I installed everything myself, so I saved a lot of money. The junk yard engine with wire harness, computer and alternator were $550. Then I had to get the adapter plate, new clutch assembly, VW stock flywheel had to be machined and re-drilled for the ecotec. And the wire harness had to be chopped up and the computer reprogrammed. All of those things were done by phil's bug shack in kentucky. Beyond that, I had a custom $500 aluminum radiator built by superior radiator in michigan, I built my own exhaust with a cheap turbo muffler and a few pieces of u-bend.
This is my favorite video on RU-vid and I can’t count how many hours I’ve spent watching this cool sitcom, cause when I’m watching I’m sitting calm, great video dude 👍🏼🤙🏼
Very well thought out build. As far as the seating, you thought about not just you but your wife as well as anyone else that wanted to ride it. You kept it slick but simple and the choice of motor seems perfect. If your a VW nut like me, yea it would be kinda hard to go the other way for power but in reality the ecotec sounds great. Not loud at all but still has a nice subtle rumble to it and you have the power and efficiency of a newer car. I bought a rail too and did a few adjustments to fit my needs and its just powered by a now completely stock 1600cc dp vw motor even switched the carb and exhaust back to stock. Its plenty of fun for me and I dont have to worry about blowing it up. Its a very torquey little motor and me and my friends have taken it up some pretty steep and rocky trails and i was amazed at how it lugged along.
Thanks John! I really like it. We run it really hard and it just keeps on going. I was trying to go the VW 2332/turbo'd route, but after 10 months of waiting for my engine to be rebuilt I gave up and went to the junk yard for an ecotec. I don't regret my decision, a 2332 with turbo would be a ticking time bomb.
Nice work. I have the same motor in my work car. Good choice for the dunes with the sleeved aluminum block nice and light. If you ever want to step it up a little bit in a few years ZZPerformance sells everything you need to supercharger or turbo it in kits at affordable prices. I have their Shorty stainless steel header that I bought primarily because my cast one cracked and it is a nice piece of equipment no issues with it in less than $200
Great video. Starting my ecotec 2007-2008 L61 swap today. Watch for my video series. Going to use some of the ideas from your build. Thanks Vic Ferrari’s garage
The clear fuel filter is fine. It's just in between the tank and the pump. I have had it on there for 2 years trouble free. The air intake is out of the cobalt, just the rubber elbow. The rest of it I made. I bought a cold air intake kit on ebay cheap just because I needed the bung for the MAF sensor. Just cut off what I didn't need and added a K&N filter. Works perfect. Regarding the swing axle, I broke it last year being pretty hard on it. I went with a 002 3 rib bus tranny with a weddle 3rd gear. I used stock bug trailing arms and 28mm sway away torsion bars, fox 2.0 shocks and it runs even smoother over bumps now.
Very nice I really would like to build one but I would need guidance from someone to buy the parts I will be ready to buy the parts in about 2 months I think you did a really good job on your project
Nice setup. I would be careful with that clear fuel filter. It looks like it's on the supply side of the pump, there is enough flow that it could come apart. Just get a second Fuel injection rated filter.
Nice....I have the same frame chopped up to be more of a heavy duty desert car. Just putting an Ecotec 2.2 in now. should be done in a couple of weeks. I was going to do the conversion myself , but there is a guy (buggy shop) locally that is doing it for me.( I chickened out) I ditched the VW...cannot wait. Ecotec is the way to go.
Thanks. You'll love the ecotec. It's a powerhouse, way better than some old air cooled VW in my opinion. I actually drilled and tapped the engine block for an oil return line for a turbo I have, but changed my mind. The swing axle was only built for 40HP, so decided not to try and destroy it. This thing is already ridiculous, with the turbo would make it super ridiculous.
Too cool! Too freakin' cool! I hope you started building another one. These projects make a man's mind calm because idle hands... as they say. Thanks for the vid.
I will check out your videos. Unless I want to spend about $5k on upgrades, switching this car to IRS, i'm gonna run what I brung. I do baby it, and I think it will last quite some time.
Thus was very informative! Thanks for posting this video! One thing though how did you get the transmission to fit the ecotec engine? Is there any variation with other ecotec such as the 2.4 any adapters ti make it fit?
There is a place called "phil's bug shack" in Grayson, KY. He made the adapter plate and did the wiring harness for me, so there were only 4 wires to run the whole engine. Great guy and he does it very cheap.
Great video and info!!! I want to put and ecotec in one they are great motors for it. But if you know what did it cost to get the motor installed. So the cutting of the harness, adapter plates
That actually the 2.4 LE5 Ecotec.. Alot of people who sell these get it confused with the 2.2 but it's 88mm pistons not 86mm..nice though...180 hp is plenty for those rails..
wow man this is so impressive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Congrats. This is so bad ass. I'm in the market to buy / find someone that builds a set up like this. Any ideas or recommendations?
Thanks Tony! I built my own car. Get in touch with Phil's bug shack in Grayson, KY. He builds adapter plates, does the wire harness and computer, etc. He is cheap and does good work. Make sure you get a bus transaxle. You will break one out of a bug, I did.
nice rail Steve, do you have any videos of it in action? I am getting ready to build a long travel five seater and plan on running this motor would love to see it perform!
Thanks Jim! I do have videos, but I need to make them smaller and edit them so they would be fun to watch. This motor is roughly 160HP the way I have it setup with stock tune. When I get above about 3,000RPM, it sounds almost like it has a turbo on it. Very high revving engine, probably red lines about 8,000RPM. For a large five seater, you may want more motor depending on how big the car is.
Sand in the alternator and belts is not a big deal. Most of the sand is being thrown off the paddles behind you, not into the engine area. And the sand is dry so it just falls out of cracks and openings in parts. Not like mud, where it sticks to everything.
i recommend a strap for your legs! i have rolled a machine like yours and nearly became paralyzed due to my legs coming out of the cage as i was upside down! very scary experience and never wanna see it happen again!
I broke the swing axle after 4 weekend dune trips. Tore the teeth off of 2nd gear. And I had to tighten the nuts on the ends of the axles(large nuts) after about every 2 hours of driving. It was a miserable experience. Never again. IRS only from here on out.
so im guessing you switched to irs? how hard was the swap? how hard where you on the swing axle? were you popping the clutch and jumping? my car is very light im trying to get atleast a season or two out of the swing axle
I switched to IRS and added disc brakes. It was not that hard. The tranny was $2k for a good one. I was very hard on the swing axle. No jumping, and no popping the clutch.
steve klopping was it completely stock? i just paid 1500 to have my type 1 swing axle built i wont be that hard on it but i want to do some wheelies lol
Yes, that is the original top. After this sand season, I'm going to have a new one made using the same carbon fiber material black & silver so it will match. I really like having the shade.
Yea when my motor goes im going ecotech. I have a 4.3 but its pretty heavy. Yours looks great. I live these cars for their age they were put together well
