Vanagon N/A

MPalm · Post by **MPalm** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 10:32 am

What kind of power does the Vanagon 1.6D put out, is it the same engine as in Golf?
What do you call the pickup-version, here it's called Transporter...I'm thinking of buying a Transporter T3 diesel but when I heard the one I was interested in was a N/A 1,6 I kinda lost the interest

Is it as slow and underpowered as one might think?

libbybapa · Post by **libbybapa** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 11:00 am

No, it's slower and more underpowered than one could even imagine. On the upside, installing a TD (or any vw inline-4 up to 2000) is fairly easy.

Andrew

MPalm · Post by **MPalm** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 11:36 am

Even slower

Maybe I should look at the T4 instead, It's also a N/A but it has a 5-cyl 2.4litre engine so it might be a bit smoother on the road!
I'm going to buy a Transporter shortly and these 2 are the ones I have set my eyes on so far.

libbybapa · Post by **libbybapa** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 11:52 am

It's 48 hp in a 4,000 lb box. The "acceleration rate" is incredibly slow (kinda like an old 1200 bus.

Also the gearing is so short that it's max speed is about 65 before you start over-revving the engine.

I'm all for turbos and adding intercoolers as it increases the engine efficiency.

Andrew

MPalm · Post by **MPalm** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 12:48 pm

Thanks for your input libbybapa!
Just got off the phone with the guy who has the T3, turnes out it is a 1.9 not a 1.6 as I first thought.
Still no turbo but at least more power

The heaterfan (blower) is broke and needs to be replaced, is this hard to do?
But the worst thing: No tow bar (is this the right word? The thing that u attach your trailer or caravan to

)

He lives 130miles from here so I'd like to know a bit about the 1.9 engine and if the fan is difficult to fix. I guess the towbar won't cause much headache, a few bolts and some wiring and it's done, right?

libbybapa · Post by **libbybapa** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 2:05 pm

The 1.9 n/a motor is a significant step up for two reasons. The first is the obvious increase in hp and torque. That motor puts out about 68 hp similar to the air-cooled vanagons. More significantly IMO is that the 1.9na motor has the piston cooling oil squirters and so there should be no problem at all for someone to get the manifolds and other bits need to bolt a turbo to it for the added hp and efficiency.

The fan blower is not overly difficult IMO but is somewhat involved requiring the removal of the radiator. It is also fairly likely that the thermoswitch would be dysfunctional rather than the whole fan and is much easier to swap out. Test it before removing the fan.

Andrew

MPalm · Post by **MPalm** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 8:40 am

It's not the fan on the radiator, but the one that blows hot/cold air into the car..
Anyway, I drove 130mls to see the car and the seller had lied about the engine, it was a 1.6 afterall

Needless to say, I jumped right into my car and drove home..
The search continues.

libbybapa · Post by **libbybapa** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 9:37 am

Oh, right, the heater blower motor. It's a bit of a pain to get to. The dash needs to be removed along with the instrument cluster and the steering column needs detached from the dash. For someone with fair mechanical experience who has not done so previously I would think it would be about 2 hrs of work to get the fan in your hands.

How did you make the positive identification that it was a 1.9 rather than a 1.6?

Andrew

MPalm · Post by **MPalm** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 10:44 am

I don't know if you have the same sort of registration papers as we do but here every vehicle has a number of data, vin-codes and such and from that I saw that it had something like 37kW. Under the test-drive it became obvious that this was a 1.6 or a very tired 1.9.
I pinned my foot down and gave it some beans, the noice got louder and I shifted gears like a maniac and after 40seconds or so I gave up my attempt of getting to 60mph in less than a day