Date:         Sun, 28 Oct 2007 19:46:57 -0800
Reply-To:     Don Hanson <dhanson@GORGE.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Don Hanson <dhanson@GORGE.NET>
Subject:      Vanagon Re Power...with VW motor..
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252"

 One can likely find plenty of diesel donor vans to transplant a gas four
into.  I don't want to piss anyone off, but in order to be content driving a
60-some hp 4000-lb vehicle, (diesel Westy) you would have to be very
especially patient..
   My first ever ride in a Westy   (besides a drunken return trip from La
Paz to the beach in a rotary Mazda powered one years ago) was in a really
pristine diesel that a Canadian pal owned.  We took our bicycles up
Montezuma grade (3700' at about 6% average grade) to the base of Mt. Palomar
(right where the one fire is now in California)  to do a bike ride.  I have
never ever been up a grade so slowly in any vehicle...even my 1957 36hp
split window bus was much faster uphill.  I could have ridden my bike up
that hill faster, I bet... I would feel selfish holding traffic back
wherever I went in a diesel vanagon because of the lack of power.  Once the
thing was moving, it went along ok on the flat, and it did get good
mileage..
  I understand the 1.8 and 2.0 liter blocks for the gas motors are identical
to the diesel.
  Now on the inline 4 gas motors, there's a huge aftermarket inventory of
parts and technology available to modify those motors to suit your
purpose..as long as you aren't wanting huge grunting low end torque...Small
displacement motors simply aren't much good for that.  (yes, I know you
*could* probably make one torquey, but why bother?  Get  a Subaru 6-banger
turbo if you want a hot rod or a tow vehicle)  Very cheap and well
documented mods are available for the VW inline fours all over the net and
in any city with an "Import Scene"..
  Dunno, the Rabbit/Golf/Cabriolet/ -whatever transplant is kinda never even
mentioned much when speaking of alternative engine choices for a Vanagon..
I agree with whoever posted you could easily pull off an exchange with under
$1000 bucks..I love my 84 and looked long to find a van with just that setup
and without power anything...I only paid $3k for mine already done,  and
took a 2500 mile road trip within two days of buying it without problems..
  Ciao,
   Don Hanson