the url for you ... however , it has been posted on the forum.. so a search may find it.. when we were talking about adapter for 5 speed....

"This is the necessary ingredient to make a decent bug!" I have been dreaming about this for 15 years....

Kerry , That is exactly the reason... it is the " corrected" VW engine . The nice thing about using it to transplant into a VW bug (or bus) chassis... is that the motormounts were actually transmission mounts... and were designed for the same direction vibration which the sube engine has ( since they are both flat fours)....
KEP makes the adapters to bolt them in...
and two more things.... it weighs less than the original VW engine... ( due to the cast iron heatexchangers for the heater) and uses less space ( due to not needing metal ductwork to move air to the right places for cooling ).

the value of say an air-cooled VW and a 240D is that they are MECHANICAL beings that can be maintained, fixed, and kept roadworthy forever, given their simplicity and abundance of cheap parts.

New VWs and MBs are different beasts...deeply computer reliant, lots of parts to wear out that only the dealer can replace...in short...just like all other cars today.

A well-maintained VW air-cooled or MB 240D could well be the last "perpetual cars" made to last forever. A VW or MB today that's just a few years old is just about ready to cut loose with a ton of electronic and maintenance problems that will be expensive to address, no matter how well either car has been taken care of. They're meant to be "disposable."

BTW...replacement parts available for air cooled beetles can be actually many times better than what was there when new.

This sounds like a thread I should be in, but dealing with some work issues right now. I'll be back!

__________________
https://goo.gl/photos/J8ZUVvAYiYqLxbD18

1989 560SL 111Kmi
2007 E550 4Matic 157 Kmi
2000 F250SD 7.3l, 1996 Explorer Ltd 5.0l
1965 VW Beetle Deluxe 115 Kmi
=========================
Previous MB:
1983 240D Euro Manual 144 Kmi
1983 300SD 495 Kmi
1986 190D 2.5 100 Kmi
1986 300SDL 202 Kmi
1991 300D 2.5 Turbo 91 Kmi
1998 E320S4 (4-matic wagon) 140 Kmi

Is this it?

K.E.P.

__________________
Rick Miley
2014 Tesla Model S
2018 Tesla Model 3
2017 Nissan LEAF
Former MB: 99 E300, 86 190E 2.3, 87 300E, 80 240D, 82 204D Euro
Chain Elongation References

JimB+, Amen .
Rivermasternc, Ok , we will wait....
Dave, "for the complete idiot " ... a really great book....the 36 hp engine had a better track record down here in the heat than the later 1600's... the best combo was the 1500 with singleport heads for cooling... I had an aunt and uncle that put 200,000 miles on a 1960 VW .. and a whole lot on their bus of close to that year... but SLOW.... LOL.. but traffic was not what it is now...
Dave, "no fuel guage"....LOL... I went 8 years without one in my karmanGhia.. studied that sucker for years.. finally went to designing a substitute from Radio Shack parts..... I still don't understand how a ball in a slick tube can transmit any good information about fuel level... and sure enough,, mine did NOT...LOL
Rick, Yes, thanks... I had emailed Larry direct but should have posted it here for everyone....

Larry, you weren't thinking about a WRX engine in a bug were you ! maybe with a nice 5 speed 912 transaxel, I remember corvair and super 90 engines
neseled back there.
Here's my VW story.In 1967 I bought a 52 split
window $75.00 with a dissasembled 25 HP engine (that's right 25). In my persuit of looking for an engine I found a 53 356 Porsche coupe it had a decent body a great interior giant drum brakes and a white wire spoke steering wheel and a 36 horse VW power plant.
Should I put the 36 in the split window? I sold the split window (for a tidey prophet) to a couple of car builders who were going to build a drag car with it.
The 36 was much to slow for my snazzy 356 and not being able to afford a Porsche engine I went about trying to get more HP out of the 36 I first welded up and overly complex set of equal length headers (no muffler)god was it loud.I then found a Judson supercharger (guess that dates me)I re jeted the carb and instaled a larger oil pan and a transporter distributor witch had mecanical advance. It was no GTO eater but I drove it for years and loved it...........
William Rogers.........

When I was in high school (early sixties) there was a pro football player who owned the local VW dealership. (Leon Hart, Detroit Lions) He used to cruise around town in a VW bug with a Porsche engine, looking for kids with hot cars to race. It didn't take long before everybody got wise to the game, but I'm sure he had fun while it lasted.

__________________
Palangi

2004 C240 Wagon 203.261 Baby Benz
2008 ML320 CDI Highway Cruiser
2006 Toyota Prius, Saving the Planet @ 48 mpg
2000 F-150, Destroying the Planet @ 20 mpg



TRUMP .......... WHITEHOUSE
HILLARY .........JAILHOUSE
BERNIE .......... NUTHOUSE
0BAMA .......... OUTHOUSE

LOL! A VW Bug is one of the last cars to be built to last forever? I guess anything would last forever if you're willing to spend all your time working on it.

I like the idea of the Subaru engine in a bug. If you can figure out where to put the radiator and heater core, it should be a fun project.

Thanks to leathermang for the links and info about Kennedy Engineering. I wonder if people would notice a bug that drives by SILENTLY! None of that pulsating whistling noise.

Have a great day,

My facination with this thread is the commonality of the persons. I often thought my progression from my very first car being a 1968 Beetle through VW watercooled diesel and gas and on to MB diesels was unique but made perfect sense to me. Apparently not so unique after all!

Thought I would include my sig from the Motorworks Forum:

-Scott

__________________
https://goo.gl/photos/J8ZUVvAYiYqLxbD18

1989 560SL 111Kmi
2007 E550 4Matic 157 Kmi
2000 F250SD 7.3l, 1996 Explorer Ltd 5.0l
1965 VW Beetle Deluxe 115 Kmi
=========================
Previous MB:
1983 240D Euro Manual 144 Kmi
1983 300SD 495 Kmi
1986 190D 2.5 100 Kmi
1986 300SDL 202 Kmi
1991 300D 2.5 Turbo 91 Kmi
1998 E320S4 (4-matic wagon) 140 Kmi

my saga; vwubs, mostly convertabiles. last one a 73 ghia convertable. porsche alloys, koni shocks and extractor exhaust. around 250k miles with one did it myself rebuild on engine. sold last year with ad that claimed the car needed everything.

now on to the diesel saga. presently three. originally got the diesel kick about four years ago. the thought. buy a car for janko junior that was sooo slow that by the time he got it up to speed he would be there; noisey and stinky no one would ride with him. things do not always work as to plan. the bugger wants nothing to do with diesels. his loss.