Aircooled VW South Africa

Hi Guys I have started this thread to give as much advice as Possible for the guys that contemplate in fitting a Rotary in to a bug / Ghia /Type 3 / Bus etc. to try and give them as much as possible heads up info of what it takes and cost

I have a bug by me that has the conversion already done which I have stripped and redoing some of the things for the Client and fitting a Seriously strong Bugger Transmission to the bug


This is a pic of the bug
A look at the buisness end of things
I had the Bug on one of Speed and Sound`s Dyno days and it made 100KW on the wheels
Now that is what a std Rotary turbo makes on the wheels with .4Bar boost
Have already sent the turbo in for a small upgrade and the aim is that the bug willbe making 145Kw on the wheels which still make the car really reliable to drive and with a high low boost set up really fun aswell
The doggy box was removed and refitted with multi plywood which I immediately have removed for propper slanted plate fitment and the wiring all worked but some wires was joined 5 times in less than 200mm once all the insulation tape was removed




I am also in the prosses to start with Phantompondler`s Puma rotary turbo Project and will as I go along post pics and info.One tricky thing with the Puma is going to be fitting the Radiator up front and conseal it so it does not shout out to you I AM W/C but just leave the others in his dust

I Edit as I have posted the 2nd pic twice

After the motor and transmission was removed there was a serious spider web of wiring that was in the bug
The guy that has built the bug must have a Electrical trade as all the Positive wires were taken to a central point and joined with Chalk blocks.And all the Earth wires aswell one earth wire ran from the EFI fuel pump right next to the battery to the Chalk block and all the way back again
Please Dont think I am shooting the guy down that did the bug he did a nice job with alot of the other things on the bug it was just Snaaks to find something like that in a Vehicle

After me and my 2 trusty friends the Side cutter and the putty knife(So Dirk I have one to open your wrapped tranny when he arrives )got stuck in to the wiring of the Bug and the Microtech EFI.
I have cut out quite alot of wires that I deemed unnessasary and will be visiting the Scrap metal dealer
Here is a closer look of the inner of the engin bay before I have stripped out everything
The long cylinder that is connected to the fuel pump is the surge tank which will probably also be replaced as it is made out of stainless steel and is F@rken heavy and the fuel supply and return lines come from the bottom right of the bug and the inn let and 2 returns are on the Left of the tank so there are far to many fuel lines under there to My liking
As the coils on the right hand side I will make a bracket on the right of the motor to bolt them on to and ceep the side wall as clean as possible

Bugger wrote:(So Dirk I have one to open your wrapped tranny when he arrives )

I hope it's sharp, you have to go through at least two layers of bubble wrap and 4 layers of bin liner

Not to Worry Dirk have spare blades

I have cut the plate and weld it in and two small pieces for the sides
The plate does not get welded all round as I seal the plate right around with Fiber Resin and matt and then Every thing gets stone chipped in the motor bay with Clear coate over it all

Hope you are proud of me Barry as I have spend a littels more time in making a template for the sides Engin bay Left and right view

This bug had an amaizing amount of unnessasary holes drilled from the engin bay to the wheel well both sides Left and right I have closed them all up when I glass fiberd the slanted plate in to get every thing looking better when stone chipped
Here is a pic after the resin and fiber mat is put down you do not need alot around 500Ml of resin to do this whole job
You will see I have also removed the back window to have better access and work space When the appy(WIVE) is close by to hand you a tool or two

Damn, you still drilling that poor woman

Get an "appy" from your street corner.

Stone chip has been done inside and out side
Ance it is coverd with a coate of 2K clear it will brighten up the engin bay and it is very easy
to clean the engin bay aswell with the clear over the stone chip as it takes away all the rough edges


Appologies for the dust mites in the pics it was still quite alot of stone chip overspray in the air

hitlers revenge wrote:Get an "appy" from your street corner.

Remember I rather stay way clear of their so Prefer to use my seat cover

Cleaned the motor today to mask it and paint the motor to give it a bit more Hp
Some of the bits that bolt on to the motor Cleaning the motor and masking it up is a real job that is where the appy should come in handy

Now this is basically where I am today with this project
And moved the Puma in to the Garage for the Heart Transplant
You Guys are more than Welcome to ask Questions give advice positive and negative and we can cuckkle over what ever

Right now, I'm just hoping to learn as much as possible.

You do amazing work Bugger!

Thanks Chris
When ever I do something whether it is vehicle related or Transport related I try and see the end result and also If I was the Client and I go and fetch my bug by Bugger. how would I feel over sertain things and how would I have wanted to recieve it back
So I try and always put myself in ME the Clients eyes and I am not easily pleased as it comes to sertain things

Keep it going, with such a nice covered working area, the production line is now sorted.