VR internals transplant possible?

[AlfaBMWGuy]

Hello,

 

Is it possible to take the internals out of an old school OEM voltage regulator and transplant them into the metal case of one of the newer Beru VRs?  I know that the new cases are not as tall and that makes me suspect the guts of the old ones won't fit into a newer shorter case.  My reason for wanting to do this is that I have a new "failed out of box" Beru VR that was put on by the previous owner.  Then I will soon also have a scruffy, but working older VR (in shipping now).  The car is such a nice looker that I hate to just run the older VR and bring down the rest of the under hood cosmetics.  I don't have my tii with me currently to do the investigation myself on transplant possibilities so I was hoping there would be some existing experience with this since failed Beru VRs seem to be so common these days.

 

As another option, based on FAQ advice from @OriginalOwner in another thread, I bought one of the NAPA Echlin VR503 voltage regulators to be able to at least have a path forward solving the overcharging issue I was having (thankfully, it is functioning well).  Could the internals from that one be transplanted into the new Beru metal case so it would at least look closer to stock than the NAPA part?

 

Thanks,

Gary

Edited December 7, 2021 by AlfaBMWGuy

[Mike Self]

Why doncha just clean up the original VR housing?  It's galvanized so unless it's really rusty, it should look pretty good with a good brushing with a brass wire wheel or even some fine steel wool.  And you can always have it re-plated...

 

mike

[AlfaBMWGuy]

Thanks Mike.  I didn't know if it would clean up as nicely as other components.  I literally gave myself tendonitis of the elbow a month ago from being overzealous with steel wool on things like the washers and hose clamps on my tii airbox and some spark plug wire guides that were all pretty corroded over the decades.  Now those bits are shiny (pic below shows the airbox bits), but my elbow is not happy.  Guess I'll just have to switch to the other arm for the VR and not be as enthusiastic and hope for the best regarding no long-term issues for both elbows ?

 

[2002iii]

Get yourself a brass brush attachment for a drill.

[Jam3422]

That's funny - I did just the opposite, put the new guts in the old style case when the old one had a meltdown...and I don't think the old guts will fit in a new case. 

[AlfaBMWGuy]

3 minutes ago, Jam3422 said:

That's funny - I did just the opposite, put the new guts in the old style case when the old one had a meltdown...and I don't think the old guts will fit in a new case. 

 

That pic of the older solid state VR insides helps a lot.  Yep, don't think that plan is going to work.

 

Thanks,

Gary