<<"although the Sub is probably a vastly better engine than the Golf">>

What makes the Suburu a vastly better motor? It might be fastly, but not
vastly. I have a 95 J-Golf engine in my 82 Westfalia, and it now has 103,000
miles on it. It runs great-doesnt use oil, runs cool, has plenty of
horsepower, certainly more than any stock Vanagon engine, and I don't have to
worry about heads leaking in the next 100,000 miles.

Sure the larger displacement Sub means more power, but the 2.0 has sufficient
power for what the vehicle is-a big box of rolling wind resistance.

If the reason one goes from a WBX to a Sub is for more power, most would be
happy with an inline four VW engine, Tiico, what have you.

To each his own when it comes to engine of choice, but you will never catch
me saying the Golf-Jetta engine is vastly better than the Suburu. I'll leave
that to the engineers at Suburu and VW.
And of course, the list.

The new south African VW 2.0 I-4 is brand new, which is something to
consider when you install any engine-should you rebuild it?

Cast iron blocks rebuild quite well, not being subject to the warpage and
case breakage that aluminum block are prone to. They can be reliably rebuilt,
if done by a reliable rebuilder.

I think a low mileage engine is not that risky. Mine had 78,000 when I
installed it, And it only cost me $500.00. It still has power like it did
25,000 miles ago.



Robert Keezer

1982 Westfalia 2.0 '95 Golf powered