Given enough time AND money ANY engine can be put in ANY car.

But the question is "what is practical for most drivers?"

On the list I hear a lot about being on a budget, low cost, etc.

What I choose to do, as what many VW drivers do, simply rebuild the stock
engine.  But with the elimination of the problem areas of an otherwise good
engine.  These engines last routinely over 100,000 miles.

The engine is simple and quite easy to rebuild contrary to other reports.

I wanted to choose options that WORK and can be done by most people building
their own engines AND do not cost gobs of money.  For instance FG big valve
heads do add power, in the upper RPMs 4K+ (Where I seldom regularly drive)
decrease MPG and cost a whopping $689 EACH x 2 = $1378 That is almost the
cost of ALL my upgrades COMBINED.  I wanted the most bang for my budget.  If
the engine is built by the owner the cost of the LABOR can be PUT into the
upgrades.

First I determined the problems, then the practical solutions.

Head corrosion and lack of power.

1) Head corrosion, overheating = "Thermal Barrier" ceramic coatings

Benifit= barrier between head and rubber head gasket, head gasker will have
longer life due to reducion in heat exposure, ALL rubber parts in engine
compartment have longer life

2) Lack of Power
Instead of trying to do one or two major change- I chose a holistic approach.
I wanted to eliminate the typical T1 engine problems (The Wasserboxer is
Basically a T1 engine with a T4 crank) Because with the added power other
parts could fail.

I did not go into changing engine dimensions because of time and money, But
it can be done for even more power.

I have over 18,000 miles on my engine with no major problems.  The main
problems I have had are with the FI system that had some damage due to shorts
in the wiring harness and lighting damage (which burned my ear slightly).  I
have ended up replacing most FI parts, plus they are over 11 years old.

Robert