Changing a Vanagon 1.6 n/a to 1.6TD and 5 speed tranny

[witoke]

I have bought a used  1.6TD and 5 speed box from a Geman Vanagon for my US '82 n/a Vanagon Camper in the hopes of getting a little more power and better highway speed. My van has a BAE turbo kit on it but was still only good for 55mph/90km/h on the highway at a comfortable engine speed.

My mechanic and I are going to be putting it in in the next couple of weeks. If anyone has done this can you share any usefull info or tips you might have please?

I understand the engine is a straight bolt in though I will have to find the space for the air to air oil and intercooler and make up the plumbing. The trans is upposed to be quite different from my early Vanagon 4 speed and I anticipate having to make a new mount and replace the entire linkage with the newer 2-part style.

This forum has been fascinating and I appreciate the seriousness and real expertise of many of the participants. I am anticipating doing some of the performance mods to boost torque and to get the torque to start lower down for my 2000kg van. (Long-haul travelling van and daily driver never gonna be a hot rod.) Any specific advice about boosting torque/hp would be appreciated too.

thanks everyone, this is a great place for info. The BAE turbo'd engine will be available for sale soon I hope.

[myke_w]

Before you touch anything performance wise, you need an EGT gauge...
what exhaust are you using?

[witoke]

I will be running it as is with the standard Vanagon TD exhaust at first but will fit an EGT from day one. I plan to have a straight 2.5 inch pipe made up, probably from the BAE exhaust I have now, but that depends on the turbo I choose and what manifold goes with it. If it is too loud then a single muffler will be added. (There are no emissions checks for a diesel where I live.)

From reading on this forum the general consensus seems to be that a smaller turbo will spool up faster and be better for low rpm power but that I will lose out at higher rpm. For my purposes that sounds like a reasonable compromise but I will need to drive the beast post-transplant  to be sure where/if improvement is needed. A VNT sound amazing but I really don't have the time needed to play with setting one up.

I will be fitting an EGT and probably a boost gauge to give me a reasonable idea of what the engine is doing.

As I said, I don't need a high rpm hot rod but I do ideally want to get around 90-100hp and 150 lbs/ft  (or more) of torque.

[Baxter]

The exhaust is already over 2", can't remember excatly but for the time being it is up to the job.

The European TD's also have an extra auxilliary waterpump that the NA doesn't have, and as per golfs etc is switched on at 104 degrees C.

Maybe worth a read.

http://vwdiesel.net/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=3649&highlight=stealth+bus

I would skip the air-air intercooler and get a charge cooler, getting air flow over the intercooler was a bit of a bind, not impossible but I think a charge cooler (air-water) will be easier to instal and moreefficient do to lack of useable airflow at the blunt end.

If you need any help,or European parts finding, give us a nod.
I run this place.
www.brickwerks.co.uk and do mainly T3's
I also run this website which you may find useful
www.brick-yard.co.uk