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by Model Citizen_Archive
enframed wrote:matthew wrote:bishopdante wrote:What could be a nuttier german-platform engine-swap than an AMG engine in a sprinter?I always wished that Volkswagen and Porsche had gotten together and created a really bad-ass and well-powered Vanagon with a boxer-6 in the hind-end back in the 1980's.Volkswagen seriously underestimated the potential of their U.S. marketed rear-engined vans then. They manufactured them with poor engines and powertrains and not so great accommodations. So did Toyota with their original Van, but the Van was a better vehicle than the Vanagon.I wish both Volkswagen and Toyota would manufacture updated and innovated versions of these respective vehicles. The Previa was a great successor to the Toyota Van...it was very original, innovative, efficient and groundbreaking in almost every respect while still staying true to the Van, but then Toyota just gave up on the whole concept and gave into Siennas .Anyway...I digress. A properly tuned Porsche (or Subaru) motor in a Volkswagen Van would be the bomb.VW really underestimated. People routinely pay $10K these days for a used water-cooled Vanagon in decent condition. Nearly every time I'm in SF with my van someone yells out the window offering to buy it. I was very lucky and got mine in 2006 for $1800. You're right. The 1986-1990 Vanagons are really fantastic vehicles, so much space and they handle really well for being so narrow and tall. They are the best looking van every produced, IMO. The accommodations are fine. The turning radius is insanely tight, 3-point turns are rarely necessary. I have a 1992 2.2L Subaru Legacy engine in my 1987 Weekender (bed and table only--no pop-top, no water hookups, no wood inside = less weight). This Subaru conversion is the only legal one in CA, but people use 6-cyl 3.3L Subaru SVX engines as well. There were people converting to diesel in Sacramento, and others using South African VW engines. Vanagons were made in South Africa into the late 90s using 5-cyl Audi engines, IIRC. The stock diesel Vanagons ( and Tri-Star) are really super dope, very powerful turbocharged engines in some of those.I miss my old Vanagon, was a cool van but it was an early aircooled one and was rusting slowly away, yours is a much better model. Swapped it for a 1968 vw mirocbus but would have definitely stuck with it if I'd had a later watercooled model that didn't rust so much.