Ahh but you forgot to mention one increasingly
important thing........GAS MILEAGE!

the Tiico gets 26MPG highway.......can you beat
that?:)

--- Karl M <thewestyman@MINDSPRING.COM> wrote:
> Folks, I had the opportunity to complete the very
> first South African 2.6
> litre five-cylinder conversion available in a
> customer's '85 Westy, the
> beast is just plain awesome to drive! This kit
> consists of all brand-new
> parts, basically the exact drivetrain fitted to the
> vans sold in South
> Africa. The engine management system in Bosch
> Motronic, an amazing simple
> and smooth operating system. Included is basically
> everything needed for the
> conversion, minus a few clamps and bolts here and
> there. Complete exhaust
> system, all supports and brackets, engine including
> alternator and AC
> compressor (R-134 type!), wiring and ECU, airbox,
> clutch, flywheel, starter,
> etc. The kit is available with or without a
> brand-new 5-speed transmission,
> of course with Syncro you would reuse your existing
> transmission anyway. It
> also comes with a raised deck panel for engine
> clearance, HOWEVER I managed
> to get the engine under the existing lid with minor
> lowering of the engine
> mountings, so that no cutting of the Westy cabinets
> or sheetmetal was
> required. I also exchanged the engine lid for one
> from an early Vanagon, the
> metal type, which was trimmed a few places
> underneath and bubbled for an
> extra inch of clearance over the intake manifold and
> distributor areas. This
> allows reuse of the stock Westy bed cushion with no
> changes. The ground
> clearance is still very close to what the waterboxer
> had. I also added
> Syncro rear springs to handle the slight increase in
> weight, the rear of the
> van is now about 3/4 higher than the front,
> unloaded.
>
> If you've read this far, you might wonder how it
> performs. Well, let me tell
> you, I have never driven a Vanagon with this much
> power and torque. It zips
> up to cruising speed effortlessly and smoothly,
> without a surge or stumble.
> If the need arises to pass on the highway, just push
> down on the throttle
> and away you go. People look at the you, wondering
> how on earth a VW van
> could go so fast. I tested it out on a few local
> hills that I go over
> regularly with my 1.9 TD Syncro Westy, where I
> always have to shift to third
> to maintain 40~45 mph (waterboxers even less that I
> have tested here) the
> 2.6 pulls at 55 in fifth. I am totally impressed
> with the available torque
> and overall smoothness of the engine. The Tiico
> pales in comparison in every
> respect. Upfront cost is a bit more (remember, it
> does include all fuel
> system components, exhaust, alternator and AC
> compressor), but the
> conversion is hardly more difficult to assemble than
> the Tiico.
>
> I have a zip file of photos that I can send if
> interested, at some point I
> may put them up on a website. There will be a few
> more kits available for
> shipping soon. Let me know if you have interest in
> one. I can provide tech
> support should you decide to install the kit
> yourself. Thanks for reading!
>
> Karl Mullendore
> Westy Ventures
> Gapland, MD 21779
> 301.432.4645 office
> 828.712.5598 mobile office

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