Hi All,
First, updates on the latest product announcements, then some ongoing and future items.
K24z Honda conversion parts for Vanagons!
Used to be you had to pick either the reliability of the Zetec, or the power of a Subaru, now you can have both reliability and power in your van!
There will be a couple turnkeys available this summer, but they are *not* cheap. Going the K24z DIY route has an even proportionally bigger savings than the DIY zetec/turnkey. Expect the K24z turnkey to run in the 17k-20k range. If you are interested, contact us now, as with them being so limited they will almost certainly sell before any online announcement.
The Gunny rack (Rugged aluminum roof rack for tin-top vanagons)
There is only 1 rack left from the first run (that can be coated/painted to a custom color if you like) currently available here:
https://www.bostig.com/bostig-gunny-rack-system/
The Zetec conversion
People ask if the zetec kits are still available, yes they are!
https://www.bostig.com/bostig-vanagon-conversion-2024-group-kit-20-deposit-total-price-7595/
As intended (almost 20 years ago now), Zetecs are still readily available for short money. We just sourced a 65k mile engine for $300 for a summer turnkey build, making it the 4th in the last 6 months under 70k and under $500.
They are still the kings of reliability, being a lot like tractor engines in their simplicity and robustness, but also rev out to take advantage of the extremely short gearing of the vanagon driveline. With almost 1000 zetec conversions sold, they are the most numerous on the road, that like to stay on the road. Just like the vanagon itself, they are more tortoise and less hare, for exactly the same reasons.
They are being done in batches again, with the spring batch just having been completed and sold out! The fastest way to get one is place a deposit, as you might be the one to place the deposit that kicks off the group build.
Having been the first company to introduce turnkey engine swaps to vanagonland, we've added them back in as an option again.
https://www.bostig.com/bostig-turnkey-20-deposit-total-price-for-base-turnkey-is-13-200/
Supercharger for Zetec
The SC beta is still underway! It's a loooooooong slog, but we're getting the results. Looking forward to this season and the beta guys working on them now getting going! Much better to go slow and get good results than move fast and leave the wreckage of customer value in your wake. At least that's our philosophy.
We may not be making money hand over fist, but we do have loyal and supportive customers. It's never been a money grab for us like it is for most, it's always been a barter, we make your dreams of using your van like you want to a reality, and you allow us to play with and develop cool stuff for work. Pretty good trade.
Technically, the first stage of the SC beta, which is new MAF, injectors, and ECU/tune will likely become the naturally aspirated future of the Zetec conversion, and offer improved performance for naturally aspirated engines too.
Project Z
Was named project Zion, as in Zion national park, as the end goal is to visit Zion in a project Zion van! But it's now just project Z. The developments here are pretty great! Why? Because the biggest road block to it is current battery technology. People that want to sell you electric vans or conversions right now won't tell you that current EV/hybrid battery technology sucks, but we will. It's heavy, dangerous, and will burn you, either literally or figuratively down the road with cell, module, or pack failures.
We dodged a bullet on project Z, as we had chosen the Chevy Bolt battery modules to use, and had a pack in an ebay cart. Then all the fires started hitting the news. Everyone can see what could have happened if we had already been moving, or pulled the trigger faster. Oof.
Fast forward to today, the new Ultium from GM will be the first large scale LFP battery platform in the states and the chevy Bolt EUV will have it next year. It means yeah they will still be heavy... but more importantly they aren't prone to thermal runaway and self-sustaining exothermic reaction = your van burning to the ground while you and the fire department (hopefully) watch. They will be both safer (#1!!) and cheaper (bonus!!). And both traits carry to the aftermarket. Since project Z is a hybrid, the pack weight won't be massively impacted vs Li+.
For engine swaps we chose engines very carefully to maximize customer value over making marketability/sales easier for us. We do the same for the true foundation of the hybrid project, which is the batteries.
Opus One
The last new product announcement is still not ready to be announced. But we can say this: it won't be branded Bostig, and isn't related to vanagons at all (other than it is kinda angular/boxy, and is technically internal combustion). We do think (and hope) though, that a lot of you folks will still be very interested in the Opus One as well!
Jim personal notes
The last 6 months have been pretty tough for me personally. My fiance and I both lost our dogs about a month apart, Lefty made it to 13, unfortunately cancer took Gunny at 9. It's always tough to lose dogs, they really are family, and in my case coworkers. As most of my time is spent alone in the shop, Gunny was really helpful despite being terrible at turning wrenches, answering emails, and in particular, scheduling.
Working now truly alone for the last 6+ months, I think I'm just beginning to understand how much of an impact his loss has had on me. Both how it has affected my life in general, and my work. I am hopeful that the depressive effects will continue to wane, as they haven't been overt or even recognizable, but looking back have certainly been there and have been weighing me down pretty heavily.
Working now truly alone for the last 6+ months, I think I'm just beginning to understand how much of an impact his loss has had on me. Both how it has affected my life in general, and my work. I am hopeful that the depressive effects will continue to wane, as they haven't been overt or even recognizable, but looking back have certainly been there and have been weighing me down pretty heavily.
Looking forward, I've got an upcoming trip to Colorado, end of May, first week of June to take advantage of Colorado's self solemnization laws with my fiance. Neither of us were ever too impressed with the idea that someone with a title or funny hat needed to be the one to officially commit ourselves to each other, so being able to hike up a mountain and call it ourselves seems like a really cool option. Plus, then I *need* to buy a newer, faster, more capable drone to capture it obviously.
Ok, that's the blog update! Maybe another one in a few more years?
