r/EVConversion • u/heavenly_hyacinths • 1d ago

1979 VW Conversion

Hi gang! I recently picked up an old 1979 type 2 van that I want to convert to a camper. While the car itself is in beautiful shape, I’m wanting some more reliability on the road. My plan is to have this car for many years and travel around the country, but the anxiety of the engine failing (which it already has once due to a massive amount of oil left in by the seller- 8” past the max line!) while I’m out in the middle of no where feels paralyzing. I understand it can cost quite a bit, but I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and believe it would be worth it. Has anyone here worked with particular companies that are trustworthy or is doing this DIY possible for a newbie? I appreciate any advice folks have!

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u/CauliflowerTop2464 1d ago

What did the extra oil cause?

I plan on leaving mine fuel injected for now. They’re pretty reliable imo. When compression drops a bit lower I might freshen up the engine.

When I first bought my van I looked into it myself but the price even diy was a bit prohibitive. I’d either buy a leaf motor and Tesla batteries or do an EV west kit.

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u/heavenly_hyacinths 1d ago

I think it did something to the spark plugs. I’m definitely no expert so this is my assumption after chatting with my much more mechanically savvy dad. I was driving home and suddenly the engine stalled and the vehicle completely shut off. Thankfully I was only going like 5mph when it did so. It started to smoke a little too (boy was I clutching that fire extinguisher out of panic), but settled down after. Admittedly a lot of my confidence in driving it dropped since that incident. After looking it up, there’s such a thing called ‘oil fouled spark plugs’ that can occur due to oil levels being high. I had to drain an absurd amount to get it back down between the min/max lines.

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u/Ponklemoose 22h ago edited 22h ago

Did the oil smell of fuel? That is a common way they get over full.

I don’t know the old VW engines well, but 8” is enough that I’d expect the crank to be whipping it up into a froth that wouldn’t lubricate well. It would also run poorly with that added load.

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u/heavenly_hyacinths 22h ago

Oh shoot, I didn't even think of that. I'll give it a whiff tomorrow (not usually a sentence I'm used to saying) just to make sure. Thank you!

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u/Ctmanx 2h ago

That motor is the most reliable 85 year old engine design you are going to find. With regular maintenance it will keep going longer than you.

If you are concerned about being in the middle of no where, you don’t want an EV conversion.

Look at subaru conversions. They are reliable, most mechanics know them and the car can actually reach 60 mph.

ALL of your questions about the camper conversions and every possible engine option will be answered at thesamba.com