Tuesday, March 6, 2012

The engine swap... and the "itch" is back

For the past few weekends, I've been working away at my engine swap in the Vanagon. I did as much as I could with the new engine for now. This past weekend I started work to pull the existing engine out of the van. So far, I've disconnected all the electrical items and fuel lines. I haven't had more than a few hours each of the past few weekends to get anything done.

This coming weekend I plan to pull the intake manifold and a few remaining items off the old engine to get some more clearance to pull the engine out from below the van. Once that's done, I'll block off and disconnect the cooling system. With any luck, I can unbolt and get the engine out this weekend.


One of the reasons I haven't had much time to work on the van is that I've started to look at project cars again. What, you ask? Old, Mercedes diesels, of course. I don't necessarily regret selling the 220D. If I knew that I was going to find a new engine for the van so soon, I would have held on to the Mercedes. But, such is life, and I'll be happier with a W123.

Not that I need another project - far from it. But, I'm at the point where I'm wired for this, and I feel like I almost need to have something to work on. Plus, I'm still looking for another Subaru to add to the fleet. I haven't committed to buying another Mercedes, but I've certainly got the itch for it again.