I have no experience with the Subaru engines but I have a few things
against them in general:

-- No bottom end torque as compaired to a 2.0L I4 or WBX
-- Japanese engine in a German van
-- The VW dealer will laugh at you if you come in for repairs
-- The Subaru dealer will laugh at you if you come in for repairs
-- A 2.0L I4 can easily make 130hp with a mild cam and a chip
-- The VW engines can be fully serviced by the VW 1551/2 computer (assuming
you get a used North American spec engine).
--  VW I4 engines are cheaper than the Subaru engines.

At 06:28 PM 19/05/2000 EDT, Dan Kinsey wrote:
>I'm have a lot of experience and confidence with the IL VW 4 cyl but the 130
>hp of the Subaru engine sounds interesting.  Can anyone give me an
>approximate cost of doing the Subaru swap?  What do those engines go for?
>How much to rebuild?  Reliability?
>
>Thanks,
>Dan
>
>

-- David Marshall - Volkswagen Enthusiast - Quesnel, BC, Canada   --
-- 78 VW Rabbit, 80 VW Iltis, 80 VW Caddy, 84 VW Westfalia        --
-- 85 VW Cabriolet, 87 Audi 5000 Quattro, 88 VW Syncro Double Cab --
-- David's Volkswagen Home Page        http://www.volkswagen.org  --
-- Fast Forward Autobahn Sport Tuning  http://www.fastforward.ca  --
-- david@volkswagen.org (pmail) or vanagon@volkswagen.org (list)  --