BHW into a 1977 VW Bus

[Johnsontf]

Hey folks,
I am in the pretty early stages of planning this but here it is:
I have a 2004 b5.5 passat whose engine is rock solid. I am looking at a 1977 VW bus whose engine is shaky, not to mention 43 years old. Is it feasible to convert the bus to a TDI? I am definitely not skilled enough for this project, nor do I have the tools. I have been calling local German mechanics whose responses ranged from "not possible" to "neat idea but huge and expensive project".
Most of the posts here seem to be diesel nuts who do these conversions in their garage. Given that I'd need to pay, is it feasible? I think 3k would be what I could spend. Mechanics said its such a huge project that it is impossible to ballpark a price.
Second question: anyone on here in the Richmond, VA area, who is knowledgeable enough to do a project like this, willing to? Would be willing to work something out.

 

[Mozambiquer]

I'm sure it's possible with enough money and time. My opinion would be that you may be able to do it for $3k if you do the work yourself, most shops probably would have to charge more than that.

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[eddieleephd]

There's definitely a lot of engineering feats before you accomplish this. Two things right off are mounting engine and radiator. You're not going to pull it off paying someone for that money.
The trans might fit the axles on the bus, or they might have to be built.
'80's models are much easier as they have a liquid cooling system already, and they even have hydronic heat built in. Andybees has that experience.
It's possible to accomplish and would be pretty awesome, however, engineering and welding will set you back quite a bit.

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[markd89]

Hey folks,
I am in the pretty early stages of planning this but here it is:
I have a 2004 b5.5 passat whose engine is rock solid. I am looking at a 1977 VW bus whose engine is shaky, not to mention 43 years old. Is it feasible to convert the bus to a TDI? I am definitely not skilled enough for this project, nor do I have the tools. I have been calling local German mechanics whose responses ranged from "not possible" to "neat idea but huge and expensive project".
Most of the posts here seem to be diesel nuts who do these conversions in their garage. Given that I'd need to pay, is it feasible? I think 3k would be what I could spend. Mechanics said its such a huge project that it is impossible to ballpark a price.
Second question: anyone on here in the Richmond, VA area, who is knowledgeable enough to do a project like this, willing to? Would be willing to work something out.

This is easy: No.

You can't hire someone for $3K to make your bus diesel.

 

[Zeitgeist]

I spent about $3k to put an ALH into my van, and did all my own fabrication. If you're not doing the work yourself, that budget probably needs to be trebled or quadrupled

 

[Mozambiquer]

My guess is that you should budget 3k for parts, (depending on how involved you get) and 3-5k more for labor, if you have someone else do it.

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[BeatriceCallan]

I did my own fabrication with help of my friend, the budget was around $5k.
check my blog https://homemakerguide.com/, wrote an article several years ago.