Bill;

I'm in the middle of this conversion too.  I think the batch of engines
from SA that included mine are a less-than-perfect batch.  Peter has
still got to supply me with some critical parts - including the FI
system.  For some reason the kits didn't get all their parts before
being shipped.

The accessories have been hard to muddle through and I'm skeptical that
the belts that came with the kit will really fit.  In the end though, I
think this engine will look very 'vw' in the van - more so than any
other conversion you can do in the Vanagon.

Frustrations aside I do think it's good value.  A brand  new engine and
FI system that VW put together for the Vanagon is well worth the price.
The overall quality looks very good and I'm sure once anyone has gotten
through their install frustrations they'll be very happy with the end
result.  I would guess that this sort of thing is common in the auto
world - that's why dealers have to 'prep' a car before we get it.  There
are lots of small mid-production-run changes that, to the engineers, are
nothing, but to the consumer are sometimes scary.

In the end, having a VW-built inline-4 kit in the vanagon is well worth
the small frustrations.  Those engines go forever and are very
reliable.  It still breaks my heart to pull the waterboxer - it feels
like I'm spitting in the face of VW's heritage.  But, there's a reason
they dropped the aircooled boxers, and I think the waterboxer was the
last of the old-school and therefore the worst fit to its market
(especially its N.American market).  This inline 4 is what VW should
have done with the Vanagon in the first place.

I have to ask this though:  why did the kit come with NGK sparkplugs
installed??  Shameful.

Damian