WRX powered superbus

[richbaker78]

here it is in all its glory.....
converison spec: 2002 2litre WRX Turbo (quad cam), green induction kit, 3 inch decat exhaust system, LPG (eventually). RJES Bell housing kit see www.rjes.com for detials. Hydraulic clutch conversion, golf and subaru heater matix and blowers, hybrid chargecooler running motorbike rads, VW T4 van rad mounted under belly, twin fans.

brakes and suspension: porsche Turbo Mo30 brembo 4 pot front brakes, porsche 944 s2 rear suspension and 4 pot brakes, out board airlift air bags front and back independent (6 inch lift), hybrid shocks, 944 Turbo master cylinder and servo.

The van - RHD 1970 small light bay window, originally 1600 TP, then 1641, then 1776 now WRx :-). Taiga green and white. Dormobile conversion (side hinged pop up roof) original interioir will be retained (with a few mods of course!!)

theres probably a whole lot more to say but that will do for the moment.

[lister]

Rich, can i ask why you chose to go for a hydraulic clutch?

[doppelganger]

its an option u get with the bell housing conversion ,i have 2 and am having hydraulic clutch in my race beetle.no adjustment ,you have good feel through pedal and a lot easier with a heavier (subaru )clutch
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vwdrc AE bugjam winner
11.23@127mph. 1.47 60ft. 2.85sec 0-60mph

[lister]

Cool, is the conversion hard?
Actually how hard is the whole turbo conversion? Thinking of going all out.
I've just finalised buying my house today, and i have a good couple of pounds more in the bank than i thought i would have, so its all round.

[richbaker78]

hi lister,
when I got my bell housing from RJES he had only got the t25 bellhousings done which ran the hydraulic clutch set up. With the turbo the clutch works opposite to the nomal van clutch so Rich at RJES was still working through the design of reversing the cable clutch set up. Being the impatient sort of person I am and for the reasons Doppelganger pointd out I thought a hydraulic clutch would be a good idea - 1 less cable to worry about and my girlfriend might even be able to drive it.

Converting to Hyd. is surprisingly easy there were pictures of the conversion on www.rjes.com until recently - in the pics section - ill find out where they went. I used t25 M/C and slave cylinder.

As for the rest of the conversion - I wouldnt say easy is the word - its involved and interesting but nothing too hectic. Ive made matters worse by doing lots of other bits too and rolling in with a complete resto. YOu need to be a bit handy with the welder though - and I cant recommend RJES highly enough his product is supurb and support is excellent. His site well worth a look too.

things to consider when WRX turboing bay: petrol tank - move it forward or modify it to clear turbo, convert intercooler to chargecooler, hyd clutch set up for heavier clutch (with RJES), if early bay- a gear box mount is handy, thats about it all the rest is standard considerations if you were doing . Oh and a decent gearbox - a 1600 will be rubbish with that much power on tap. an 091 2ltr with cogbox high ratio 4th is the way - or maybe a porsche box.

[lister]

Cheers fella. My bus is at the same point as yours is in the above pics (only without the suspension and brake work) I've just been down the motor factors and ordered 5ltrs of mango green coach paint That'll be my job next weekend. Then suspension, MOT, move to Lincoln, park bus up, start hybrid brake system using mercedes sprinter discs, engine conversion, interior.


Sounds easy when i type it like that

[richbaker78]

a rare early pic of my van!!

[doppelganger]