2.3 L into 1971 VW single cab

[fastmc25]

Mike, Just make a small heat shield and put it between the water pipe and the header.. Mount it about 1" away from the water pipes... this will work great at keeping the header heat from affecting the water pipes...

Also... Not a fan of wrapping the headers,,, you can do a small section and it will help drop radiant heat exposure but it will hold moisture when parked and will promote rust under the wrap on a street driver.. I have a 8" section wrapped on my exhaust to help cut down the heat by my oil filter but that's it..

The heat shield will work best..

I can help if you want.. Let me know..

 

[itlives]

I can help if you want.. Let me know..

Duh! I got a big piece of sheet metal from Lee. It's cooling pretty good right now, but WILL be better!

 

[itlives]

Hey guys, it's been 3 months since I posted. The truck has been running great except for the vibration that won't go away. I think I'm going to have to take the engine apart. I didn't balance it. That's the only thing that I can figure is wrong.
I've put almost 2,000 miles on the engine. I pulled my camper twice and it has plenty of power (which is why I built it).
I'm pretty bummed about having to pull the engine but now it's startng to leak oil.
It's shaking itself apart -LOL!
Thinking about building another one with a ranger roller cam. I'm running low on resources though. I still have my Ranger 2.0 I can rebuild but hate to go down in size from my 2.3 bored out .30 over.
I came back over here because it's the best resource for info on these engines. I know where a D port Mustang head is (if they haven't sold it). That would wake up an old 2.0!
Anyway, I'll keep the thread updated as I FIX THIS THING!!!

 

[ericlerouge]

I had a similar problem with my 66 econoline. I had a shop put in a rebuilt engine i bought. a 300 c.i. instead of a 240 c.i. . The mechanic that did the work told me the vibration came from the new engine supports. I drove the van a long time and never bother to change them or look at it... I'm no expert today either! But if i were in your position, i'd try to look at that before pulling your engine out and apart (maybe someone more knowledgeable here could shime in) Maybe the guy bullshitted me to get me out of his shop too (i was young)...

 

[itlives]

I've already checked out that and I did have to replace one of the mounts. I also had the flywheel balanced. The only thing left is to go into the engine and check it out.
I bought a 2.3 Mustang engine with 114K on it. I'll swap engines when it comes in and go through this one when I can.
This one runs great! Too bad it has the shakes!

 

[ericlerouge]

Ah ok. well good luck with that new engine, hope this one will work better

 

[itlives]

I'm back (again)! I wound up having to pull the engine apart and take the whole rotating assembly down to the machine shop. I got a call, they wanted the clutch assembly too. It turned out being the clutch pressure plate was out of balance (they DID balance the rest during the initial machining). I've never had a clutch that wasn't balanced from the factory- oh well. The engine is back together and running well!

NOW, on the question at hand. I'm running the original Ford ignition and it was running good until a couple of days ago. First, I got a little "hick-up". Then a bigger "hick-up". Last night, It completely quit and then started back up as I was driving. Then, it quit in the middle of an intersection.
It started right back up. The thing is, I'm supposed to go out of town the week of T-giving.
1) I'm wondering if the ignition box is the culprit?
I also have two "green" boxes.
2) Do the green boxes plug right into the plug that's on the Ford box? The plugs match. The wires almost match. The only difference is
3) Are the green boxes the Chinese and the ones that crap out on you when you least need it? The have NO markings on them.
I also have a MSD box (AL6 ?) That I could use.
You guys have been a lot of help with this project. I thank everyone!

 

[fte]

Nice build! I had a 79 bus that I swaped a Mitsubishi 2.0 in. I located the radiator in place of the rear engine cover on a hinge so you could open it up to acess the engine. I tried several locations for the radiator and this spot proved perfect. There is a natural high pressure there while traveling, and the motor driven fan did the rest in trafic and at a stop. All I had to do to make it fit was extend the bumper out a few inches and relocate the license plate and fab a cover. Keep up the good work, happy camping!

 

[itlives]

Thanks fte! Have you any pics? I'd like to see!

Back to the problem. I switched out the Motorcraft ingnition module with one of my extras. Engine wouldn't start. Switched back, started right up. Still, it cut out on me when I was headed to the parts store. I bought a new module. Will put it in tomorrow along with a new alternator. The alternator that's on the engine now has some vibration.
Fun fun!

 

[fte]

Sorry no pics, that was over 25 years ago!

 

[VICTORHUGO]

Cool vw truck,and i am in the begging to put the 2.3 turbo ford engine in 84 mexican bug ,i have already the turbo block with new rings,rods and main bearings only i need cam(mine have a lot of wear)and wire harness

 

[itlives]

I got back last night from a 6 day camping trip. The truck pulled all my junk up and over the small mountain range that I wondered about. I think I'll keep it!
Not one hick up in the engine the whole trip. I found out I'm going 57 MPH at 3100 RPM using the GPS).
Think I need to change the ring and pinion. I want to go around 65 @ 3000RPM's.
Maybe a tire size will do, any thoughts?

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Tire size should do it. Check the calculators in the tech section.

Richard

 

[fte]

I swapped 15in rims with 235's on my bus to get the rpm's more friendly.

 

[Snoranger]

Think I need to change the ring and pinion. I want to go around 65 @ 3000RPM's.
Maybe a tire size will do, any thoughts?

I really dont know much about the VW truck... did it use the gear reduction hubs, like the van did?