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The V-6 Vanagon Page
By Rick Sherrod
My 'Trans Sportster', Mary Frances
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This is the poor little beast. Looks kind of sad, doesn't it? only 82,000 mi and all original paint. This truck was originally a diesel. I think that the fuel-injected 3.1L Chevy V-6 will make this the truck that VW should have built to begin with! Curious that they now offer a V6 Eurovan, don't you think? They can keep wanting that $30,000.00. I'll make one myself, and the motor will be out back where it belongs.
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When I bought the van it had a 229ci. 90' Chevrolet carbureted V-6 motor. As it was explained to me, the DPO overheated it and blew the head gaskets. While visiting Thanksgiving '97, my father pointed out the water pump belt limply draped across it's pulleys (the smoking gun). The DPO then let the Vanagon sit for a year or two to fully ensure that it would be useless, then sold it to my friend who parts out old VWs (Bill Todd Savannah, GA (912) 352-7051) who sold it to me. When I pulled it back to Macon I found that the motor was totally seized and would need a full overhaul with new oversized pistons, machinework, lifters, carb overhaul, exhaust system, Yaddah, yaddah... I opted for a little more power and better fuel economy with a 3.1L fuel injected motor & fuel system from a '92 Corsica totaled from the rear. This is the same engine that was available in the Lumina/ Cavalier Z-24, Grand Prix, Lumina APV minivan, Cutlass Ciera, Supreme, etc.
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Here are links to photos of the donor motor.
Donor motor before intake manifold modification.
The new motor required intake modification due to body interference with the throttle body & EGR neck sticking out so far into where the firewall would be (represented by the orange cord in photo).
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'92 Corsica 3.1L V-6 with 62,000 mi ($$$.$$) and
complete with engine managment system(s). I have to get a different
adapter kit from
Kennedy
Engineered Products (manufacturers of this engine adapter
system), redesign the motor mounts, alter the intake to mount the
throttle body onto the side of the motor, fabricate my own headers
(with materials from Stahl Headers in Pennsylvania), and separate the
ABS and Tranny electronics from the fuel/ spark systems. And it's
just that simple!!! Hmmmmmmm...
My mother's '93 Lumina has this same motor and gets 32mpg @75mph and
has gobs and gobs of TORQUE. I'm quite sure that my Van's mileage
will vary from the sleeker Lumina, though. I'm expecting anywhere
from 15 to 23 mpg with the Vanagon and I expect to be able to do some
serious towing when needed.
O.K. Now that almost all of the necessary parts are here, I have really gotten into this project. Man, I have jumped in with both feet.
Me and my good friend Kim Markham pulled that old locked-up motor out and made room for the new(er) one. It took us about three hours of solid work. Want to know how we got it out? We measured the height of the motor, jacked up the rear of the Van until the rear apron was 1" higher, placed 5/8" wooden dowels on the garage floor with plywood on top, and lowered the motor and transmission onto the plywood with the borrowed engine hoist. Then we simply pulled the assembly out from under the Van, rolling on the dowels. It couldn't have gone any smoother. What an ugly motor that was! UGGHH!
This is what
the engine compartment looked like with the old motor removed. Notice
the engine hatch lip needed to be cut away to make room for the new motor's
thermostat housing/ water neck.
This is how the engine compartment
looked when I finished detailing & painting. Before painting, I welded
up all of the unused holes in the walls, removed all unused brackets,
repaired a small rusted-through area (with steel), and repainted the engine
compartment with gloss white Rustoleum through a professional detail spray
gun. Beware! Gloss Rustoleum runs and sags. To spray this on takes about
3 light dust coats, then one or two semi-wet coats. It will not spray
like a regular paint, but it does keep rust away like no other paint (and
isn't that the true purpose of any paint?).
If you would like to see the engine and transmission mated together and what happens next...
This page last updated 3-3-99. Questions or comments should be sent to me (Rick Sherrod) via E-mail: Rick Sherrod.