Howdy From Austin,

For those of you that haven't been following my project, I have installed a
Porsche 3.2 liter engine and G50 5-speed transmission in my '87 VW Vanagon.
When I purchased my Vanagon it was completely stock with an automatic
transmission and a 4 -cylinder water-cooled boxer engine rated at 94
horsepower. It was, to say the least, rather a slug on the highway.

I finally got my first 1,000 break-in miles completed, my valves adjusted,
and oil changed. So, that meant it was finally time for me to take a trip to
the dyno. For comparison purposes, I had my good friend John go along. He
has a '91 Vanagon with a 4-speed manual transmission. In addition, he has a
relatively fresh Boston Bob stock rebuilt engine with about 20,000 miles on
it. I felt that having his van there for comparison would be very good at
putting things in perspective.

All testing was performed at Colvin Automotive in Austin, Texas. Project
Vanagon was run first, then John's stock Vanagon was run immediately after.
Weather conditions didn't have a chance to change between runs. The
thermometer read about 80 degrees and it was quite humid. The test was
performed on a DynoJet 284C dyno.

The stock Boston Bob stock rebuild yielded a maximum 77.0 horsepower at the
wheels. Torque was very high at 93.8 foot-pounds. Most impressive was the
broad torque band. Sixty percent (56.3) of peak torque was available from
1700 rpm to 5200 rpm. There was a real abundance of torque available almost
everywhere.

Obviously this was not a fair fight. There is no way even the most pumped up
2.1 wbx could compare to the 3.2 Porsche Carrera engine. Project Vanagon was
fitted with a test pipe and a genuine RUF 2-2 R twin tip muffler ceramic
coated muffler (I just got it on yesterday). Vincent showed a very
respectable 196.8 horsepower at the wheels. Torque was also strong at 183.1
foot pounds.  Sixty percent (109.86 foot pounds) of peak torque was
available from 3,200 rpm up to 7,000 rpm.

So my work, and the work of some very close friends has brought about a
255.8% increase in rear wheel horsepower, and a 195.2% increase in torque at
the wheels. Not too shabby.

Once again, I'd like to thank all of the folks that made all of this
possible. It has been a long, hard road, but well worth the trip. And I'm
not done yet. There is still much more to come.

Cheers,
Bruce
motorbruce
motorbruce@hotmail.com