>This means I can use lower octane fuel with out damaging the engine
>. WBX drivers riding with me on a demo drive worry I'm over -revving
>it. That's just it's nature. If you go from slow 1.6 to fast 2.0
>gas- you will be making about the same transition I made six years
>ago from a 1.6 air-cooled in my old 64 bus. And I still think I had
>16 more hp than the Diesel 1.6.
>
>The TDI is something I haven't looked at yet - I'll leave it alone.

John Sykes -- in your lineup of engine replacement options missed the TD.

The TDI, while providing a huge increase in hp and torque, is quite
complex. Everything from the drive-by-wire accelerator pedal
potentiometer ("sensor") to the complete matrix of engine sensors and
wiring harness required. It's do-able, but not for the "lightweight"
DIY'er. If you're going to pay for someone to do it for you, I think
the price difference will be quite large.

I think a TD is the ideal upgrade for the diesel person who doesn't
want to go with a gas I-4. It is a nice option to have alternative
fuels (non-crude-oil-based) available to you if the fuel supply goes
ka-blewie). Diesels run on almost anything from kerosene to corn oil.
The TDI doesn't like alternative fuels very well, from what I've
heard. The TD has no such problems.

My opinion.

Dave
--
Dave Carpenter

Whatever you wish for me,
May you have twice as much.

"Sometimes I think we're alone in the universe, and sometimes I think
we're not. In either case the idea is quite staggering." -- Arthur C.
Clarke