petrol or diesel in a bus is the question...

Bugsy_malone 666

So somewhere around 2007/8 i put a 1.6 diesel engine from a diesel golf in my bus, it was OK but slow then the starter failed so then during 2009 i fitted a 1.6td which was OK but then in 2013 it failed for an unknown reason (well the cambelt was the issue at idle so the engine might be OK) and i have been running the stock ac lump since, which wasn't great for moving a house!

So roll on some time and i am thinking of putting a watercooled motor back in, i have a TD or an old golf gti lump both of which need rebuild and I'm asking myself which might be the better engine to put back in my 72 bus.

When it was a TD i was running veg oil for a bit and have a second tank, but part of me says is it worth having a diesel for how rarely i drive it. So i wondered what other peoples experiences/ides might be?
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Moominbus · Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2015 7:53 pm Post subject:

Hi Bugsy, I just wanted to let you know that you were a main inspiration for us getting our camper back in 2012! My wife came up with the idea of "just getting a van and travelling around the world", I thought it sounded good so started looking into it - to cut a long story short I didn't fancy the headaches around Visa entry and driving for quite so much so we decided a year long tour of Europe would do nicely. All we needed to do was pick a van, also a long story but the wife had always fancied a vw camper (I had ruled them out on fuel efficiency grounds) but I thought I'd have a look and see if anyone had done a diesel conversion... and I found you.
As for your question, I would have thought the best person to answer it would be you - you know how many miles you do, whether you like the lawn mower motor and how much work is involved for a conversion. Personally I have grown to like the rugged simplicity of the old lawn mower engine but the fuel economy still hurts when I think my daily driver does 65mpg or better so I'm still going to convert. All the best with whatever you decide and thanks alot for the information you've posted about your conversions!

Bugsy_malone 666 · Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2015 9:00 pm Post subject:

Well I'm honoured

All the conversion kit on my van is still in place, I guess I was wondering what peoples experience of other engines might have been.

I mean to put any watercooled engine back in my bus is a piece of cake really, all the rads and fans are still in as well as a the various heating systems (well that would be nice in winter!).

I generally only do local mileage and I think the diesels are pretty pokey, along with good fun, but as we have found with newer vehicles, they take more time to warm up, which is fine with driving to the pod, but part of me wonders what sort of mileage I do more, the long distance or the local (which to be honest it seems to be neither alot of the last year with a new house I been finishing)

The only thing with the GTi engine is the ECU wiring (which is why most diesels are easier) but I am sure I can work that out. I guess it boils down to whichever one is cheaper to rebuild!
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rabbitboy · Padawan Joined: 20 Nov 2009 Posts: 94 Location: Worcester

Moomin, my bay afn conversion is running now so my 1z mtdi and modified 2 litre box is now available.

Bugsy_malone 666 · Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2015 8:06 am Post subject:

So thats a golf 1.9tdi engine and bay 2litre box? what sort of price did you have in mind?
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rabbitboy · Padawan Joined: 20 Nov 2009 Posts: 94 Location: Worcester

Sorry bugsy but moomin has his name on it.

Bugsy_malone 666 · Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2015 12:45 pm Post subject:

Not to worry then, I am still undecided as to if a petrol or diesel lump is gonna be better for me, I have all the diesel stuff in place in my van, but blew my 1600td a while back and have been trying to work out a better replacement unless I can be arsed to rebuild it.
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rabbitboy · Padawan Joined: 20 Nov 2009 Posts: 94 Location: Worcester

Diesel all the way. Afn and flipped box with cruise control is awesome. Tim Shettle at ultimate engineering is the guy to sort it.

Bugsy_malone 666 · Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2015 4:53 pm Post subject:

Yeah I'm still a little dubious about the flipped gearbox idea as they are not designed to work that way up and may not get propper full lubrication causing premature failure. Unless vw actually say its actually ok I think I may pass on the idea for now and stay with tank gearing of a standard box.

Diesel wise, the engines are just dear been considering a 2litre gti engine as they are a bit smoother.

I did consider a V5 too as I love the one in my bora!
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Kai · Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2015 7:16 am Post subject:

I'm going to have a JX engine available soon. Absolutely nothing wrong with it apart from me and it being too slow in my cheetah. You can test drive it too as it's still in the van. Think I'm local to you too.
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