The mating

The engine and transmission are together finally after what has felt like an eternity.  It is all the small things that add up to time delays. 
 

I was able to get a little more work done and installed the new KEP hub and flex plate, got the adapter bolted to the engine,

  

and the torque converter in.  

I am now excited to get the combo installed in the bus so I can focus on the wiring and running the cooling set up, heater set up and A/C.  I feel vaguely guilty that the starter is still grimy while the rest of the transmission is looking good. 

I used German Specialties for the transmission reseal and while the finished work looks good, I will not go back.  Enough said.

I still need to have the rear mounting bar built to fit the Small Car mount system and Vanagon rubber mounts.  Once I get the engine and transmission positioned and the transmission bolted in place, I will have BMF take the specs and dimensions to build the bar.  A cinch strap will have to suffice for a short while to support the rear (front) of the engine until the bar is built and ready to install.

Another custom piece will be the radiator shroud/air duct, which I intend to have BMF build as well.  The radiator and fans have arrived so I can start specing that out now.   Getting closer...

Catching up

It has been awhile since my last post, but that doesn't mean I haven't been working forward on the conversion.

I have finally buttoned the engine up.

I have installed the Small Car shortened oil pan.

I have the Small Car engine mount installed, Vanagon rubber mounts, and will be building a custom cross bar to fit the Small Car mount system and work with my frame rails.

I came across a post on aussieveedubbers forums from Hellbus who worked with Custom VeeDub, which used to be Custom Offroad (COR), out of Australia to build a throttle body reverser. I decided that I would do the same thing and avoid the troubles of reversing the manifold, reversing the wiring harness, and avoid having to relocate the alternator and A/C compressor. With the reverser, everything stays stock!

I am using BMF Perf. out of Brighton, CO. Chris is the owner and he does fantastic work at reasonable rates. Take a close look at his welds on the throttle body reverser!

Other small tasks I have completed are to install the flexible dip stick tube, finish up the gas tank reinstall, order a custom radiator with dual pusher fans from Wizard Cooling, which hopefully will be here in about a week (pic to come!). I am working with Chris from BMF Performance to create a custom air duct and scoop to fit the radiator between the frame rails.

I have also dropped the transmission and differential for service. I ordered a reseal kit for both the transmission and the differential and drilled out the stud and nut hole on the top driver side of the bell housing to bolt on the adapter plate per KEP and Tom Shiels' instructions.

And finally, I have started in on the wiring harnesses. I have meticulously identified each and every connector on the engine harness, the front wiring harness in the engine bay and the bulkhead wiring harness in the cab. Each of the blue items is a piece of tape the denotes the wire number and function according the the wiring schematics out of the factory manual.

This is a shot of the Front wiring harness with the connectors all identified with blue tape.

Here is the location and function guide. The red lines suggest the components of the wiring harness I will delete and remove from the harness. I cut the harness just before it crosses the front of the car and this may have been a mistake. I may need to extend and re-wire some of the harness to fit my application.

Here is a shot of the bulkhead wiring in the engine bay:

And this is the intended delete list for removal:

Here is the in-compartment bulkhead wiring:

And the delete list: